It’s hot, hot, hot most everywhere out there so I hope wherever you may be that you are able to keep cool. I’m headed out for my annual visit to Port Huron and will spend a lot of time looking across the river at Sarnia and other towns (well, actually looking at ships on the river, but Ontario will be in the background 😉). Whatever you are doing this weekend, I hope you have good weather and are able to find a few minutes to complete this week’s puzzle.
- Name: Where’s the Beef?
- Size: 15×15
- Entries: 76
- Difficulty: Medium Hard (my solve time: 8:16)
“Where’s the Beef” is an old (gulp – I remember when it first became popular) catchphrase from an advertising campaign. In this puzzle it’s a different kind of beef we’re looking for – a complaint. The themers are phrases that have had a word altered so that it is a synonym for complaint, then clued punnily:
- 17A: [Where complainers ride in a car?]: GRUMBLE SEAT – Growing up, one of my older cousins had an antique car (can’t remember what model) that had a rumble seat and it was a blast to ride around in it. Complainers are often said to grumble about things.
- 24A: [Show in which panelist’s guess a contestant’s complaint?]: WHAT’S MY WHINE – “What’s My Line” was a popular TV game show in the 1950’s and 60’s. To whine is to complain with (or as if with) a high-pitched plaintive or distressed cry.
- 40A: [Complaint that few acknowledge?]: LOW INTEREST MOAN – A low interest loan is one with a “low” interest rate – apparently under 11 percent, which seems quite high to me. To moan is to make a low prolonged sound of pain or of grief in lamentation or complaint.
- 50A: [Complain nonstop?]: GROAN ON AND ON – To go on and on is to ramble or dominate a conversation. Groan is similar to moan in that it means to utter a deep moan indicative of pain, grief, or annoyance.
- 63A: [Complainer in a confectionary store?]: CANDY GRIPER – A candy striper is (was?) a volunteer at a hospital, usually a teenage girl, who wore a red-and-white striped dress or apron. To gripe is “to complain with grumbling” so we’ve come full circle.
I didn’t have any real trouble with the solve and it actually felt fairly easy, so I was kind of surprised to see my solve time over 8 minutes when I finished. I guess the puzzle was pretty engaging and there were a few sticky spots, so I didn’t even notice the time was passing quickly. Started in the NW as usual, but had a few I didn’t know there, so headed generally S and through the middle to the SE, then filled in working N with NW last to fall – apparently I’m unfamiliar with Juno-nominated R&B artists and actors in “Dallas.”
Canadian content:
- 10D: [Peace Tower city]: OTTAWA – The Peace Tower is the most prominent landmark on Parliament Hill.
- 14A: [One-named R&B Juno nominee]: EMANUEL – Emanuel was born and raised in London, Ontario, the son of parents from Ethiopia who came to Canada as refugees in the 1970s. His debut EP “Alt Therapy Session 1: Disillusion” was a Juno Award nominee in 2021. His first single, “Need You” was promoted with a music video compiled from the responses to actor Idris Elba’s social media request for pictorial and video collages of things that were helping people to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.
- 42D: [Rush or Triumph]: TRIO – I’m very familiar with the music of Rush, but sorry to say I’d forgotten about Triumph, though I distinctly remember them being very popular in my high school days.
- 68A: [“Dracula: Dead and Loving It” actor Leslie]: NIELSEN – I’ve never seen the movie, but the title sounds funny enough that I figured Leslie Nielsen would be in it. And I learned that he was born in Regina. He’s the source of this week’s quote.
Other stuff:
- 20A: [Social media bubble]: SILO – “Echo chamber” works here as well.
- 22A: [Between coasts]: AT SEA – I’m embarrassed to say that I was trying to think of a term for the land space between coasts. “Fly over country” didn’t fit.
- 26D: [Yokel’s plural pronoun]: YOUSE – Not just limited to yokels, you’ll hear all about “youse guys” in Chicago, Brooklyn, Philadelphia and probably Toronto as well. It apparently came about in North American English since there isn’t a second-person plural for “you.”
- 30A: [Aids for a conked out motor boat]: OARS – Another nautical entry I should have had less trouble with – thought it would be TOWS.
- 49D: [Escargots, pre-menu item]: SNAILS and 60D: [Venison, pre-menu item]: DEER – I like the echoed cluing of these two entries.
Quote of the week:
“Yes, it’s true, I’ve been called the Laurence Olivier of spoofs. I guess that would make Laurence Olivier the Leslie Nielsen of Shakespeare.”
– Leslie Nielsen