While it’s not yet the dog days of summer, we have an animal-themed puzzle this week, so we’re getting a jump on it. Hopefully you’re able to stay cool – especially if you’re in the UK or Central Europe – that’s hot for here, and way beyond what they’re normally used to.
- Name: You’re a Strange Animal
- Grid size: 15×15
- Number of entries: 76
- Difficulty: Medium Easy (my solve time: 7:02)
The title didn’t even register with me before I started solving, so I had no preconceived notions about the puzzle. The theme revealed itself pretty quickly as I solved – the themers are all animals with names that are made up of two other animal names, clued with the names of two fictional animal characters from literature and film:
- 17A: [Charlotte + Sebastian]: SPIDER CRAB – “Charlotte’s Web” was one of my favourite books as a child, and Sebastian is probably the funniest character in “The Little Mermaid” with the best song of the whole picture.
- 6A: [Pooh + Thomas OMalley]: BEAR CAT – I knew Winnie the Pooh (always wondered: is “pooh” a title of some sort?) but had to look up Thomas O’Malley as I’ve either never seen “The Aristocats” or had forgotten about it. I have definitely seen “The Aristocrats” which is a very different movie…
- 36A: [Marty + Nemo]: ZEBRAFISH – No idea who Marty the Zebra is as I’ve never seen any of the “Madagascar” movies. But I’ve definitely seen “Finding Nemo.”
- 49A: [Ferdinand + Marmaduke]: BULLDOG – Easy one to get – who could forget the flower loving bull and the huge dog of comics?.
- 59A: [Shere Khan + Jabberjaw]: TIGER SHARK – While I remember the tiger from the Jungle Book, I didn’t know his name was Shere Khan. And I remember Jabberjaw from Saturday cartoons way back in the day – didn’t realize the show was one-season wonder taking advantage of the shark mania prompted by the movie “Jaws.”
This solve felt harder than it actually was, I think because there were quite a few entries I didn’t know and had to get from the crosses. But that didn’t slow me down much as my finish time was half a minute faster than my all-time average. Solved pretty much N to S, with a few tricky spots left over to clean up at the end. No hunting for typos this week so that’s a bonus.
Canadian content
- 18D: [Calgary-Edmonton dir.]: ENE – I pride myself on my geographic knowledge, but I guess I need to brush up on the relative locations of Canadian cities, as I needed the crosses to even guess at the direction.
- 20A: [Solomon who hosts CTV’s Power Play]: EVAN – Not getting CTV down here I had no idea who this was. And until I looked it up, I figured Power Play was a hockey show.
- 27D: [Geddy Lees band]: RUSH – “Invisible airwaves crackle with life / Bright antenna bristle with the energy / Emotional feedback on timeless wavelength / Bearing a gift beyond price, almost free” Lyrics like that inspired me to use Geddy Lee as the source for this week’s quote.
- 40D: [Canucks or Canadiens]: NHL TEAM – Tried to put “NHLers” in at first…
- 44D: [Roughriders gains: Abbr.]: YDS – I remembered pretty quickly that the Roughriders are the CFL team from Saskatchewan.
- 67A: [Third-ranking R.C.M.P]: SSGT – I’m unfamiliar with the ranks of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, but figured it wasn’t too far out that they would have a Staff Sergeant rank.
Other stuff:
- 10A: [Jobs creation of the 90s]: IMAC – For the longest time I thought this would be a Canadian full-employment act of Parliament rather than a very cleverly deceptive way to clue an Apple product.
- 12D: [Military fleet of fliers]: AIRMADA – I’ve been in or around the military for nearly 40 years and have never heard this term used before. Google thinks it’s an air jet drying system.
- 28A: [Hunt-and-____ (crude typing method)]: PECK – I feel seen.
- 63A: [Inkless invite]: ECARD – OK – raise your hand if you put EVITE in here first. 🤚
Quote of the week:
“I am moved more by melodies, song structure, and evocative textures.”
– Geddy Lee