Authors: Aaron Bader and Karen Chu
Each clue is clearly broken into two parts, and the answers to these parts are two words. The first word begins with letters usually indicating an opposition or negation. The prefixes used are, "A," "AB," "DE," "DIS," "IN," "IR," "MIS," "NON," and "UN." Although in most cases these prefixes are not actually used in the context of negation, and often aren't prefixes at all. The second word is clued by "not X" and these are the words that result when those prefixes are stripped. For example, the first clue: "A Pokémon is not an Egyptian god", "A Pokémon" clues "abra" and "not an Egyptian god" clues "ab-ra." The letter extracted from these answers is the R that begins "ra".
Taking all the first letters yields a final clue phrase. "RENOUNCES OR DENIES PLEASURE IS NOT THE ANSWER." Googling the first part of the clue phrase should make it clear that the answer you're going for is ABNEGATES. Removing the ab prefix gives the answer NEGATES.
The title is a bonus clue, giving the words antitheses and anti-theses, with theses being a straight synonym for downbeats. This clue was formulated given the stipulation that DOWN must appear in the title, and the creation of which is credited to Chieu Nguyen, who testsolved the proto-puzzle.
Full solutions are below
A Pokémon is not an Egyptian god | ab-ra | R |
A name associated with tractors is not a poetic preposition | de-ere | E |
Natural is not a shortened masculine name | in-nate | N |
A paraplegic detective chief is not like some kickoffs | ir-onside | O |
To mistreat is not to employ | ab-use | U |
A chess world champion is not a universal gate | a-nand | N |
A rejected item is not something to play games with | dis-card | C |
An affliction is not comfort | dis-ease | E |
To sit out is not to tarnish | ab-stain | S |
Around is not tagged | ab-out | O |
To shorten is not a bump | ab-ridge | R |
Some usually unseen clothes are not things to cut with | un-dies | D |
A country is not an antelope | ir-eland | E |
A battery part is not a point | a-node | N |
Helpers are not a Roman day | a-ides | I |
An animal home is not a lake | a-erie | E |
A separation is not a subgroup | dis-section | S |
An exhibit is not to have fun with | dis-play | P |
To land is not to make glow | a-light | L |
A murder victim is not a rail type | ab-el | E |
A snail is not by itself | ab-alone | A |
To make a countering opinion is not in the mail | dis-sent | S |
A neighbor is not to speak | ab-utter | U |
A Yankee is not a stick | a-rod | R |
A musical ensemble is not an '80s classic film | non-et | E |
A snail (for example) is not something that plays music | un-ipod | I |
To break up is not what you just did to this clue | dis-solve | S |
A sturdy fabric is not a children's game | de-nim | N |
A home is not a lyrical creation | ab-ode | O |
To swell up is not to take care of | dis-tend | T |
To work in the brewery is not to work on the farm | dis-till | T |
To live in is not a uniform | in-habit | H |
Scrooge is not a place you find in the hospital | mis-er | E |
To let down is not to hire | dis-appoint | A |
Whichever is not a state abbreviation | a-ny | N |
Forgiveness is not a mixture | ab-solution | S |
A prize is not a building part | a-ward | W |
A property title is not a shortened masculine name | de-ed | E |
An odor is not a tomato | a-roma | R |