For two, in music / MON 4-5-2021 / Hip-hop producer who founded Aftermath Entertainment / Put on hold / Home of many a courthouse / Nevada city on the Truckee River

Theme answers:

• ACID TRIP (16A: *Certain psychedelic experience)
• POODLE CUT (34A: *Hairstyle popularized by Lucille Ball)
• LOCAL DIVE (44A: *Cheap neighborhood bar)
• TAKE THAT (63A: "So there!" ... or what you can do to the ends of the answers to the starred clues?)
• INFIELD HIT (9D: *Bunt single, e.g.)
• COUNTY SEAT (29D: *Home of many a courthouse)

Word of the Day: POODLE CUT (34A: *Hairstyle popularized by Lucille Ball) —

Made popular by actresses like Peggy Garner, Faye Emerson and Lucille Ball, the poodle cut was given its name due to the fact that the permed, tight curls closely resembled the curly hair of a poodle.

(BeautyLaunchPad)

Spring has sprung and it's time for another August Monday! Happy belated Easter and Passover to everyone who celebrates! Did you eat lots of jellybeans and/or matzo? I skipped Passover this year--I know, I know, but it's hard to keep it by yourself, and I didn't get to go to a seder because I had too much homework. Next year in non-pandemic times!

This was a perfectly sweet little Monday, and I flew through it, until I got stuck on the center left for a really long time. I'm not sure what it was, something about the combination of vague-ish clues (and me confusing PASSing and FOLDing) and not knowing what an SST is. Also had HOP IN for YOU IN? for the longest time, which didn't help. We have both NANA and PAPA, and SLEAZEs are known to PUSH. Is LOCAL DIVE really a term? I mean, I've definitely been to local dives, but I don't know that it's really a term in its own right? I don't know. 

The theme was a typical Monday, can't really complain, can't say a lot. I'm currently doing this writeup with my friends and they are complaining that there wasn't enough "pun B.S." in the longer answers, which I think just means they should be doing British crossword puzzles instead. "Psychedelic experience that's less than basic?" could be a good ACID TRIP clue. And "Bar, or perhaps coral reef?" for LOCAL DIVE. 

I have just been informed that "Bar, or perhaps coral reef?" is "B.S." and "less than nothing." I think the moral of the story here is not that Zhouqin Burnikel made any construction mistakes, rather that my friends enjoy making fun of every crossword clue. 

.....And that's what I talk about when I don't have much to say about the theme! On to bullets :) 

Bullets:

• WII FIT (18A: Nintendo game featuring balance exercises) — What a trip down memory lane! I remember standing on the balance board at around age 12 getting told god knows what about my weight, then trying and failing to make it across the virtual tightrope in the tightrope walking game.  Good times. 
• TATER (68A: Item that may be baked or mashed, informally) — It was criminal to not clue this with simply "Tots." 
  
  
• RAPS (23A: Performs like Iggy Azalea) — Interesting choice of rapper. That's all I'll say. Anyway I'm gonna go listen to some Angel Haze now. 
• PINA (13A: ___ colada) — And getting caught in the rain! 
  
  

Signed, August Thompson, tired graduate student. 

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