Take Me Out To The Ball Game

There are few places I’d rather eat peanuts and Cracker Jacks than the ol’ ball game. Which ball you might ask? No, not basketball… not pinball… it’s baseball!

One of my goals this summer is to go to more baseball games. They seem like fantastic fun, but I have yet to make that happen this season! Luckily, friend of YEGwords and Edmonton crossword constructor Glenn Cook has Glenn-cooked up another puzzle with some local baseball flare - and it’s the closest I’ve gotten to attending a baseball game yet.

Discussion (and spoilers!) below the break.

⚾Play Ball

Take Me Out To The Ball Game by Glenn Cook (edited by Brandon Cathcart)

⚾ Discussion

Despite being named after Edmonton’s airport code, I don’t usually make Edmonton-flavoured crosswords. However, when Glenn found the fun similarities between the names of the Edmonton area’s baseball teams, it felt like a great apt pair, a la many of Puzzmo’s themes.

Here’s that Bugs Bunny cartoon referenced, and a note from Glenn:

⚾ Today’s Theme

Today’s theme is what we call an apt pair, “two theme answers that are closely related, often sharing a common word or concept”. The two theme answers, CACTUSRATS and RIVERHAWKS, are surprisingly tightly related:

1. Both are Edmonton-area baseball teams

2. Both are nicknames or alternate names of animals

3. Both are compound words that start with an environmental element and end with another animal.

Nice job Glenn for spotting this cool pair, and goooooo baseball!

⚾ Behind the Clues

10A. Some people might consider RuPaul to be something of a religious figure, so ["Can I get an ___?" (Call and response in church and RuPaul's Drag Race)] might have been a tad redundant. But if you don’t give an AMEN when RuPaul asks you for it, that is sacrilege.

24A. [Where Charlotte writes "Some Pig", in a certain children's book] references the classic children’s book, E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web. In it, we learn to love spiders as Charlotte, a spider, befriends and eventually saves Wilbur the pig using her WEB to communicate with the humans. There’s a reason it’s a classic.

33A. Considering how much I flinch when I get into a NERF gun fight, it’s no surprise that I’m not a fan of paintball lmao. Laser tag is the best you can get out of me (and I’m usually beaten by the 10-year-olds). Maybe if I was better equipped, I’d be able to handle myself.

4D. There are some Millennial stereotypes I think are dated, unfounded, and sometimes absolutely hilarious (sorry to the napkin industry). But if there’s one thing that I’ll stand behind, [How Millennials stereotypically like avocados (I mean, they're not wrong though)] is ON TOAST and I will fight you if you disagree.

20D. I sure watched a [Rambunctious toddler] or two get into mischief in my youth on RUGRATs. I’ve never figured out which Rugrats character I am with 100% certainty, but I’ve always identified with Chucky Finster (to no one’s surprise).

24D. Lots of things might be peddled… bicycles? Paddle boats? But in sneaky crossword fashion, you can also peddle your WARES, like a salesman.

I hope you enjoyed this puzzle!

Until next Friday,

Brandon