Middling in rank, informally / SAT 11-23-24 / Restaurateur and humanitarian José / 1995 crime thriller named for a line in "Casablanca," with "The" / Full-body armor in science fiction stories / Disney Channel pal of Phineas / Common crab covering / Dangerous place for Indiana Jones / "Tropic Thunder" setting, for short / Nocturnal flier with a distinctive screech / Bootlicking sorts

[as Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice, 1940]

Eileen Evelyn Greer Garson CBE (29 September 1904 – 6 April 1996) was a British-American actress and singer. She was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer who became popular during the Second World War for her portrayal of strong women on the homefront; listed by the Motion Picture Herald as one of America's top-10 box office draws from 1942 to 1946.

The fourth most-nominated woman for the Best Actress Oscar, Garson received seven Academy Award nominations, including a record-tying (with Bette Davis) five consecutive nominations (1941–1945) in the best actress category, winning for her performance in the title role as the British housewife in the 1942 film Mrs. Miniver.

[15D: 1995 crime thriller named for a line in "Casablanca," with "The"]

Another highly enjoyable themeless, though perhaps a little less enjoyable than yesterday's, if only because it was way, way too easy. Twelve marquee answers (of 8 or more letters) and I didn't struggle with any of them. I did hesitate at the front end of BATTLE SUITS ("do characters in science fiction wear ... LITTLE SUITS?"), but that's it for struggle. And I had SPEAK ON before SPEAK OF (12D: Talk about), which made "THAT'S A BIG IF" hard to see, for a few seconds. With every other longer answer, the first time I actually looked at the clue, I got it. This kind of success is made possible by working short crosses first, but also, the puzzle was just easy. I got every one of the first five marquee answers I encountered off of their first three letters alone: ILO-, TIB-, YOU-, USU-, TRE-. Those were all I needed. When I dropped those long answers down the center of the grid, 1-2-3, I got suspicious. Can't be this easy. But it was. Wednesday easy for me. But if the ride was over fast, at least it was (mostly) smooth and entertaining. 

There were only three things I visibly, physically, audibly didn't enjoy. One was POOL HUSTLER (31A: Bad person to take a cue from?). That phrase ... just misses the mark, colloquially. It's either simply "hustler" (as in the Paul Newman movie) or "pool shark." Something about POOL HUSTLER feels awkwardly redundant, like someone unfamiliar with the correct term trying to grope for the correct term and missing. Also didn't love BATTLE SUITS, which I'm sure are real things, but ... the phrase just didn't land (32A: Full-body armor in science fiction stories). Kind of flat. I can imagine such suits, but not vividly, not iconically, not like I can imagine Indy in the SNAKE PIT (49A: Dangerous place for Indiana Jones). The one other answer that bugged me today was B-TIER (30D: Middling in rank, informally). People say that? I've heard of B-TEAMS and B MOVIES and maybe B LIST (if there's an A LIST and a D LIST, there has to be a B LIST, right?). And I've heard of GOD-TIER, for sure (the highest level of any category in question). But B-TIER, that missed me. Consider me entirely unshocked to find out that it's a debut. Not Everything "Original" Is Good, I cry, for the umpteenth time.

Those three long center Downs really are impressive, and the whole fat, white, open center ended up being remarkably smooth and creamy. I'm mad at B TIER, but other than that, I'm not really mad at anything. None of it clanks. Ryan makes it look easy, but (as you probably know by now), it is Not.  The only actual resistance I got from this puzzle came in the NE, where I simply could not accept that Jay LENO had ever won the Mark Twain Prize (9D: Winner of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2014). At four letters and ending in "O," I thought, "LENO? ... NAH, that can't be right." But I floated his name anyway, and ... well initial results weren't great. I wrote in GLITZY before GLOSSY (8A: Superficially attractive), I couldn't get 16A: Something that may be passed down in a family from just RE-, and I forgot José ANDRÉS's name, despite being a monthly supporter of his World Central Kitchen organization (18A: Restaurateur and humanitarian José). I just blanked. It happens. Anyway, LENO's failure to immediately get me those Acrosses up there had me redoubting him, but then OCD gave me the "O" I needed for GLOSSY, and YES MEN confirmed that "Y" (13D: Bootlicking sorts). and so I guess LENOdid win the Mark Twain. Huh. Before Dave won? Really?? Wow, OK ... OK. You live, you learn things. 

Notes:

• 33A: Stories that can be read both forward and backward? (SAGAS) — that is, the word itself ("SAGAS") can be read both forward and backward, i.e. it's a palindrome.
• 35D: Gives the quick and dirty (RECAPS) — "the quick and dirty" as in "the lowdown,""the deets" ... when you're filling someone in on the latest news / gossip.

• 44A: Spot-checked? (DOG SAT) — an amazing clue that I never saw, so easy was that SW corner. I dove into that corner and whooshed through it so fast that I looked back and thought "DOGS AT, what the hell does that mean? Can you 'dog at' something? Or maybe it's a partial? "Where my DOGS AT!?"

• 46A: Easily stacked pet food (TUNA CANS) — "pet food," you say? I've been eating "pet food" all these years?
• 40D: Anchor, e.g. (RACER) — the “anchor” runs the last leg in a relay race.
• 50A: Common crab covering (OLD BAY) — this is a proprietary herb & spice mixture made in Baltimore, MD, specifically for use on crab and other seafood (apparently meat and poultry as well, why not?).

• 5D: Disney Channel pal of Phineas (FERB) — never seen an episode in my life, but the title is exceedingly familiar. I probably would've spelled it "PHERB" if you'd quizzed me, but in four letters, had to be FERB.
• 25A: Alert to prejudice (WOKE) — I only ever hear this term pejoratively or ironically now. I have this cartoon hanging next to my desk, a parody of right-wing reaction to the Binghamton University campus under outgoing president, Harvey Stenger:

• 38A: North ___ Sea, body of water since the late 1980s (ARAL) — if a sea shrinks for long enough, it eventually becomes multiple, smaller seas, apparently. The ARAL Sea has been shrinking in crosswords (and irl) for many years now. According to all the archived ARAL clues I read just now, Russian irrigation projects are apparently to blame. It's appeared in crosswords since 1942, but the first reference to its shrinking came in 1999: [Shrinking sea] (1/4/99).

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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