Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Peak Performance

There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Peak Performance

Constructor: Aidan Deshong

Editor: Jared Goudsmit

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

• TUNA (36A: Mojama fish) Mojama is a dish of salt-cured TUNA fillets. Extremely thin slices of the TUNA are served with olive oil and chopped tomatoes or almonds. Mojama is part of Mediterranean cuisine, and originated in Spain, Italy, and Portugal.
• LAME (40A: Oscar-winning film editor Jennifer) Film Editor Jennifer LAME won an Academy Award (aka Oscar) for Best Film Editing for her work on the 2023 movie Oppenheimer. Other films she has worked on include Marriage Story (2019) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022).
• LAMB (41A: Meat in Qabeli palaw) Qabeli palaw is a national dish of Afghanistan. It consists of rice, caramelized carrots, raisins, and LAMB, and is often garnished with almonds and pistachios.
• IRA (49A: Actor/playwright Aldridge) IRA Aldridge (1807-1867) was an actor and playwright. Although born in New York City, he emigrated to Europe in 1824 to seek professional opportunities that did not exist for Black actors in the United States. He became known in England for his portrayal of Shakespearean characters. There is a plaque honoring IRA Aldridge at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.
• STEPH (4D: "I'm Not Well" comedian Tolev) I'm Not Well is a 2019 comedy album by STEPH Tolev. The album was nominated for a Juno Award for Comedy Album of the Year (an honor awarded for best Canadian comedy album).
• OVAL (56D: Tlacoyo's shape) Tlacoyos are thick OVAL tortillas made of masa. They may be stuffed with cheese, beans, or other ingredients before being fried and toasted. When sold by street vendors in Mexico, they are often cooked to order and topped with salsa.
• ARE (59D: "Who do you think you ___? I am!") "Who do you think you ARE? I am!" is a quote from professional bowler Pete Weber. He said this somewhat nonsensical statement as part of his reaction after winning his fifth U.S. Open, thus surpassing the record set by his father for most U.S. Open wins. You can read more about this "hottest quote in bowling history," and watch a video clip of the moment here.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• MBA (1A: Common MIT Sloan degree) MIT Sloan is officially the Sloan School of Management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. As the business school of MIT, it awards many MBA (Master of Business Administration) degrees.
• BAO (9A: Steamed bun in a Pixar short) BAO is a 2018 Pixar short which preceded Incredibles 2 in theaters. BAO won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. BAO is about a steamed bun that comes to life.
• PSI (25A: "...chi, ___, omega") Back-to-back puzzle appearances for PSI. When we saw PSI in the puzzle yesterday, clued as [Trident-shaped Greek letter], I reminded you that "PSI follows the letter chi, and precedes omega."
• ABBY (26A: ___ Cadabby (Muppet with a rhyming name)) ABBY Cadabby, a magical fairy whose name is a play on the word "Abracadabra," made her Sesame Street debut on August 14, 2006. ABBY is the four-year-old daughter of the Fairy Godmother, and is a fairy-in-training. Her catchphrase is "That's so magic(al)!"
• NORI (35A: Uramaki seaweed) Uramaki is a cylindrical style of sushi. Two or more fillings are wrapped in NORI, and the roll has a layer of rice on the outside. "Uramaki" means "inside out" or "reverse roll" in Japanese, and the sushi is named because the NORI is inside of the rice.
• SARAH (37A: Activist Chadwick) In 2018, SARAH Chadwick was a junior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida when a former student shot and killed 17 students and staff and injured 17 others. Following the shooting, SARAH Chadwick, along with fellow students, began actively advocating against gun violence. She helped found Never Again MSD, a student-led political action committee for gun control, and was one of the organizers of March for Our Lives. SARAH Chadwick graduated from Syracuse University in 2023, and is currently the Program Coordinator at Equine-Assisted Therapies of South Florida.
• ACTED (43A: Performed in "& Juliet") & Juliet is a jukebox musical featuring the music of Max Martin (a Swedish songwriter). Songs in & Juliet include "Oops!...I Did it Again," "Since U Been Gone," and "Can't Stop the Feeling!" as well as many other popular numbers. The musical imagines what might happen if Juliet did not die at the end of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The musical opened in London in 2019 and Broadway in 2022. This clue and answer pair is a nice bonus to the theme. My husband and I have tickets to see a touring production of & Juliet next year, and I am really looking forward to it.
• ELF (67A: Toymaker such as Buddy) Buddy, portrayed by Will Ferrell, is the titular character in the 2003 Christmas movie, ELF.
• PAN (5D: Attracted to people of all genders, for short) PAN, here, is short for pansexual, and refers to someone whose romantic, sexual, or emotional attraction to others is not determined by a person's gender.
• SLAM DUNK CONTEST (7D: Annual NBA competition) The NBA holds its SLAM DUNK CONTEST during the NBA All-Star Weekend. The contest is exactly what it sounds like. In 2023 and 2024 the SLAM DUNK CONTEST has been won by Mac McClung.
• PLAY IT BY EAR (17D: Improvise) PLAY IT BY EAR is a phrase my dad used to say, often accompanying it with a little tug on his EAR. I had a nice little walk down memory lane seeing it in the puzzle today.
• BORAT (27D: "___ Subsequent Moviefilm" (2020 mockumentary)) BORAT Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan is a 2020 mockumentary created by Sacha Baron Cohen. The movie is a sequel to the 2006 movie BORAT! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. Both movies feature Sacha Baron Cohen's fictional character BORAT Sagdiyev, a Kazakh journalist and TV personality.
• ACRE (43D: "One chain by one furlong" land measure) The ACRE is a unit of land area. The traditional definition of an ACRE is one chain (equal to 66 feet) by one furlong (660 feet). So another way to define an ACRE is 66 feet by 660 feet.
• LIN (60D: "A Fold in the Field" artist Maya) Maya LIN is an architect, designer, and sculptor. She designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Civil Rights Memorial. "A Fold in the Field" is an outdoor sculpture of earthworks (human-made constructions that modify the contour of the land). It is part of a private collection within a sculpture park in New Zealand.

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

• SLAM DUNK CONTEST (7D: Annual NBA competition)
• MUSICAL CHAIRS (15D: Party game with seats)
• PLAY IT BY EAR (17D: Improvise)

At the PEAK of each vertical theme answer is a type of PERFORMANCE: SLAM, MUSICAL, and PLAY.

I really like the idea of lifting up (see what I did there...) poetry SLAMs, MUSICALs, and PLAYs, and this theme does that in a stellar manner. The grid is interesting today. It has top-bottom mirror symmetry, which means it is symmetrical along an axis running across the center row of the puzzle. Thank you, Aidan, for this enjoyable puzzle.

For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles

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