Bart Simpson: Vegan Icon

Happy Friday! This will be another shorter newsletter - I’ve had a busy week at the Edmonton Fringe Festival volunteering, seeing shows, and taking it all in. Storytellers, musicals, puppetry… I’ve seen a lot of great shows and should see a few more before it’s all over. Pop by this weekend and take in a show! You might even find an exclusive Fringe-themed crossword in the Beer Tents and nearby cafes… 👀

Somehow I managed to find the time to make a full-size puzzle this week! 77% more puzzle for you to solve. I probably shouldn’t have, given how busy I was, but I fell in love with the theme and couldn’t help myself :)

Discussion (and spoilers!) below the break.

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Bart Simpson: Vegan Icon by Brandon Cathcart

Discussion

YEGwords is by and large a midi puzzle publication (11×11ish), so when I publish a 15×15 grid, you know it was for an idea I found so exciting it was worth putting in the effort (and asking the effort from you). The theme answer that spawned the whole puzzle was “For Whom The Cowbell Tolls,” which I found so funny I decided I had to construct an entire puzzle to justify it.

Jump in! I love Scandinavian Ken in Barbie Girl.

Today’s Theme

There are three starred theme answers in this puzzle and a revealer, 58-Across. It reads:

[What Bart Simpson would say to the answers to the starred clues!]

One of Bart Simpson’s catchphrases is DON’T HAVE A COW, MAN! If he’s telling the theme answers to not have a cow, they probably have one in there unnecessarily. Solving the theme answers gives phrases where COW has been inserted to make other real things:

[* Hemmingway's "For Whom ___"] is usually “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” but here it’s “For Whom THE COWBELL TOLLS”

[* "Cat got ___?"] should be “Cat got your tongue?” but here it’s “Cat got YOUR COW TONGUE?”

[* Peter Pan's crew] is typically The Lost Boys, but here it’s THE LOST COWBOYS.

Behind the Clues

1A. We start off with another reference to The Simpsons: ["Call Mr. ___, that's my name, that name again is Mr. ___!" (Jingle from Homer Simpson's snow-clearing business)]. This is Mr. PLOW, a classic episode of the show and honestly very catchy jingle.

25A. [Turn a shade of red, perhaps] is a tricky clue - the “perhaps” helps clue us in that it might not be all that it seems. You might think “embarrassed” or “shy,” but to turn something a shade of red, you might DYE it.

69A. [Device to flatten things or device to curl things] was a fun little discovery - you might use an IRON to flatten your clothes and fabrics, but you might use an entirely different IRON to curl your hair. It does everything!

4D. [Religion that teaches you how to spell?] prompted “I didn’t get this clue” from my test solver, so I thought it was worth a quick explainer. WICCA is the religion of the witchy, which can include rituals and casting spells - here, “spell” isn’t letters spelling, but how to cast spells. Granted, upon writing this, the phrasing could have been stronger. Still, fun.

11D. Okay, I’m guilty of occasionally airing my grievances in puzzles. [What some drivers think a stop sign means] is YIELD, something I see all too often in my neighbourhood. It’s okay if you get where you’re going 1 minute later! Just come to a full stop!

46D. [Half an opinion, according to an idiom] is referencing the phrase “Here’s my two cents,” aka “Here’s my opinion.” Hence, half an opinion is worth ONE CENT. I’m curious where the original phrase came from, but I am going to look that up another time and I encourage you to do the same lol.

I hope you enjoyed this puzzle!

Until next week,

Brandon

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