Benjamin Ashford|Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Floor Plans

There are Benjamin Ashfordspoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Floor Plans

Constructor: Bill Conner

Editor: Jared Goudsmit

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

• ANN (61A: Director Hui) ANN Hui is a critically acclaimed filmmaker from Hong Kong. Her movies are notable for highlighting female perspectives and showing the daily life of women in Hong Kong. Two movies that ANN Hui directed – Summer Snow and A Simple Life – won the Hong Kong Film Awards Grand Slam (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, and Best Actress).
• EEL (7D: Xup luon fish) Xúp lươn, or EEL soup, is a dish in Vietnamese cuisine.
• AIOLI (34D: Sauce similar to mujdei) A major ingredient in both AIOLI and mujdei is garlic. AIOLI is a garlic sauce used in northwestern Mediterranean cuisines. Mujdei is a spicy garlic sauce in Romanian cuisine.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• CAFFE (1A: ___ crema (drink) In some contexts, CAFFÈ crema is used as a synonym for espresso. CAFFÈ crema is the older term, and has generally been replaced by the word espresso. CAFFÈ crema can also refer to a Swiss drink similar to a CAFFÈ americano or a long black.
• SEGA (6A: Sonic Eraser company) Sonic Eraser is a video game in SEGA's Sonic the Hedgehog video game series. It is a falling block puzzle game in which Sonic the Hedgehog must line up identical shapes in order to erase them from the screen.
• AMA (10A: "_sk _e _nything") "Ask Me Anything," or AMA, is a genre of interactive interviews that are especially popular on the social network Reddit.
• ION (29A: Particle such as Li+) An ION is an atom or molecule (a group of two or more atoms) that has a net electrical charge, either positive (+) or negative (-). The example given here is the lithium ION (Li+). Lithium IONs are used in some types of batteries.
• ARES (35A: Hera's war god son) In Greek mythology, ARES is the god of courage and war. He is the son of Hera (goddess of women and Queen of the Gods) and Zeus (god of the sky and thunder and King of the Gods). Solving crosswords is sometimes useful as a way of reviewing mythology.
• GOBI (39A: Desert home to the alleged Mongolian death worm) The GOBI Desert covers parts of northeastern China, and the southern part of Mongolia. Although we often imagine deserts as being hot and sandy, the GOBI is a cold desert, which occasionally receives snow. The Mongolian death worm is a cryptid, an animal that some people believe to exist, but whose existence has not been proven. (The yeti and the Loch Ness monster are other examples of cryptids.) The Mongolian death worm is said to live underground in the GOBI Desert, rarely surfacing. The worm is said to be able to kill prey (animals and humans) by spraying venom or emitting blasts of electricity.
• TORI (40A: Singer Kelly) TORI Kelly is a Grammy Award-winning singer. In 2019, she won two Grammy Awards: Best Gospel Album for Hiding Place and Best Gospel Performance/Song for "Never Alone." Her most recent album, TORI, was released in April of this year.
• TEN (43A: One squared plus three squared) and FOUR (3D: Smallest composite number) I thought this was a word puzzle, not a math puzzle! Just kidding; I actually enjoy math, and it was fun to see this pair of math clues. Let's break them down. A square is a number times itself. One squared (1x1) equals one. Three squared (3x3) equals nine. One plus nine equals TEN. A composite number is any number that can be formed by multiplying two smaller positive numbers. If a number can only be formed by multiplying one and itself, it's a prime number. The smallest composite number is FOUR, since it can be formed by multiplying two times two. (Two and three are prime numbers. The number one is a special case, and is not considered a prime number or a composite number.)
• ALA (44A: Gulf Shores' state (Abbr.)) Gulf Shores, Alabama (ALA.) is a resort city located on the Gulf of Mexico. Gulf Shores is the southernmost city in Alabama. The motto of Gulf Shores is "Small Town, Big Beach."
• TAROT (62A: Deck with a suit of wands) A TAROT deck is the most commonly used deck for cartomancy (fortune-telling using a deck of cards). A TAROT deck traditionally contains 78 cards, which are divided into the Major Arcana (22 cards without suits), and the Minor Arcana (56 cards in four suits – batons, coins, cups, and swords). The suit of batons is often called wands, rods, or staves.
• AMINO (63A: Essential ___ acids) Earlier this month, I discussed AMINO acids, noting that of the 500 AMINO acids that exist in nature, only 22 of those are incorporated into proteins as directed by the genetic code of organisms. Interestingly, 21 of those 22 AMINO acids are common to all life forms. Some AMINO acids are synthesized by organisms, and others must be obtained from the diet. Essential AMINO acids are those that cannot be synthesized from scratch, at least not at the rate they are needed. For humans. nine AMINO acids are considered essential. That is, they must be obtained from the diet.
• ANSEL (9D: Photographer / conservationist Adams) I have previously written about ANSEL Adams (1902-1984). ANSEL Adams is known for his black-and-white photography, especially his landscape photos, many of which were taken in U.S. National Parks.
• AMOS (10D: "Famous" cookie maker Wally) Wally AMOS founded the Famous AMOS brand of cookies in 1975. Prior to founding his "Famous" cookie company, Wally Amos worked as a talent agent. He would send his home-baked chocolate chip cookies to prospective clients as an enticement to meet. The original Famous AMOS Cookie Company in Los Angeles, California, was started with $25,000 from singers Marvin Gaye and Helen Reddy.
• DON (20D: "House of Lies" actor Cheadle) House of Lies (2012-2016) is a TV series based on Martin Kihn's book, House of Lies: How Management Consultants Steal Your Watch and Then Tell You the Time. DON Cheadle portrays, Marty Kaan, the immoral and deceitful owner of the consulting firm Kaan & Associates. DON Cheadle won a Golden Globe Award and an NAACP Image Award for this role.
• RBI (45D: Albert Pujols stat) I am fond of saying that "(almost) everything I know about sports I learned from crosswords." Albert Pujols is an exception. I learned about Albert Pujols from my dad, who was a big Albert Pujols fan (and even got him to sign his hat once). Albert Pujols is a former MLB (Major League Baseball) player (2001-2022) who started and ended his MLB career with the St. Louis Cardinals. He currently ranks second in career RBIs (runs batted in), with 2,218. Only Hank Aaron had more career RBIs, with 2,297.
• THETA (47D: Letter between eta and iota) Time for some Greek alphabet review. Let's start at the beginning of the alphabet today and go through iota. Alpha, beta, gamma, delta, epsilon, zeta, eta, THETA, iota.
• ANT (53D: "Pavement" insect) Pavement ANT is the common name of a genus of ANT that includes over 520 species. These ANTs earned their name because many of them make their nests under pavement.
• EROS (56D: Greek counterpart of Cupid) In Greco-Roman mythology, Cupid is the god of desire, erotic love, attraction, and affection. EROS is Cupid's Greek equivalent.

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

• FUNNY BUSINESS (4D: Shenanigans)
• SWING INTO ACTION (6D: Quickly get started)
• TALK A GOOD GAME (18D: Speak convincingly (though perhaps not truthfully))

FLOOR PLANS: The bottom word (i.e. the FLOOR) of each vertical theme answer can be paired with the word PLANS to form a new phrase: BUSINESS PLANS, ACTION PLANS, and GAME PLANS.

The word FLOOR in today's title is a hint to look at the lower part of the grid to find the theme. Indeed, that is where the PLANS are found today. Congratulations to Bill Conner, making a USA Today crossword debut! Thank you, Bill, for this enjoyable puzzle.

For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles

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