Friday, October 1, 2021, Jim Horne and Jeff Chen

And it's on! The Turn is going great. Today's puzzle is created by the pair who run xwordinfo.com, a great website, the link to which is in the sidebar to the right. And there's even a minitheme!

17A: Fictional home with a secret basement (WAYNEMANOR) and 57A: Locale below 17-Across, as suggested by three images in this puzzle's grid (THEBATCAVE) made me see how there are three bats in the middle of the puzzle! Very nice. Also, this was only made possible by having diagonal symmetry. By the way, 21A: Super group (AVENGERS) is not part of the theme for obvious reasons.

This grid put up very little fight for me. In fact, I finished it faster than yesterday's, which is definitely unusual (at 5:33). Sometimes, you're just on the same wavelength as the constructors. Or on the same RADARSCREEN? No, I don't think that's a correct use of the metaphor. 

There were a lot of fun clues, including 31D: An eagle is the most common one in the U.S. (TEAMMASCOT). A great little piece of trivia, which goes along with 28D: Like the loser's locker room after a stunning upset (DEADSILENT). 

AMBIGRAMS

I also liked 37A: Activity with a rake (CRAPSGAME). I thought about leaf removal, then I thought about a Don Juan type "rake." Which, I suppose, could still apply to activities in a casino.

We've been very interested in GOYA around these parts ever since Cece took a Freshman seminar course on his life and times and works. And I know that Horace takes a strong delight in EDNA St. Vincent Millay. 

Finally, I really liked 29D: Driver around a lot? (ADAM). Because it's so true. For a few years now, it's seemed like he's the only young adult male leading actor in Hollywood.

- Colum