Today’s Saturday Stumper

Today’s Newsday  Saturday Stumper is by Stella Zawistowski. For me, a twenty-five-minute pleasant challenge, with the finish line never feeling out of reach. At the center of the grid, three stepped eleven-letter answers. And everywhere in the puzzle, surprises and tricks a-plenty.

Some clue-and-answer pairs of note:

22-D, ten letters, “You and me, essentially.” Yeesh.

32-D, four letters, “What often precedes the question.” Stumper Alert.

33-A, eleven letters, “ Dollar store ancestors.” I knew it right off.

33-A, eleven letters, “Its lexicon includes ‘banner’ and ‘standard.’” Even spelled correctly, the answer looks wrong.

36-D, eight letters, “Not done.” My first guess, VERYRARE, had me hung up for a bit.

38-D, six letters, “They have currency.” Nation-states?

40-D, six letters, “Set spot.” Vague until it’s not.

49-A, five letters, “Cans of Worcestershire.” Clever.

55-A, three letters, “___ wagon (vehicle that follows bike racers).” How did I know this?

60-A, four letters, “Worked with numbers.” I kept thinking the answer had to end in -ED. But how could it?

My favorite in this puzzle: 25-A, four letters, “Does as well as others.” Just nifty.

No spoilers; the answers are in the comments.