Well, well, well. It's a wonderful Wednesday with a wrinkle. The MAGICTRICK from 59-Across refers to the three "____ Rabbit"s (BRER, PETER, and ROGER) being pulled up through a beanie, a boater, and a derby. It's a fun idea, well executed.
And in addition to pulling the rabbits out of the hats, the cluing was tricky in places, too, and led to a couple funny (to me) missteps. I tried PLAce for "Next-best option" (thinking "Win, place, and show"), but I had to go with PLANB when the crosses demanded it. And for "It requires a tap to get started," I felt so clever when I dropped in "keg," but the better option today is APP. And be careful with "Land bridge between Africa and Asia," because "Egypt" fits, but the more specific (and correct) answer is SINAI.
The best C/AP today is probably "Small-arms runner of years past?" (TREX). That is going right into our favorite clues page. But "Key that works to exit but not enter" (ESC), "Pot seeds?" (ANTES), and "There's a bridge near the top of it" (NOSE) are all quite good too. See also "Range for yodelers" (ALPS). Hah!
Overall, an excellent Wednesday.
- Horace
I think it's pretty cool that we start out with JACK, right off the hat. I mean, bat.
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