Puzzled? No more cross words! Read Kosman and Picciotto on “Solving The Nation’s Cryptic Puzzles.” Or watch this video.
Click HERE to download a printable PDF of this puzzle.
ACROSS
1 Davis and Tatum, circling a piano at a great distance (5,5)
6 Swindle results from reverse-engineered computers (4)
9 Finnish company? No, Korean company (5)
10 Uncle enters ancient city in Oregon with 22 cub? (4,5)
12 Undertaker Fudd gets an advanced degree (8)
13 Careless “I do!” feeds bone-chilling stupidity (6)
15 Play a more powerful card—a moon, perhaps? (9)
16 Spelling “extremity” as “exhaust” (5)
17 Pour water over resin concoction (5)
19 Conscientious objector and sister beat a challenging puzzle (9)
21 Elk to return that thing on one foot (6)
22 Merely substituting cast for opening is delightful (8)
25 Ice cream drink with a serving of restaurant food for savages (9)
26 Diana turned into a nymph (5)
27 Organ uful for a bloodhound (4)
28 Leaper gone mad with zest (6,4)
DOWN
1 Rodents swallowing a piece of nougat cut into small bits (5)
2 Charming, and apt to take $1,000 (7)
3 A Southern US president accepts permit twice (7,6)
4 Cut the power—that might get things moving again? (5,5)
5 Parks and Recreation premiere, with donuts at Amy’s debut (4)
7 Say, “There, there—a cabinet!” (7)
8 Suffering in dorm that’s traumatized after Oscar-winning film (9)
11 Mass advertising is dominating one location! (7,6)
14 When it’s OK to hunt a spoon, seen in a stew (4,6)
15 5 jockeys win and sign some members of the crew (9)
18 Mountain residents write back: “Sail is ruined” (7)
20 Shrimp scampi finally weighing on me while the computer is operating (7)
23 Shelley ode (“Liberty”) includes a call (5)
24 Mediocre bazaar—just lovely (4)
SOLUTION TO PUZZLE NO. 3398
ACROSS 1 I’M PROMPT + U 6 CAD + ET 9 OZ + ONE 10 anag. 11 OVER A BUN DANCE 14 hidden 16 S + PUT + NIK (rev.) 17 S + HIAT-[us/SU] 19 N + ATTERS (at rest anag.) 21 COF(FEEL + IQ)UEUR (cue four anag.) 24 HANGO-[ut/NEON] 26 E + QUIP 27 alternate letters 28 UNDER(WE)A + R (unread anag.)
DOWN 1 I(CON)OC + LAST 2 anag. 3 hidden 4 anag. 5 & 8 UPS + TART 6 anag. 7 DIS CERN 12 D IS INCLINED 13 SKY(SCRA)PER (cars anag.) 15 O + UTOF(TOW)N (futon anag.) 18 “inn cents” 20 EX + E + CUTE 22 hidden 23 & 25 CHAP + EAU
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.