Charles H. Sloan-Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Nonsense Outro

There are Charles H. Sloanspoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Nonsense Outro

Constructor: Amie Walker

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

• STAR (24A: "When the first ___ you see may not be a ___" ("Konstantine" lyric)) "Konstantine" is a 2003 song by the alt rock band Something Corporate. The song includes the lyrics "It's to Jimmy Eat World and those nights in my car / When the first STAR you see may not be a STAR." This is a reference to the song "For Me This is Heaven" by the band Jimmy Eat World. That song begins with the line, "The first STAR I see may not be a STAR."
• MOOS (34D: Animal sounds in "Over the Moon") Okay, it's been some time since I've seen the musical Rent, so I didn't immediately remember the song "Over the Moon," which is based on "Hey Diddle Diddle," and sung by the character Maureen. At the end of the song, there are a number of MOOS.
• BRA (37D: "Long hair (No ___) / It's my type (That's right)" ("Red Wine Supernova" lyric)) "Red Wine Supernova" is a 2023 song by Chappell Roan. It was just five days ago that I commented that I know who Chappell Roan is, but am not familiar with all of her songs. If I solve enough puzzles, perhaps I will be! Chappell Roan describes herself as "pop's DIY Pop Princess."

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• SKA (1A: Less Than Jake genre) The SKA band Less Than Jake released their ninth studio album, Silver Linings, in 2020. Less Than Jake was one of the bands that participated in the SKA Against Racism Tour in 1998. The purpose of the tour was to bring awareness to racism in a nonviolent matter.
• PROP (4A: The Burn Book in "Mean Girls," for one) Mean Girls here could be referring to the 2004 movie, or the 2018 Broadway musical adapted from that movie, or the 2024 movie adapted from the musical. All three were written by Tina Fey, and the Burn Book is a PROP in all of them. The Burn Book is a scrapbook that head mean girl Regina George filled with cruel content about other students.
• ALTO (15A: Tracy Chapman's vocal range) Singer-songwriter – and ALTO – Tracy Chapman released her debut single, "Fast Car," in 1988. The following year, the song won a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Country artist Luke Combs released a version of "Fast Car" in 2023, and this year it won Song of the Year at the Country Music Association (CMA) Awards. Tracy Chapman is the first Black songwriter to win a CMA Award.
• LION (17A: Leo's symbol) This is a timely answer, as today is the last day of Leo season. Those born between July 23 and August 22 have the zodiac sign Leo, symbolized by the LION.
• OBOE (26A: Instrument used for tuning) An OBOE is a double-reed woodwind instrument. Orchestras tune to the OBOE, specifically to a concert A played by the first OBOE. The bright, penetrating sound of the OBOE is easy to hear, and it has a stable pitch, making it a good choice to be used for tuning.
• BBC (31A: "Killing Eve" network) Killing Eve (2018-2022) is a BBC series about an investigator, Eve Polastri, who is tracking the psychopathic assassin, Villanelle. Sandra Oh portrays Eve, and Jodie Comer plays the role of Villanelle. The show is based on the Villanelle series of books by Luke Jennings.
• HALSEY (42A: "Bad at Love" singer) HALSEY is a singer, songwriter, and actress. Her song, "Bad at Love" was released in 2017. HALSEY has said of the song that she wanted it to "sound like Leonardo DiCaprio in a Hawaiian T-shirt in a droptop yellow convertible car – driving down the highway like in Miami Vice with all his friends."
• SNL (62A: "Jumanji" sketch show) Jumanji is a 1995 movie about a supernatural board game of that name. A 2017 movie, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is about teenagers who are stuck in the Jumanji video game. But the "Jumanji" referenced in this clue is a sketch performed on Saturday Night Live (SNL) on April 6 of this year when Kristen Wiig hosted the show. In the sketch Kristen Wiig played a woman named Nina who is afraid of playing board games, specifically Ticket to Ride in this sketch, for fear of "getting Jumanji'ed."
• KITTY TREATS (2D: Rewards for cats, casually) My cat, Willow, believes she deserves KITTY TREATS (specifically tuna) simply for being her adorable self.

• ODIN (6D: Thor's dad) In Norse mythology, ODIN is a god associated with wisdom and healing. He is married to the goddess Frigga. One of their sons is Thor, the god of lightning, thunder, and storms. We saw Thor (and his hammer) mentioned in yesterday's puzzle.
• BILLIE (8D: "LUNCH" singer Eilish) BILLIE Eilish released the song "LUNCH" in May of this year. Yesterday we saw EILISH clued as ["Bad Guy" singer Billie].
• ELMO (13D: Muppet with a pet goldfish) ELMO's pet goldfish is named Dorothy.
• AOC (25D: Rep. who said "We open doors so others can walk through them") Alexandria Oasis-Cortez (AOC) represents New York's 14th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. AOC was 29 years old when she took office, making her the youngest woman to serve in the U.S. Congress. Shortly after she assumed office, AOC posted a photo on her Instagram account with the caption, "We open doors so others can walk through them." The abbreviation of representative (rep.) in the clue alerts solvers that the answer will be an abbreviation.
• BLUE (32D: "My heart's been borrowed and yours has been ___ / All's well that ends well to end up with you") The lyrics, "My heart's been borrowed and yours has been BLUE / All's well that ends well to end up with you," are from Taylor Swift's 2019 song "Lover."
• BALLROOM (36D: Site with a piano in the game Clue) I always enjoy a reference to the board game Clue, which is my favorite board game of all time.
• ARYA (50D: Sansa Stark's sister) This is a reference to Game of Thrones (2011-2019), the TV adaptation of George R. R. Martin's fantasy series of books, A Song of Fire and Ice. There are a lot of Starks in Game of Thrones, two of which are sisters ARYA and Sansa.
• SHE (55D: "___ Used to Be Mine" ("Waitress" song) Sara Bareilles wrote "SHE Used to Be Mine" for the musical, Waitress (which was adapted from the 2007 movie of the same name). 

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

• BOTTOM BUNK (18A: Tiered bed part that's lower to the ground)
• MECHANICAL BULL (34A: Bar fixture that simulates riding a bucking animal)
• TALKING TRASH (48A: Insulting the other team, say)

NONSENSE OUTRO: The last word of each theme answer – the OUTRO in a sense – is a synonym for NONSENSE: BUNK, BULL, and TRASH.

There are a lot of songs referenced in today's puzzle. That's appropriate, since the title is also a song reference. "NONSENSE" is a 2022 song by Sabrina Carpenter. When Sabrina Carpenter performs the song, she ad-libs the songs OUTRO. Today, NONSENSE OUTRO makes an enjoyable theme. Thank you, Amie, for this delightful puzzle.

For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles

• USA TODAY’s Daily Crossword Puzzles
• Sudoku & Crossword Puzzle Answers