Today’s Saturday Stumper

Sally R. Stein and Anna Stiga (It’s Really Stan, Stan Again) are the pseudonyms that signal an easier Newsday Saturday Stumper by Stan Newman, the puzzle’s editor. Today’s Stumper might be a bit easier than usual, but not much easier. I found obvious starting points in the northeast: 9-A, six letters, “Sumerian descendants” and 12-D, eight letters, “Un Louis très célébre.” The northeast came together, and so did everything else. The toughest part of the puzzle: the northwest. Brr.

Some clue-and-answer pairs of note:

1-A, eight letters, “Help for drafts.” See what I mean about the northwest? I didn’t know whether to think about beer taps, horses, or manuscripts.

7-D, three letters, “End of many record labels.” Great clue for a minor answer.

8-D, fifteen letters, “Recreates with a roundball.” I like the clash of diction between clue and answer.

15-A, eight letters, “Sticky situation risk.” Pretty Stumper-y.

27-A, three letters, “What dancing rushers celebrate.” Not especially difficult to figure out, but wonderfully defamiliarizing.

29-A, five letters, “Pianist echoing a peninsula.” Has the name ever been clued thusly?

31-A, six letters, “Magic word/ancient hero acronym.” I knew the word but had to look up the acronym after the fact.

32-A, fifteen letters, “Phillumenists’ collection.” Whose collection? What? Huh?

32-D, eight letters, “Whom J-Lo auditioned for, for MTV (1990).” Now here’s a throwback.

41-D, six letters, “Cold comfort.” Terrific clue.

44-D, five letters, “Quit lying.” Two types of ambiguity.

45-D, five letters, “Mathematician echoing a sort of ship.” I knew it had to be _____, but I didn’t know that’s how it’s pronounced.

55-A, eight letters, “What’s on Scrooge McDuck’s beak.” A word I always associate with a certain poem.

My favorite in this puzzle: 3-D, six letters, “They often follow speeches.” I had it on crosses and was baffled, then delighted, when I looked at the answer.

No spoilers; the answers are in the comments.