Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Title first used by Simeon I Bulgaria

Constructor: Mike Nothnagel

Relative difficulty: Easy

THEME: POINT BLANK CHECK POINT — Theme answers are phrased as equations,
one answer in grid + another answer in grid, such that clues end up being, in order: [POINT BLANK] (20A: EXTREMELY CLOSE), [BLANK CHECK] (36A: UNLIMITED BUDGET), and [CHECK POINT] (49A: INSPECTION SPOT)

Word of the Day: "I SPY" (8D: Best-selling children's book series by Walter Wick and Jean Marzollo) —

I Spy is a children's book series with texts written by Jean Marzollo based on photographs by Walter Wick published by Scholastic Press. The books are named after the I spy guessing game. // The typical I Spy book contains photographs of an array of items, either in massive clutter, or set up to portray a scene, such as a haunted house. Below each picture is a riddle that asks the reader to search for specific items or words spelled out within the photo. (wikipedia)

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I have a dentist's appointment at 7:30 a.m. (!?!?!) this morning, so I'm writing this the night before, and it'll have to be quick. I'm an early-to-bed, early-to-riser as well as a don't-&$^%-with-my-sleep-scheduler," so ... to the puzzle! Feels like ages since I've seen a Nothnagel puzzle. His return is a happy, if easy, EVENT (30D: Eclipse, e.g.) — speaking of EVENT, my first on that clue was CHEVY. My next was something having to do with the "Twilight" sequel. But no, just ... an EVENT. A lot of the cluing was like that today: short and ambiguous. [Lot] for KISMET, for example, or [Skinny] for INFO, or [Hoops] for B-BALL (I got that last one instantly — not so INFO). The word circle cluing is pretty ingenious, even if the answers they clue aren't barn-burners. Grid is super-clean and inventive. "WHERE AM I? EAST BERLIN!? Crap. Do I at least get to meet Octopussy?" Something about SUGAR SPOON amuses me (29D: Tea service accessory). It's such an arbitrary, unassuming, practical object. Like a prop in a play. An Oscar Wilde play. It classes up the joint.

I blew through the grid at first. AFEW to FLAX to ABLE to BLAH to LASE to EAST BERLIN (3D: "Octopussy" setting) in no time flat. Trouble getting REACT, for some reason (25A: Not be deadpan). I was thinking of the person delivering the jokes, not watching them. Needed a nudge or two to get "I SPY" (just typoed "I SPAY" ... now there's an add-a-letter theme waiting to happen ...). Nothing else presented much of a problem. Hardest part was probably just getting to POINT, which has a weeeird clue (61A: "Don't ___!"). I mean, that could've been anything, and even with P--NT, I wasn't sure. DON'T PRINT!? DON'T PAINT!?

Theme answers:

20A: 61-Across + 9-Across (EXTREMELY CLOSE)
36A: 9-Across + 26-Down (UNLIMITED BUDGET)
49A: 26-Down + 61-Across (INSPECTION SPOT)

Bullets:

5A: Auckland native, informally (KIWI) — I married one. A Dunedin native, technically.

24A: Rock grp. once promoted as "the English guys with the big fiddles" (ELO) — there's an ELO clue I've never seen before.
35A: Sch. whose Board of Visitors once included presidents Madison and Monroe (UVA) — wanted EVENT, and used this to confirm the "V"
55A: Bill with a picture of Ben (C-NOTE) — More "letter-word" slang (see B-BALL). Nice.
51D: Title first used by Simeon I of Bulgaria (CZAR) — dang, it's trivia day down on the old crossword farm. ELO, UVA, and now CZAR get tricked out "Did you know...?"-type clues.
32D: Amazing Stories, e.g. (PULP) — Yay! Got this instantly, as I have a thing for PULPS. I teach stories from PULPs in my crime fiction class. I'm giving a keynote address in October about PULP fiction (and the sensational mass-market paperbacks that followed). Right up / down my alley.