Click
HERE to download a printable PDF of this puzzle.
And don’t miss Kosman and Picciotto’s new crossword blog,
Word Salad.
ACROSS
1 and 15 down Where you might find a bus—or a sommelier? (4,9)
3 Pathetic quitter consumed by live fuel (9)
8 and 19 down Kangaroo court’s formality: this can sometimes preserve remnants of the past (4,7)
9 Diva, before “Like a Virgin” was heard? (5,5)
11 Governor is mean when up against worker, e.g. (9)
12 Engineer lit up Dutch export (5)
13 Surprisingly, a pickle’s a cereal (7,1)
14 Great arrangement covering one medical practice (6)
17 Flushed, suppressing delight with reimbursement (6)
18 Sitar-playing jerk can be creative (8)
21 Muddle confused fauns (5)
23 Writer’s final letter, concealed in succulent citrus, sent west (5,4)
24 Press assistant in Minnesota heavy-metal band (4,6)
25 Branch rises, naked (4)
26 Extremely large trap for mouse without skin (9)
27 Hairdresser, perhaps, caught in bloody error (4)
DOWN
1 Sound of guns in 12 parts (7)
2 Main course: gripe about facetious tribute? (5,4)
3 Salt found in simple crustacean (8)
4 Prisoner’s fashionable spouse (6)
5 Up in the air, space alien in weakened container (12)
6 Fronts for thieves, opening nearly any lock with a key (5)
7 Test incomplete legal response, for instance (7)
10 Late stretch of warm weather for S. Ramanujan? (6,6)
15 See 1
16 Judges are mostly rabid dogs (8)
17 Runner in circle is taking a chance (7)
19 See 8
20 Come unglued about letter from Greece in The Nation (6)
22 Decorate nurse after commotion (5)
ACROSS 1 SIR(FRANC)I + SBACON (no cabs rev.) 9 A + LAD + DIN 10 anag. (&lit.) 11 RO(MAINE + LET)TUC + E (court anag.) 12 CUR + BED (&lit.) 14 M + I + SPRINT 17 SLIP PAGE 19 anag. 21 anag. 25 “direst” 26 anag. 27 SAND + [t]WIC[e] + HIS + LANDS
DOWN 1 2 defs. 2 REA(L)M 3 2 defs. 4 NON-C.E. 5 IS(RAEL)IS (real anag.) 6 BUSS + TOP 7 CHURCH + ILL 8 NO(S)H (rev.) 13 2 defs. 15 TURBO(JE)TS 16 anag. 18 “perv you” 20 ASO(CIA)L (Laos anag.) 22 MI(A)MI 23 A + GAIN 24 alternate letters
Joshua Kosman and Henri PicciottoJoshua Kosman and Henri Picciotto are The Nation’s puzzlers. To read more about Kosman, click here. To read more about Picciotto, click here. Kosman and Picciotto explain what they’re up to in “Solving The Nation’s Cryptic Crosswords” (also available as a PDF). Check out The Nation’s Current Issue page each week for the latest puzzle.