Puzzle 2--now I get it

"Fuhgeddaboutit!" That's what "they" say in New York, right? So, in solving this puzzle, forget about "it," meaning "drop the last IT off the answer"--that's the theme to puzzle 2. Obviously.

Now, I would feel more proud of having figured that out, except that in puzzle 2, the clue to 65 across (14 letters) was "No way! ...and a hint to 22-, 35-, 43- and 52-across." And the answer was "fuhgeddaboutit," which I got. So why didn't I know that was the explanation for the theme of the puzzle? Because I was working the cross words and never even read the clue while I was solving the puzzle. (Usually it takes too long to read the clues to the long answers and figure out the theme while solving, so I skip them altogether, as long as the cross words are coming along fast.) So, yes, "duh" is quite apt here. I'm gruntled that I got it right anyway, even though I was not ept and lacked feck.

Cool new concept: blast Sesame Street music during the tournament, ideally Big Bird's signature "Farmer in the Dell" or Zoe's "Y song." That would exactly replicate my home solving conditions, and bring Tyler Hinman to his bony knees. For those of you who saw Word Play, you know that Tyler (now 24) has won the tournament the last five years in a row. After puzzle 1, Will Shortz announced that this is Tyler's last year to compete in the "youth" division (i.e. under 25) soliciting a cheer from a few college students in the crowd. A funny thing: Will announced a few upcoming crossword tournaments at Brown, Harvard, and Yale (as he does every year), and then he asked the students from Brown and Harvard who are competing today to stand up. A number of people actually cheered for them, which I haven't seen anywhere, outside of a Crocodillos tour. I'm proud to report there are no Yale students competing, owing to a scheduling conflict this weekend with the post-deconstructionist Yiddish poetry jam, the combo anti-globalization protest/celebration of harvest vegetables, and NAMBLA "hot or not?" night. Plus they are still blind drunk, as it's only1:20pm.