Remembrance Day (Veterans Day here in the US) is coming up in a few days so enjoy the long weekend, take some time to contemplate the sacrifice of those who have served, and hope for peace.

• Name: Middle Names
• Size: 15×15
• Entries: 74
• Difficulty: Medium Easy (my solve time: 6:42)

The title “Middle Names” gives a strong clue to the puzzle’s theme/gimmick. I figured the solver would have to know some famous person’s middle name, or that there’d be a theme word bracketed by two other words, or a hidden word in the middle of the theme entries. I guessed pretty much right on that last one: the themers are all last names of famous people, those last names include the letters – in order – that make up the person’s first name:

• 17A: [Tolstoy heroine]: KⒶREⓃIⓃⒶ – Anna Karenina is the title of one of Leo Tolstoy’s most famous novels, said to be perhaps the finest work of literature ever written. I’m ashamed to say I’ve never read it (maybe I’ll change that) but it’s also one of those cultural touchstones that most people know at least a little bit about.
• 23A: [Canadian comedian who performed with “MADtv”, Soulpepper and The Second City]: PEDEⓇSⓄⓃ – While I’m a big fan of Canadian comedians – I used to stay up after Saturday Night Live to watch SCTV way back when – I am unfamiliar with Ron Pederson‘s work. Time to do a little research…
• 34A: [“Kill Bill actress]: THⓊRⓂⒶN – “Kill Bill” is another cultural touchstone I’ve never experienced, but I know Uma Thurman from her other work (in particular this) and from her last name’s usefulness as crossword fill.
• 37A: [Canadian landscape artist and colleague of Carr]: ⓉHⓄⓂSON – Tom Thomson is another Canadian artist I am sadly unfamiliar with (though I follow Canadian Paintings on Twitter X so hopefully I’ll educate myself more soon).
• 48A: [Author of “Fahrenheit 451”]: BⓇⒶDBURⓎ – I still remember reading “Fahrenheit 451” in grade school; as an early book lover, it made a big impression on me. Though I’m not a big science fiction reader, I’ve enjoyed several of Ray Bradbury‘s books and short stories, in particular this one.
• 57A: [“Bad” actor in “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”]: VAN CⓁⒺⒺF – Lee Van Cleef was in a lot of movies I never knew about, and they weren’t all westerns (though many were).

Barb gave me a little heads up that this puzzle was probably harder to construct than it would be to solve, and while it was not super easy to solve, it is a masterful construction. To be able to find that many themers that met the criteria – famous person, length of last name that fit the grid symmetrically, first name included in last name – in order! – wow. I started in NW not 100% sure of the first few entries I put in. The solve kind of went like that off and on throughout, with areas I was unsure of, and others where I entered answers as fast as I read the clues. All in all, I guess I found it Medium Easy, but I can see where with a few changes it could easily slip into Hard territory.

Canadian content:

• 6D: [Murray with the most Junos ever]: ANNE – Ms. Murray, born in Springhill, Nova Scotia, has 25 Juno awards on 52 nominations. Wait – The Weeknd is in second?! And Stan Rogers doesn’t even make the list?
• 16A: [N.W.T town north of the Arctic Circle]: INUVIK – While I didn’t know this one right off, after getting a few crosses I was able to remember it. Now, I do know Tuktoyaktuk, but I challenge anyone (Barb?) to put that as an entry in a crossword.
• 23A: [Canadian comedian who performed with “MADtv”, Soulpepper and The Second City]: PEDERSON – Mr. Pederson was born in Edmonton.
• 28D: [Parliamentary record book]: HANSARD – While I was a government major in college, It was mostly just American government, so I never learned about this.
• 37A: [Canadian landscape artist and colleague of Carr]: THOMSON – The famous artist was born in Claremont, which is an unincorporated community in Southern Ontario in the north part of Pickering, Ontario.

Quote of the week:
“In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.”
—John McCrae