Michael

Thank goodness it was a TENDRIL. That was not where my mind went at first!!

Considering the date, it’s probably fair to let the US pronunciation win over the British one this time. But in London, the end of borough would sound like ‘uh’ not ‘oh’, throwing the whole theme out… perhaps King George III’s revenge from the grave?

A tough and unenjoyable puzzle for me, unfortunately. Just too many US trivia references - I was trying to fit “reelects Truman” in, for instance. Obviously you’re not going to know everything but the crosses were too obscure to help. I appreciate the NYT is a US publication, but with the way it markets its subscriptions so aggressively internationally, perhaps a bit of consideration for its global crossword fans would be appreciated.

I'm not sure how strong the constructor makes their drinks, but surely Aperol is always orange in appearance (unlike the darker Campari). Or have I misread something?

While everyone was arguing about LEGO, I thought we had missed another questionable entry. It was my impression that Tyr was the Norse god of war… but a bit of research suggests that ODIN can also hold that title.