Happy Halloween everyone 👻 I hope you get more treats than tricks. It is shaping up to be an unseasonably warm Halloween here – near 80℉/27℃. It’s quite nice right now as I compose this sitting on my deck watching the leaves fall from the trees in my yard, so I’m not complaining. We could use some rain, however… Sorry I skipped last weeks blog – I had started the entry Wednesday evening after returning from a short work trip, but got distracted and never picked it back up again. Let me know in the comments below if you’re dying to know what I thought of last week’s puzzle and I’ll try to dust it off and post it belatedly. Let’s get to this week’s puzzle before I get distracted again.
- Name: Talk Like a Ghost Day
- Grid size: 15×15
- Entries: 76
- Difficulty: Medium Easy (my solve time: 6:48)
So we had Talk Like a Pirate Day last month – did any of ye scurvy landlubbers observe it, me hearties? – and I guess Barb is starting “Talk like a Ghost Day” as a thing. I was very curious how this holiday-themed puzzle was going to shake out, and was pleasantly amused. The themers are common words or phrases that have had the word “boo” added to them, clued punnily to match the new configuration:
- 20A: [Task for a circus tamer’s agent?]: THE LION BOOKING – I think this was the last themer I got, and it took me a while due to a few tough (for me) crosses. “The Lion King” is a popular movie, stage musical, and probably a section of Disneyland (well, Disneyland Paris) by now. A lion tamer’s agent would try to get them as many bookings as possible – gotta earn that 10 percent.
- 32A: [Pushing the positive effects of UVs?]: BOOSTING RAYS – Stingrays are big, graceful, and somewhat dangerous denizens of the deep. I guess someone who is promoting these and other varieties of their species would also be boosting rays. As a fan of one of their division rivals, you will rarely see me boosting these Rays.
- 41A: [Attachable baby slipper]: CLIP ON BOOTIE – I was once told by a shipmate that when he stood watch in his dress blues he would wear a clip on tie in case one of the liberty party came back in an agitated state and wanted to fight him. If the miscreant grabbed his tie, it would pop off easily. I don’t know what he’d do with a clip on bootie.
- 57A: [Highly prosperous ruling family?]: BOOMING DYNASTY – The Ming Dynasty was a Chinese dynasty that ruled from 1368 to 1644. It was known for the refurbishment of the Great Wall, large naval expeditions and vibrant maritime trade, and the rise of a heavily monetized economy. Cultural achievements included the production of exceptional porcelains, paintings, lacquers, and textiles. Sounds like it was booming to me.
Seeing as it took me a while to get the theme, and I had a few stumpers in the top part of the grid, I feared this might be a really hard solve. However, once I moved into the heart of the puzzle it started to come together and there was only one spot that I was really stumped – the cross of 1D and 14A. I made a lucky guess and the puzzle was finished about 45 seconds faster than my average solve time.
Canadian content:
- 5D: [Only Canadian city with streetcars]: TORONTO – I know Toronto is well-known for many things, but I didn’t know it was the only city in Canada with streetcars.
- 28A: [TV’s “Dragon’s ___”]: DEN – “Dragon’s Den” is a CBC show that from the little I’ve looked into it, appears to be similar to “Shark Tank” here in the US. I’ve never watched either show, and I generally shun reality TV shows, so that’s likely all I will ever know about it.
- 29A: [Banking rival of TD]: RBC – The Royal Bank of Canada is the largest bank in Canada, with TD being 2nd.
- 31D: [Band before Young joined, briefly]: CSN – Americans David Crosby and Steven Stills teamed up with Englishman Graham Nash in 1968, being joined by Canadian Neil Young a year later as they went on tour for their first album.
- 35D: [Streets of Sept-îles]: RUES – The main street that runs through Sept-îles is Route 138, which appears to be named Boulevard Laure in town.
Other stuff:
- 1D: [Committee ___ (short-lived group)]: PRO TEM – Maybe this is a Canadianism – I’ve never heard of a committee pro tem in the many years I’ve worked or served in organizations that had temporary groups.
- 12D: [Tops for pots: Abbr.]: ANAG – Took me forever to figure out that tops was an anagram of pots – I was racking my brain trying to figure out what would be an abbreviation of cover, or lid, or ???.
- 14A: [Split apart]: RIVE – I think its past tense, riven, is slightly less obscure, but this was the main stumper for me. Crossed with 1D I had to leave it until the end of the solve, then guess.
- 17A: [Greek peak]: OSSA – Though I see it in puzzles regularly, I can never remember if it’s Ossa or Issa.
- 38D: [Short, high winds]: PICCOLOS – As a sailor and weather geek, I was trying to remember the names of various winds (e.g., sirocco, or williwaw), rather than thinking of musical instruments.
Quote of the week:
“Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.”
– Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr
P.S. – Wish me and my fellow democracy-lovers down here good luck next Tuesday.
Please help me out to make sense of last week’s theme!
Thanks for asking! I’ll post something later today – not a full blog entry but I’ll at least explain the theme.
Thank you! Always appreciate your thoughts!
Yes please, share your comments on last week’s puzzle. My puzzle partner and I missed your feedback (and weekly quote 🙂
Will do – and glad you like my comments and quote – I enjoy coming up with them. I’ll see if I can find an appropriate quote for the belated post.
Post for the 23 October 2024 puzzle is here: https://www.classicanadianxwords.ca/dont-take-it-the-wrong-way/.
Thank you Brian! Love the Douglas Adams quote!
You’re welcome Chelsea! Been a fan of Douglas Adams since I was in high school (a few years ago…)