Today’s Saturday Stumper

Today’s Newsday  Saturday Stumper, by Matthew Sewell, is a tough one. I gave up last night after struggling over the bottom quarter of the puzzle, where I was 52-A, fifteen letters, “In great difficulty.” When I went back to the puzzle this morning, everything fell into place. But I still have to vent about three items.

Some clue-and-answer pairs of note:

3-D, ten letters, “Tour for church music fans.” New to me.

12-D, four letters, “They’re no competition.” I always like clues that add value to a familiar answer.

17-A, four letters, “Course force.” Clever.

20-A, fifteen letters, “Partial submissions.” Nicely clued.

24-A, thirteen letters, “Manifesto motif.”Seeing this answer broke open much of the puzzle for me.

32-D, four letters, “She’s asked, ‘Do You Want to Build a Snowman?’” It recalls a fambly story: “We can build a snowman. Look! See?”

35-A, five letters, “‘NO PROB _____’(beastly T-shirt phrase).” I have never seen it in the wild, but I guessed, correctly.

50-D, five letters, “What some of the earliest Tupperware stored.” Ick.

58-A, ten letters, “Whence gain without strain.” Or pain, thanks to the rhyme.

My favorite in this puzzle: 44-A, thirteen letters, “Country music subgenre.” I had no idea.

And now the vents are opening:

25-A, five letters, “Flight connection.” Really oddly clued.

33-A, four letters, “Pakistan and China share it.” Yes, they do, but it’s not known by this name. It’s just not.

26-A, five letters, “Protagonist of French literature (in Guinness’ longest novel).” No, this character is not the protagonist. Not the protagonist. Not.

No spoilers; the answers are in the comments.