Hi all.
Jeffrey here.
“It’s All in Your Head” is this week’s puzzle title and we have a rare “quote puzzle” sighting. A quote puzzle is just that, where instead of related theme answers a quote is revealed across several answers in the grid. A lot of people don’t like quote puzzles, as they can be hard to solve if you don’t know the crossings, but I think they depend on the quote. Oddly, I did have a crossing problem, but it wasn’t part of the quote. More on that below. They are harder to construct than most people realize; you need a quote that breaks symmetrically, and you have no choice in the order of the “theme” answers.
[Quote for “visionary” thinkers] – THE FUTURE IS SHAPED BY YOUR DREAMS, SO STOP WASTING TIME AND GO TO SLEEP.
Canadian content:
7d [Canadian harpist McKennitt] – LOREENA. She is playing an accordion, not a harp in the linked song.
8d [Summer fair in T.O.] – CNE. The Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto, Ontario.
10d [Poet Lau or novelist Waugh] – EVELYN. Evelyn Lau is from Vancouver, home of the PNE.
54d [The “G” of “GST”: Abbr.] – GDS. Goods and Services Tax. A 5% federal sales tax. Some provinces add on their portion and the combined amount is called the HST – Harmonized Sales Tax.
Tip of the Week:
When you have a crossing of two unfamiliar items, “run” the alphabet to reduce your choices to letters that make sense. I was stuck at 9a [Spanish city famed for its sherry] – JERE(?) and 13d [ ___ cards (ESP testers named for their creator) – (?) ENER. “S” seemed to make sense. Nope, it was a “Z”. So the tip is always run the alphabet all the way.
Bonus Tip of the Week:
The 43rd American Crossword Puzzle Tournament is being held virtually on April 23-25 so here’s you chance to compete and maybe beat me for a so-called Foreign Division prize! Details at acptonline.com
I will now follow the puzzle’s advice and go to bed. See you next week!