There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solvetoday's puzzlebefore reading further!Lore Drop Constructor:Brian Callahan Editor:Amanda Rafkin Brian:When I first heard the term "Lore Drop" on the "Sounds Like a Cult" podcast, I knew I had to create a crossword around it. The phrase essentially refers to the act of providing a large amount of exposition about a topic in a relatively sudden manner. Shout out to Amanda Rafkin for suggesting that LORE "drop" in the grid from left to right! OBOE (22A: Instrument in some Sufjan Stevens songs) I learned about singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens from theDecember 14, 2024 crossword. (That crossword was also constructed by Brian Callahan.) At that time I wrote that Sufjan Stevens "plays a number of instruments, and often plays multiple instruments himself for his recordings." Had I been more specific, I might have known that Sufjan Stevens plays the OBOE, and has played it for some of his songs. CAP (52A: New Era product) New Era CAP Company has been making headwear since 1920. Since 1993, New Era has had an exclusive license with Major League Baseball, and makes the on-field CAPs for all of its teams. SNL (1A: NBC sketch show featuring "Domingo")"Domingo"has been a recurring sketch onSNL(Saturday Night Live) since October 12, 2024. The sketches detail an ongoing affair between Domingo (Marcello Hernandez) and Kelsey (Chloe Fineman), and each sketch features a parody of a popular song. TEAR (23A: "Crying emoji" feature) 😢 NSFW (25A: "Beware of opening this at the office" letters) NSFW = not safe for work TIL (37A: Texter's "didn't know that!") TIL = today I learned NPR (38A: "Code Switch" network)Code Switchis a weekly NPR podcast featuring journalists of color having "the fearless conversations about race that you've been waiting for." The podcast's name refers to the linguistics term code-switching, which refers to a speaker alternating between two or more languages or language varieties in the context of a single conversation. WET (40A: Like riders on a log flume, often) This clue made me smile, and of course I immediately knew the answer. It's been some time since I've been on a log flume ride, but getting WET while on such a ride is a classic part of the experience. TEEN (43A: Suffix with "four" or "nine," but not "three" or "five") Did you try saying "three-TEEN" OR "five-TEEN" just to check? REDWOOD (57A: Idina Menzel musical named for a tall tree) If you are a regular "Off the Grid" reader, you may remember thatearlier this monthI gushed about getting to seeREDWOODon Broadway in April. The "tall tree" in the clue is a nice hint to the answer for those not familiar with this musical. NOAH (2D: "What Now?" host Trevor)I also recently mentionedTrevor NOAH's podcastWhat Now?when we saw him in a puzzle a few weeks ago. On the podcast, Trevor NOAH speaks with guests about a variety of contemporary topics. LORETTA LYNN (3D: "Coal Miner's Daughter" singer-songwriter)"Coal Miner's Daughter"is a 1970 song by LORETTA LYNN (1932-2022). Written about her childhood, "Coal Miner's Daughter" became LORETTA LYNN's signature song. The Recording Industry Association of America included "Coal Miner's Daughter" on their list of the"Top 365 Songs of the Twentieth Century." THE BACHELORETTE (7D: Reality show with one woman and 25ish men) The reality TV dating showTHE BACHELORETTE(which is a spin-off ofthe Bachelor) debuted in 2003. There have been 21 seasons of the show to date. ELI (10D: Name found in "angel investor") Surely somewhere there is an angel investor (one providing capital to a business, often in exchange for ownership equity) named ELI. SOPHIA LOREN (26D: Oscar-winning actress with a 70-plus-year career) In 1960, SOPHIA LOREN won an Academy Award (Oscar) for Best Actress for her portrayal of Cesira in the Italian movieTwo Women(La ciociara). She was the first Italian actress to be awarded a major Academy Award, and the first to win an Oscar for a non-English-language performance. TETRIS (29D: ___ Attack (Nintendo game with blocks)) Confusingly (at least to me), the Nintendo gameTETRISAttack is not related toTETRIS. The two games share a similar game play, in that you are trying to clear the playing field before it fills up with shapes. However, inTETRISAttack, those shapes are blocks rather than the tetrominoes featured inTETRIS. ARIANA (30D: "Wicked" actress Grande) ARIANA Grande plays the role of Galinda "Glinda" in the 2024 movieWickedand in the upcoming 2025 movieWicked: For Good. RULE (57A: "Don't run in the house," e.g.) When my kids were growing up, they used to give me grief about our many house RULEs. Honestly though, I don't think we really had the RULE "Don't run in the house." To be fair, our house isn't that big, so if you were to run, you wouldn't get very far. In my growing-up family, one of the RULEs was, "No singing at the table." I have always wondered about the back story on why that RULE was deemed necessary. CAT (62D: "Ev'rybody Wants To Be a ___" (Disney song)) "Ev'rybody Wants To Be a CAT" is a song from Disney's 1970 animated movieThe Aristocats. My CAT, Willow, thinks it's perfectly reasonable to want to be a CAT. A few other clues I especially enjoyed: POOF (13A: "It's gone!" sound) HEALTH (16A: Mental ___ day) CHEETOS (20A: Snacks that cause orange fingers) LORETTA LYNN (3D: "Coal Miner's Daughter" singer-songwriter) COLORED PENCILS (4D: Art supplies that need sharpening) THE BACHELORETTE (7D: Reality show with one woman and 25ish men) SOPHIA LOREN (26D: Oscar-winning actress with a 70-plus-year career) LORE DROP: The word LORE is found going down (i.e. DROPping) in each vertical theme answer:LORETTA LYNN, COLORED PENCILS, THE BACHELORETTE, and SOPHIALOREN. I appreciate Brian giving an explanation of the term LORE DROP in his constructor's notes; always nice when a constructor does my job for me! Seeing the word LORE DROP in the grid from left to right is an especially nice added touch. Thank you, Brian, for this excellent puzzle. USA TODAY's Daily Crossword Puzzles Sudoku & Crossword Puzzle Answers This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Crossword Blog & Answers for May 21, 2025 by Sally Hoelscher
