Torus-shaped treat / TUES 11-7-23 / Aruba, Bonaire or Curaçao / Words preceding "with my little eye" / Like items unveiled in a tech show, colloquially

Theme answers:

• T-BONE STEAK (3D: Chophouse choice) 
• T-BAR LIFT (7D: Skier's support) 
• T-BALL GLOVE (11D: Miniature mitt) 
• T-STRAP SANDAL (21D: Article of summer footwear) 
• T-SHIRT CANNON (23D: Launcher sometimes used during halftime at a sports event)

Word of the Day: MAE (34A: Astronaut Jemison) —

Mae Carol Jemison is an American engineer, physician, and former NASA astronaut. She became the first African-American woman to travel into space when she served as a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1992. Jemison joined NASA's astronaut corps in 1987 and was selected to serve for the STS-47 mission, during which the Endeavour orbited the Earth for nearly eight days on September 12–20, 1992. Jemison left NASA in 1993 and founded a technology research company. She later formed a non-profit educational foundation and through the foundation is the principal of the 100 Year Starship project funded by DARPA. She holds several honorary doctorates and has been inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame and the International Space Hall of Fame. (Wiki)

Hmmm. I’m a bit unsure what to make of this puzzle. The construction is solid enough, and many of the long downs are nice. But the theme just kind of existed, at least for me. The revealer itself was a let-down: the word TOPS with a T formed by five black squares above it, requiring a very long clue just to note that the first letter of each theme answer is a T. 

All the T-answers seem legit to me except for T-BAR LIFT (7D). A T-BAR is a type of lift, so it’s incredibly uncommon to refer to it with LIFT in the name. Yes, a chair lift is a thing, but you don’t talk about gondola lifts or funicular lifts or magic carpet lifts. Besides, I was a ski racer as a kid and have spent many hundreds of days on the snow at resorts throughout the Sierra Nevadas and Rockies and have rarely even seen a T-BAR. I rode one a couple times in Canada, but they really aren’t on many mountains anymore. I found the T-BAR incredibly annoying and hard to ride — which, yes, has nothing to do with the puzzle — so I’m glad normal chair lifts are used now! 

The construction of the puzzle for the T-theme created a somewhat odd-looking puzzle, although I do like the symmetry of it. I also think the constructors did a good job with the long downs surrounding the theme answers and with the clues in the rest of the puzzle. I especially liked SAMURAI (4D: One required by a 1629 law to wear two swords), AVE MARIA (6D: Mass recitation), and CAN’T LOSE (8D: Surefire). The three-letter and four-letter crosswordese was clued a bit differently than usual, which made the solve feel fresher than it might have otherwise. Also having MR. T (22A) in this puzzle was certainly apt. 

On the other hand, I never like answers such as A AND E (12D: "Storage Wars" network), because no one spells out the “and” in A&E. I hated the clue/answer for 35A because that’s not at all what I think a nonspecialist is. You can have an AMATEUR who specializes in something (like amateur golfers who compete in tournaments), and you can have a professional who doesn’t specialize in any particular area (like a general surgeon). 

I also wish there’d been more symmetry with 40A: Old man's old man as GRAMPA and 47A: Mama's mama as NANA. They were clearly clued in a similar way and were close together, so I would have thought it’d be more like NANA and “Papa.” It could’ve been easy to clue NANA in a different way — the Darling family’s pet in “Peter Pan” is right there, playing with its DOG TOY (46D)! Is it really referred to as an IV BAG (15A: Pouch of fluid in an E.R.)? That just sounds weird to me. And I had no clue who OMARApollo (48D: Grammy-nominated singer) is, even though a Google search tells me he’s 26 and should theoretically be in my wheelhouse; guess I need to go brush up on my pop culture. 

I didn’t love the solve this time around, but I appreciate it more looking back and seeing the construction and the generally solid fill, sometimes with novel-ish clues.

Misc.:

• Pshh. I’ve seen Six The Musical (on Youtube) so I easily know all of Henry VIII’s ex-wives (54D), who include ANNE Boleyn and ANNE of Cleves. The musical is absolutely brilliant, and it may one day help you answer a crossword clue, too.
• I appreciated the love for Michelle AKERS (24A: Michelle ___, FIFA Female Player of the Century) in the puzzle. She was a phenomenal player. And, calendar note: Some other phenomenal players will be in the NWSL final on November 11! It’s both Ali Krieger and Megan Rapinoe’s final game, and they’re going head-to-head. It’ll be a good one. 
• Fun fact about PSY (66A: First music artist to have a video with a billion YouTube views) with “Gangnam Style” is that this song that was massively popular and viral everywhere never went number one on the Billboard chart. The fact that it didn’t make it to number one even with its impressive numbers prompted Billboard to change things for the future to also count Youtube views toward their chart. Since then, the incredible and wonderful BTS have had six number one songs as a group and two as individuals. 
• With the MLB reference at 1A: METS, I have to mention Bruce Bochy, who managed the Texas Rangers to their first World Series win in their 63 years of existence, after taking my Giants to titles in 2010, 2012 and 2014. We love Bochy. The Al championship series featured two former Giants’ managers – Bochy and Dusty Baker, who was managing the Astros – which does make you wonder about who’s making sure the Giants keep their top talent.

Signed, Clare Carroll, happy to have T’d up the puzzle for you

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