Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, 4G

There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! 4G

Constructor: Max Schlenker

Editor: Jared Goudsmit

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

• SNO (24A: ___-La (icy dessert spot in New Orleans)) According to their website, SNO-La is the "home of the Original Cheescake Stuffed SNOball." A SNOball is a treat of finely shaved ice sweetened with different flavor options. Not to be confused with snow cones that have hard crunchy ice, the ice in SNOballs is finely shaved. SNO-La offers a variety of flavors, as well as the option of having a SNOball made in one of their souvenir glass mason jars.
• NEPALI (25A: Language with Sanskrit influences) Sanskrit is a classical language that arose in South Asia. It is the sacred language of Hinduism, as well as the language of historical texts of Buddhism and Jainism. Sanskrit had a lasting influence on many of the languages of South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia, including NEPALI, a language native to the Himalayas region of South Asia.
• GIGI GORGEOUS (56A: YouTuber/model/trans rights activist in the documentary "This Is Everything") GIGI GORGEOUS began posting makeup tutorials on YouTube in 2008. In 2013, she came out as a transgender woman, and throughout 2014 she documented her gender transition on social media. She is the subject of the 2017 documentary This Is Everything: GIGI GORGEOUS, which was directed by Barbara Kopple. She won a Critics' Choice Award for Most Compelling Living Subject of a Documentary.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• APPS (1A: Flo and Fruit Ninja) Flo is a health APP that tracks menstruation cycles and ovulation. Fruit Ninja is a game APP in which a player uses their finger to slice fruit that appears on the screen.
• ABBA (5A: "Dancing Queen") Thanks for the earworm, puzzle! ABBA released "Dancing Queen" in 1976. "You can dance, you can jive / Having the time of your life..." This reminds me that on our recent trip to Scotland, the hotel room my husband and I stayed at in Glasgow had a record player in the room. The album propped on the record player when we got there was ABBA's Greatest Hits Vol. 2. How did they know I was a crossword constructor?

• SLAV (15A: Serb or Ukrainian) SLAVs are a group of people who speak any of the SLAVic languages: Russian, Belarusian, Ukranian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbo-Croatian, and Slovene. The SLAVic people are the largest ethnographic-linguistic group in Europe.
• MAORI (16A: Indigenous New Zealanders) The MĀORI are the indigenous Polynesian people whose ancestors migrated to the country now known as New Zealand in the 1300s.
• ODE (43A: "___ to Black Skin" (Ashanti Anderson poem)) You can read Ashanti Anderson's poem, "ODE to Black Skin" on the Poetry Foundation website. You can also listen to the poem read by the author.
• AVATAR (48A: Incarnation of Shiva) When the word AVATAR was first used in the English language in the late 18th century, it was used to refer to the incarnation of a deity in Earthly form. For example, an AVATAR might be an incarnation of Shiva, one of the principal deities of Hinduism. Now the word AVATAR also refers to an electronic image that represents a player in a video game.
• STY (55A: Home for Charlotte and Wilbur, in "Charlotte's Web") This is a fun way to clue the word STY. E. B. White's 1952 book, Charlotte's Web, is a children's literature classic that has been adapted to stage, screen, and video game. Wilbur is a pig – who lives in a STY. Charlotte is the spider who befriends him and ultimately saves his life.
• AKA (67A: Kayleigh Rose Amstutz ___ Chappell Roan) Chappell Roan is the professional name of singer and songwriter Kayleigh Rose Amstutz. If you're a regular solver of the USA TODAY puzzle and/or a regular reader of this column, you know we've seen a number of Chappell Roan (AKA Kayleigh Rose Amstutz) references in the puzzle over the last several months. We saw CHAPPELL ROAN as an answer on September 21.
• ARAB (1D: Palestinian, e.g.) ARAB is a cultural and linguistic term used to refer to those who speak Arabic as their first language. Many ARABs live in West Asia and North Africa, although there are ARABs living in many parts of the world.
• BOLT (11D: Suddenly run off, or an Olympic runner) The Olympic runner referred to here is the aptly named Usain BOLT, a retired Jamaican sprinter and eight-time Olympic gold medalist. He is widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time. This is one of two clues in this puzzle with a two-part clue that includes a definitional part and a person.
• RIM (13D: Place for Tajin on a margarita glass) Tajín is a seasoning consisting mainly of chili peppers, lime, and salt. It is sold by a Mexican company founded in 1985. Tajín can be used on the RIM of a margarita glass instead of salt.
• AIN'T (28D: "___ I a Woman?") "AIN'T I a Woman?" is a line credited to abolitionist and women's rights activist Sojourner Truth (1797-1883), although she most likely didn't say it. In 1851, Sojourner Truth delivered a speech at the Women's Convention in Akron, Ohio. The phrase, "Ain't I a woman?" appeared in a transcript of the speech that was published 12 years after she spoke, but does not appear in a transcript of the speech published just a month after the convention.
• DAISY (37D: Nintendo princess, or a flower) Here's the second two-part clue that has a definitional part and a reference to a person. In this instance, the person is fictional. Princess DAISY is a character in the Mario video game franchise.
• AGAVE (50D: Blue ___ (tequila need)) AGAVE are spiky-leaved succulents that grow in the hot and arid regions of the Americas and the Caribbean. The sap of the AGAVE plant is fermented to make an alcoholic beverage called pulque, which is distilled to produce the spirit, mezcal. Tequila is mezcal made from a variety of the plant known as blue AGAVE. (All tequila is mezcal, but not all mezcal is tequila.)
• STEM (59D: Nashi pear part) A nashi pear is a variety also known as Asian pear, apple pear, and three-halves pear. No matter what you call it, this fruit has a STEM.
• A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
  • ROARED (35A: Went "HAHAHA!")
  • PLEA (27D: "Help me out!," e.g.)
  • TMI (63D: "Sharing is not caring!")

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

• BRAGGING RIGHTS (20A: Privilege that winners earn)
• GOO GOO GA GA (39A: Baby talk words)
• GIGI GORGEOUS (56A: YouTuber/model/trans rights activist in the documentary "This Is Everything")

4G: Each theme answer contains four occurrences of the letter G: BRAGGING RIGHTS, GOO GOO GA GA, and GIGI GORGEOUS.

After seeing the title of 4G, I made a guess about what the theme might be (as I usually do). After filling in BRAGGING RIGHTS, it was satisfying to count up the Gs, and see that I was correct (and had earned BRAGGING RIGHTS). Thank you, Max, for this enjoyable puzzle.

For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles

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