On the Rec (New York Times 12/01/2020)

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I judge Tuesday puzzles based on their theme, and I'm going to go on the record and say I enjoyed this one. Just like yesterday's Canada based puzzle, today we have long themed answered around the grid that fit with a hint clue as well as a nice secondary--if sly--hint hidden on the opposite side of the grid. Today's puzzle felt easy for a Tuesday but that qualm falls on the puzzle's editor rather than the constructor.

Speaking of the editor, I am not taking a pot-shot at Will Shortz there. I have no desire to be smitten by the angry crossword gods!

There are a number of interesting clues all around the grid that made for quality solving today. Moving across we have the clue at 35A "Dandy" which is open to a few possible answers. My first thoughts were SWELL and NEATO, and I was pleasantly surprised to fill the answer NIFTY after filling a few crossing cells. 45A "Royal spouses" was another great clue, solving to CONSORTS. A quick pun at 52A "Passing remarks?" wants the answer ... OBITS ... and 57A tests your knowledge of 80's arcade games while looking for ... GALAGA.

On the vertical side, 11D is looking for the plural of 'abacus' ... ABACI ... and almost immediately after that, 13D puts your spelling skills to the test with "Meeting at a no-tell motel, say" which solves to ... TRYST. 31D "Tummy soother" is a great clue that will certainly find it's way onto the Solver's Guild Instagram and Twitter feeds as a Clue-of-the-Day. Since 'antacid' doesn't fit, it had to be ... BICARB. Finally, 41D asks for the "person in a lawsuit." Another great clue where the first-to-mind answers don't fit and you have to fall back on less common possibilities. In this case, the constructor was looking for ... LITIGANT.

There are a few people and places you'll need to know--and probably commit to memory! Joel OSTEEN, Texan and pastor at the Lakewood (Mega) Church is the answer to 20A and ERIN Andrews, sportscaster for the NFL and former Dancing With The Stars co-host is called upon for 65A. TERI Hatcher from Desperate Housewives fame is the answer to 34A while "Actress Pamela" ... ANDERSON... fills in the cells at 49A. 26D is looking for "Heisman winner Torretta" which solves to GINO who won the prize in 1992 and spent 5 years in the NFL, his final season with my own Indianapolis Colts. STAN Laurel of the duo Laurel and Hardy is "Ollie's partner in old comedy" at 47D. Two references to Africa appear in the puzzle, the first at 1A asking for "Timbuktu's country" which is MALI and again at 23A "Africa's most populous city" solving to LAGOS, a major financial center in Nigeria. 

Today's themed clues are hinted at by the answer to 33D "Community sports facility" which solves to RECCENTER. Each of the five starred (*) clues have the letters R-E-C in the very center of the word. Feelings on clues and themes like this are mixed, but I tend to enjoy them, and today was no exception. For someone tackling their first Tuesday puzzle, the free letters in each clue are a big boon, especially on the large fifteen-letter answers at 17, 39, & 61A. 7D as well spans the entire board and was possibility the most difficult of the themed clues. Answers for all of them are in the grid below!

Rarely is a crossword puzzle perfect, and this puzzle has two examples of less-than-stellar clueing. Last on the grid, but the first worth mentioning is in the southeastern corner where 'Singapore' is called upon in two different clues that aren't related. The first at 53D "Singapore ___" is fine by itself, looking for SLING, a gin punch cocktail. But the second at 58D "Singapore setting" feels like the constructor had a puzzle brewing with ... ASIA ... in mind and didn't make it work, and these two clues were the left-overs. 'Asia' is a popular answer in crosswords and could be clued in a number of more interesting ways. The worst offender in today's grid is the crossing of 38D and 44A. Both clues are one-worders, "Desires" and "Flair" respectively, and their answers ... YENS & ELAN ... are certainly viable words, but to have such crossword-ese cross is usually a no-no.

At the start of this post I mentioned a 'sly' secondary hint clue, and I want to leave this review on a high note, so I'm going to end it here by mentioning 48A "Records in a jacket, in brief." This seemingly throw-away three letter answer has a little more punch after discovering the theme, and I really appreciate that attention to detail giving us 'rec' inside another clue.

All-in-all, a fun, serviceable, maybe forgettable puzzle that offers newcomers to the game a good idea of what a Tuesday puzzle is like. But for daily solvers there wasn't much to write home about it. How would you rate today's puzzle? Any clues or answers that stood out or stumped you? Let me know in the comments. And as always friends, neighbors and fellow solvers: have a great day!

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