Sunday New York Times Cryptic Crossword by Richard Silvestri

The Bible instructs us to “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.” (James 5:16, KJV) I don’t think this is what James had in mind, but I’m confessing that I am crashing and burning on the Sunday NYT cryptic crossword. It makes it all the more humiliating in that this is the very kind of crossword at which I want to become skillful. I will show what I have, and perhaps some readers can help. As of 8:10 pm, Wednesday, January 13, Google didn’t show anyone putting up a solution.

5 Across – Stellar, anagram of “all rest.” I feel confident about this one.
12 Across – Tissue, Time as in (T-minus…), edition as in issue. I think this is right, but I’m not completely sure.
14 Across – Barf, embedded in the clue. Even though I think it is right, I’m now clueless about 1 Down
15 Across – I would like to think it begins with an a (“small article”)
16 Across – Enterprise, anagram of “I represent.” As in 5 Across, I feel confident about this one.
19 Across – Stop, embedded in the clue
22 Across – Polish. I think a lot of people outclevered themselves on this one. I know I did.
26 Across – I want it to be “hemiconic,” as in Tailor = Hem, a = 1 = I, geometric shape = conic, but I could be completely wrong. It causes me to be clueless about 18 Down
27 Across – Evict, embedded in the clue
28 Across – Emerson, if you change “boy” to “son,” Emerson is an anagram of “mere son.” The word “confused” is a hint that the answer is an anagram of part of the clue. I tried to find an anagram of “mere boy” without success. Did you?
29 Across – I want it to be “regrets,” because I want “alien” to be “ET,” but I don’t know how the alien is in a group of attendants if that is so. Therefore, “regrets” is probably wrong.
5 Down – Scat Sometimes a clue in a cryptic can be completely prosaic
6 Down – I want it to be “eyesight” as in vision, as the first e and the i are in crossing words, but then I’m not using all of the clue, which makes me think “eyesight” is probably wrong.
7 Down – I want it to be “Leeds,” which would fit my crosses, but I don’t get why Leeds would be the answer to the clue. It’s the only 5-letter English city I know that starts with an L and ends with an s.
8 Down – I want it to be “Reopens,” which would fit my crosses, but again is probably wrong.
25 Down – Anon, as in One = an, and performing = on. I feel pretty confident about this one.

As for the rest, I got nothin’. Dry hole. Shooting blanks. As I look through the comments on this puzzle at the NYT crossword blog, I take consolation that I’m not the only one.

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