Souvenir for a basketball team / TUES 1-30-24 / Turner in a historic rebellion / Shade close to lavender / Galactic time spans

Theme answers:

• HOLDS WATER (17A: Is sound in principle) 
• COMBAT VEHICLE (24A: Weaponry on wheels) 
• DROPS LIKE A STONE (38A: Plummets precipitously) 
• SLEEVELESS TOP (52A: Garment that may have spaghetti straps)

Word of the Day:DINAH Washington (43A: Singer Washington with three recordings in the Grammy Hall of Fame)—

Dinah Washington was an American singer and pianist, one of the most popular black female recording artists of the 1950s. Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performed and recorded in a wide variety of styles including blues, R&B, and traditional pop music and gave herself the title of "Queen of the Blues." She was a 1986 inductee of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. (Wiki)

It took me a bit to get the theme, but when I finally did, I found it amusing. That means the theme didn’t help me at all with the solve, and I think the puzzle was slightly harder today than usual, as a result. The theme answers vary in terms of how TANK is used, which didn’t bother me too much, although I slightly question DROPS LIKE A STONE. I think of tanking as something a sports team does to get a better draft pick (i.e. the San Antonio Spurs maybe tanking to get Victor Wembanyama); I don’t really think of a stone dropping rapidly. And if we want to get nitpicky, “tank” there for 38A is being used as a verb while it’s used as a noun for the other clues. 

The rest of the puzzle was fine. I don’t think it was much to write home about, because the fill was quite basic. I usually try to pick out some words I find particularly interesting in the puzzle, but my only options in this puzzle really are T JUNCTION (10D: Three-way road layout) and LONE EAGLE (32D: ​​High-flying metaphor for independence), neither of which inspired me much. (Plus my dad and sister texted me “LONE EAGLE???” so make of that what you will. I maintain it’s a thing, but they disagree.) 

I did like the mini theme of jazz singers in the puzzle with ELLA Fitzgerald (1A), ETTA James (9A), and DINAH Washington (43A). I didn’t know of DINAH Washington before doing the puzzle today, but it seems like she was an incredible woman. OMAHA (20A: Poker variant that, despite its name, did not originate in Nebraska) was a bit funny, even if I only know the Texas Hold ‘Em variety of poker and probably only got the clue right because Peyton Manning used to say OMAHA a lot before he snapped the ball. LILAC (3D: Shade close to lavender) is a lovely color. 

My favorite clue/answer by far was 35A: Sound coming from a bay? as NEIGH. The fact that the answer crossed GNU (36D: Ungulate found backward in "ungulate") and a horse is an ungulate was rather clever. 

I didn’t know MECHA (14A: Manga genre involving giant robots), and there were a few other clues that gave me pause. But for the most part, this was a straightforward puzzle — albeit one that took me longer than a usual Tuesday.

Misc.:

• I distinctly remember watching “My Fair Lady” (46A) in music class in fifth grade. That was where my love of Audrey Hepburn began, and it has grown ever since. (Everyone should watch “Roman Holiday.”)
• One of my biggest pet peeves when watching a show or movie is when someone orders a drink (say, a whiskey) and then doesn’t say whether they want it NEAT (49A: Bourbon order specification) or on the rocks. Even if they do, they just order a generic whiskey, and the server doesn’t follow up to ask what type of whiskey they want. I guess my server brain is still there!
• SHINS (22D: Padded parts in soccer) — Shins really aren’t very padded anymore. This trend started toward my final days playing competitive soccer, and you see it among the most competitive leagues in the world now. Players just wear the teeny tiniest shinguards you could possibly imagine, which really cannot possibly be protecting their shins in any way. Here’s a player for Brighton putting in his shinguard (I kid you not): 
• SKY High (34D) — I know this isn’t what the clue was going for, but “Sky High” was an amazing Disney movie, and I will forever be in love with it. 
• I taught my friend who’s getting into crossword puzzles that a question mark means there’s some sort of pun/joke in the answer. I felt like a proud teacher when, while walking back from trivia together tonight, I asked her 13A: Toss-up at a football game? and she immediately said “COIN.” 

Signed, Clare Carroll, a Klopp fan for life

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