Click HERE to download a printable PDF of this puzzle.
Puzzled? No more cross words! Read Kosman and Picciotto on “Solving The Nation’s Cryptic Puzzles.” Or watch this video.
ACROSS
1 First I refuse, then authorize recess (4)
3 Sites for burning logfi? (10)
10 Changed teal blend to another color (7)
11 Wild nut made rotten (7)
12 Solo set following bow for Michael, say (9)
13 Eat away faces of extremely rich opium dealers, essentially (5)
14 Guadalajara bicycle carrying, like, 24 (but not XXIV) (6)
16 The least out-of-shape! (8)
18 Joined and went to war without a hint of intelligence (8)
19 Remains of a surgical reattachment of the foreskin? (6)
22 It can be frolicsome! (5)
23 A lousy cur partying in rowdy fashion (9)
25 Religious leader is quiet about dispute (7)
26 Loser just cut short fishing gear (7)
27 Very rich pancake, flipped and eaten by surrealist nonet (3,7)
28 Relative acquires large oven (4)
DOWN
1 Falls over a bit of Rachmaninoff encore (7)
2 Subject postponing start of talk about the eye (5)
4 In excavation, orange dye (6)
5 “Free at last!” (characteristic revolutionary ideal) (8)
6 Simpleton contributes the needed signs: “I need time to think about this” (3,2,5,2,2)
7 Someone who’s promising to secure a stronghold that is often down (9)
8 Turn up a hint of sexual delight before playing the blues (7)
9 “Merci!” for the Mafia (9,5)
15 God dropping final weight on pair of celebrities abruptly (3,2,4)
17 Extraordinary jerk adopts stray stipulation (8)
18 Fake excrement that is usually found in the bathroom (7)
20 In Guatemala, I am outside of Belize with an edible legume (7)
21 Bird is smokin’ (6)
24 One who may not be allowed to drive cars back to front (5)
SOLUTION TO PUZZLE NO. 3419
ACROSS 1 PE(LI)CAN 5 BA(UHAU[l])S 9 [g]OLDEN 10 VOLU(N)TEER (true love anag.) 11 ERAS + ERHE (anag.) + AD 12 “fin” 14 alternate letters 16 “my grain” 18 anag. 19 reverse hidden (&lit.) 21 2 defs. 22 anag. 25 anag. 26 D + HOT + I 27 DO + GEARS 28 C(ONCE)AL
DOWN 1 PROM(E + THE U.S.)BOUND 2 anag. 3 CAN + DE[ad] + LABRA[t] 4 NAV A HO (rev.) 5 B(ALSAMI)C (salami anag.) 6 hidden 7 AMEN + I + TIES 8 letter bank 13 ARM AGED DON 15 MIST + AKIN + G 17 GA(LO)SHES 20 ONSPE (anag.) + C 23 TB + ONE 24 hidden
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.