Today’s Saturday Stumper

Today’s Newsday  Saturday Stumper, by “Lester Ruff” (Stan Newman) is supposed to be on the easy side, but it took me half an hour’s worth of effort. I’d say “May B. Ruff” might be a better name for today’s Stumper. Or “S. Purdy Ruff”? The clue that opened up much of the puzzle for me: 69-A, eight letters, “He said ‘Appreciation is a holy thing.’” Thank you, sir, and not for the first time.

Some clue-and-answer pairs of note:

1-D, six letters, “Check writing.” Always. But sometimes more than one check is needed.

8-D, fifteen letters, “Social media ancestor.” Eh, I’m not sure about this. Social media is for everyone.

11-D, six letters, “iPod ancestor.” A little strained.

12-D, eight letters, “Putting holes in, perhaps.” Getting this right made finishing the puzzle possible for me.

17-A, eight letters, “Imagined opponent of a drawn dog.” I smiled.

22-A, five letters, “Après-ski amenity.” I went for the obvious, and the obvious appeared right for a while.

27-A, five letters, “Training area.” Stumper-y.

29-D, four letters, “Level.” EVEN? FAIR? RAZE? TELL? So much indirection. I like it.

37-A, fifteen letters, “Not quite ‘Correct.’” And pretty bland. Somehow I immediately imagined someone in Hi and Lois saying it.

39-D, eight letters, “Lamb or kid.” I did not know the word.

43-A, five letters, “Be orally awesome, these days.” I dunno about this definition.

60-D, four letters, “Novelist Sinatra brawled with.” Yes, to brawl does not require that one resort to fisticuffs.

64-A, eight letters, “Verb related to ‘island.’” MAROONED?

My favorite in this puzzle: 51-D, six letters, “Homeric wise guy.”

No spoilers; the answers are in the comments.