Today’s Saturday Stumper

Today’s Newsday  Saturday Stumper, by Lester Ruff (Stan Newman) is an easy one. It is decidedly not rough. It speaks in the voice of a great recording by Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five: “I’m Not Rough.” A bit of difficulty in the southeast, but still a very easy Saturday. Unrough.

Some clues of note:

11-D, ten letters, “Rolling Stone ranked him just above Buddy Rich.” I wondered how far back the magazine’s list of the greatest drummers of “all time” extends. Answer: not very far. And I wonder if anyone had ever before thought of these musicians as adjacent. The difference between them as I see it: one plays the song; one played the drums.

25-A, five letters, “Op Art design.” Do you have to be able to explain an answer for that answer to count?

28-D, ten letters, “Kindergarten music maker.” I’ve been watching too much Peppa Pig.

35-A, seven letters, “Duffer’s putting impediment.” I read it too quickly as “implement” before setting myself straight. But I’m not sure the answer should be associated with duffers.

47-D, five letters, “Suffix denoting extravagance.” I know it well. Spoiler alert: this post explains.

52-A, nine letters, “Something Apollo 11 brought back.” My first answer was, I think, the likely one, and the wrong one. And that can be one mark of a good clue.

No spoilers; the answers are in the comments.