Greetings everyone and happy National App Day! I hope you all got fresh updates for your favorite apps. It’s a busy month, made even more so by the shortest time between US Thanksgiving and Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Solstice/ [your midwinter observance here]. Those celebrations are hurtling toward us, and some of us also have lots of work stuff happening, so let’s get to this weeks puzzle before we don’t have time for it.
- Name: Lost Letters
- Grid size: 15×15
- Entries: 74
- Difficulty: Very Hard (my solve time: 9:26)
“Lost Letters” sounds like a reference to postal items that went missing for decades, or signs missing characters, or crossword entries in which certain letters have been dropped from a phrase, and the resulting phrase is clued punnily. In this weeks puzzle, it’s the latter, and the themers are common phrases where the final two letters are CH, which have been dropped, and hilarity ensues:
- 17A: [Solution to a shortage of yoga equipment?]: THREE ON A MAT – I have trouble staying on my own mat when doing yoga solo (or I would, if I did yoga) so adding two more yoga-ers would be a bit crowded. Three on a match is a phrase I remember hearing as a child and had no idea what it meant until I looked it up. It’s a superstition that if one match was used to light three cigarettes, misfortune would befall the third smoker. It actually makes sense in the wartime setting where it supposedly originated – having a match lit for that long would allow a sniper watching the position of the smokers enough time to observe them, take aim, and shoot at the light.
- 23A: [Lion, compared to a Persian and tabby?]: DEADLIEST CAT – We have a tabby and Persians seem pretty docile, especially compared to lions. Deadliest Catch is a reality TV show set on Alaskan crab fishing boats – and believe it or not, I have never seen it, even though I spent two years patrolling fisheries in Alaska. I guess experiencing it in person and watching this video (which I think I still have on VHS) was enough for me.
- 33A: [Getting poked while groping in a sewing kit?]: FEELING THE PIN – I have had that experience, even though I try to keep my pins in a cushion, or piece of cork, or something to protect my fingers (and keep the pins from disappearing). You’re feeling the pinch if you don’t have enough money to pay your bills.
- 46A: [Be a quicker quipper?]: BEAT TO THE PUN – I admire people who can come up with a quick quip – I always find myself coming up with something an hour or two later. Similarly, if someone captures a prize, or get somewhere before you, they beat you to the punch.
- 54A: [Updo named for a 70’s sitcom?]: THE BRADY BUN – While I have grown my hair long-ish, and sometimes put it in a ponytail, I don’t think I’d ever do a man-bun. Those of us of a certain age (and maybe even those younger, due to reruns and streaming) had our early years influenced by “The Brady Bunch.” Sure, Jan.
I liked the challenge of this puzzle – it made me think and learn a few new things, without seeming unfair or overly obscure. Obscurity is not a bad thing – that’s how you learn – but too much can be frustrating. I caught on to the theme pretty quickly, but it only helped a little – none of the phrases came to mind quickly even when I knew the final word in them ended in “ch.”
Canadian content:
- 2D: [Canadian comedian Mort]: SAHL – Mort Sahl is famous enough and such a staple in crosswords that I don’t think he needs to be identified as Canadian, though it’s nice to know.
- 4D: [Big Rock or Alexander Keith’s]: ALE – Alexander Keith’s was the very first India Pale Ale I ever had – I liked it so much I took a case home with me the first time I had it in Halifax. I’m not familiar with Big Rock but will keep an eye out for it.
- 11A: [Ont. rep at Queen’s Park]: MPP – Queen’s Park is the home of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario where Members of the Provincial Parliament meet.
- 23D: [Canadian Comedian Jon]: DORE -I definitely needed the Canadian indication for this one. John Dore was born in Ottawa and is known for “The Jon Dore Television Show.”
- 30A: [U.S. cousin of CBC Radio One]: NPR – I made a comparison of a Canadian public broadcasting show to a couple of US ones last week.
- 35D: [“Break ___ Them Gently (Cummings hit)]: IT TO – Burton Cummings had a hit with this song in 1978.
- 57A: [A CFL field has 110: Abbr.]: YDS – I need to watch more Canadian Football League games – I think having 10 more yards in an official field would make the game more interesting. Of course, having longer and longer fields could be taken to extremes.
- 61A: [CPP recipients]: SRS – Seniors are entitled to benefits from the Canadian Pension Plan
Other stuff:
- 1A: [Deposed ruling family of Syria]: ASSADS – Dag – Talk about a timely entry. I bet Barb had to change the clue for this entry just before sending it out.
- 11D: [Meticulous guy grooming]: MANSCAPING – This word just gives me the icks.
- 14A: [Sock souvenir]: FAT LIP – Spent a long time trying to think of souvenirs related to footwear rather than punches to the face.
- 19A: [“You don’t have to answer,” when texting]: NRN – I assume this means “no response necessary” rather than “not right now.”
- 25D: [A pop]: EACH – Nice to see the roles reversed between the clue and the entry.
- 26D: [Roy Rogers’ birth surname]: SLYE – In praise of obscurity – where else are you going to learn trivia like this? Leonard Slye gets this weeks quote.
Quote of the week:
“If there were no valleys of sadness and death, we could never really appreciate the sunshine of happiness on the mountain top.”
– Roy Rogers