I’m amazed how the perception of the passage of time changes so much as you get older. I remember when I was in grade school August seemed like there was still tons of summer break ahead before we started school in early September, but now it seems like September is pretty much here. Make the best of the time you have and solve this week’s puzzle with me!

• Name: Romance Language
• Grid size: 15×15
• Number of entries: 76
• Difficulty: Easy (my solve time: 6:01)

While this felt kind of hard to me, I fairly sped through, solving in a time that’s in the top 20 of all that I’ve done (219 puzzles). And with no errors or typos. The theme was pretty straightforward and pretty much explained by the title – the themers are common phrases clued straight, with certain letters circled; the circled letters spell terms of endearment or “romance language:”

• 18A: [Van Gough’s “Self-Portrait with ___________”]: BANDAGED EAR – “Yes, dear.“
• 23A: [Give a stern talking to]: CALL ON THE CARPET – I think pet is used more in the UK than in North America as a term of endearment.
• 51A: [Nixes decisively]: PUTS THE KIBOSH ON – Now this one is close to my heart as “hon” is what the stereotypical beehive-haired, stretch-pants-wearing Baltimore lady is called. There is even a Honfest held every year. Now, I’ve always wondered what the kibosh was…
• 60A: [Working closely with]: HAND IN GLOVE – I had the ending love early on, but wracked my brain to figure out how “working closely with” ended in love? That sure seems less like work and more like something else… Then I got a few more crosses and the lightbulb came on.

No real problems with the solve as my time indicates; I was lucky and got without too much trouble several entries that usually trip me up, like 1D and 55D. Solve went essentially NW to SE, though 60A was the last entry I filled in. Some usual snags, like initially putting an S at the end of 40A, and spelling 5D with an I instead of a Y, but there were easily caught and corrected as I got the crosses.

Canadian content:

• 29A: [It’s roughly $1.30 CAD]: EURO – Oof – I know the Euro and the USD were on par recently – not long ago the Euro was worth nearly $1.30 USD.
• 47A: [“Irresistabubble” chocolate bars]: AEROS – Apparently these treats are only sold in Canada, sadly.
• 68A: [“Sid the ___” (hockey’s Crosby)]: KID – Even though I’m not a big hockey fan even I know who Sidney Crosby is, though I didn’t know he was born in Cole Harbour, NS.
• 21D: [Arced knife of the north]: ULU – I’m familiar with this utensil from Alaska, where there were many signs in the gift shops telling tourists who bought them as a souvenir to be sure to put them in their checked luggage, as they would be seized by security if found in your carry-aboard.
• 41D: [Hockey legend Phil, to fans]: ESPO – Unlike Sid the Kid, the only way I know Phil “Espo” Esposito is because of crossword puzzles. He’s the source of this week’s quote.

Other stuff:

• 1D: [“K” sound]: HARD C – Entries like this usually throw me, but I got this one after only a few seconds pondering it.
• 13D: [Bering or Bosporus: Abbr.]: STR – A missed Canadian content opportunity, could have used “Cabot or Canso” as the clue.
• 15A: [One nicknamed Sparky, maybe]: PYRO – Back when ships had radio officers, their nickname was “Sparks” or “Sparky” from the spark that used to occur when operating old Morse telegraph keys. That obviously wouldn’t fit in here, so shortened pyromaniac it is.
• 45A: [Uses steel wool on]: SCOURS – Whenever I get a clue like this it’s a tossup whether it’s scrubs or scours. Easy enough to correct once you get a few crosses…
• 55D: [Has been touched by and Angel?]: IS OUT – I love punny clues like this – I wish I was clever enough to come up with them myself.

Quote of the week:
“The importance of teammates is the thing I appreciate the most from those years. I was a lucky guy. There is nothing better than good teammates. I don’t care what anybody says, you can’t do it alone. It takes a good team for you to be a good player, and the same goes for playing on a bad team.”
– Phil Esposito