Hi all.
Jeffrey here.
“Hiding in the Dark” is this week’s puzzle title and it is a little different from what we usually see. There’s a hint at what is going on at 66a [Card game represented by six squares in this puzzle] – BLACK JACK. So “the Dark” is actually black squares which are “hiding” a JACK, before, after or even in the centre of the answers.
For example, in 9a [Dive with a mid-air toe touch] – [JACK] KNIFE, the black square to the left of KNIFE is hiding a JACK.
17a [Landline or modern plug-in] – TELEPHONE [JACK].
24a [Versatile worker] – [JACK] OF ALL TRADES.
39a/43a [“Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate” speaker] – CAPTAIN [JACK] SPARROW. The JACK is hiding in the middle – very clever!
54a [Video game series of pop culture trivia] – YOU DON’T KNOW [JACK].
71a. [British red-white-and-blue] – UNION [JACK].

Canadian content:
60a [Toronto rockers in a hurry?] – RUSH.
68a [Negative survey option in Quebec] – NON/NO.
7d [CBC newsman Hanomansing] – IAN.
27d [Big do in Montreal, 1967] – EXPO. Some of my earliest memories are of the summer my family spent at EXPO ’67. I recall a video phone being demonstrated. Can you imagine, seeing the people you are talking to? The first ZOOM.
39d [Folksy foursome at Woodstock, for short] – CSNY. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. We see a lot of Neil Young in these puzzles.
42d [Ontario’s Nipissing University city] – NORTH BAY.

Tip of the Week:
If an answer doesn’t seem to fit in the squares provided, perhaps something unusual is going on. Expect the unexpected!
See you next week!