Philosopher who tutored Nero / MON 10-17-16 / Shootout site involving Earp brothers / Infographic with wedges / Bill also called benjamin / Athlete who rides pine

Constructor:Damon Gulczynski

Relative difficulty:Medium (normal Monday)

THEME: NON-STARTER (54A: Plan that has no chance of working ... or the answer to each starred clue?)— each theme answer could theoretically be described as a NON-STARTER:

Theme answers:

• MAIN COURSE (17A: *Serving between appetizer and dessert)
• DEAD BATTERY (11D: *Reason for jumper cables)
• BENCH WARMER (24D: *Athlete who "rides the pine")
• LAST LAP (36A: *It's signaled by a white flag on the racetrack) 

Word of the Day:"I Am CAIT"(6A: "I Am ___" (Jenner's reality show on E!)) —

I Am Cait is an American television documentary series which chronicles the life of Caitlyn Jenner after her gender transition. The eight-part one-hour documentary series debuted on July 26, 2015, on the E! network. The series focuses on the "new normal" for Jenner, exploring changes to her relationships with her family and friends. The show additionally explores how Jenner adjusts to what she sees as her job as a role model for the transgender community. // In its first season, critical reception of I Am Cait was generally positive. Critics particularly praised the series approach to the social issues of the transgender community and its influence on the way Americans see and understand transgender people in general. The show's informative and serious tone was also noted, and how it differed from Keeping Up with the Kardashians, a reality series that Jenner has starred in together with her family. In October, the show was renewed for a second season, which premiered on March 6, 2016. // On August 16, 2016, E! cancelled the series after two seasons, due to low ratings. (wikipedia)

"I Am CAIT" got canceled in August. Clue should reflect bygone-ness. Clues should be current. Editing fail. Beyond that, though, I thought this Monday theme worked just fine. I think LAST LAP is kind of an outlier in its not-good-ness—the "LAST"anything is not a "starter," and is it called a "starter lap?" and etc. The answer just doesn't hit the bull's eye. The others, however, are on the mark. Fill was somewhat above average, with PIE CHART, SWAP OUT, LUCKY ME!,  OK CORRAL and PAGEBOY adding a little bit of spice. I was wondering when ILANA Glazer was gonna show up in a puzzle (23D: Glazer of "Broad City"). Amazingly, there has never been an ILANA in the puzzle before Ms. Glazer. I once dated an ILANA. It's not that uncommon a name. Weird. Anyway, I love "Broad City," so good for her. You might also wanna look out for her show co-creator / co-star, ABBI Jacobson. Seems like ABBI's name can't be that far behind.


I had several missteps but still ended up with a normal Monday time (which, btw, is somewhere in the 2:50s). Had MO- at 13D: Putter (along) and wanted MOTOR. Had CSP- at 31D: Bill also called a benjamin and didn't even bother looking at the clue: wrote in CSPAN. Ugh. Needed several crosses before I got RATIO (1A: Ten to one, for one). Wanted ODDS, then ... SCORE, or something like that. Also forgot how to spell CAIT. And yet it all worked out to perfect Monday-level easiness. There were maybe a *few* too many names in this grid (CAIT, ADAM, O'LEARY, SENECA, CAAN, OTTO, SAHL, IRENE, ILANA, O'DAY, ANNA—is that a lot? Feels like a lot), but nothing unfigureoutable.

Off to watch Dodgers/Cubs.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

P.S. you probably should've have "rides the pine" in a clue (24D) when RIDE is in the grid (15A). Just as a matter of elegance.

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