“Hello, Customer Service? My May was delivered OK, but it looks like it’s got some March in it.” I’m back from a long weekend in Northern California, and not too thrilled with the overcast, rainy weather we’re having here. I went to the Orioles game last night, and it rained the whole time – a light drizzle, so no chance of calling the game, but I had to move up under the overhang to keep my scorecard (and self) dry. Luckily (but unfortunately) there weren’t many fans in attendance, so there was plenty of room for me to stay dry. Save for a sprint through the Seattle airport to catch my connection, my trip was great – good weather, lots of family and friends, and good food and drink. I feel refreshed and ready for this week’s puzzle – join me!
- Name: Mob Mentality
- Grid size: 16×15
- Entries: 84
- Difficulty: Hard (my solve time: 8:29)
I had no idea what the theme was the entire time solving, but got a little smile out of it when I figured it out on review. The themers are all phrases, clued straight, where the final word is a slang term for doing away with someone (to “off” them, as a mobster would – hence, “Mob Mentality”), as explained by the revealer:
- 18A: [Landmark in Nackawic-Millville, New Brunswick]: WORLDS LARGEST AXE – as the website says: “Take seven tonnes of stainless steel and sink them into a concrete stump that is 10 m (33 ft.) in diameter. What have you got?” Unless you’re Paul Bunyan, it would be difficult to use this to “axe” someone.
- 32A: [Needs an alignment]: IS OUT OF WHACK – “Out of whack” is a curious phrase – we never say something is “in whack.” I wonder if the modern slang wack as something crazy, weird, or unbelievable comes from that usage. The usage to off someone definitely comes from the original meaning of whack: to strike a blow.
- 53A: [Top of the charts]: NUMBER ONE HIT – This week’s number one on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 is “Ordinary” by Alex Warren. I am completely unfamiliar with this song, but I guess plenty of folks like it. I guess you could call Mr. Warren a hitman.
- 65A: [Pressing one’s luck]: WALKING ON THIN ICE – I do not recommend walking on thin ice, or any ice especially at this time of year. I also don’t recommend putting someone on ice, or icing them.
- 76A: [Show disrespect to, or when divided, what’s shared by 18-, 32-, 53- and 65-Across]: OFFEND – The revealer – each of the themers has an “off end.”
A rare larger grid this week (16×15) may have contributed to my slower solve time, but it definitely felt difficult beyond that. Several minutes into the solve I only had a few entries in the upper half of the grid. I gradually started getting the shorter fill and then moved on to the longer fill and themers. Not knowing the theme also probably slowed me down, but I don’t think by much. Lots of good fill and plenty of Canadian content in here made for a satisfying solve.
Canadian content:
- 11D: [Pt. of CAA]: ASSN – The Canadian Automobile Association was founded in 1913, 11 years after its US counterpart.
- 12A: [Omar Sachedina’s network]: CTV – Omar Sachedina is the Chief News Anchor and Senior Editor of CTV National News. CTV was originally the Canadian Television Network (CTN) but the CBC objected to the use of “Canadian” so the “C” in CTV doesn’t stand for anything.
- 12D: [Ontario town on the Thames]: CHATHAM – I didn’t know that there was a Thames River in Canada – I wonder if it is pronounced like the one in Connecticut or the one in England? In any event, Chatham is a town of about 44,000 people at the head of navigation on the Thames.
- 18A: [Landmark in Nackawic-Millville, New Brunswick]: WORLDS LARGEST AXE – Not much more to say about it.
- 27A: [Canadiens city: Abbr.]: MTL – Montreal is the home to the National Hockey League’s Canadiens. The hockey team is abbreviated as the Habs.
- 37A: [English-speaker, to Quebeckers]: ANGLO – I remarked recently about the use of “Anglos” by residents of Quebec to refer to non-Francophones.
- 41A: [Winter hrs. in B.C.]: PST – British Columbia observes Pacific Standard Time during winter hours.
- 56A: [Canadian actress ___ Dawn Chong]: RAE – Rae Dawn Chong was born in Edmonton, and is the daughter of Tommy Chong, who recently appeared in the puzzle (and this blog).
- 60D: [Alberta ski town]: BANFF – Banff is known for its natural beauty, ski resorts, and as home to Canada’s first national park.
- 61A: [Major street of Toronto]: YONGE – If I recall correctly, Yonge Street is the longest street in the world. What I can never remember is how to pronounce it – it’s not “yawnge” – it’s “yuhng“
Other stuff:
- 1D: [Crow cousin]: DAW – The only reason I know this is because when I lived in the Potrero Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, there was a local pub that used to be called the Jackdaw and its sign had a big picture of a daw on it.
- 7D: [Like a flying blimp: Abbr.]: LTA – It took me a while to remember that blimps, zeppelins, etc. are referred to as lighter than air craft.
- 25A: [Cuban dance]: MAMBO – I can never remember if the mambo or samba is Cuban. The samba is Brazilian.
- 30D: [Yr.’s 52]: WKS – I was initially baffled by the clue, and the first 52-related thing that came to mind was a deck of cards, rather than the number of weeks in a year.
- 55D: [Trade tax]: TARIFF – I’m not going anywhere near this one.
Quote of the week:
“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to, and you have found out the exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them.”
–Frederick Douglass