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 Momentous heart? (5-10)
9 Essential energy reflected the sound of a cat and the sound of a bird (7)
10 Backslide and return psychic’s gift with warning, mostly (7)
11 No! A thousand times no! Teasing is unacceptable! (9)
12 Mona Lisa’s home is beyond standard (5)
13 Between drinks, sorcerer’s way to make money (7,4)
16 and 18 Refuse destination, even after rejecting Teddy Roosevelt (3,3)
19 Elevated less serious reader’s implement (11)
21 Termination of ailment by licking a fish (5)
With a hostile incoming administration, a massive infrastructure of courts and judges waiting to turn “freedom of speech” into a nostalgic memory, and legacy newsrooms rapidly abandoning their responsibility to produce accurate, fact-based reporting, independent media has its work cut out for itself.
At The Nation, we’re steeling ourselves for an uphill battle as we fight to uphold truth, transparency, and intellectual freedom—and we can’t do it alone.
This month, every gift The Nation receives through December 31 will be doubled, up to $75,000. If we hit the full match, we start 2025 with $150,000 in the bank to fund political commentary and analysis, deep-diving reporting, incisive media criticism, and the team that makes it all possible.
As other news organizations muffle their dissent or soften their approach, The Nation remains dedicated to speaking truth to power, engaging in patriotic dissent, and empowering our readers to fight for justice and equality. As an independent publication, we’re not beholden to stakeholders, corporate investors, or government influence. Our allegiance is to facts and transparency, to honoring our abolitionist roots, to the principles of justice and equality—and to you, our readers.
In the weeks and months ahead, the work of free and independent journalists will matter more than ever before. People will need access to accurate reporting, critical analysis, and deepened understanding of the issues they care about, from climate change and immigration to reproductive justice and political authoritarianism.
By standing with The Nation now, you’re investing not just in independent journalism grounded in truth, but also in the possibilities that truth will create.
The possibility of a galvanized public. Of a more just society. Of meaningful change, and a more radical, liberated tomorrow.
In solidarity and in action,
The Editors, The Nation
22 Plenty from Chaplin’s tabletop performance in The Gold Rush (9)
25 Chant about Baltic capital with one type of Asian art (7)
26 Mesa, Arizona’s leader follows behind schedule, turning up outside (7)
27 Common bird, once carrying only letters from Singapore (9,6)
DOWN
1 Odd enchantress, rising to ensnare copper (9)
2 Feeling sorry for everyone (including children) after destruction (5)
3 Infusion distressed the bear (4,3)
4 Greeting very quiet orange beast (5)
Get unlimited access: $9.50 for six months.
5 Gets ready to run away, reciting something Chaucer might have written about a seabird? (5,4)
6 Mathematical figure otherwise circumscribing edge (7)
7 Orgiastic romp with titan of great consequence (9)
8 Participant in rogue’s shindig: One can be educated or wild (5)
14 Salmon I’d cooked holding unknown instruments (9)
15 Engineer overlooking crazy impression (9)
17 Cheer up large bobtail horse with a clown (9)
19 Something you could eat for breakfast: fish sandwiches, without a doctor’s orders (7)
20 Former African strongman raised stipulation to put in silver (7)
21 Bad time coming up for soldiers (5)
23 Start dinner late—it is stimulating (5)
24 Family member in French city taking a bite of éclair (5)
SOLUTION TO PUZZLE NO. 3463
ACROSS 1 ME + NAG + ERIE 6 D{EMU}R 9 {RAT}IONS 10 {COW}[b]ARDS 11 COM{BAT}MISSION (&lit.) 13 {ASS}EMBLE[m] 14 S{CAT}HE 18 AT{HEN}S 20 F{ANT} + ASIA 23 B(ROTH{ELK})EEPER 26 S{PIG}OTS 27 TR{APE}ZE (final letters) 28 {DOG}MA 29 SC + {RAM}BLED
DOWN 1 2 defs. 2 anag. 3 G(ROOM + S + M)EN 4 RASC (anag.) + ALLY 5 ENCA + MP (rev.) 6 DAW (rev.) + NS 7 MAR(XIS)T (rev.) 8 anag. 12 DAT A (rev.) 15 anag. 16 rev. 17 LAM + ENTER 19 [s]HOOTING 21 anag. 22 CLAS(P)S (&lit.) 23 B(AS)ED 24 HO + OH + A 25 V + END
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.