NYT Crossword 10/01/17 (Sun.)

Cruciverbalist: Robert Fisher
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 41:36

Puzzle uniqueness: "That's One Way To Put It"

Wacky re-interpretations of common phrases. Example: "Falling down" answer is TESTINGGRAVITY

Words I hadn't known until now: 

SEHR - "Very: Ger."
LIMN - "Draw, as a scene"
PAWL - "Ratcheting wheel mechanism"

Trivia I didn't know:

IOWA - "Locale for the Quad cities" (Have no clue what this is)
ERIC - "Country star Church"
TSGARP - "John Irving protagonist portrayed by Robin Williams" (Didn't know the "TS" part)
GIDE - "Andre ____, 1947 Literature Nobelist"
PLO - "U.N. observer since '74" (TBH, not sure what "observer" means)
STAG - "Animal depicted in Edwin Landseer's 'The Monarch  of the Glen'" (Never heard of it)
TRY - "Five-point rugby play" (Huh?)
EARLE - "Country rocker Steve"
AMALIE - "Charlotte ______, Virgin Islands"

Junk Answers: A lot. Here are a few:

SEHR - (See above)
EFS - "G.P.A. killers"
SIE - ""Sprechen ___ Deutsch?"
XKE - "Classic Jag"
EOS - "Canon camera"
API - "Bee: Prefix"
OTTOI - Hole Roman emperor called 'the Great'"
PLUMR - "Liquid-_____"
THEO - "Where to accent 'Laotian'" (Horrible clue)

Clever clues: 

DRIP - "Cause of insomnia, maybe"
HOTS - "'Hots'"
ALIBI - "Out in court"
CARP - "Complaining fish?"
AMDIAL - "It goes up to about 1700"

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

SEHR - (See above)
Gaia - "Earth goddess"
SIE - (See above)
BIOTAS - "Florae and faunae"
ADELIE - "Antarctic penguin"
AMALIE - (See above)