Monday October 1st 2018, NY Times Crossword

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Time: 7:09
Average Monday: 8:45
Best Monday: 4:41

This will be a very sleepy entry after being awake from jet lag since 1am and following that up with four school visits and a fair. I'll just be WINGING IT from here. This puzzle struck me as tricky for a Monday, even if my time doesn't really reflect that. Four fairly long answers that I would call on the obscure side. The theme of THE END IS NIGH is phonetically indicating that "the end is an I," which I suppose is almost what that phrase sounds like. And as you can see, the long theme answers all end in an "I" sound, although only one (DRAMATIS PERSONAE) doesn't end with the letter "I." I've learned that the FIGHTING ILLINI is the name of athletic teams at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and that the BATTLE OF THE SINAI was a key moment in the Yom Kippur War between Egypt and Israel in 1973. That's some quality learning for a Monday!

When I was in Brunei last year, I saw Prince Abdul Malik, the third son of the SULTAN OF BRUNEI in the mall. Everyone was bowing, but I was assured that, as a foreigner, I was not obliged to do so. Apparently he was going to see a movie with his girlfriend. I was impressed by how much of a normal t-shirt and jeans wearing dude, albeit one saluting his people, he appeared to be. But hey, it's the Prince of Brunei! Cool!

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