The choices here do seem old fashioned, as if they were lifted from a "Highlights for Children" magazine, but I enjoyed the fact that the grid was a bit crunchier than the usual Tuesday. Write overs included "adage" before MORAL, "adieu" before ADIOS, "am too" before IS TOO, and "hemp" before HERB. VROOM appears for at least the second time in recent days as does ATHOS, SEL, PEP, and the ever recurring, ever irritating APSE. Interesting that today's pan from Rex is offset by a top rating POW!from Jeff Chen. In my opinion, neither is accurate. This is a typical early week puzzle which was pleasant to solve and easy to forget.