New York Times, Monday, November 30, 2020

I should make one thing clear up front: I'm half-Canadian (a dual citizen, in fact), my dad is from Montréal, and we have a lot of family living in the Greater Toronto Area. I'm teasing Canada with my puzzle, yes, but playfully and affectionately! I'm sorry if I offended anyone (see, I'm one of you).

This was maybe the third or fourth puzzle I constructed and there's a lot I like here. I'm happy with my theme answers, none of which feel forced the way theme answers sometimes can. I'm pleasantly surprised by the number of timely political references, which all came about accidentally: RUTH was originally RUPI (as in Rupi Kaur, of Milk and Honey fame), but Will suggested that that was too obscure for a Monday, I wanted OCTOPUS instead of OCASIO because that seemed more whimsical, but I needed vowels, and as for Biden's STUTTER, well, I don't love that corner, and I tried desperately to change STUTTER/TRALA to the vastly more interesting SPUTTER/PRADA or, frankly, anything else, but this was the only fill I could find. Now I know not to cram two theme answers into a corner together.

My other regret is what seems like an inordinate amount of Cs and Hs in my theme answers. What a challenging and chaotic chore I caused (not really — I had a great time).

Jim Horne, XWI's resident Canadian, and I have weekly conversations about puzzles. They're always fun, but this week's chat put a huge smile on my face. It's not often that you hear someone talk so reverently about so many things!

There's some great material in today's grid, woven all throughout: BAKE SALE to BOX SEAT to ALIENATE to APRICOTS to STUTTER (cool that Joe Biden can talk about this openly, helping other stutterers!) to ENGIMA to SCENARIO. That's way more than I remember in any recent Monday.

It led to an unfortunate amount of crossword glue, though. I don't mind a bit of EROO here, DDE there, since those are easy(ish) for newb solvers to piece together. OSO, not so. ELEA = "el-e ... whaaa?" HEB might make solvers ebb.

I understand the allure. So much meaty fill! Any time you start with a themer like TIM HORTONS and then flank it with BAKE SALE and BOX SEAT, along with ALIENATE down below … it's hard to resist.

Fun concept for a debut. It's a rare puzzle indeed that inspires Jim to write, and I love that.

Did this play tough for you Americans? Ah, sorry, eh?

Think of it as payback for all the Canucks who have to deal with American college names and mascots, American government agencies (like 65 Down), and American spelling. Yes, I realize, it's an American puzzle, but having one crossword that caters to your friendly (and apologetic) northern neighbours seems like the neighbourly thing to do.

Do Canadians apologize too much? Yeah, sorry. Do they claim Maple Syrup as their own? You bet your mukluks. (Sorry, Vermonters.) In my Québec childhood, I have fond memories of boiled maple sap being drizzled onto fresh snow until it solidifies enough to become the most delicious treat any kid could imagine.

And who or what is Tim Horton? Only one of the greatest defencemen in the history of hockey. After retiring from the Maple Leafs, he started the now-ubiquitous restaurant chain. Think of it as like Starbucks, only with better coffee. And donuts! Speaking of drinks, here's some Canadian advice for our American friends:

Finally, HOCKEY NIGHT might sound generic, but to a Canadian, that phrase sparks a Pavlovian response. Hockey Night in Canada has been an institution for close to a century, first on radio and then on television. If you're not Canadian, stop reading now, because this link will mean nothing to you, but it's trippy nostalgia if you grew up in the True North Strong and Free.