Today’s Newsday Saturday Stumper, by Matthew Sewell, is a really good one, meaning 1. that I could solve it, and 2. that I could solve it in about twenty-four minutes. Some giveaways, some stumpish clues, some surprises and weirdness and fun. I started with a giveaway: 1-D, three letters, “It had 300+ campus chapters in ’69.” Only one possible answer, really, for that clue, even if the answer was a little before my time.
Some clue-and-answer pairs I especially liked:
5-D, five letters, “Hand-made props.” Stumpish.
8-D, four letters, “Talk follower or preceder.” Surprising.
24-A, seven letters, “Guys set for life.” I was thinking STATUES, though the clock is ticking, or has ticked, for so many of them — and rightly so.
26-A, four letters, “Chica, brevemente.” Maybe a giveaway, but the clue redeems the crosswordese.
27-D, four letters, “Either of two in the Bluetooth logo.” So that’s what they are! So much fun with shorter answers in this puzzle.
33-A, nine letters, “Swing shift?” I was thinking hours.
41-A, five letters, “Upsize, say.” I did not see this one coming.
One clue that made me wince: 45-A, three letters, “Pronoun in Hiroshima.” There’s a place name that should be off-limits for wordplay, I’d say.
And one clue that leaves me baffled: 32-A, four letters, “Suspended course.”
Huh? Wha?
No spoilers: the answers are in the comments.
