Today’s Saturday Stumper

I often find a Newsday  Saturday Stumper by “Lester Ruff” (Stan Newman, the puzzle’s editor) at least as difficult as any other Stumper. Today’s Stumper was no 40-A, seven letters, “Walk in the park.” But I kept at it, even when I thought I was going to have to give up.

Some clue-and-answer pairs of note:

1-D, four letters, “Pound sound.” I thought I knew what to fill in for 1-A, four letters, “Sorcerers of old,” but 1-D had me flummoxed. Sneaky clue.

5-A, five letters, “Ignores their companion in favor of their phone.” We see this happen too often in restaurants. But not at our table.

6-D, nine letters, “Botanical challenge.” I thought it might be related to grafting.

11-D, eleven letters, “Jimmy Carter’s naval study.” Somehow I knew this answer, and it helped a lot.

12-D, eleven letters, “Ebert called it among ‘the best Star Trek films ever made.’” Oh, so that’s a Star Trek film? I had no idea. Oh, wait, no, it isn’t.

20-A, seven letters, “What Word owners take for granted.” I haven’t seen or thought of the answer in years.

22-A, seven letters, “Oral >:{.” I thought this clue might signify halitosis or something. Remember halitosis?

31-D, four letters, “The Land of Painted Caves author.” This name is always showing up in crosswords. I’m glad it showed up here, where it was very helpful.

53-D, four letters, “She's transfixed by teen idols.” Didn’t fool me, Lester.

65-A, four letters, “Water “far under the wide-pathed earth.’” My starting point, after scanning the puzzle with increasing fear and trembling.

My favorite in this puzzle, because the answer was both surprising and helpful: 28-A, thirteen letters, “Spotty nature.”

No spoilers; the answers are in the comments.