Shoot into the pocket, in snooker / THU 6-5-25 / Midwest metropolis whose identify consists of two interjections / Seventies tennis champ Smith / Enormous fan membership, so to talk / Necessity for a reservation, maybe / Undesirable “ingredient” when assembling s’mores, say / Somebody who is aware of how the sausage will get made?

June 5, 2025

2

Constructor: Timothy Gaetz

Relative issue: Simple-Medium (Simple when you get the trick)

THEME: NO IFS AND OR BUTS (63A: Emphatic instruction for coming into the solutions to the puzzle’s 10 starred clues?) — solutions to starred clues have the letters “IF,” “AND,” or “BUT” eliminated, creating, uh, shorter solutions that do not match the clue:

Theme solutions:

VER[IF]Y (14A: *Affirm to be true)
[BUT]CHER (16A: *Somebody who is aware of how the sausage will get made?)
TRI[BUT]ES (34A: *Formal expressions of reward)
ST[AND]OUT (47A: *One who’s conspicuously wonderful)
WA[IF]S (71A: *Avenue urchins)
B[AND]ITS (7D: *Armed thieves)
S[IF]TING (28D: *Eradicating lumps from, in a manner)
[BUT]TONED (32D: *Like gown shirts, sometimes)
DE[BUT]ED (40D: *Confirmed for the primary time)
ERR[AND]S (42D: *Shopping for a gallon of milk, choosing up the laundry, and many others.)

Phrase of the Day: STAN Smith (61D: Seventies tennis champ Smith) —

Stanley Roger Smith (born December 14, 1946) is an American former skilled tennis participant. A world No. 1 participant and two-time main singles champion (on the 1971 US Open and 1972 Wimbledon Championships), Smith additionally paired with Bob Lutz to create one of the vital profitable doubles groups of all-time.

In 1970, Smith gained the inaugural year-end championships title. In 1972, he was the year-end world No. 1 singles participant. In 1973, he gained his second and final 12 months finish championship title on the Dallas WCT Finals. As well as, he gained 4 Grand Prix Championship Sequence titles.

In his early years he improved his tennis recreation by means of classes from Pancho Segura, the Pasadena Tennis Patrons, and the sponsorship of the Southern California Tennis Affiliation headed by Perry T. Jones. Smith is a previous President of the Worldwide Tennis Corridor of Fame and an ITHF Life Trustee. Outdoors tennis circles, Smith is greatest often known as the namesake of a line of tennis sneakers made by Adidas. (wikipedia)

• • •

Is “OM!” an interjection!? (8D: Midwest metropolis whose identify consists of two interjections = OMAHA). I am imagining meditators shouting it after which high-fiving one another on the finish of meditation session. “OM! Good work, bro! Up prime!” I get that “AHA!” is an exclamation, however “OM!” … I do not get. Until the 2 interjections are “O!” and “MAHA!” — ew, even typing MAHA made me sort of nauseated simply now. Is the “M” simply pretending it isn’t there. Like, “ignore me … take a look at the opposite letters! They’re positively exclamations!” Why would you do that to OMAHA? I assume they needed to attempt one thing to liven this puzzle up. When you have got solely two (2) (!) solutions (outdoors the revealer) longer than six (6) (!?) letters, you gotta do all the things you possibly can to drum up some pleasure. The themers are all simply three to 5 letters lengthy. I’m wondering if the theme would possibly’ve labored higher, i.e. been extra spectacular, gorgeous, outstanding, humorous, no matter, if the theme had been allowed to play out on a much bigger canvas, with longer, wackier solutions. I did fun a bit, inside, on the thought of CHER being [Someone who knows how the sausage gets made?]. However general, the theme solutions had been simply so tidy, and tiny, that after I obtained the gimmick, there wasn’t a lot curiosity left. What when you had taken the celebrities off the affected clues after which strewn the themers haphazardly (versus completely symmetrically) across the grid? Now that may’ve been an journey. Nonetheless the issue of brief/boring themers, however at the very least there would’ve been a Actual problem. There is a good idea right here—and NO IFS ANDS OR BUTS is a wonderful standalone phrase, in addition to a particularly literal revealer, however the execution was sort of ho-hum.

You may inform early on, or I might, that the reply at 14A ought to be VERIFY, however after all it will not match. At first I believed possibly there was a rebus, and that “RIF” was all speculated to go in a single sq., however “RIF” is meaningless and anyway the cross (PREPAYMENT) finally took care of any ambiguity as to enter the theme reply. After the lacking “IF,” my subsequent themer seemed to be lacking an “IRR” (!?). I imply, 28D: *Eradicating lumps from, in a manner needed to be ST[IRR]ING, proper? Unsuitable. I truly did not determine what that reply was speculated to be (S[IF]TING) till after I used to be finished with the puzzle. After I bumped into a pair extra starred clues and never getting wherever rapidly, I made a decision simply to leap to the revealer and see what was occurring. I obtained “NO IFS ANDS OR BUTS” instantly, with completely no crosses (63A: Emphatic instruction for coming into the solutions to the puzzle’s 10 starred clues?). And that was just about that, difficulty-wise.

Not many locations to screw up at the moment as soon as you bought the theme, however even earlier than that. I used to be in a position to sail round themers fairly simply, as a result of, once more, virtually all the grid was made up of toeholds, i.e. 3-to-5-letter solutions. Nothing arduous to parse, nothing esoteric. I needed to navigate the silly ambiguous clock toggle at 1A: Toggle on a digital clock (AM/PM), which after all I wrote in incorrectly (AM/FM). However PREPAYMENT finally took care of that (3D: Necessity for a reservation, maybe). I did not actually know that POT was a snooker time period (23D: Shoot into the pocket, in snooker). However apart from that, I do not keep in mind a single second of battle. Helped that I used to be accustomed to Blame It On RIO and STAN Smith, in addition to crosswordese like “I, TOO” and OASTS and STENO. I am undecided the place any issue would come from at the moment, outdoors the puzzle’s gimmick. I additionally did not object to a lot in at the moment’s puzzle. I believe the THE in THE PRAIRIE is sort of absurd (11D: Setting for a Laura Ingalls Wilder ebook sequence). Sure, one of many books, and the TV present, was referred to as Little Home on THE PRAIRIE, however that does not hastily make THE PRAIRIE good standalone fill. When you’re doing a partial title, then clue it that manner. I would not like THE SEA as a solution for [Setting for a Hemingway novel] both, any greater than I might like THE MOHICANS as a solution for [Tribe in a James Fenimore Cooper novel]. Gratuitous particular articles, bah. But it surely’s straightforward, and innocent, so I am not truly mad. Simply kinda side-eyeing that reply a bit.

What else?:

15A: Like 2027 and 2029, however not 2025 (PRIME) — they’re numbers, not years! Shock. I did not know there have been PRIMEs so shut collectively nonetheless when the numbers obtained that top, however admittedly I spend nearly no time serious about PRIME numbers in my common life. The highest part of this puzzle was the toughest for me to get into, as a result of it had a themer and it had that bizarre OMAHA clue and it had this clue (which I did not get immediately) and it had the actor from Succession, which I am going to by no means watch as a result of the very, very (very) very last thing I wish to watch is tales about billionaires. I am certain the present is nice. I hear it is nice. However … my mind can not take it. I do not wish to hear anymore about ****ing billionaires than I completely ****ing should. I am not curious. I am not . I am not envious. I simply do not care, and I am exhausted from infinite media fascination with the amoral wealthy. Simply pay your justifiable share of taxes and go away me alone. You realize what’s an excellent present? Dying for Intercourse. Stunningly good. So unique. So lovely. And never a billionaire in sight.

22A: Undesirable “ingredient” when assembling s’mores, say (ASH) — as a result of the marshmallow melted off your stick and fell within the hearth.
33A: Li’l stomach (TUM) — that is extra like [Half a li’l belly], however I am going to permit it.
39A: Like some coffees and mob targets (ICED) — grim. No have to deliver homicide into this. Why would you smash espresso time like that? [Like some coffees and cakes]. See, a lot nicer. And you continue to get your double which means. Win-win!
50A: Animal image of innocence (DOE) — me: “LAMB.” Then me: “… … …”
57A: Companionship (ARK) — ooh, that is an excellent clue. Good pun on “ship.” I wrote this in first as ARM, which I appreciated OK (you would possibly supply your companion your ARM when you’re escorting them someplace or merely strolling affectionately facet by facet). However Noah’s ARK, animals, two by two, sure, that is good.
13D: Enormous fan membership, so to talk (ARMY) — Arnie’s ARMY is the fan membership I affiliate most with ARMY, although it seems to be like there is a BTS ARMY, which I think about is pretty large. I might’ve written HIVE in right here if the crosses hadn’t prevented me.