Today’s Saturday Stumper

Today’s Newsday  Saturday Stumper, by Matthew Sewell, is a doozy. It took me forty-two minutes to complete, and I then had to look up the meanings of two (correct) answers that baffled me: 47-A, four letters, “Balance checkers” and 50-A, three letters, “USO honorary chairman.” Aside from a handful of easily gettable long answers — e.g., 26-D, “Reluctant acknowledgment” — this puzzle showed little mercy.

Some clue-and-answer pairs of note:

4-D, eight letters, “Nigerian music.” One variety.

8-D, ten letters, “‘We’re gliding along with a song’ song.” A fambly favorite.

9-D, five letters, “Sequoia claim to fame.” Lordy.

14-A, four letters, “Caught in the air?” Clever.

15-A, nine letters, “Mysterious atom-smasher detection.” A novel answer.

15-D, three letters, “Shortened ‘I shall return.’” Sometimes I’m too clever for my own good: I was sure it had to be IOU, but that answer would include the I of the clue.

19-A, fourteen letters, “Attraction at Indonesia’s Trans Snow World.” Speaking of novel answers — and clues.

22-A, three letters, “Base level, briefly.” Considerable thought went into this clue.

34-A, five letters, “Ellie’s relative.” Name-premised clues often mess me up. My first thought was of The Beverly Hillbillies, but that was Elly May.

41-A, five letters, “Put on the line, perhaps.” Perhaps indeed.

53-A, fourteen letters, “Don’t be devious.” I didn’t think the answer fit the clue until I realized that the clue itself is devious.

55-D, four letters, “PR, e.g.” Another short answer with much thought going into the clue.

59-D, three letters, “What Lionel first meant.” Oh, now I get it.

My favorite in this puzzle: 39-D, eight letters, “Flops.” Crazy, man, crazy.

No spoilers; the answers are in the comments.