Saturday, January 8, 2022

Today’s Saturday Stumper

Today’s Newsday  Saturday Stumper, by Matthew Sewell, is about as difficult, I’d say, as last Saturday’s puzzle. Two thirteen-letter answers and two fourteen-letter answers were surprisingly easy to work out with just a few letters’ worth of crosses.

Clue-and-answer pairs I especially liked:

1-D, five letters, “Ill-fitting?” I was thinking about a word the other day and wondering, Wait — is that a word? It is. It is the answer to this clue.

10-A, four letters, “Drapery sample.” The clue improves an often-seen answer.

14-A, five letters, “Accordion cover material.” When was the last time you saw an accordion?

16-D, fourteen letters, “Uncouth, metaphorically.” A funny, dowdy expression. It make me think of what used to be called “bad table manners.”

21-A, five letters, “Well fixed.” Gentle misdirection.

27-A, thirteen letters, “Start taking things seriously.” Though I think of the answer in a different way.

46-D, six letters, “Tony Award, in part.” Clever.

56-A, nine letters, “One in a cast with a cause.” My first thought was of someone suing.

57-D, three letters, “Taking from a timetable.” Like 10-A, a familiar answer improved by its clue.

One complaint: 37-A, three letters, “Express.”Unless I’m missing something, this clue is just not 61-A, nine letters, “Convincing.”

No spoilers; the answers are in the comments.

comments: 3

Michael Leddy said...

INAPT. (I wondered about inapt and unapt and which was the real word.)

SARI. NACRE. RAISEDBYWOLVES. (“Wally, if you use those table manners at Linda’s house, Linda’s family will think you were raised by wolves.” “Gee, sorry, Mom.”)

INERT.

GETITTOGETHER. (To me, “getting it together” suggests calming down and thinking clearly.)

PEWTER. ACTORVIST. VIA. BID. PLAUSIBLE.

Geo-B said...

I bid you "good morn."

Michael Leddy said...

Yes, for sure. M-W has “to give expression to”; American Heritage, “to utter (a greeting or salutation).” So we bid farewell, but no one would bid (that is, express) their anger or joy. I think the clue is a little forced.