Hello everybody – in a week we’ll be on the eve of the “holiday season,” though, based on the displays at my local big box stores, apparently we’re in the middle of it already. I expect to start seeing Valentines Day displays in the next week or so.
- Title: What the ?!
- Grid size: 15×15
- Number of entries: 74
- Difficulty: Medium Easy (my solve time 6:36)
As you solve the themers before you get the gimmick, you may find yourself saying the title of this week’s puzzle to yourself. The themers are all common phrases with “THE” inserted in them somewhere, and clued punnily for the “new” meaning of the phrase:
- 17A: [Stares down angrily?]: SEETHES EYE TO EYE – I guess you are definitely not seeing eye to eye if you’re seething.
- 26A: [Grimm huffer-and-puffer who’s all washed up?]: BIG BATHED WOLF – I’d prefer a bathed wolf to a ripe one. I think this is where I figured out the gimmick.
- 43A: [Look like a plucked peacock?]: HAVE NO FEATHER – I actually put this in before I figured out the gimmick, but erased the last four letters as it seemed wrong and didn’t work with the (incorrect) entry I had at 42A.
- 58A: [Weeping in frustration]: BOTHERED TO TEARS – Not sure if I’d rather be bothered or bored (neither, actually), but definitely not to the point of crying.
Until I got the gimmick I was confused by the themers, which didn’t quite seem right, especially without getting all the crosses. As I filled in more and more of the grid it all became clear and I enjoyed the theme. Even with the initial confusion, this was a fairly smooth solve with no real snags (and no searching for errors!). Started in NW (probably should break that habit as there are often revealers or other clues in the SE), and generally worked counterclockwise, then S to N.
Canadian content:
- 20A [Golf’s Mike ____, member of the Order of Canada]: WEIR – Not a golf fan, I was unaware of Mr. Weir, and unfamiliar with the Order of Canada, which he was awarded for his golf achievements and charity work.
- 27D: [____-de-la-Madeleine (Gaspé chain): ILES – I passed very near these islands many years ago on a ship sailing from the Great Lakes to the U.S. east coast – we also stopped in Halifax on that trip.
- 37A: [Canadian actor Paul of “Due South”]: GROSS – Paul Gross seems vaguely familiar, though I don’t think I ever saw “Due South” which aired from 1994 to 1999.
- 40A: [Halifax hrs.]: AST – Atlantic Standard Time. Halifax is among my favorite cities and I have fond memories of trips there – I believe I’ve traveled there by ship more times than by plane.
- 41A: [Ontario’s ____ Sound]: OWEN – I knew this right off, though I’d be hard pressed to point it out on a map without a bit of a search. Thank you Google Maps!
- 42D: [Nunavut Strait named for an explorer]: RAE – Definitely learned a few things from this one; the strait itself, and the explorer.
- 49A: [Whitehorse song “Out Like _____.]: A LION – I figured this was Canadian as I knew Whitehorse was a city in Yukon, but thought it odd that a city had a song well known enough to include in a crossword puzzle.
- 60D: [Red Rose product]: TEA – You often see Lipton, Tetley, and Nestea in crosswords – why not Red Rose? It has some pretty useful letters.
Other stuff:
- 1A: [Onetime Dr. Pepper rival]: MR PIBB – What ever happened to Mr. Pibb? I recall liking it’s flavor better than Dr. Pepper. But apparently I didn’t buy enough of it…
- 1D: [Maine-Florida hwy.]: RTE I – Maybe to an ancient Roman…
- 16D: [Trial scribes]: STENOS – I kept reading this clue as “Tribal scribes” and was quite confused.
- 34D: [Women’s name meaning “light”]: LUCE – Either the “L” or the “C” was probably the last letter I entered; Having erroneously entered RECON at 42A and thinking of IRE for 33A messed with me.
- 42A; [Military look-see]: RECCE – I initially put in RECON which caused me to rethink my initial (correct) entry of 43A, as the adjacent letters didn’t seem to work for the crosses.
- 44D: [Hellos on the road to Hana]: ALOHAS – “Aloha” is used often in crosswords, but I was initially stumped trying to remember where “Hana” was.
- 54A: [Queen sang a Bohemian one: Abbr.]: RHAP – Kind of a reach for an abbreviation, but easy enough to get, so no harm no foul.
Tip of the week: When you forget something you need once you’ve already started showering, be sure to thoroughly dry your feet before running across a smooth floor to get the item.