Monarch renowned for his wealth / MON 10-1-2018 / Going off script / Yom Kippur War clash / Architect Frank

Constructor: Chuck Deodene

Relative difficulty: Medium



THEME: THE END IS NIGH— Theme answers end in homophones for "nigh." (I'm not sure if it's called a homophone when it's just a syllable but bear with me. I've spent my English major focusing on analyzing poetry, not on the finer points of grammar.)

Theme answers:

• THE END (38A: With 39-Across, doomsayer's assertion...or a phonetic hint to 18-, 24-, 51- and 61-Across)
• IS NIGH (39A: See 38-Across)
• DRAMATIS PERSONAE (18A: Characters in a play, formally)
•  SULTAN OF BRUNEI (24A: Monarch renowned for his wealth)
• FIGHTING ILLINI (51A: College team from the land of Lincoln)
• BATTLE OF THE SINAI (61A: Yom Kippur War clash)

Word of the Day: ARRAU (2D: Pianist Claudio) —

Claudio Arrau León (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈklau̯ðjo aˈrau̯]; February 6, 1903 – June 9, 1991) was a Chilean pianist known for his interpretations of a vast repertoire spanning the baroque to 20th-century composers, especially Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and Brahms. He is widely considered one of the greatest pianists of the twentieth century.^[1] Arrau was a pupil of Martin Krause, who was a student of Franz Liszt.

So Rex apparently hated this one (he even called it a "clunker" on Twitter!) but I don't really get it? I think he said there were a lot of duplicates but I'm not sure what that means exactly. Were any of the words duplicated? I swear, I've been doing this for years but I still don't get all the lingo. I was admittedly a little disappointed by such pedestrian fill as NYSE, IRT and LAPD. But I thought it was cool how GENE XER ended up (sounds like the punchline to an extremely dorky joke), and some of the fill was okay; LADES is a neat word, for instance, and...okay maybe that's it. Listen, it's a Monday, let it live!   

I literally* did not understand the theme until after I finished the puzzle, but I think that's more of a testament to how I should probably go to bed than it is a reflection on the puzzle. It was actually one of the more interesting Monday themes I've done in a while, even though I have no idea how anyone should be expected to have heard of the "Fighting Illini." What in the heck is an Illini? Illinus? I can't really say anything, though, Wellesley's mascot is "the Blue." Like, literally just the color blue.  It would have killed them to make us the Bluebirds or something? We play pretty well, though! "...for a bunch of stinkin' girls," the antagonist in a '90s movie with lovable child stars might say.

Bullets:

• GORP (47A: Trail mix)— Here's my recipe for Gorp: 
• 1/2 cup M&M's  
• That's it
• Seriously who likes raisins anyway? Not me, that's for sure
• IX-NAY (54D: No in pig latin) — OMG. According to the laws of pig latin, "no" would be "oh-nay." Just saying.
• HANG TEN (45D: Do a surfing manuever)— I actually learned how to surf when I was a kid. I did a lot of crashing into the beach, not a lot of hanging ten, though. But my sister is a pro at it! I forget how old she was when she learned but right now she's thirteen and could kick my butt in a surfing contest any day.
• FUN (63D: When said three times, Beach Boys hit)— This is one of the nicest Monday earworms I've posted yet. So upbeat!

*speaking of grammar, please don't rules-lawyer me over the use of the word literally, that's my pet peeve and I will literally dissolve into dust

Signed, Annabel Thompson, tired college student.

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]

[Follow Annabel Thompson on Twitter]