As you know from the email that delivered this week’s puzzle to you (hopefully it got through your spam filter!), Barb had some technical difficulties so we had to jump through a few hoops to distribute the puzzle. So this blog entry is being posted a little bit later than usual. Hopefully we’ll be back on track next week – in the meantime take care and enjoy the summer.
- Name: Current Affairs
- Grid size: 15×15
- Entries: 74
- Difficulty: Medium Hard (my solve time: 7:36)
A few ideas occurred to me with the title “Current Affairs:” the themers could be related to the news, they could have something to do with electrical or water currents, or maybe romantic trysts. But I missed the mark with all of those guesses – the themers are all common two-word phrases where the first word can be used to indicate something timely, and the second word can have two meanings – the intended meaning in the phrase, and a different meaning when clued punnily:
- 18A: [Most recent temper tantrum?]: LATEST RAGE – The latest rage is something that is currently very popular, fashionable, or trendy. I assume the use of rage in this sense comes from a raging fire; however it can also mean a violent, uncontrollable anger.
- 23A: [Re-recorded song?]: FRESH AIR – Fresh air is something nice to have on a hot day or in a stuffy room. An air is also a synonym for tune or song.
- 33A: [New York paper after a makeover?]: MODERN TIMES – Modern times is the era we’re living in (also a classic Charlie Chaplin movie). If they overhauled the New York Times (I recommend starting with the editorial board) it would hopefully be a modern Times.
- 49A: [Demand from a dissatisfied diner?]: NEW ORDER – The new order is the new regime or way of doing things (also an English rock band). If there’s a fly in the soup, or the server makes a mistake, the diner will want to put in a new order.
- 54A: [Romantic partner, at least until tomorrow?]: TODAYS DATE – Today’s date is 23 July 2025. I guess if you take someone on a date and it doesn’t go well, they may not be who you’re going out with tomorrow.
Right about middle difficulty for me, with a few head scratchers (16A, 21A, 52A, 60A) but no real snags. Had CPAs in 1A for too long, but eventually got it..
Canadian content:
- 10D: [10-time Juno winner Lavigne]: AVRIL – Avril Lavigne was born in Belleville, Ontario. She won Junos in 2003 (4), 2005 (3), 2019 (1), 2020 (1), and 2023 (1).
- 25A: [Former “Dragon” Dickenson]: ARLENE – Arlene Dickinson was born in South Africa, but is a top Canadian business leader known for her role as a venture capitalist on the CBC show “Dragons’ Den.”
- 27A: [Tegan and Sara, for one]: DUO – Tegan and Sara Quinn formed their duo in 1998 in Calgary.
- 41A: [Mil. stn. in Kingston, e.g.]: CFB– Canadian Forces Base Kingston is located in Ontario and hosts over 20 units and formations, including the Royal Military College of Canada.
- 57A: [The West Coast Trail, to a novice hiker]: TREK – The West Coast Trail runs along the south coast of Vancouver Island and is “an iconic backcountry, multi-day backpacking trail that is a challenge for even the most experienced hikers.”
Other stuff:
- 5A: [Board equipped with a palette]: OUIJA – Fun fact: the Ouija Board was invented in Baltimore and the inventor is buried in Greenmount Cemetery with a headstone that has a Ouija board on it.
- 5D: [Oz prop]: OIL CAN – First of a four-entry mini Oz theme with 17A, 52D, and 61A – “Oz” is slang for Australia. With. that in mind, this week’s quote is in memory of Ozzy Osbourne.
- 21A: [Apices]: ACMES – This one had me scratching my head for a while – now I know that apices is the plural of apex.
- 60A: [Maneuverable at sea]: YARE – A head scratcher even for this solver who has spent 4 decades in the maritime world.
- 61A: [Australia’s ___ Rock]: AYERS – Now known as Uluru, it’s located in Australia’s Northern Territory, west of the Simpson Desert about 335kms southwest of Alice Springs (as the crow flies) and 463kms by road.
Quote of the week:
“You gotta be really careful what you bite off. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. It’s a dangerous world.”
– Ozzy Osbourne