I’m back in Baltimore – for those wondering where I was last week, I was in Vicksburg, Mississippi at my “home office,” the Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory of the Engineer Research and Development Center. Though I wasn’t there specifically for it, they had their annual “ERDC Under the Lights” drive through holiday display – here’s a picture I took:

It was kind of nice to travel again, though the pandemic procedures made it more stressful than usual, but it is definitely good to be home again, especially with the holidays upon us. So before the hubbub of holiday gatherings and events, let’s take a moment to enjoy a break with Barb’s puzzle this week.

• Title: I Now Pronounce You …
• Grid size: 15×15
• Number of entries: 72
• Difficulty: Medium easy (my solve time 7:03)

The title “I Now Pronounce You …” had me thinking that the themers would all have a word or part of the entry that was pronounced “you.” Once again, I should be careful about making assumptions based on the title. In this case I’m pretty sure the the theme is that there are two sets of “CH” in each entry and they are pronounced differently:

• 20A: [“Jurassic Park” writer]: MICHAEL CRICHTON – The first is pronounced like a K and the second is essentially silent.
• 30A: [Child in the kitchen, for one]: FRENCH CHEF – The first is pronounced CH and the second more like an S. Great deceptive clue, by the way – I pictured a young person in the kitchen and not the famous TV chef.
• 38A: [Ritzy-sounding term for a folding seat]: YACHT CHAIR – The first is silent and the second the traditional CH sound. I have never heard this term used for non-boat related chairs – is it a common term in Canada for regular folding chairs? Let me know in the comments.
• 51A: [Parent volunteer on a field trip, say]: SCHOOL CHAPERONE – The first sounds like K and the second like an S.

I worked almost steadily clockwise from the NW corner. It was a smooth solve and I finished in 5:18 which would have been my third best time on one of Barb’s puzzles. But I got the dreaded “The grid is completely filled – Did you get all the letters correctly?” pop up: I searched in vain for two more minutes, finally dejectedly hitting the “check all letters” button and found  I had “E” where there should have been an “A” at 25D/29A. “Del segno” and “mega” seemed perfectly cromulent (if you ignore the clues), but the correct answers were dal segno (who knew?) and MAGA (yuck).

Canadian content

• 1A: [The majority of non-Quebecois, informally]: ANGLOS – I have heard this term used in Canadian books and TV shows, but don’t think I’ve heard a Quebecer ever say it.
• 11A: [Rocker Randy’s Winnipeg Band]: BTO – I didn’t know until just now that Bachman Turner Overdrive was Canadian.
• 46D: [“Let ______” (song by 11-Across)]: IT RIDE – Canadian band must sing a Canadian song, right?
• 55D: [Where one might 45-Down]: ESSO – I’m old enough to remember when there were Esso stations in the US.

Other stuff:

• 1D: [Alarm clock switch]: AM/PM – I mentally put “radio” in front of the clue and initially had “AM/FM” in there.
• 2D: [____ me tangere (that which must not be touched, as art)]: NOLI – I don’t recall hearing this phrase before, but now I’ve got it in my tool box. Apparently it is also a Spanish novel from 1887 and what Jesus said to Mary Magdalene when she saw him after the Resurrection (not this Resurrection, I presume).
• 15A: [Cherubic archer]: AMOR – Though I didn’t put it in automatically, the first thought was EROS.
• 17A: [River of Omaha, Nebraska]: PLATTE – Many years ago I drove across the US and for a while the highway I was on paralleled the Platte River. In the sun it did indeed shine like silver.
• 23A: [Ignore a piece of Polonius’ advice]: LEND – “Neither a borrower nor a lender be.”
• 25D: [Letters on some “rally caps”]: MAGA – I was trying to think what baseball team would be most associated with rally caps or if there was a cap manufacturer with initials that you would see when the cap was worn inside out. Absolutely the last thing in my mind was [I’m not going to even type out the full phrase]. Excellent clue, though.
• 29A: [___ segno (musical repeat sign)]: DAL – I swear I remember this from my long-past musician days as “del segno,” but I don’t think I saw it written out often (if ever) – usually it was just “D.S.” or this symbol.
• 32D: [Confederate general Robert]: E LEE – Loser.
• 47A: [Set a value on: Abbr.]: ASSD – I assume this is an abbreviation for “assigned” – have not used it myself.
• 48D: [Rockslide rubble]: SCREE – Knew it right off, no idea why – must have learned it in a natural science class at some point and it just stuck with me.

Tip of the week: No matter what you celebrate, or if you don’t celebrate at all – take time to enjoy this time of year, whether it be with family, friends or just by yourself – you deserve some downtime after the last 22 or so months we’ve had.