I’m back from Port Huron after a great trip and a few nice views of Sarnia – sailed within a few feet of Canada but wasn’t actually there. I’m now off on a work trip to Jersey City, New Jersey – right across the Hudson River from 25D. Our meeting went late today, so I’m getting the blog done a little behind schedule but that shouldn’t interfere with you solving enjoyment, so let’s get going.
- Name: Meeting in the Middle
- Size: 15×15
- Entries: 76
- Difficulty: Medium Hard (my solve time: 7:29)
“Meeting in the Middle” is an appropriate title for this puzzle, even if it didn’t really help me with the solve. The themers are two phrases connected by a common word in the middle (i.e., the end of the first phrase and the beginning of the second). The resulting mash-up is clued punnily:
- 18A: [Preserves container made by an origamist?]: PAPER JAM JAR – A paper jam is the bane of those who use a copier or printer for any amount of time. A jam jar is a container to hold jam – or preserves.
- 24A: [Book by Dr. Seuss and Orville Redenbacher?]: HOP ON POPCORN – “Hop on Pop” is one of many children’s books by Dr. Seuss (Theodore Geissel). Popcorn is a snack food commonly consumed at movies and sporting events.
- 37A: [Palm fruit dessert with an overly dense crust?]: HEAVY DATE SQUARE – I’m actually not sure what a heavy date is – maybe it’s like a hot date? Or maybe an important day on a calendar? A date square is a palm fruit dessert – here’s a recipe.
- 46A: [Pacifist’s letter ender?]: PEACE SIGN OFF – A peace sign was a popular icon in the 1960’s. A sign off is the end of a letter, or the end of a broadcast day (not that many stations stop broadcasting these days).
- 56A: [Scannable lines on a teeny-weeny product?]: MINI BAR CODE – A mini bar (or minibar) is an amenity that seems to have disappeared from hotel rooms (good riddance, IMHO). A bar code (or barcode) is another name for a UPC, or universal product code.
Unlike last week, this one seemed harder than my time indicates, so while I would normally rate my solve time as Medium difficulty, I’m calling it Medium Hard. Big sticking point for me was in the middle E around 36D, 39D, and 42A. I had a different image in my mind for 36D (e.g., filling a tire with air) so couldn’t see the right answer. And 39D almost completely eluded me. A lucky guess or two made it come into focus, or else I would have been staring at it for a few more minutes, hence the Medium Hard rating.
Canadian content:
None! Unless I’ve missed something – call my attention to it in the comments below.- 37A: [Palm fruit dessert with an overly dense crust?]: HEAVY DATE SQUARE – Alert reader Daryl pointed out to me that date squares are of Canadian origin. Thanks Daryl!
Other stuff:
- 2D: [Computer fix-it whiz]: IT PRO – I had IT GUY in here initially.
- 11D: [Captains’ superiors: Abbr.]: MAJS – Being of a maritime bent, I had ADMS in here for a while.
- 25D: [Big Apple initials]: NYNY – I can see the New York skyline from my hotel.
- 30D: [Aveeno lotion rival]: KERI – Never heard of this so thought it might be Canadian, but apparently it’s American.
- 38D: [One-time SNL regular Carvey]: DANA – I could have sworn he was Canadian, but he was born in Montana.
- 42A: [Sober?]: UNLIT – Very clever clue that escaped me for far too long.
- 43A: [Range elements: Abbr.]: MTS – As I’m sure was intended, I had a stove and its heating elements in mind for range, so this took me longer than it should have.
Quote of the week:
“Those are my principles, and if you don’t like them… well, I have others.”
– Groucho Marx
Hey Brian, I had to look it up myself to be sure, but it turns out date squares are a Canadian dessert.
Daryl – thanks! I should have caught that – I usually look up entries I’m less familiar with to see if they have a Canadian connection. I’ll update the blog post.