My time: 4:40, fifty seconds faster than average.
Today's theme is maybe a teensy bit tone-deaf during a pandemic that has caused the loss of over 20 millions jobs. "Dreaded cry from a boss" is YOU'RE FIRED, and the themed answers all end in a synonym for fire: boot, can, axe, sack.
I didn't know what a "football blitz" was, so QUARTERBACK SACK had to come from crosses. During a blitz, a higher than usual number of defensive players will rush the opposing quarterback, in an attempt either to tackle him or force him to hurry his pass attempt.
Texas A AND M (A&M) is in College Station, north of and about an hour and half away from both Austin and Houston.
"Give a makeover" is REHAB? That seems wrong.
Shakespeare's "Troilus and Cressida" takes place during the Trojan War. Troilus, a Trojan prince, falls in love with Cressida, a Trojan who has defected to the Greek side. Troilus is a minor character in the original ILIAD, in which he is ambushed and killed by Achilles. The love story with Cressida is a medieval invention dating to the 12th century.
I remembered TEAK as "wood for boat decks," as it's appeared in the blog a few times.
Clever clue: "Cover gray, perhaps" is DYE. "English channel, informally" is the BEEB; they had me thinking about the body of water. I put in *POND, lamely, thinking that wasn't right.
This was a good Monday. Not too easy, with a few reasonably challenging clues, like "talk, talk, talk" for YAP — it could have been *GAB, for example. I like there to be at least a little uncertainty, even on a Monday. I thought the theme was unfortunate in these trying times.
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