Today’s Saturday Stumper

Today’s Newsday  Saturday Stumper is by Stella Zawistowski, known for tough puzzles. This one took me thirty-one minutes, and at many points I thought I’d have to give up. And then something would fall into place, and onward.

Some clue-and-answer pairs of note:

4-D, eleven letters, “High-upkeep?” Read the clue carefully.

5-A, ten letters, “Removes one’s words, in a way.” My first answer. I had a hunch and played it.

7-D, fifteen letters, “It may keep you up at night.” Uh, SATURDAYSTUMPER?

13-D, seven letters, “General rearrangement.” Now I get it.

17-A, ten letters, “Originally, a river crystal.” Huh.

23-A, five letters, “Whom DiMaggio called ‘the best I ever faced.’” I liked seeing this name.

25-D, eleven letters, “Fourth-century Christian milestone.” Yep, still know it, sort of.

26-A, nine letters, “Sports pages.” I felt pleased with myself for sussing this one out right away. (I am not a sports-minded person.)

28-D, three letters, “Half a Furniture Galleries brand.” An insanely great answer.

34-D, four letters, “Tragic retiree-to-be.” Another hunch played.

57-A, four letters, “Dieter’s unit.” I had all the letters from Down answers and didn’t see how fiendishly clever this clue is.

40-D, seven letters, “Ford debut of 1930.” Must be a car, no?

42-D, seven letters, “Sempiternal.” “Midwinter spring is its own season, / Sempiternal though sodden towards sundown.” I still love Four Quartets.

No spoilers; the answers are in the comments.