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ACROSS
1 Formal speech, skipping the commercial (5)
4 Mistakenly pry into gothic novel with legal protection (9)
9 Vicious meanie goes after supporter for mortgage company (6,3)
10 Gore does not 31 with 28 (5)
11 Character does not 31 with 25 (6)
12 Attendance change in the UK encompasses most of the remainder (8)
14 Spirit of those starting with the end (5)
16 Affection does not 31 with 20 (4)
17 Aromatic plant does not 31 with 19 (4)
19 Measure does not 31 with 17 (4)
20 Shift does not 31 with 16 (4)
21 Without leadership, criminal organizations ultimately get existential dread (5)
24 Regular hematological factor beginning to manifest in itchy bum (8)
25 Adult does not 31 with 11 (6)
28 Worry does not 31 with 10 (5)
29 Making up end of hymn, often encompassing pitch and timbre originally (9)
30 The Spanish make clothes in this location? Not! (9)
31 Frost, we hear, produces a poem (5)
DOWN
1 Iron is at the core of impenetrable security (7)
2 Surrealist painter’s seabirds moving head to toe (5)
3 Belt worn by relatives restricted allergic reaction (4,4)
4 Approach does not 31 with 27 (4)
5 Academic process resulting from whimsical reverie in shared seat (4,6)
6 Vigorous nonsense involving a vehicle (6)
7 Rough nudging (or punishment) for a teenager (9)
8 Trial to imprison African dictator? That’s extremely neat (7)
13 Mix flour with one fruit, and add chemical to water (10)
15 Sharpen the front of your stall counter to make things attractive to 18 (9)
18 One who surprised an intruder: a Pennsylvania bishop in a tree (4,4)
19 Bring up obstacle in bloodless story (7)
22 Circulate letters in support (7)
23 Fish that hurts tail (6)
26 Pronounce wood’s purchase date, after which it’s likely to go bad (3,2)
27 Dwelling does not 31 with 4 down (4)
SOLUTION TO PUZZLE NO. 3393
ACROSS 1 self-reference 5 RE(VI)EW (we’re anag.) 10 MA + CA + W 11 RE + SULTAN + T 12 E.T. + CETERA (create anag.) 13 hidden 15 TE(HERA)N 18 anag. 19 GAL + U + MPH 21 M + AF(I + O)SO (sofa anag.) 23 C + ORFU (anag.) 24 TAC I TURN (cat rev.) 28 A(NNU)LMENT (nun anag., mantle anag.) 29 G + OUD + A (rev.) 30 HO(EIN)G 31 S(H)EEP + DOG (rev.)
DOWN 1 CO-MA 2 alternate letters 3 pun 4 rev. hidden 6 anag. 7 hidden 8 W + A TERM + ELON 9 A(SWAN)DAM 14 2 defs. 16 [prince] HAL PRINCE 17 anag. 20 MAU(D)LIN[g] 22 FAT + I + GUE[sts] 25 C + AT + CH 26 2 defs. 27 BAN + G
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.