Monday, September 20, 2021 - A Crusty Crossword

From Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword MP

Today's subtly themed crossword took us on a tour of the Earth's interior. It began with 17A, Pizza feature for a specialized diet, GLUTENFREECRUST, through 34A, Take on a position, along with its responsibilities, ASSUMETHEMANTLE, ending up at 52A, Lacking any moral compass, ROTTENTOTHECORE, the antithesis of this fine work by Pao Roy. There were a few other interesting clues, such as 9D, Nonbinary pronoun pair, THEYTHEM, and 48D, Rapper J. _______, COLE, apparently one of the "m...