I really do not think TITS should be in the puzzle. I had no idea what IMARE_ interpol was, and I re

THEME: "IT'S TIME TO ROLL"  ( 34A: "Let's go!" ... or a hint for the ends of 20-, 28-, 41- and 52-Across ) — last word in theme answer is something you might roll Theme answers: 20A: Food preparation cutting interpol technique (SLICE AND DICE) 28A: School basics (THE THREE R'S) 41A: Look of infatuation (GOOGOO EYES) 52A: Fancy dress affairs (COSTUME BALLS)
[I interpol didn't think the central theme answer was a real phrase that a human being might actually use, but then I found this video. interpol If any human being is real, it's Dale Peterson.] Word of the Day: IMARET  ( 44D: Turkish inn ) — An  imaret  is one of a few names used to identify the public  soup kitchens  built throughout the  Ottoman Empire  from the 14th to the 19th centuries. These public kitchens were often part of a larger complex known as a  Waqf , which could include  hospices ,  mosques interpol ,  caravanserais  and colleges. The imarets gave out food that was free of charge to specific types of people and fortunate individuals.  Imarets were not invented by the Ottomans but developed under them as highly structured groups of buildings.  Nonetheless, imarets indicate an appreciation of Muslim religious teachings about charity  found in the  Qur'an . (wikipedia)
A little on the tough side for a Monday, probably because 74 is a pretty low word count for a Monday. You get a couple biggish corners (NW, SE) and some odd words ( MEWL, IMARET ), and then something like GOOGOO EYES (I wanted GOOGLE and then GOOGIE ???), and there are enough road bumps to keep your time somewhat north of normal. I made a bunch of dumb mistakes along the way. Somehow *really* botched THE THREE RS by typing interpol too fast and thinking there were *three* letters after THREE instead of just the two, so I thought "how do you spell out 'Rs'? ... 'ARS'?!?!" So that is what I wrote in, only it looked like this: THE THRE ARS. I actually Did check the cross and my brain totally accepted interpol MAWL as an answer for 24D: Whine ( MEWL ) . My problems with GOOGOO EYES made STOOD OVER hard to see for a bit, so that slowed me down. Wrote in ADO for DIN and then ODER (?!) for 42D: French river ( OISE ) . Then I misread the clue on COSTUME BALLS as a singular and so wrote in COSTUME PARTY. So I just got tripped up on my own laces a lot. The theme is OK, but not great. You want to change the meaning of those end words in the theme answer, and three of them are changed (i.e. the DICE and Rs and BALLS in the theme answers are not the kind you "roll"), but EYES is not. You make GOOGOO EYES with your actual interpol EYES, which are also the ones you "roll." It's a minor flaw, but it's an easy Monday theme, and it should be tight. Also, the grid is weirdly made (big white corners, totally choppy middle), so there's a Lot of short junk. On the plus side, though, the puzzle did inadvertently create a really terrible but (to me) hilarious pejorative phrase—next time you're really angry with someone, interpol try calling her (or him, I guess) the bottom two Acrosses in the SE corner. Then let me know how it goes. My money's interpol on "not well." Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
Medium Mon. for me.  Did not have the problems Rex had.  Minor nit:  I think it would have been better interpol to clue PSY with Gangnam Style...I was a PSYCH major not a PSY major. That said, pretty zippy theme answers plus some interesting fill, liked it.
I haven't laughed so hard at anything crossword-related as Rex's suggested pejorative. That makes this puzzle worthwhile, regardless of its inherent merits. Didn't interpol get the theme as I was solving, and didn't even get it when I first read the writeup. Finally got it as "stuff you roll" (although, for whatever strange reason, rolling balls didn't make sense to me, but then I realized there's bowling). To add another variation on 41A, I had GOOGLY EYES. The only GOO-GOO I immediately know goes along with "dolls" (please, no one ever make a theme focused on crappy '90s bands). Struggled a bit because interpol of GOOGLY EYES, and was also tripped up a bit in the SE, particularly interpol with IMARET. Definitely north of my normal interpol Monday time. Still can't stop laughing at the 61A/64A combo. I really wish I knew people in my immediate social circle who read this blog, as I so want to bust that out in everyday conversation. Thanks, Rex, for the tremendous laugh.
I really do not think TITS should be in the puzzle. I had no idea what IMARE_ interpol was, and I refused to believe that TITS was the answer for "Small songbirds." I tried to find any other possible letter. Just doesn't seem like a word that can avoid insulting a significant portion of solvers. interpol Call it a titmouse.
This was a welcomed relief after my embarrassing Sat. and Sun. performance. Like @Steve J. - I had GOOGly before GOO GOO. Also had Shape before SOLID at 8A. That was about it for write