NYT Crossword 07/30/17 (Sun.)

Cruciverbalists: Isaac Mizrah and David J. Kahn
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 29:05

Puzzle uniqueness: "By Design"

Common phrases with wacky clothing designer clues. (Example: ONPINSANDNEEDLES - Clue: "Title of a fashion industry seamstress's tell-all?") This is another 75th anniversary collaboration betwixt a famous person and crossword constructor. Unfortunately for me, this famous person (Mizrah) is a complete unknown.

Words I hadn't known until now:

TES - "French possessive"
CRECHE - "Holiday scene"

Trivia I didn't know:

ANA - "Funny Gasteyer"
IRON - "With 53-Across (ORE), goethite, e.g." (Never heard of "goethite")
ENDE - "Fantasy writer Michael"
LAPORTE - "Northern Indiana county or its seat"
KYLES - "N.B.A. notables Korver and Lowry"
JAMESIV - "Last Scottish king to die in battle"

Junk Answers: Lots. Here are a few.

EOE - "Fair-hiring letters"
VAR - "'Enrol,' for 'enroll': Abbr."
EDT - "D.C. summer setting"
CSA - "Civil War inits."
INE - "Bach's Partita No. 6 ___ Minor"
TRE - "Quattro minus uno"
HOS - "Christmas threesome"

Clever clues:

HULA - "Shaker's movement?"
BRA - "Support under a tank?"
VETS - "Ones who fix toys?" (I assume this means toy poodles and such)
JEEP - "Way off base?"
TIMER - "Ding maker"
HOOK - "Swift ending for a bad stage performance"

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words:

IMHOTEP - "Creator of an ancient pyramid scheme?"
ORDERER - "One who says 'I'd like to have...'"