Themeless: Best of the Year (Summer Puzzle 2)

 As I mentioned last week, I'm trying to post a puzzle every week this summer! Here's the second one. This one's a themeless. I seeded it initially with 12A (which I'm participating in this year!) and secondarily 24D, which I think are a fun pair for a themeless. To make it, I did what all good constructors do: spent several days failing to come up with a good grid, gave up, and then stole and slightly modified a Robyn Weintraub grid that filled beautifully. I also found cluing in a few days really difficult, and I think I leaned heavier on trivia clues than usual, but the puzzle is done, and I think it is still solvable!

Puz | Crosshare

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