It's About Time

“Never put off till tomorrow what may be done the day after tomorrow just as well” - Mark Twain

Having recently watched both The Adventures of Mark Twain (1985) and The Adventures of Mark Twain (1944), let’s just say I’ve had enough adventures from Mark Twain for a while. If I took one thing away from these movies, though, it’s that Mr. Twain was full of one-liners and witticisms; if I took two things away, it’s that the 1944 movie was surprisingly the better of the two. I couldn’t help but tie these movies into my newsletter today, specifically the quote above, both because I think it’s exemplary of his humour, and, well, it’s about time.

And if you ask me, it’s about time for a guest puzzle! I’ve been bugging Chris Parsonage to put together a puzzle for YEGwords for some time now, and I was excited when one finally landed in my inbox. I always enjoy guest puzzles, because I get to showcase puzzles with personality and feel distinctly different from my own. Enjoy Chris’ puzzle with its fun grid shape, clever theme, and creative cluing!

Discussion (and spoilers!) below the break.

Play

It’s About Time by Chris Parsonage

Discussion

Thanks to Chris for putting together this puzzle for us! Some references were after mine own heart (The Iron Giant, anyone?) and some let me learn something new (St. Swithens on the Simpons, anyone?).

He introduces lots of fun ideas, but man, I watched The Iron Giant not too long ago, and it’s so deserving of its immortality. This era of animation had such a distinct style.

Today’s Theme

The theme is all in the title - “It’s About Time.” This crossword is about time! An italicized theme clue is parked in each of the four corners. The answer to each of these theme clues is a two-word phrase related to time.

[With 10-Down, Taylor Swift's previous album?] is a BYGONE ERA (clever, Chris!)

[With 1-Down, the PS6, e.g.] is NEXT GEN

[With 32-Down, Hollywood's produced memorable films like "Gone with the Wind" and "The Wizard of Oz"] is GOLDEN AGE

[With 33-Across, Where the best blasts come from] is THE PAST

Behind the Clues

11A. Chris came up with a creative new clue for a classic crossword word. Usually tied into the sport of fencing, [In Paris, le stylo is mightier than l'___] is EPEE, french for “sword” (and a fencer’s weapon).

28A. A little history lesson made it in! [Lead-in to Boston's most famous party] is of course referencing the Boston Tea Party, where huge amounts of tea was dumped into the harbour. The reason? Opposition to new taxation laws around tea - a TEA TAX.

37A. This one got me when I was solving it for the first time. [If 19-Down's actor was lazy on Halloween he might go to a party ___ (lol)] is referencing 19-Down, or IAGO. So, a lazy actor who plays Iago might go to a Halloween party AS IAGO. Of course, written out, this is ASIAGO as the cheese, but Chis has chosen to parse it… differently lmao

8D. You’d be within your right to glance at this clue, decide it’s gibberish, and move on - [doirep esenapaJ] certainly isn’t anything. However, read backwards, it’s “Japanese period,” a notable one of which is EDO. So since the clue is written backwards, Chris wants us to write the answer in backwards - ODE. Another common crossword word he’s come up with a creative clue for!

17D. [USA CRA] is one of my favourite styles of clue. I don’t know what to call it, but it feels fun. Important to know for American-published crosswords, the IRS, or Internal Revenue Service, are the overseers of taxes and such. The more you know.

26D. I’ll admit, I haven’t seen “Sex and the City,” so I wasn’t familiar with [Queer actress Cynthia, beloved for her role as Miranda in "Sex and the City"]. Luckily, I solved it with the crosses, realizing it is Cynthia NIXON. I feel like, given the prevalence of Sex and the City in pop culture, I should learn more about it one of these days.

I hope you enjoyed Chris’ puzzle!

Until next week,

Brandon