Today’s Saturday Stumper

Today’s Newsday  Saturday Stumper, by Greg Johnson, gave me half an hour’s worth of struggle. It’s a great puzzle, with many unusual (and educational!) answers, and real Stumping satisfaction. Even as I typed in my final answer, for 24-A, three letters, “Needle point,” I couldn’t see how things were going to turn out right. But they did. Two hours after I finished the puzzle, the point of 24-A poked me in the head — ah, got it.

Some clue-and-answer pairs of note:

1-A, nine letters, “Paint-sprayer reservoir.” See? Unusual.

13-D, four letters:“Former name of the Royal Crown Company.” I learned something.

A trio: 20-A, nine letters, “Concision catchphrase, part 1”; 38-A, three letters, “Concision catchphrase, part 2”; 48-A, nine letters, “Concision catchphrase, part 3.” I kept thinking that there had to be more to the extended answer than met the eye. Perhaps there's a joke in the three-letter-long middle.

21-D, four letters, “Brit remembered for his circles.” A Brit? I learned something.

33-D, five letters, “Rounds of belts.” Is there an arcane term for the holes in a belt? Because that was my first thought.

39-A, five letters, “Two-stroke symbol.” I thought Golf?

41-A, ten letters, “‘Ultra-warm’ apparel.” Okay, but why quotation marks? If there’s a joke here, I’m missing it.

41-D, four letters, “Response to a request to speak.” Aww.

44-D, six letters, “Medicated disc.” I learned something. And there’s a surprising link to a word I already knew.

45-A, six letters, “Close ones.” Again I learned something.

46-A, three letters, “Moving away.” The clue adds value to the answer.

48-D, four letters, “New sister, often.” I was thinking of a novitiate, which does, after all, kinda fit.

53-A, five letters, “Retouch before advancement.” Nice misdirection, at least if the word advancement makes you think of careers and résumés.

No spoilers; the answers are in the comments.