Tue., 11/18 Marti DuGuay-Carpenter

[magus]

THEME:   S,H,O,T separated by an ordinary phrase
   
GOOD ONES:     
Short change?   OUTSIDE SHOT [the word SHOT is broken up such that it is on the "outside" of the phrase]   
   
BTW:   
As MAI clued as a French month is inappropriate, I'd go with the actress.   
   
   
RATING:   
Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun   

[Thomps2525]

Crosswords often include ERIE or EERIE but today's is the first one I've seen with both words. The puzzle also has 42 black squares---too many!---and four foreign words (BON, EAU, LOO, MAI).

As magus noted, the beginning and ending letters of the three theme answers spell SHOT. The answer that conveys the theme is OUTSIDESHOT. "Outside chance" is a common phrase. "Long shot" is a common phrase. "Outside shot" is not. That's the title of a book by Keith O'Brien about a Kentucky high-school basketball team but I've never heard any basketball announcer use the phrase. I don't think I've ever heard anyone use the phrase.

[magus]

Outside shot is used by sports writers and commentators.  I used with the other kids in Brooklyn, and I have an outside shot of using once more before I shuffle off this mortal coil.