I hope everyone is enjoying a bit of the second summer we’re having here. The leaves are turning bright colours (and haven’t all fallen in my yard yet), the temperatures are mild, and the humidity is low. A perfect time to sit outside and complete this week’s puzzle (a bit late, but I finally got to it), so let’s see what we have.
- Name: Want a Clue?
- Size: 15×15
- Entries: 76
- Difficulty: Very Easy (my solve time: 5:16)
I had no idea what the theme was during the solve, but it went by so quickly that I’m not surprised I didn’t pick up on the theme until finishing. On review, it quickly became apparent and brought a nostalgic smile to my face – the themers all include a colour that is in the name of a character in the board game (and movie) “Clue:”
- 17A: [Dijon base]: MUSTARD SEED – I’m a big mustard connoisseur, and Dijon mustard is only one of the many types of mustard found in my fridge (here’s my current favourite). Colonel Mustard is the first of the “Clue” characters we meet in this puzzle.
- 23A: [Hester Prynne’s “A”, in a Hawthorne book]: SCARLET LETTER – I don’t think I’ve ever read “The Scarlet Letter” but it’s so well-known in the culture that it was easy to get. Miss Scarlet is my favourite character in “Clue” (as I may have previously mentioned).
- 28A: [House of York’s symbolic flower]: WHITE ROSE – I’m unfamiliar with English history (as was apparent during the trivia contests I participated in last week), but the white rose is apparently one of the badges worn by the followers of the House of York. I don’t really recall Mrs. White from the board game, but she was played by Madeline Kahn in the movie so now I have to see it.
- 44A: [Chicken nugget dip]: PLUM SAUCE – Maybe this is a Canadian thing, but I’ve never heard of plum sauce as an accompaniment for chicken nuggets. Honey mustard, barbecue, yes – but plum? Professor Plum is the Clue character we’re looking for here.
- 50A: [Round-backed wicker seats]: PEACOCK CHAIRS – Although I’ve never heard this term used to describe these chairs, I knew exactly what they were when I saw the term. And they have an interesting symbology I was not aware of. Apparently Mrs. Peacock is a lawyer – who knew?
- 61A: [Scallions, e.g.]: GREEN ONIONS – I guess there are other types of green onions than scallions; it’s also a famous song by Booker T and the MG’s. Reverend Green (known as Mr. Green in North America, apparently) is another Clue character I would have been hard pressed to remember.
No problems at all here – broke into the NW corner and it was off to the races. Of 280 ClassiCanadian puzzles I’ve attempted, only eight have I solved quicker than this one.
Canadian content:
- 49A: [Montreal CFLers, for short]: ALS – It took me a few seconds but I remembered the Montreal CFL team is the Alouettes, so “Als” makes sense.
- 63A: [Most populous prov.]: ONT – I’m always amazed by maps like this.
- 64A: [Red Rose rival.]: TETLEY – Although Tetley tea isn’t Canadian, Red Rose is.
- 65A: [State south of Sask. and Man.]: NDAK – Whenever the Dakotas are clued in a crossword I often don’t know whether it’s looking for South or North. But I was pretty sure which one was adjacent to Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
- 66A: [Canadian Club product]: RYE – It’s unclear to me if the flagship Canadian Club whisky is made with some percentage of rye, but this one certainly is.
Other stuff:
- 1A: [On ___ with (equal to)]: A PAR – This almost derailed me at the start, as I usually don’t put “A” before “par.”
- 10D: [Apoc. book]: ESD – Whoa – this is a really deep cut! “Esdras is an apocalyptic book in some English versions of the Bible.” I have trouble with standard books of the Bible, much less ones in only “some” versions. I’d have guessed “electrostatic discharge” before Esdras.
- 41A: [Stereotypical techies]: GEEKS – Always have to get at least one cross to determine if this is “geeks” or “nerds.”
- 45D: [Offed, knight-style]: SLAIN – I guess it could have been SMOTE, but I guess that’s more Biblical than Medieval.
- 59D: [Tut-tutter’s sounds]: TSKS – Well they’re not tut-tutting if they’re tsk-tsking, are they? 😜
- 68A: [Corn units]: EARS – Neither “kernels” nor “niblets” fit, and I tried COBS but the crosses didn’t work (though IDIOTIC fit nicely in 46D for a short time).
Quote of the week:
“If human beings had genuine courage, they’d wear their costumes every day of the year, not just on Halloween.”
– Douglas Coupland