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Word Salad.
ACROSS
1 Bread for editors and photographers, at least until 2000 (5,2,4)
8 Switching front and back, closes bag (7)
9 The Hulk, for instance, or his defining characteristic: suppressing external manifestations of violence (7)
F Attach securely (6)
11 Believing jerk took on an armed robbery (8)
13 In biblical village, returning rabbi bundled menorah (10)
15 Salute cold shower (4)
16 Basic elements eliminating ignorance at the beginning! (4)
17 Misjudge Ravel composition in inappropriate setting (10)
20 Unusual erotic preference: a day—in Paris, largely—with a nocturnal mammal (8)
21 Hymn: “Overthrow The Man!” (6)
24 Lettuce crop’s inside state (7)
25 John McCain, for one, spotted in Urals or Andes (4-3)
26 Siamese twin taken in by audible element of debt scam (11)
DOWN
1 Fills lists of candidates without a hint of logrolling (5)
2 Jock revised the tale (7)
3 Tool is put away (4)
4 Something soft and seasoned forming the basis for an accomplishment (7,3)
5 Switzerland’s leader departs Russian region for peninsula (6)
6 Big, lethal, terrible, no-good item to get stuck behind (5,4)
7 Nation columnist captivated by chimerical term: “Antineoliberalism” (4,8)
8 Poison-free snacks for criminals (12)
12 Dope found in most uncommon ecosystem (4,6)
14 Manic Ken’s mangled familiar handles (9)
18 Nevada halfback performs with deer (7)
19 California transgression: love a gambling site (6)
22 Farm animal’s grating to the ear (5)
23 Club with hot tub (4)
SOLUTION TO PUZZLE NO. 3257
ACROSS 1 WITN([clu]ES)S (Twins anag.) 5 ST(U + FF)Y 8 “ado” 9 P(LEAS)URE 11 TEST + AMEN + T 12 F-I-F-T-Y (alternating letters) 13 & 10D pun (ref. 19A, 1D, 7D, 14D) 16 rev. 18 hidden 19 anag. 23 TAC (rev.) + IT 24 anag. 26 MAC + A + QUES[tion] 27 anag. 28 & 15D BR(ONZE)AG + E (zone anag.) 29 RIG + H[ot] + TON
DOWN 1 anag. 2 T + WINS 3 EDU(CATE)D (dude rev.) 4 anag. 5 anag. 6 UNSAF + E (snafu anag.) 7 FIR + E(F)IGHT 14 “cheesy heir” spoonerism 17 SW([n]OON)ING 20 “her suit” 21 AC (rev.) + CUSER (anag.) 22 hidden 25 2 defs.
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.