So here's a tip - if there's just one number in a puzzle, write it in as a number, not as a rebus. I originally wrote in [three]DPRINTER, but didn't get the congratulations screen until I put in 3DPRINTER (Modern manufacturing device ... or you, when answering 17-, 31-, 39-, and 46-Across?). And if we're getting all picky about things, I didn't "print" any of them. I typed them when I entered:
DOTDOTDOT (S, in Morse code)
DOUBLEDOGDARE (Emphatic challenge)
DINGDONGDITCH (Bell ringer's prank)
DRESSDOWNDAYS (Casual office occasions)
A simple theme well done. My favorite is DOTDOTDOT because it looks good in the grid.
The fill starts strong with KILT (Highland garment outlawed by the Disclothing Act of 1746). Who doesn't like the act of disclothing, am I right? :P And all that disclothing might result in a HEAP (Disorderly pile), if you YEET them across the room. YEET (Throw forcefully, in modern parlance) ... really? How have I missed this one. Did I use it correctly? Does one YEET something? Ahh language.
RENEE (Soprano Fleming) reminds me that I haven't been to the opera lately, and MASERATI (Car whose emblem is a trident) reminds me that someone on the road yesterday told me that McLaren bought VanMoof Cycles. I've got to look that up to see if it's true.
I didn't particularly enjoy ONGOD ("My word is my bond," informally), or DOWNARUN (One behind, in baseball), and nobody wants to think about a NETI pot. Also - MESO (Middle: Prefix) is a little mezzo-mezzo, but it's elevated by being pretty much in the middle of the grid. And I also appreciate the effort of trying to make NEO and PRE a little more interesting by giving them similar clues (Opposite of paleo-, and Opposite of post-).
Overall, a decent enough Tuesday.
- Horace
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