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 Actress putting lettuce in canned stew (7,6)
9 Phosphorus and others make up part of a flower (5)
10 TV personality with eccentric tie is a loner (9)
11 All-out laughter fills manger (8)
12 Walked or bicycled past street (6)
14 Device for measuring sounds in reverse—some of them are great (5)
16 Top leader in election after large and small victory (9)
17 Deceive with second half of enigma, after some grass (9)
19 Deserves and gets an education (though not Introduction to Logic) (5)
22 Fight to fix a bunch of records (3,3)
23 A kind of medicine changing true to false? Like hell! (8)
26 Popular healer greeting North America and part of Asia (9)
27 General Taylor, familiarly, adopts a hint of tacky ostentation (5)
28 One way to destroy evidence: arrange R-shaped fragments as needed (5,8)
DOWN
1 For example, Sacramento (California) head of legislature accepts bread from abroad (7)
2 Geek almost kidnaps couple at KCBS, for instance (7)
3 Big, looming housing (home) up north (5)
4 Try to convert former senator Bayh to make grand replacement for face of Central American nation (10)
5 Engrave the middle of rough drawings (4)
6 Ads get too garbled for discernment (4,5)
7 Backward electric current delivered outside Iowa for African 1D (7)
8 Note stain surrounding rear of chickadee in flight (3-3)
13 Below nurse, aide finally breaking into zombie state (10)
15 Broadcast summary (with start slightly delayed) that covers a naked person (6,3)
17 Reel weight on container (6)
18 Confused fool getting back to front after 10:09 (5,2)
20 Paul, suppressing desire for the most part, went on a rampage (3,4)
21 Lets loose with almost nothing to get soda (7)
24 Football player in university leaving corrupt league (5)
25 Harshly speak up for one such as Trump (4)
SOLUTION TO PUZZLE NO. 3494
ACROSS 1 PIN A COLA + DA 6 W + ARM 9 IN + S[o]U[r] + RED 10 “lacker” 12 hidden 13 STAG + NANCY 14 NUMB[er]S 15 R + ED + CROSS 18 T(HANKY)OU (out anag.) 20 BL + IMP 23 APP + RAISA + L 25 S + PEAR 26 E(PIT)APH (heap anag.) 27 B(U)OY + A[u]NT 28 initial letters (&lit.) 29 G + OLDEN + CALF
DOWN 1 PAIN T[h]ING 2 NO(S)T RUM 3 CAR(LOSS)ANT + AN A 4 LEDA’S TRAY 5 DEL (rev.) + TA 7 AQUI + NAS (rev.) 8 M(ARTY)R 11 CONTRABA(SSOO)N[d] (so + so anag.) 16 DO + U + BLE(B)ED 17 APERIT (anag.) + IF 19 [c]HOPPING 21 hidden 22 K(AR)EEM (rev.) 24 S[at]CHMO
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.