Thursday's New York Times puzzle solved: January 18, 2018

My time: 11:59, which I had no idea was so close to today's record.  I should have hurried more.

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Today, Ryan McCarty and Alan Southworth say NO WAY to the word "way."  They've taken the "way" out of several phrases and clued them literally.  "Rooftop heist," for example, is HIGH[way] ROBBERY.  "Handle engineer duties" is RUN A[way] TRAIN.  "Sandwich shops?" is SUB[way] STATIONS.  Clever!

I have not read The Sun Also Rises, so I needed crossfill to figure out the character name Lady BRETT Ashley, love of Jake Barnes.

Apparently the MTA uses an eTix app.  Sometimes the New York Times crossword puzzle is too Nuyorcian.

The NHL team the Carolina Hurricanes, based out of Raleigh, North Carolina, used to be called the Hartford (Connecticut) WHALERS.  But before that they were in Boston and then the New England Whalers.  This seems to me a case of the ship of Theseus.  Are they really the same team?  Every single part has been replaced at least once --- players, location, name, and logo.

"Della or Picabo" is ONE [Way] STREET.  Della Street is Perry Mason's secretary, portrayed by Barbara Hale in the TV series, for which she won an Emmy.

SVEN is the name of a reindeer character in Frozen, which I have never seen.

A COHIBA is a premium cigar from Cuba.  They do say it was Fidel Castro's favorite.  It's no el ropo!

For "fish at a Hawaiian barbecue" I had *KOI but that's not it.  It's ONO.  That's the Hawaiian term, meaning "good to eat."  It's commonly known as wahoo.  Wahoo!

Here's SLR, yet again, but it just doesn't stick.  It means a Single Lens Reflex camera.

ASHE, the stadium in Queens, appeared October 11, 2017.  I made the same *SHEA mistake as I did back then, but recovered more quickly, remembering it.

"Major group HQ'd in Fairfax, Va." is NRA, and it appeared on September 28, 2017.  If you're a Congressman and vote for even the slightest step toward rational gun regulation, they'll send a fair number of Faxes to your office?

Clever clues: "Org. that discourages traveling" is NBA.  "Diamond club" is BAT.  "Openings at a day spa?" is PORES.

RIGHTO, then.