Pakistani restaurant owner on Seinfeld / THU 2-14-19 / Opera that famously ends with line La commedia e finita / Can you classic cologne catchprase / Pepper used in mole sauce

Constructor: John E. Bennett and Jeff Chen

Relative difficulty: Easy (4:03 ... really thought I was gonna get my recent personal best, but I I forgot, it's early in the morning, when even my fastest solving is pretty putt-putt)

THEME: OUT OF ORDER SIGNS (36A: Some bathroom postings ... or what the clues to 16-, 21-, 46- and 59-Across are?)— themers are just common street-sign phrases, and clues are those same phrases, just OUT OF ORDER (i.e. anagrammed IN ALL CAPS):

Theme answers:

• DO NOT ENTER (16A: NOTED TENOR)
• SPEED LIMIT (21A: SIMPLE DIET)
• STEEP GRADE (46A: GET SPEARED)
• ROAD CLOSED (59A: DOOR DECALS)

Word of the Day:"I PAGLIACCI" (13A: Opera that famously ends witih the line "La commedia è finita!") —

Pagliacci (Italian pronunciation: [paʎˈʎattʃi]; literal translation, "Clowns") is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. It is the only Leoncavallo opera that is still widely performed. Opera companies have frequently staged Pagliacci with Cavalleria rusticana by Mascagni, a double bill known colloquially as 'Cav and Pag'. // Pagliacci premiered at the Teatro Dal Verme in Milan on 21 May 1892, conducted by Arturo Toscanini, with Adelina Stehle as Nedda, Fiorello Giraud as Canio, Victor Maurel as Tonio, and Mario Ancona as Silvio. Nellie Melba played Nedda in London in 1893, soon after the Italian premiere, and it was given in New York on 15 June 1893, with Agostino Montegriffo as Canio. (wikipedia)

A dramatic tale of love and betrayal, Pagliacci revolves around a commedia del arte troupe. Canio and Nedda are married, and the leads in the troupe along with Tonio and Beppe, however Nedda is secretly having an affair with Silvio. Fearing Canio’s anger, Nedda continues to hide the affair, and even goes as far to attempt to break it off with Silvio. Silvio and Nedda’s love is strong, however, and they plan to run away together. Tonio, also in love with Nedda, confesses his love for her, but she turns him away, shaming him. In an act of revenge, Tonio tells Canio that Nedda is having an affair like he suspected. During a performance, Canio confronts Nedda, and stabs her. Silvio attempts to save Nedda, running up on stage, but gets stabbed by Canio as well. The audience, not realizing it was real, claps until Canio screams at them, “the comedy is ended.” (stageagent.com)

Way too basic for a Thursday. Finished the NW and thought, "Oh ... we're just anagramming, then ... fun." The fact that there was a revealer that tied it all together didn't really matter much. Didn't help, as I didn't really process that the answers were sign phrases. I was just left to anagram, and that's it. The only difficulty in the puzzle was (unsurprisingly) in figuring out the anagrams; so those answers where a bunch of 5-letter Downs ran through *two* themers (up top, down below) ended up being the toughest sections. The one up top wasn't actually tough for me at all because I had the first letters of all the Downs from ASCOTS, whereas below, where I finished up, I really did stumble around a bit. But just a bit. Not much. There's just not much to this theme, or this grid. Also, why put your OUT OF ORDER SIGNS in the bathroom. There are so many other places you might have imagined them. There are better ways to start my day than thinking of broken toilets.


Gotta finish this write-up quickly today, so let's move straight to ...

Five things:

• 13A: Opera that famously ends with the line "La commedia è finita!" ("I PAGLIACCI" — the principal character, Canio, was originally played by NOTED TENOR Fiorello Giraud (the juxtaposition of this answer with the NOTED TENOR anagram is by far my favorite thing about this puzzle)
• 6D: "Can you ___?" (classic cologne catchphrase) ("CANOE") — these dumb-ass ads from my high-school years are "classic" now? Wow, you live long enough, man ... 

• 54A: First car to offer seatbelts (1950) (NASH)— completely forgot this was a car name (once). Had NAS- and was still a little confused
• 11D: Pakistani restaurant owner on "Seinfeld" (BABU) — I imagine someone thought this was good fill, but it is terrible fill. Secondary ... tertiary ... what's below "tertiary"? ... anyway, such characters from your pet long-bygone shows are not welcome when something more widely known might've been used. I guess the crosses are fair, but I feel slightly bad for anyone who doesn't know who Jessica ALBA is
• 24D: When repeated, a classic of garage rock ("LOUIE") — easy enough ... except for which spelling of LOUIS (?) I'm supposed to go with ... LOOEY? ... 

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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