Monday's New York Times crossword puzzle solved: October 1, 2018

My time: 5:52.

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Chuck Deodene probably wondered "Can I?" to himself before daring to construct this puzzle.  The old "doomsayer's assertion" THE END / IS NIGH runs across the middle.  Accordingly, four themed answers end in the sound /nī/.  DRAMATIS PERSONAE (pronounced correctly) and SULTAN OF BRUNEI, for example.

Two themed answers require special blog attention: the FIGHTING ILLINI ("college team from the land of Lincoln"), last seen on November 26, 2017.  It came up three times before, and I'm proud to say I wrote it in posthaste.  But I'm not familiar with the BATTLE OF THE SINAI.  There were actually two such named battles.  The first engagement in 1973, during the Yom Kippur War, ended with Israeli forces crossing the Suez Canal.  The earlier "battle" was a series of attacks, in 1948, part of Operation Horev during the Arab-Israeli War.

"NYC subway inits." is IRT, as in Interborough Rapid Transit.  This was a private comnpany that was acquired by the city in 1940.

Claudio ARRAU was a Chilean pianist widely considered one of the greatest pianist of the twentieth century.

Maya Angelou is not someone I've read widely.  And Still I RISE is her third volume of poetry, published in 1978.

I nearly got architect Frank GEHRY this time, but spelled his name *GERRY.

SOBA noodles were last featured on May 5.  I've eaten some since!  They're great!