Sally breaks down USA TODAY’s daily crossword, Fudge RIP-ple (Freestyle)

There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today’s puzzle before reading further! Fudge RIP-ple (Freestyle)

Constructor: Matthew Stock

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• HBO (10A: “The Last of Us” network) The Last of Us is a TV series based on a video game of the same name. The show is set in a post-apocalyptic United States. Joel (Pedro Pascal) is a smuggler tasked with escorting the teenager Ellie (Bella Ramsey) across the country. The Last of Us premiered on HBO in 2023, and the second season, which is set five years after the first, is scheduled to start in April of this year.

• WELSH (11A: Pembroke ___ corgi) The Pembroke WELSH corgi is one of two breeds of WELSH corgi; the other is the Cardigan WELSH corgi. The Pembroke WELSH corgi is the more well-known of the two breeds, because Queen Elizabeth II owned many of them during her lifetime. The Pembroke WELSH corgi originated in Pembrokeshire, Wales.

• RAMEN (20A: Soup with a tonkotsu variety) Tonkotsu RAMEN is a type of RAMEN made by boiling pork bones (for up to 18 hours) until a creamy, rich broth is attained.

• FLAVOR GRAVEYARD (21A: “Resting place” for discontinued Ben & Jerry’s offerings) Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield have been friends since childhood, and they’ve been making ice cream together since 1978. Ben & Jerry’s is known for its delicious, and often creatively named, ice cream FLAVORs. They make Cherry Garcia, Oat of this World, and Chunky Monkey, just to name a few. The company honors its discontinued flavors in the FLAVOR GRAVEYARD, a place to honor the “dearly de-pinted.” You can visit the digital FLAVOR GRAVEYARD and pay respects to (currently) 35 discontinued Ben & Jerry’s flavors. If you’re in the area, you can also visit the physical FLAVOR GRAVEYARD at the Ben & Jerry’s Factory in Waterbury, Vermont. There you can pay respects to Vermonty Python (2006-2008), whose tombstone reads, “right, then … is it dead or isn’t it? / no it isn’t… / yes it is… / no it isn’t… / rubbish! you’re a loony! / no i’m not…” Or perhaps you’d like to leave some flowers for Peanut Butter and Jelly (1989-1990): “An unbeatable duo! / Yet somehow it managed / To flop in a cone, / So we stuck to the sammich.”

• ODE (24A: “___ to Joyful” (track on Jon Batiste’s “Beethoven Blues”) I recently wrote about Jon Batiste’s 2024 album, Beethoven Blues, when it was mentioned in the January 21 puzzle (also constructed by Matthew Stock). “ODE to Joyful” is Jon Batiste’s interpretation of Beethoven’s “ODE to Joy.” It’s worth a listen.

• OREO (61A: Cookie commonly twisted before being eaten) This is a fun clue. It makes me want to go buy some OREOs just so I can twist them apart … and then eat them. Or perhaps I’ll crumble them and sprinkle them atop a couple of scoops of Ben & Jerry’s.

• MEOW (65A: Response to “who’s the sweetest kitty in the whole wide world?”) Currently my cat, Willow, says “No comment,” instead of “MEOW.” She’s too busy being adorable.

• ALOO GOBI (5D: Cauliflower potato curry dish) ALOO is a South Asian term for potatoes. GOBI is the term for cauliflower. Put them together and you have the cauliflower potato curry dish, ALOO GOBI.

• WACO (11D: Texas city in which Dr Pepper was created) WACO, Texas is located along the Brazos River, approximately halfway between the cities of Dallas and Austin. It is also, as the clue informs us, where Dr Pepper was created. That happened in the 1880s. The carbonated soft drink was created by a pharmacist named Charles Alderton. Dr Pepper was nationally marketed in the U.S. in 1904, and is now sold worldwide.

• HALAL (12D: Islamic equivalent of “kosher”) Food deemed kosher adheres to a set of Jewish dietary laws. Similarly, food that is HALAL follows Islamic dietary laws.

• RHO (22D: Letter between pi and sigma) Time for some Greek alphabet review. RHO is the 17th letter of the 14-letter Greek alphabet. Beginning with pi (which precedes RHO), we have pi, RHO, sigma, tau, upsilon, phi, chi, psi, and omega.

• NBA TEAM (42D: The Dallas Mavericks, for example) The Dallas Mavericks played their inaugural season as an NBA TEAM in 1980-81. Since then they have won one NBA championship, in 2011.

• ARTPOP (45D: 2013 Lady Gaga album) ARTPOP is Lady Gaga’s third studio album. Lady Gaga’s eighth studio album, Mayhem, will be released on March 7.

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

FUDGE RIP-PLE (Freestyle): There’s no theme today since this is a freestyle, or themeless puzzle. The title is a nod to FLAVOR GRAVEYARD (21A: “Resting place” for discontinued Ben & Jerry’s offerings).

I’m tempted to say about this puzzle, “I’VE SEEN WORSE” [18D: “It’s not so bad”]. All kidding aside, this is a lovely puzzle. I especially like the grid-spanning entry that the title is hinting at, FLAVOR GRAVEYARD. Thank you, Matthew, for this excellent puzzle. (Now I’m off to eat some ice cream.)

For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Crossword Blog & Answers for February 2, 2025 by Sally Hoelscher