OMG it’s the last day of November – where did the year go?!

• Name: Chem, Math and English
• Grid size: 15×15
• Number of entries: 76
• Difficulty: Hard (my solve time: 9:12)

An unusual title, and not 100% sure how it relates to the theme – I get the Chem and English part, but not Math. In any event, the theme is pretty clever – for each themer the first two letters are the chemical symbol for the element mentioned in the clue, then the rest of the entry is a word that together make another word, and the clue ties them together. It will make more sense in the explanations below:

• 17A: [Gold seasonings]: AUSPICES – AU is the symbol for gold; SPICES are seasonings, and AUSPICES is its own word. See how this works? Very clever…
• 22A: [Sodium smell]: NASCENT – NA = Sodium; SCENT = Smell;  NASCENT is something just coming into existence.
• 33A: [Copper evaluating]: CURATING – CU = Copper; RATING = evaluating; CURATING is what people at museums do.
• 41A: [Tin allergy symptoms, for some]: SNITCHES – SN = Tin; ITCHES = allergy symptoms; “snitches get stitches.”
• 52A: [Iron product brands]: FELINES – FE= Iron; LINES = product brands; FELINES.
• 60A: [Silver trash]: AGLITTER – AG = Silver; LITTER = trash; Something is AGLITTER if it is sparkling.

This was tougher than usual for me but quite satisfying, especially once I got the gimmick. I knew right off that there was something odd with the themers – I felt I knew part of the answer but not the whole thing. The light came on with 52A; I got both 52D and 53D and saw the first 2 letters were FE, then saw the clue for 52A included IRON – aha! There was some obscurity and oblique cluing, and some of the Canadian content got past me. A worthy challenge.

Canadian content:

• 2D: [“Bud the Spud from the bright ______” (Stompin’ Tom Connors song lyric)]: RED MUD – I really gotta dig into Stompin’ Tom Connors repertoire as he has appeared in here a few times.
• 16A: [Canal skated on in Ottawa]: RIDEAU – I’d really like to someday skate the Rideau Canal. I hear some people commute to work that way.
• 31A: [Prov. known for its 2-Down]: PEI – I thought it was known for its Green Gables. Wait… Red Mud, Green Gables – Red Green!
• 46D: [Summer fair in T.O.]: CNE – Don’t even have to look it up anymore – The Ex.
• 58A: [Skips the dishes without SkipTheDishes]: EATS OUT – It’s called GrubHub in the US. SkipTheDishes is much more appetizing IMHO.
• 66A: [Canucks mascot Fin the Whale, for one]: ORCA – I much prefer this clue to the ones that refer to how (allegedly) vicious the animal is.

Other stuff:

• 1A: [Talks like an ass?]: BRAYS – I loved this because beside the fact that I knew it right off the bat, it made me laugh.
• 6A: [___ hangers (Harley’s high handlebars)]: APE – I wasn’t familiar with this term but I drove past this bar in southern Maryland many years ago and never forgot it.
• 27A: [The “O” in R.E.O. cars]: OLDS – All I can see is OREO.
• 47A: [Suffix with snore, slug or summer]: FEST – Snooze.

Quote of the week:

“To me, science is just formalized curiosity.”
– Chris Hadfield