SafeX Pro Exchange|Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Double Negative

There are SafeX Pro Exchangespoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Double Negative

Constructor: Ricky Sirois

Editor: Jared Goudsmit

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

• DAVE (35A: "Ain't That a Shame" songwriter ___ Bartholomew) DAVE Bartholomew (1918-2019) was a musician, bandleader, and composer. He co-wrote "Ain't That a Shame" with Fats Domino, who recorded the song in 1955. "Ain't That a Shame" has been covered by multiple artists including Pat Boone (1955), Cheap Trick (1978), the Four Seasons (1963), and Hank Williams Jr. (1971). DAVE Bartholomew is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.
• ACES (44A: Eleven-point cards in the game 31) When I first read this clue, I wondered if there was a typo and "31" should be "21," as I know the game 21 (also known as blackjack). However, there is also a game called 31. Played with a standard deck of cards, 31 involves players attempting to configure their hand of three cards such that their hand does not have the lowest number of points. As the clue informs us, ACES are 11 points.
• GHEE (68A: Clarified butter in some baingan bharta) In Indian cuisine, baingan bharta is a dish of mashed roasted eggplant. The dish also contains onion, tomato, and spices. GHEE, a type of clarified butter, is sometimes used in the dish's preparation.
• TRIPE (69A: Guatita ingredient) Guatita is a national dish in Ecuador. It is also a part of the cuisine in Chile. Guatita is a stew, whose main ingredient is TRIPE, the stomach lining from cattle, pigs, or sheep. 
• UCONN (11D: Tina Charles' alma mater) Tina Charles is a professional basketball player who currently plays for WNBA's Atlanta Dream. In college, Tina Charles played for the UCONN (University of Connecticut) Huskies. The Huskies won national championships her junior and senior years.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• HARP (1A: String instrument on Ireland's coat of arms) The HARP has been used as a symbol of Ireland since at least the sixth century. Prior to the 17th century, each Irish clan had a resident HARP player who comprised songs in honor of the clan members. The HARP has appeared on Ireland's coat of arms, and the Seal of the President of Ireland. The Irish euro coins feature a HARP. Some Irish companies feature a HARP in their logos, including Guinness, HARP Lager, the Irish Independent newspaper, and Ryanair. We saw HARP in the puzzle just two days ago. Coincidentally, HARP also appeared in the top row of that puzzle.
• DOGE (20A: Meme genre in which a Shiba Inu might say "many fun" and "such games") DOGE is a dog meme that first became popular in 2013. DOGE memes feature a picture of a Shiba Inu. Captions, which are often written in multicolored Comic Sans font, are two-word phrases in which the first word is "so," "such," "many," "much," or "very." As with most memes, there is a lot of variation. The dog who inspired DOGE memes was a Shiba Inu named Kabosu, who died in May of this year at the age of 18.
• ALA (29A: _merican _ibrary _ssociation) In this kind of fill-in-the-blank clue, each blank corresponds to one letter. The American Library Association was founded in 1876.
• AVE (2D: "And then I hear this voice inside / ___ Maria") "AVE Maria" is a Latin phrase meaning "Hail, Mary." "And then I hear this voice inside / AVE Maria" is from Beyoncé's 2008 song, "AVE Maria."
• BAKERS (5D: Pros on the show "Is It Cake?") Is It Cake? is a competition TV series in which BAKERS create cakes that resemble common objects. The show, which premiered in 2022, was inspired by a social media trend of challenging viewers to determine if objects are real or cake replicas.
• ELENA (25D: "Wonder Woman" actress Anaya) In the 2017 DC Comics movie Wonder Woman, ELENA Anaya portrays Dr. Isabel Maru aka Doctor Poison.
• OATES (42D: Garfunkel and ___ ("Me, You and Steve" duo)) Garfunkel and OATES is the comedic-folk duo of Riki Lindhome (Garfunkel) and Kate Micucci (Oates). The duo's name is derived from "two famous rock-and-roll second bananas," Art Garfunkel and John OATES. "Me, You and Steve" is one of their songs.
• ALOHA (53D: Expression of love in Kailua) Kailua is a community in Honolulu County, Hawaii. Former president Barack Obama's winter White House was located in Kailua. The Hawaiian greeting ALOHA is an expression of love, affection, peace, compassion, and mercy.
• RHINO (56D: Animal whose full name means "nose-horned") There are five species of rhinoceros, two native to Africa, and three native to Asia. RHINOs are large animals that weigh over a ton, with some species weighing over three tons. The name rhinoceros means "nose-horned," a reference to the RHINO's distinctive feature.
• OPE (64D: Surprised Midwestern interjection) OPE, this clue / answer combo made this Midwesterner laugh.

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

• KNOCK KNOCK (18A: First line of some jokes)
• ENOUGH IS ENOUGH (40A: "I can't handle it anymore!")
• NOW YOU KNOW (62A: "...so that's the new info")

DOUBLE NEGATIVE: Each theme answer contains two instances of the word NO: KNOCK KNOCK, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, and NOW YOU KNOW.

This is a fun trio of theme answers. I particularly like the classic, "KNOCK, KNOCK..." I will say that if someone were to start telling me KNOCK KNOCK jokes for hours on end, it might lead me to say, "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!" NOW YOU KNOW. Thank you, Ricky, for this entertaining puzzle.

For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles

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