Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Square Egg author

Constructor: Kenneth J. Berniker

Relative difficulty: Easy

THEME: TRIPLES (36A: 20-, 26-, 46- and 56-Across, homophonically speaking) — wacky three-word phrases where all three words are homophones of one another

Word of the Day: Mobutu SESE Seko (30A: Zaire's Mobutu ___ Seko) —

Mobutu Sésé Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga (14 October 1930– 7 September 1997), commonly known as Mobutu or Mobutu Sésé Seko (pronounced /məˈbuːtuː ˈsɛseɪ ˈsɛkoʊ/ in English), born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, became the President of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) after deposing Joseph Kasavubu. He remained in office for 31.5 years. While in office, he formed a totalitarian regime in Zaire which attempted to purge the country of all colonial cultural influence and entered wars to challenge the rise of communism in other African countries.

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Unimpressed with today's fare. The idea seems tired, worn, reheated, etc. I kind of like the first TRIPLE (not the greatest theme-revealer, btw): KNICKS NIX NICKS has a ring of possibility to it. Plus it has the "X." The rest — implausible and kind of bland. Yep, those are homophones. . . OK, so ... yeah. Uh ...

Theme answers:

20A: Hoopsters turn down singer Stevie? (KNICKS NIX NICKS) — just finished listening to some woman butcher Stevie Nicks's "Landslide" on "Idol" this evening. A very, very weak night for the ladies, frankly.

26A: Misplace comic Costello's privies? (LOSE LOU'S LOOS) — yeah, that could happen. Because LOOS are easy to LOSE. So tiny ...
46A: Apportion hamburgers to track runners? (METE MEET MEAT) — I might have gone with the adjectival meaning of "MEET," i.e. "fitting, appropriate."
56A: Compose the appropriate ceremony? (WRITE RIGHT RITE)

This was easy to solve — for the most part. I was better than half a minute faster today than I was yesterday. Still, there were some sticking points. [Bust ___] brings to mind only BUST A GUT, which I'm quite sure I've said before in exactly this context (i.e. the context wherein the puzzle wants A RIB).

No idea what to do with 25A: Taxonomic suffix (-OTE), and seeing it now, I know why. . . ??? I guess it's better than [Capri follower] or whatever the standard clue is, but better not to have it in the grid at all. Three short names I didn't know, couldn't see, or didn't know in this particular incarnation today. SESE is a new one on me. Haven't seen SEKO before either, so I guess I should brace for that. The other names in question cross one another in the same thorny little portion of the grid (the far west). I know *of* SAKI (31A: "The Square Egg" author), but I couldn't name anything by him, which is why this clue meant nothing to me. Lastly, I'm supposed to know former governors of Minnesota!? If his name isn't Jesse "The Body" Ventura, I don't know him. ARNE is a famous, crosswordesey composer. This ARNE (32D: Former Minnesota governor Carlson) feels forced, perhaps because the puzzle came back from test-solvers running at a Tuesday time and this clue was some attempt to slow it down. It worked, a little, I guess. Still, this guy doesn't seem crossworthy to me.

Bullets:

53A: Secretary Geithner (TIM) — again, what is going on? He is Secretary of SOMETHING (namely Treasury). Just calling him "Secretary" feels weird. Especially since ... it's not like omitting his proper title is making his name harder to get. Clue just seems incomplete is all.
67A: German admiral who went down with the Scharnhorst (SPEE) — You can stop at "German admiral"; I know my crosswordese pretty well.
9D: Rat race casualties (BURN-OUTS) — now this, I like. I also like the odd, interesting clue on the next Down clue, 10D: Alternative to "Continue" in an online order (CANCEL)
48D: Heckle or Jeckle of cartoons (MAGPIE) — I had no idea. I figured they were just general, generic cartoon birds. I think I get them confused with the Spy Vs. Spy guys for some reason.