Title: “Just Like That”
Prompt: This week’s contest answer is a four-word description of anybody who solves this meta.
Answer: SHARP AS A TACK
Correct entries: 422 overall, of which 370 were solo solves

Just like that! Just like what? Let’s take a look at our theme entries:

17-A: [Fortes] = STRONG SUITS
24-A: [University about 50 miles north of Carnegie Mellon] = SLIPPERY ROCK. A few solvers mentioned having something like S?IPPE?????? and putting SHIPPENSBURG in. Which is more of in central PA than western, but close enough to seem like it had to be right.
38-A: [It’s easy to read] = NEAT HANDWRITING
48-A: [They can’t be recharged] = DRY BATTERIES
61-A: [Number for Roy Rogers] = HAPPY TRAILS

So we’ve got five two-word phrases where the first one is an adjective, and SLIPPERY in particular might’ve hinted you towards simile phrases:

STRONG as an OX
SLIPPERY as an EEL
NEAT as a PIN
DRY as a BONE
HAPPY as a CLAM. Are clams really that happy? How would anyone know?

Anyway, next step: each of these nouns is one letter off from another grid entry:

OX –> SOX
EEL –> HEEL
PIN–> PAIN
BONE–> BORNE
CLAM–> CLAMP

Those spell SHARP, suggesting contest answer SHARP AS A TACK, which you had to be to get this. There aren’t really any other SHARP AS A ? options besides TACK, but just to give an extra click I included STACK at 13-D (which few needed or indeed noticed).

Or maybe there are other SHARP AS A ? phrases? Evan writes:

the answer made me laugh considering what BEQ put in his puzzle this past Monday

See the central across entry. Glad I put STACK in there after all!

THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:

This week’s contest answer is a well-known TV show. NOTE: due to the late post, this week’s contest deadline is noon ET on Wednesday, August 25th.

Solve well, and be not led astray by words intended to deceive.