Benjamin Ashford|Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Three Bags Full

There are Benjamin Ashfordspoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Three Bags Full

Constructor: Larry Snyder

Editor: Jared Goudsmit

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

• AURA (15A: "How many ___ points did I lose?") Today I learned that "AURA points" is the new scale for evaluating how cool a person is. It's a social media trend for users to refer to their AURA points, and comment that they've gained or lost points due to particular actions. A decade ago, this system was referred to as "cool points," but apparently that term is no longer cool. Then again, the articles I found describing AURA points were mostly from July of this year, so it's possible the next coolness-evaluating term is already on its way.
• EAT (43A: Have some seswaa) Seswaa is a traditional dish in Botswana, which is sometimes considered the country's national dish. In southern Botswana and western South Africa, the dish is called loswao. Seswaa is a slow-cooked meat stew, made with beef, goat, or lamb.
• REFS (73A: Floorball officials) Floorball is a type of indoor hockey played using lightweight sticks and a special plastic ball that has holes (similar to a wiffle ball) and a dimpled surface (to reduce air resistance and friction). Although I wasn't familiar with the sport of floorball, the answer here was fairly inferable. Add floorball to the list of sports things I've learned about from crosswords.
• HANOI (9D: Capital home to Long Bien Market) HANOI is the capital of Vietnam. The city has had various names throughout its history, the first of which was Long Biên ("dragons interweaving"). Although the city has been known as HANOI since 1831, there is still a district in the city known as Long Biên, which is home to the Long Biên Market.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• MYTH (6A: The tale of Echo and Narcissus, e.g.) The story of Echo and Narcissus is a Greek MYTH. The story is found in Metamorphoses, an epic poem by Ovid. According to the MYTH, Echo was a nymph destined by a curse to only speak when repeating the words of others. Echo fell in love with a young man named Narcissus, who rejected her since he was incapable of loving anyone but himself. One day Narcissus saw his own reflection in a pool of water, and fell in love with it. Unable to take his eyes off of his image, Narcissus died beside the pool.
• ALAN (19A: "Spy Kids" actor Cumming) The 2001 movie Spy Kids, is the first film in the Spy Kids franchise. The movie revolves around the Cortez family. The parents are spies, a fact which is unknown to their two children until the parents are in danger and the kids must come to their rescue. ALAN Cumming portrays TV host Fegan Floop in the movie.
• EURO (29A: It replaced the French franc) The French franc was replaced with the EURO in 2002, when France became one of the 20 member states of the European Union that use the EURO as their currency.
• TOMATO PASTE (38A: Umami-rich ingredient in a pantry)  Umami – which has been described as a savory taste – is one of the five basic tastes, along with sour, sweet, salty, and bitter. Umami-rich foods include TOMATOes, mushrooms, cheese, and soy sauce.
• DES (42A: ___ Moines Latino Film Festival) The DES Moines Latino Film Festival is a celebration of Latino culture held in DES Moines, the capital of Iowa. The next DES Moines Latino Film Festival will be April 15-18, 2025.
• SACK (44A: Hacky ___) Also known as a footbag, the Hacky SACK is a small, round bag filled with plastic pellets (or sometimes sand). The goal of playing with a Hacky SACK is to keep the bag in the air, by kicking it with your feet. This can be attempted individually, in a pair, or with a group of players in a circle. Although footbag games have been around for many years; the Hacky SACK brand of the ball was first produced in 1972. Hacky SACK became popular in the '80s and '90s.
• AUSTEN (57A: "Emma" author Jane) Jane AUSTEN's novel, Emma, was originally published in 1815. The title character is introduced in the novel's first sentence, "Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her." What isn't mentioned in the first sentence is Emma's propensity toward matchmaking and meddling in the lives of others. Like many of Jane AUSTEN's works, Emma has been adapted multiple times. 
• TOTAL ECLIPSE (59A: Celestial event that occurred on April 8, 2024) A TOTAL ECLIPSE occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun and fully obscures the Sun. Although a TOTAL ECLIPSE occurs approximately every 18 months, it is only able to be viewed from certain places on Earth each time, referred to as the path of totality. For the April 8, 2024 TOTAL ECLIPSE, my husband and I happened to be on a road trip, and were able to position ourselves in the path of totality in Cleveland, Ohio. If you live in the United States, you can look at the list of partial and TOTAL ECLIPSE dates in your state on Wikipedia. The next TOTAL ECLIPSE visible from Iowa will be September 14, 2099. Looks like I'll need to plan to travel if I want to witness another TOTAL ECLIPSE in my lifetime.
• ERA (2D: The Cenozoic, e.g.) The Cenozoic ERA is the Earth's current geological ERA. The Cenozoic ERA, also known as the Age of Mammals, is considered to have begun about 66 million years ago.
• LYCHEE (5D: Fruit in the soapberry family) The soapberry family includes LYCHEE, horse chestnut, buckeye, and maple trees. LYCHEE fruit are green when immature and pink-red when ripe. They have a thin, tough skin covered with small, sharp bumps. 
• OBOES (31D: Woodwinds "d'amore") The OBOE d'amore is a specific instrument in the OBOE family. Slightly larger than an OBOE, an OBOE d'amore has a mezzo-soprano sound.
• EAST (41D: Kazakhstan-to-Mongolia direction) Kazakhstan is a landlocked country that is mostly in Central Asia, but partly in Eastern Europe. Mongolia is also a landlocked country, located in East Asia. Both of these countries are bordered by Russia and China. (Kazakhstan is also bordered by Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan.) Mongolia lies EAST of Kazakhstan, and although the two countries do not share a border, the easternmost point of Kazakhstan and westernmost point of Mongolia are less than 25 miles apart. We might as well review some world capitals while we're talking about these countries. The capital of Kazakhstan is Astana, and the capital of Mongolia is Ulaanbaatar.
• ATTACH (47D: Include, like a Word doc) For me, this clue needs to be amended slightly to [(Hopefully remember to) include, like a Word doc].
• MR. T (67D: "The A-Team" actor) The A-Team is a TV series that originally aired from 1983-1987. The titular team was composed of former members of a fictitious U.S. Army Special Forces unit that had been court-martialed for a crime they hadn't committed. After escaping from prison, the group tries to clear their name, while working as soldiers of fortune. MR. T portrays Sergeant First Class Bosco "B.A." Baracus. (B.A. stands for "Bad Attitude.")

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

• THANK YOU NOTE (20A: Written token of appreciation)
• TOMATO PASTE (38A: Umami-rich ingredient in a pantry)
• TOTAL ECLIPSE (59A: Celestial event that occurred on April 8, 2024)

THREE BAGS FULL: The letters of the word TOTE appear on the ends of the THREE theme answers, such that each TOTE (i.e. BAG) is FULL of the theme answer: THANK YOU NOTE, TOMATO PASTE, and TOTAL ECLIPSE.

Understanding today's theme required realizing that a TOTE is a BAG. I appreciate the nice "Aha!" moment provided when there's an extra step like this needed to discover the theme. We have each possible split of TOTE represented here: T/OTE, TO/TE, TOT/E. Thank you, Larry, for this enjoyable puzzle.

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