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Word Salad.
ACROSS
1 Soufflé is ruined by a bit of lemon oil, perhaps (6,4)
6 Small hack wound’s effect (4)
10 Sports official interrupting rest, unfortunately—it’s hard to know how to solve that (7)
11 For example, Mohawk’s humble dwelling concealing air conditioner’s front (7)
12 Grant entry to maid in distress, ahead of time (5)
13 Conductor’s actions in medley (9)
14 Got ri of (9)
17 Recited opening of Whitman poem: “Put this on a cake” (5)
19 Confronted government agent circumscribing type of power (5)
20 Arcane matters—i.e., a corset untied (9)
22 Strange rite: rewriting clues for “purses” (9)
25 Take part with singer/actress in recital (5)
26 Crack cocaine of the sea (7)
27 Rear of DeSoto automobile encased by a little instrument (7)
28 President has coleslaw, for instance (4)
29 Numbers present part of the schedule for a party (10)
DOWN
1 and 19 Breathless note: “Bear pelt will cover debts” (4,3,7)
2 Genre that Aretha Franklin helped popularize in order that Albert Einstein’s hometown is supported by uranium (really—that’s not a typo) (4,5)
3 “Enter the thing” involves dreadful pun (5)
4 Anticipation of loud, playful sea otter (9)
5 Get hostages to adopt beliefs and customs (5)
7 Plants tragic ending at start of play (5)
8 and 21 Vampire can—endowed with anger—deliver a record of achievement (7,7)
9 It is good for you to compete after swallowing a mint, well-chewed (7,1)
15 Obscene shift to the right around Christian Era (8)
16 Scotch pancake made from stewed scrod? Nope (4,5)
18 Bogus restriction excluding left (9)
19 See 1
21 See 8
23 Walk rated “no good” (5)
24 Allowed within Somali city (5)
25 Burn contents of fiscal dossier (5)
ACROSS 1 & 28 pun 3 DAYI(NC)OURT (auditory anag.) 10 T(W)OFERS (softer anag.) 11 DEN + MARK 12 rev. hidden 13 “tighten” 14 HOT + ELS 16 B + R(ETHRE)N (three anag.) 18 MOUSS[e] + AKA 19 STU(DI)O (rev.) 22 pun 23 PLUTO(C)RAT 25 CRU[e/CIA]L 26 O + RATING 27 WED + G + E + ISSUE (&lit.)
DOWN 1 anag. 2 S + POOR 4 [b]ASSIST 5 INDUS + TRY 6 2 defs. 7 UNALTER + ED (neutral anag.) 8 anag. 9 anag. 15 “trussed fun’d” 17 SKIP + OLES 18 MILK + COW 20 anag. 21 “pseudo-coup” 24 RH(I)NO (horn anag., &lit.)
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.