Well, there is no joy in Mudville Baltimore. But wait ’til next year. So the Orioles aren’t going to the World Series but on the upside I won’t miss any of their games while I’m on vacation next week. I’m diverting my mind from their loss by solving this week’s puzzle, so let’s go.
- Name: Puzzle in a Puzzle
- Size: 15×15
- Entries: 78
- Difficulty: Medium Easy (my solve time: 6:42)
“Puzzle in a Puzzle” is a pretty spot on title; I guess “Riddle in a Puzzle” would work as well. This is a “quotation puzzle” where the themers (such as they are) are parts of a quotation; in this case a riddle with a revealer that is the answer to the riddle:
- 6A: [First part of a riddle]: WHAT
- 24A: [The riddle, part 2]: CAN YOU PUT IN
- 34A: [The riddle, part 3]: A BUCKET TO
- 50A: [The riddle, part 4]: MAKE IT WEIGH
- 65A: [End of the riddle]: LESS
- 66A: [Answer to the riddle]: A HOLE
I didn’t have any areas with major problems, but I frequently found myself not knowing something and having to skip around the grid, so it was not a smooth solve. I think that also made it seem harder than it actually was – on finishing I was pleasantly surprised to see my time; I thought it would be at least a minute or so slower.
Canadian content:
- 31A: [Canadian airline whose slogan is “Plane and Simple”]: FLAIR – I was not familiar with this airline; it appears to be a sort of Canadian Southwest Airlines, though with a much smaller fleet.
- 21D: [Premier Wab Kinew’s province: Abbr]: MAN – Wab Kinew has an interesting life story, including being an award-winning rap artist. He is the premier-designate of Manitoba.
- 26D: [Post-sec. school in 43-Down]: U OF T – The University of Toronto was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King’s College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada.
- 36D: [Olivia ___, mayor of 43-Down]: CHOW – Olivia Chow has been mayor of Toronto since July 12, 2023.
- 41A: [Jets and Flyers org.]: NHL – I went straight to the National Hockey League as the home of the Winnipeg Jets. I only realized on review that paired with Flyers it might lead one to think of an organization like the COPA.
- 43D: [Yonge St.’s city]: TORONTO – Yonge Street is the longest street in the world at 56 kilometres (34 miles). With three Toronto-related entries in this puzzle, the city is the inspiration for this week’s quote.
- 47D: [“Ça va ___,” (“All’s well”, in Québec)]: BIEN – When I was taking high school French the teacher would ask “Comment ça va?” and we world-weary teens would reply “Ça va.”
- 56A: [National ___ (newspaper)]: POST – The National Post is a newspaper with circulation primarily in western Canada.
Other stuff:
- 10D: [Skewered bread dipped in cheese]: FONDU – I’ve only seen this spelled with an “e” on the end, but maybe this is a variation or how it’s spelled in French?.
- 18A: [Results of “pulling” the goalie, in hockey]: EMPTY NETS – I could not get “open goals” out of my mind so it took me longer than it should have to get this.
- 32A: [Spread brand implying speediness]: JIF – …and not how “gif” is pronounced..
Quote of the week:
“It’s easy for me to care about Toronto, because Toronto is a community that cares about itself. It represents the world. It talks to itself, and because it does, it figures out that there must be a music garden as part of its existence.”
– Yo-Yo Ma
great piece on the crossword, especially with the blending of sports and puzzling to divert the mind from the Orioles’ situation. It’s interesting to see how a puzzle can be both a test of knowledge and also a reflection of culture.
That riddle was clever! I wouldn’t have thought of “A HOLE” as the answer initially, but it makes perfect sense in retrospect. It’s always fun when crossword themes make you think a little deeper.