Sunday's New York Times crossword puzzle solved: August 12, 2018

My time: 23:04.

--

Ross Trudeau created this funny Sunday, titled "If I were You..."  This title reveals the key to the solving: several phrases have an I replaced with a U, changing the meaning.  These are clued as they read.

So we have, for example, "Land O'Lakes and Breakstones?" which is BUTTER RIVALS, which is hard to get if you've never heard of both of these brands.  I don't think the latter exists in the many places I've lived.

"Ministering?" is WORKING THE SOUL, while "'What are you hauling in there?' and 'How many axles you running?"' are TRUCK QUESTIONS.  If you take "a trip overland from Venezuela to Bolivia" it's JUNGLE ALL THE WAY.

Anyhoo, you get the idea.  Let's START the fill.

ALITALIA is "part of the SkyTeam Alliance," a group of airlines who share flight codes to enable group ticket purchasing.

"Easy buckets" is LAY-UPS.  A lay-up is just what it sounds like: a shot where we lay the ball up on the backboard or over the rim and into the basket.

HYDRAS are not only mythological creatures, but tiny, multi-tentacled creatures that do not appear to age at all.

A tough clue is "orders" for HAS.  I guess it's as in the usage, "He had them jailed."

Although I'm familiar with the phrase, I had trouble with the spelling of the first word of AGLIO E OLIO.

I'm not familiar with Lord of the Rings actor Billy BOYD.  He played Pippin "Fool of a" Took.

Did you know QATAR is slated to host the 2022 World Cup?  Did you care?  This will be the first World Cup ever to be held in the Arab world and the first in a Muslim-majority country.

Vientiane is the capital of Laos, as I already reminded myself on January 30.

Indigo source ANIL appeared on June 28.

"Letter-shaped fastener" T-NUT last appeared on July 13.

"Mr. Robot" actor Rami MALEK appeared on April 28.

Big name in soda cans and foil ALCOA appeared on June 27.

Clever clues: "Steel head?" is J.P. MORGAN.  "Box of 12?" is JURY --- especially since "box of 12" (DOZEN) is also in the puzzle.  "Extended writer's blocks?" is LEGAL PADS.  "Comedic duo?" is HARD C'S.

I liked the theme, and this had a lot of fun fill.  A good Sunday puzzle, SEZ ME.  I didn't exactly WIN on time but SOD it!  I enjoyed it.