What really annoyed me was the long answers that I would have died to know, but which a Brit couldn't realistically have heard of. For example, Seth Low, Matt Drudge, Larry David (OK, I suppose I could have known him). I managed to skirt round these unknowns and figure them out through cross-checking, but that does slow things down.
Solving time: 55 mins (no cheating)Solution
9d skate [Work on one's figure, say]
Grid art by Sympathy
Crucimetrics
Wiki Clues
Grid 15x15 with 27 (12.2%) black squares Answers 72 (average length 5.50) Scrabble points 319 (average 1.61) Letters used ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
19a Seth Low [Early 20th-century New York City mayor]. Is Seth Low well-known to Americans, or is the crossword compiler (not unreasonably) just being a little NY-centric?
22a Raj [Rule that ended in 1947] - also a sympathetic character on my fav sitcom Big Bang Theory - he's so shy he's unable to speak to women (especially beautiful ones) - I can relate to that!23a Matt Drudge [Journalist with a widely read "Report"] - famous for being the first to break news of the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
38a Jif [Peter Pan rival] - as usual, I'm at a disadvantage with brand names - I see Jif and Peter Pan are peanut butters.
39a Carr ["The Emperor's Snuff-Box" novelist John Dickson ___] - but I knew this author right away (if not the book) - he's famous for locked room mystery detective stories.
47a we're doomed [Cry when you don't think you'll make it] - also the catch-phrase of Frazer on the greatest ever BBC sitcom Dad's Army. Frazer was the dour Scottish undertaker who never failed to see the worst in any situation.54d Mav [Big D cager]. A series of hurdles: cager is slang for a basketball player; Big D is slang for Dallas; the Dallas basketballers are the Mavericks, shortened to Mavs, so a Dallas basketball player is a Mav. Don't expect me to solve this sort of clue first - or at all!
Dici Clues
1a moth [Woolly bear, eventually] - a woolly bear is a large hairy caterpillar, especially that of the tiger moth.15a INRI [Cross letters] - from the initials of "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" in Latin.
34a data [It may be mined] - "data mining" is extracting nuggets of useful information from large databases.
35a avisos [Warnings, to Juan] - oops, that one was missing from Español para los crucigramistas - it is now!
49a LTs [Some linemen: Abbr.] - LT = left tackle - more American football lingo to learn.
51a rips one [Hits a line drive] - I had no clue about this one, but Magdalen explained it was to do with baseball. I did go to see a Binghamton Mets game, but I can only take in so much information at once.
52a outside man [Gardener or landscaper] - this seems a tad obscure. I've found outside man in Partridge and the Oxford English Dictionary, but only as US slang meaning "a lookout man for criminals but particularly for a 'firm' of card sharps engaged in the three-card trick".
4d high treason [It has made many people lose their heads] - not height reason - the makings of a thematic puzzle?
5d actor [Person in an apron] - ie an apron stage - a nice clue that had me thinking of a cook, chef, even smith (which fitted the squares, but no crossing answers).
9d skate [Work on one's figure, say] - also a super clue - the figures of figure skating are the compulsory patterns such as circles, figures of 8 etc.
28d kit [Young fox] - had cub to start with, but young foxes can also be called kits.
34d digerati [Computer-savvy crowd] - a lovely word to get into the grid - coined in the 1990s, it has had time to make it into the dictionaries.
35d axolotl [Salamander variety] - another great word, which comes to us from the Nahuatl atl 'water' + xolotl 'servant'. Anytime an English word ends -tl, it probably comes from the Nahuatl.37d in a stir [Excited] - couldn't get this right away, since in a spin was more tempting (but wrong).
Quicky Clues
5a Addis Ababa [City at the foot of Mount Entoto]; 16a crankcases [Sludge buildup sites]; 17a a log [Like falling off ___]; 18a terracotta [Brownish orange]; 19a Seth Low [Early 20th-century New York City mayor]; 21a att. [Many a defender: Abbr.]; 23a Matt Drudge [Journalist with a widely read "Report"]; 25a tiro [Newbie: Var.]; 26a avers [Maintains]; 27a pas [Not overseas]; 28a Kodak [___ moment]; 29a sere [Not at all wet]; 30a sob [Be visibly disconsolate]; 31a rib eye [Steakhouse order]; 32a Avon [Foundation maker]; 38a Jif [Peter Pan rival]; 39a Carr ["The Emperor's Snuff-Box" novelist John Dickson ___]; 43a Xenon [1980s Big Apple nightclub with a chemical name]; 44a sag [Mattress problem]; 45a scree [Cliffside detritus]; 46a on an [___ outing]; 47a we're doomed [Cry when you don't think you'll make it]; 49a LTs [Some linemen: Abbr.]; 50a Len [ESPN analyst Pasquarelli]; 55a Hite ["Women and Love" writer]; 56a triplicate [Some forms are filled out in it]; 57a Orem [City south of West Jordan on I-15]; 58a Larry David [1993 Emmy winner for "Seinfeld"]; 59a Pers. [Asian lang.].
1d miasmas [Noxious vapors]; 2d on leave [Ashore, maybe]; 3d trotter [Horse in harness];
6d drew upon [Tapped]; 7d Dar [___ el Beida (Casablanca, to its natives)]; 8d in rags [Destitute-looking]; 10d acct. [A.T.M. receipt abbr.]; 11d Bao [___ Dai (last emperor of Vietnam)]; 12d astride [One way to sit on a chair]; 13d beta ray [Tritium output]; 14d as a joke [Facetiously]; 20d LDS [Denom. with elders]; 24d dab [Touch]; 25d tobacco shop [Briar locale]; 30d SOS [911 call, e.g.]; 31d RAF [Org. involved in the gulf war]; 33d von [From, in some names]; 36d Ventura [Classic Pontiac]; 38d jar [Big bump]; 40d armoire [Dresser alternative]; 41d re-enter [Verify, as a password]; 42d redeems [Saves]; 44d Seneca ["Phoenissae" playwright]; 45d sop [Offering of appeasement]; 47d we did ["___ it!" (cry of accomplishment)]; 48d dined [Had a 31-Across, e.g.]; 50d lily [Asparagus's family]; 53d spr. [May days?: Abbr.].
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