Today’s Saturday Stumper

Today’s Newsday  Saturday Stumper, by Stan Newman, the puzzle’s editor, is a Stumper indeed. I wrote down 8:51 when I started work on puzzle (last night) and when I looked up (finished the puzzle) it was 9:46. The clues that most helped me along the way:

14-D, ten letters, “#5 in continuous Senate longevity.”

15-A, eight letters, “Literally, ’long mountain.’“

24-D, ten letters, “Most populous double-landlocked nation.”

34-D, eight letters, Troilus and Cressida warrior.”

I had 34-D right off — that was my starting point. But those other three clues (and perhaps 34-D, if you haven’t read Troilus) make for a large dollop of arbitrary trivia: ah yes, #5, not #4 or #6. And yes, this puzzle has triple-stacks of eight and triple-columns of ten, and only sixty-six answers.

Some clue-and-answer pairs of note:

3-D, four letters, “Shortening.” Got LARD?

4-D, eight letters, “Rattled.” That’s a past-tense verb, right?

10-D, eight letters, “Pain med brand.” Sorry, but this just doesn’t feel right in a crossword.

13-D, ten letters, “Eleanor Roosevelt, to Edith.” I first thought the clue must be about a lover. Nope.

15-A, fifteen letters, “Negotiation station.” One part of the answer is more obvious than the other.

16-A, six letters, “Roast participant.” I was thinking of Dean Martin and his dais.

17-A, eight letters, “Reviewers’ hangout.” Do they still have one?

20-D, seven letters, “Spin’s #2 ll-time greatest band (2002).” Again with the trivia.

24-A, five letters, “Cheery.” Wut?

25-D, ten letters, “Rhapsody in Blue, as first written.” Yes, okay, but not as first intended.

39-A, five letters, “Queue component.” No idea what the answer means. Now I understand.

44-A, “Word from the Greek for ‘unequal.’” Somehow it seemed familiar, but only after I got it from crosses.

51-D, three letters, “Porcine purloiner of poesy.” Is it possible to misread this clue as referring to a poetry-stealing pig? I am living proof.

53-A, eight letters, “Light work.” Clever.

My favorite in this puzzle: 52-A, eight letters, “Attractions you’ve never seen.”

No spoilers; the answers are in the comments.