Belated happy Victoria Day to everyone! I guess the closest thing we have in the US is Memorial Day, in that it is the unofficial kickoff to summer (and definitely not a celebration of a monarch). Memorial Day is next Monday, and I’ll be traveling to the US west coast for a family gathering. One of the things I need to do before the trip is this puzzle and blog, so let’s get on it.
- Name: Split Decision
- Grid size: 15×15
- Entries: 72
- Difficulty: Easy (my solve time: 5:57)
“Split Decision” had me guessing what the theme was the whole solve – it took me a few minutes after finishing to figure it out. So it’s safe to say it wasn’t a big help in my fairly quick solve time, but at least it wasn’t a hindrance. The themers are phrases or single words that consist of the word TRIAL with additional letters added in the middle that together spell out a new word, that is then clued straight:
- 17A: [Belfast monument honouring victims of a famous sinking disaster]: TITANIC MEMORIAL – I was thinking that this could possibly have been Canadian content as well, as I know Halifax has close ties to the Titanic disaster and figured there was a Titanic memorial there. However, while I know there is a substantial Titanic exhibit at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, and many victims are buried in several Halifax cemeteries, there doesn’t appear to be a dedicated memorial in the city.
- 23A: [Reason to wear a hazmat suit]: TOXIC MATERIAL – My initial thought was “toxic environment,” but obviously that didn’t fit, and also wouldn’t have worked with the theme.
- 37A: [Of little importance]: TRIVIAL – I used to work at a research laboratory, and I remember the first time I heard a researcher describe something incredibly difficult to do as “non-trivial” – I love the understated nature of that usage.
- 48A: [300-year span]: TRICENTENNIAL – While I was around for the US bicentennial in 1976, and mother nature willing I’ll see the semiquincentennial in 2026, I have a hunch the tricentennial will be celebrated without me.
- 57A: [Option when considering a divorce, and what’s depicted in 17-, 23-, 37 and 48-Across]: TRIAL SEPARATION – The revealer; and very helpful to me in deciphering the puzzle’s theme.
Despite not knowing the theme, I cruised through this one with little difficulty except for the natick at 9D/16A where I had to run the alphabet. So my solve could have been ~20 seconds faster. I thought this was an exceptionally well-constructed puzzle – four themers (including two grid-spanners) and a revealer, all nicely integrated in the grid, without torturing the fill.
Canadian content:
- 6A: [Actor Alan of “Canadian Bacon”]: ALDA – While Mr. Alda was born in New York, he was a star in the movie “Canadian Bacon” in which as the US President, he foments a US-Canada cold war to boost his political standing. Seemed hilariously unrealistic a few months ago…
- 6D: [La Biche or La Hache]: LAC – Lac La Biche is town in Alberta, about 220 km northeast of Edmonton. Lac La Hache is located in British Columbia, about 200 km north-northeast of Vancouver.
- 8D: [Bell Centre or Rogers Place]: ARENA – Bell Centre is an arena located in Montreal where the Canadiens play. Rogers Place is in Edmonton and the home of the Oilers.
- 15A: [Big Raven artist Emily]: CARR – Emily Carr is probably the most well-known Canadian artist, at least judged by the fact that I knew this answer right off the bat. There is the Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver, the Carr House museum in Victoria, and the Emily Carr collection at the Royal BC Museum, among others. Big Raven is one of her many works that draw on First Nations inspiration. She’s the source of this week’s quote.
- 36A: [Island in the Gaspésie, e.g.]: ILE – The Gaspésie is also known as the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec. Which I just learned today.
- 50D: [A Canadian in America, say]: EXPAT – Not sure why a Canadian would want to be an expatriate in the United States these days.
Other stuff:
- 9D: [Pou ___ (“Place to stand,” to Archimedes]: STO – While I am familiar with Archimedes and his famous “give me a place to stand and I will move the earth,” I’d never seen it in the original Greek (∑Ώ).
- 16A: [“For Better or Worse” actress Smith]: TASHA – I had to run the alphabet for this one having never seen “For Better or Worse” nor heard of Tasha Smith.
- 48D: [Hebrew Ts]: TETHS – There are individual words that are crosswordese, then there are whole sets of words, like Greek letters, and the Hebrew alphabet and calendar.
Quote of the week:
“Twenty can’t be expected to tolerate sixty in all things, and sixty gets bored stiff with twenty’s eternal love affairs.”
-Emily Carr