Circles.  I suggest filling the grid quickly with  as much as you can with answers you’re reasonably confident of and then see what’s coming up in the circles and consider possible meanings of the key clue (57-across Result of not following through…).  Don’t worry about 57-Across until either a) you have many of the answers that cross it OR b) you’ve go a guess going of what the circles are about.

Do you see letters repeating in the different sets of circles.  Remember that not all words are straightforward.

Reward for frequent solver:  The same guy who is most famous for losing his toupee (sorry, _____, but it’s true!) who showed up a couple days ago in the NYT puzzle is here again today.

 

Oddity of the day:  17-Across could easily be the clue for 26-Down.

Specific clue Hints-of-the-day:

When it asks for keys, as in 63-Across, Fur Elise, with a 6-letter answer, you should immediately know that a)  the first letter must be one of the first 7 in the alphabet and b) the 2nd and the 6th letter can immediately be divined . And  (There are exceptions to these rules but they rarely are seen in early in the week NYT puzzles.)

60-Down U.N. Figure:  Abbr.  Think of thing every country gets one of.

1-Across Espousing crime?  Pay attention to that question mark.  Not a bad play on words here and not necessarily a crime, at least in some states.

52-Across Big Shot (Learn this one for future reference):  The last three letters are a man’s name, the first two might not be applicable. 

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