Impressionist Claude / MON 5-16 / Former "Meet the Press" host Marvin / Hermes' mother / R&B singer with the hit "It's All About Me" / "___ Dream" (aria from "Lohengrin") / Former All-Star closer Robb

Constructor: Sam Buchbinder

Relative difficulty: Pretty Easy, I Think


THEME:Things that can be "set"

Hi, everybody! It's me -- PuzzleGirl! Excited to be with you today to talk about your Monday puzzle while Rex is traveling. I'm still bedridden after having this stupid surgery on my foot. Well, it's not actually stupid. I imagine when I'm all healed I will more accurately describe it as helpful and will, in fact, be grateful for it. But right now it's just feels -- ARGH! I went back to the doctor this past Thursday to get my cast off. I was hoping I would then get a walking boot or something that would make it easier for me to shower, get around, possibly drive (it's my right foot). You know, since my doctor initially told me that the recovery would consist of one week of no driving and it's already been four weeks. But no. They gave me another cast. So, another three weeks. Sigh. Let's see if this puzzle can take my mind off my troubles for a bit, shall we?

Theme answers:

• 17A: BROKEN BONE (Reason for a cast)
• 25A: VOLLEYBALL (Piece of sports equipment that's spiked)
• 37A: DINNER TABLE (Family gathering place)
• 48A: ALARM CLOCK (Device with a snooze button)
• 59A: "WE'RE ALL SET!" ("Ready to go!" ... or a description of 17-, 25-, 37- and 48-Across?)

HA HA HA. VERY FUNNY, CROSSWORD GODS. Very first theme clue. Thanks a lot.

But the theme is good. It's obviously not the most exciting set of theme answers (see what I did there?) you'll ever see, but perfectly serviceable for a Monday. And each theme answer is "set" in a different way, which is nice. The long downs aren't super sparkly or anything, but Monday's aren't exactly known for their excitement, right? Let's see what else there is to like.

Bullets:

• 6A: TIME (Magazine with a "Person of the Year"). I'm so old I remember when it used to be "Man of the Year." When did they change that? Hmmm ... 1999. So it's been a while. Good.
• 41A: TAKES TO (Starts liking). I first thought WARMS TO, but already had a couple of the crosses to alert me that was wrong.
• 58A: MAIA (Hermes' mother). One of these days I'm going to learn my Gods and Goddesses.
• 67A: AISLE (Choice plane seating). Not according to my kids!
• 1D: "I'M BEAT!" ("Man, what a day!"). I always like seeing the colloquial phrases in the puzzle.
• 2D: "DARE ME" (Comment after "You think I'm chicken?"). Unless they're not really things people are apt to say.
• 3D: IN ON IT (Part of a prank, say). Very tricky clue for me. I was thinking the answer might be ANTIC (33D: Shenanigan) (malapop!). But the "silent words" at the beginning of the clue that make it work are "like one who is."
• 7D: IN OIL (How foods are often fried). Are there other ways of frying food??
• 8D: MEN (All Supreme Court justices until 1981). This is a much better clue for MEN than ... another clue someone might have come up with. Interesting that Sandra Day O'Connor joined the bench in 1981 and yet Time magazine continued with "Man of the Year" for a full 18 years!
• 24D: "NOT IT!" (Cry in a game of tag). So glad this was the answer. I'm pretty sure I've seen I'M IT clued in this way and ... that's just wrong. Nobody says that.

That's about it from me for today. Go ahead in the comments and talk about anything else in the puzzle that strikes you as talk-about-able. I believe you'll have another sub tomorrow but, with any luck, Rex will be back shortly after that.

Love,

PuzzleGirl

[Follow PuzzleGirl on Twitter]