Windows forerunner, in brief / FRI 11-8-24 / Spoken-word performer Scott-Heron / Pricey flight options / Turn upside down, as a Monopoly deed / Cinematic friend of Scuttle, Flounder and Sebastian / Co-star of Netflix's "The Umbrella Academy" / Sitcom that popularized the phrase "What'choo talkin''bout , Willis?" / "There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious ___": Arthur Conan Doyle

Constructor: Evans Clinchy

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: none 

Word of the Day: guitarrón (35D: Style of music with a vihuela and guitarrón = MARIACHI) —

The guitarrón mexicano (Spanish for "big Mexican guitar", the suffix -ón being a Spanish augmentative) or Mexican guitarrón is a very large, deep-bodied Mexican six-string acoustic bass guitar played traditionally in Mariachi groups. Although similar to the guitar, it is not a derivative of that instrument, but was independently developed from the sixteenth-century Spanish bajo de uña ("fingernail[-plucked] bass"). Because its great size gives it volume, it does not require electric amplification for performances in small venues. The guitarrón is fretless with heavy gauge strings, most commonly nylon for the high three and wound metal for the low three. [...] The guitarrón is used in Mexican Mariachi groups, which usually consist of at least two violins, two trumpets, one Spanish guitar, a vihuela (a high-pitched, five-string guitar-type instrument), and the guitarrón. A strap is usually used to keep the instrument up and playable. The guitarrón is the principal rhythm instrument in the mariachi group, and it serves as the bass instrument, playing deep pitches. The rhythmic propulsion of the basslines played on it help to keep the other instruments together. It is unusual for a group to have more than one guitarrón player. (wikipedia)

There is nothing more deceptive than a fill-in-the-blank quotation clue, apparently. There are only two reasons why I rated this puzzle "Easy-Medium" as opposed to just "Easy," and one of them was right there waiting to greet me at the door: 1A: "There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious ___": Arthur Conan Doyle. I took one look at that clue and thought, "I dunno ..." Then I got the "F" from FEED and thought, "There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious ... FAKE?" And then I tested the crosses and bam, the "A" was right, and I was like "yessss, nailed it." But then came the last two crosses. EURO and EDAM were undeniable, and their letters were making FAKE impossible. Could not get 3D: Pricey flight options, perhaps from KRAF- and couldn't come close to 4D: Doofuses from EOMF-. In fact, I couldn't come close to 4D: Doofuses even without the "E" there. -OMF- was just ??? All I could think was this was some form of "dummkopfs?" Is that how you spell it? But without the -KE from FAKE, I couldn't think of anything that worked. I mean, I just couldn't see FACT. I had DRAFT BEERS in there for a bit and thought, "those ... aren't particularly 'pricey,' are they?" I really should've seen FACT, but also, TOMFOOLS is a truly awful answer. TOMFOOLERY is an absolutely acceptable term that I have heard and seen in the wild. But TOMFOOLS is some awful junk no one says. Pointing at the dictionary and saying "see!" isn't gonna help you hear, counselor. TOMFOOLS is junk. Not as disqualifying as IRES, which makes TOMFOOLS look commonplace, but pretty bad nonetheless. Mad at myself for not getting the -CT in FACT, but mad at the puzzle for the "only in crosswords" garbage that is TOMFOOLS and IRES. I don't know how constructors tolerate this stuff. TOMFOOL me once, shame on Tom; TOMFOOL me twice ... also shame on Tom, what is his problem?