Happy fall! Autumn finally arrived here in Baltimore and the leaves are changing. Fall is my favo(u)rite season as I am not a big fan of the heat and humidity of summer. I’m looking forward to hanging out by the fire pit on my new stone patio.
Title: Red Alert
Grid size: 15×15
Number of entries: 72
Difficulty: Medium (my time 8:35)
“Red Alert” is the title of this week’s puzzle: the themers are common phrases clued straight, but if you add “RED” in front of the first word of the phrase you get another common phrase:
- 18A [Ceded]: HANDED OVER – It’s bad to be caught red handed.
- 23A [Overcame with a bold demeanour]: FACED DOWN – If you are embarrassed you may be red faced.
- 35A [Sniffed about snoopily]: NOSED AROUND – You may also be red nosed if you are embarrassed; you may also be drunk or cold.
- 51A [Set forth]: HEADED OUT – Only 1 or 2 percent of the world population are red headed.
- 56A [Kissed someone passionately]: NECKED WITH – If you spend too much time in the sun or are from the boonies you may be red necked.
I enjoyed this solve and found it slightly harder than usual with a few “I have no idea” entries. I started as I usually do in the NW, but didn’t really get a toehold until I got to the center, then basically worked clockwise around from NE and finished by guessing the letter in NW at 3D/14A.
Canadian content:
- 7D [Canadian Actor ___ Cariou of “Sweeny Todd”]: LEN – Knew this as he shows up frequently in non-Canadian crosswords.
- 8D [“The Spud” in a Stompin’ Tom Connors song]: BUD – This song is apparently about a trucker who hauls potatoes from PEI where Connors was from.
- 9D [“… ton bras sait porter l’____” (line in the French “O Canada”)]: EPEE – Epee shows up in crosswords all the time, but I have never seen it clued this way before.
- 59A [Former “Q” host Gomeshi]: JIAN – I actually knew this one as I used to listen to “Q” as a podcast way back when.
- 50A [CBC sportscaster Scott]: OAKE – I needed all the crosses for this one.
Other stuff:
- 3D [Punish with a fine]: AMERCE – I had no idea on this one and don’t think I’ve ever seen it is a puzzle before.
- 10A [As straight as ____ (honest)]: A DIE – I have never heard this phrase; assume it refers to the singular of a pair of dice.
- 14A [What Penny was in on “As the World Turns”]: COMA – not being a soap opera watcher I was clueless about this.
Tip of the week: Spend as much time as you can with those you love.