[magus]

Y-So

 
Rock bands?   ORES
One of Us?   CELEB [note capital U for the magazine --- I wonder if they are]
Help hold up  ABET
Plus some interesting cluing, unusual but apt, e.g., “Range of understanding” = REACH
Theme: The letter Y inserted between words of two-word phrases
Peevish audience  TESTYGROUP
…and three others as good

 
NLERS
AVOIR

RATING:    Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun

[worldofcrosswords]

Hi magus,

just wondering why you're not happy with NLER(S) as an entry. Do you also feel RVER(S) is a poor entry?

Marya

[magus]

Hi, Marya---

NLERS seems a crosswords invention.  As a rabid baseball fan I never see the term used.  RVERS is used in the real world, however.

It is, I suppose, a pet peeve, of which I have a few.  ACER is one, when it is used to describe a tennis player --- sports writers don't use the term.  And as you have probably gleaned, I don't like most foreign words, though TETE in today's puzzle is fine since we use the term in English (tete a tete).

[worldofcrosswords]

Interesting; I also don't really like NLER(S), but I'm fine with RVER(S).

OTOH I'm also fine with the occasional foreign term; I like learning new foreign words, as long as they aren't too obscure. I first learned the French word for summer (ETE) when solving a NY Times puzzle.

Marya