It’s only Wednesday? I thought it would be Thursday by now. It will be soon if I don’t get moving, so let’s get to the puzzle.

• Name: Never Say Die
• Size: 15×15
• Entries: 74
• Difficulty: Very Easy (my solve time: 5:29)

“Never Say Die” is what you would say to encourage someone to press on and not give up. Well, that’s what the theme is – phrases you’d say to encourage someone, but these are clued punnily to be specifically tailored for professions or types of people:

• 17A: [Encouraging words to a gallery worker?]: HANG IN THERE – At first I thought the theme was something to do with literally dying, and thought the first word of this phrase was one way someone could die. Pretty dark, and I’m glad my initial idea about the theme turned out to be wrong. You’d say “hang in there!” to a worker who was getting tired putting up all the pictures for a show at their gallery.
• 28A: [Encouraging words to a priest?]: KEEP THE FAITH – Aha – got the theme on this one. And a priest has essentially one job, and it’s to keep the faith.
• 47A: [Encouraging words to a DIYer?]: YOU CAN MAKE IT – This one took me the longest, because I couldn’t figure out what word captures what a do-it-yourselfer does. But if a DIYer expressed doubt about the ability to create something, just say “you can make it.”
• 61A: [Encouraging words to a judge?]: TRY TRY AGAIN – While these words may be encouraging to a judge, I bet a person on trial in their court would not want to be told to try, try again.

Smooth solve, no real problems, and I was still surprised at how quick my time was.

Canadian content:

• 8D: [Montréal’s rue ___-Catherine]: STE – Rue Sainte-Catherine stretches 11 kilometres (9 miles) across the city. It is Montréal’s main commercial artery and one of North America’s longest and liveliest, according to this site.
• 33D: [Montreal Grey Cup seekers]: ALOUETTES – I didn’t realize that the Canadian Football League season starts in June. The Grey Cup is scheduled to be held on Sunday November 17th 2024 at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver. Whether the Alouettes will be there remains to be seen.
• 48D: [ ___ Approved (safe to buy)]: CSA – I have seen the CSA mark on various products, but didn’t know that it was the Canadian Standards Association. Kind of ashamed of this because I work with and am a member of several standards organizations myself.
• 49D: [Award won by Sidney Crosby seven times]: ESPY – The ESPY’s were first awarded in 1993 and Sidney Crosby, who was born in Cole Harbour, NS, has won many of them. If you believe Google, he’s won 13: 9 for Best NHL Player, 1 for Male Athlete, 1 for Championship Performance, and 2 for Comeback Athlete. However many he’s won, he gets this week’s quote.

Other stuff:

• 1A: [Ma ___ Kettle]: AND PA – I’m not familiar with the 1949 film, but there used to be a railroad that ran from Maryland into Pennsylvania familiarly known as the Ma and Pa.
• 19A: [Ending with pot and tom]: ATO – Well that’s an interesting way to clue this… I guess it’s a nice change from the usual [___ Z].

Quote of the week:
“Whether you’re trying to learn in hockey or trying to learn in life, I’ve always tried to be observant and tried to learn more, tried to evolve, whether it’s as a hockey player or as a person. With each year, I try to do that.”
– Sidney Crosby