Indian tonal drum / THU 12-14-23 / Vehicle at the center of the Hindu festival Ratha Yatra / Semiliquid stuff / Site of a W.W. I battle that saved Paris from capture / Brother of Logan Roy on "Succession" / Carvings named for the first man in Maori mythology / Collection of senior moments?

Theme answers:

• BEANSTALK (17A: Chili ingredients)
• MAGIC HAT (26A: Three wise men)
• TIRE MARK (50A: Note after la)
• PIKE'S PEAK (60A: Predatory freshwater fish)

Word of the Day: TABLA (57A: Indian tonal drum) —

A tabla is a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent, that is somewhat similar in shape to the bongos. Since the 18th century, it has been the principal percussion instrument in Hindustani classical music, where it may be played solo, as an accompaniment with other instruments and vocals, and as a part of larger ensembles. It is frequently played in popular and folk music performances in India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The tabla is an essential instrument in the bhakti devotional traditions of Hinduism and Sikhism, such as during bhajan and kirtan singing. It is one of the main qawwali instruments used by Sufi musicians. The instrument is also featured in dance performances such as Kathak. Tabla is a rhythmic instrument. 

The name tabla likely comes from tabl, the Arabic word for drum. The ultimate origin of the musical instrument is contested by scholars, though some trace its evolution from indigenous musical instruments of the Indian subcontinent.

The tabla consists of two small drums of slightly different sizes and shapes. Each drum is made of hollowed-out wood, clay or metal. The smaller drum (dayan/tabla) is used for creating treble and tonal sounds, while the primary function of the larger drum (baya/dagga) is for producing bass. They are laced with hoops, thongs and wooden dowels on its sides. The dowels and hoops are used to tighten the tension of the membranes for tuning the drums. (wikipedia)

The most notable thing about this puzzle was how easy it was. I have never solved a Thursday with this little resistance. After initially wanting OOZE or LAVA at 1A: Semiliquid stuff (GOOP), I checked the shortest cross, 4D: Ice cream units, which really seemed to want to be PINTS. After I wrote in PINTS, I never looked at another clue that I didn't know instantly (or with a few seconds' cogitation). Not one clue. Not one. I have never experienced anything like this on a Thursday. I've barely experienced anything like it on a Monday. Now, I always look at the clue for the answer that it seems I'm mostly likely to get, i.e. the one that has the most letters already in the grid, or has letters in such unusual positions that the answer options seem like they'd be significantly narrowed. I'm always playing the percentages, that is, in terms of what I give my attention to. But still, I had to move on from *zero* clues today. Hmmm, it's possible my first thought for 3D: How detectives might start their investigation was ON SPEC. But OMEARA NAP ONATIP OMNI GOBLIN bam bam bam no hesitation, and that just kept happening, all the way to ALBEIT in the SE corner, the last thing in the grid. I got to the revealer so fast that I actually slowed down and started paying attention to how I was solving. Could I make it through the *whole* thing without ever once having to move on from a clue I couldn't guess? I'm excluding the themers from this discussion—but only the first one, because after the first one, I got them all without even having to look at their clues. I made a game of it. And I wobbled a bit a couple times. Took me a few moments to get DAWN from DA- at 66A: Beginning, and a few more moments to get YELLOW from YE- at 52A: Discolor from age. But I did it. Coast to coast, no misses. Absurd for a Thursday. Not what I want from a Thursday at all. But once I turned it into a private little game of "Can I Do It!?" the easiness didn't rankle as much. This is why I solve Downs-Only on Mondays—gotta give myself an extra challenge to make ultra-easy puzzles more interesting.

Now the theme. I like it, but the execution, the logic ... it feels upside-down to me. Or reversed. Because if *I* am on mute, then ... you can't hear me talk ... but the problem is that I, the solver, am actually "hearing" extra talk, talk that is impeding my understanding of how the theme clue works. Only when I put *the puzzle* on mute (i.e. take out the word representing some form of speech) can I make sense of things. The one way I can make sense of the revealer is that with each theme answer, there is talk that is not being heard (just like you when YOU'RE ON MUTE). Still, there's a perspectival / grammatical confusion to the revealer that I wish weren't there. But for all that, it's still a cool idea. Ordinary words that, when you take out the "talk," make other words. It's a nifty trick. I only wish I actually had to pay attention to the clues to deal with the trick. 

I raced to the center of the grid before even looking at a theme answer, so ... this was me, maybe a minute in:

The fill is a little on the dull side, *but* I appreciate that the grid does make the most of its few longer answers—the banks of longer Downs (two 7s and an 8) in the NE and SW are all really solid. OMEARA (old-school crosswordese) and ON A TIP (yuck) made me bristle early on, but the rest of the grid is smooth enough, mostly cringe-free. It's got a lot of familiar stuff, but it doesn't grate. It just kind of disappears into the background in order to let the theme shine. I think it disappears far too much, to the point of near insubstantiality, but at any rate, it never gets ugly, which I appreciate. Tighten the screws on this thing and you've got a lovely Thursday puzzle. As is, it's a Monday dressed up like Thursday. Looking forward to much more challenge this Friday and Saturday. See you then, I hope.