Puzzle No. 3229 Puzzle No. 3229
And check out Kosman and Picciotto’s crossword blog, Word Salad, just starting this week!
Feb 29, 2012 / Joshua Kosman and Henri Picciotto
Puzzle No. 3228 Puzzle No. 3228
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A PRINTABLE PDF OF THIS WEEK'S PUZZLE. ACROSS 1 Change offensive position (11) 8 God’s period of mourning (5) 9 Writer of doggerel who samples “The Raven”? (9) 10 Hint at nut by sides of obscure river (10) 11 Flimsy article left unfinished (4) 12 Tell all about seat of primal drives and external facade (6) 13 Bean stuffed with last bit of capsicum (that is, pepper) (8) 16 Touched base with mixed-up teen, one who’s playing hooky (8) 18 Where a giraffe might be seen if a car broke down (6) 21 Small as a prong? (4) 22 Delaying tactic resulting from strain, assuming I clear the table (10) 24 Interpret my retro commercial presaging the end of the mass-produced (5-4) 25 In tic-tac-toe, X’s are forbidden things (2-3) 26 Multiply what some Republicans might charge each other? (11) DOWN 1 Made a joke, and supplied everything but the opening (7) 2 Mythical king is willing, with Minoan leader coming in soon… (9) 3 …to cool stovepipe (3,3) 4 Fancy speeches primarily rescued the man, like a life preserver (8) 5 A hydroelectric structure is ur- gent? (4) 6 Knowledge stifles desire where food is prepared (7) 7 Strangely, sonar rubs out long-dead beast (12) 8 Acceptable test exists on plant (12) 14 In New Zealand, a carrier for “pipe disease” (9) 15 With Garr or Hatcher around, I chatter and dish (8) 17 Deceitful spam involves a French source of light for tanning studio equipment (7) 19 The way we count on energy is extreme (7) 20 I live surrounded by liquor and steak (6) 23 Shifty politician concealing corrpution, for example (4) ACROSS 1 2 defs. 10 2 defs. 11 [t]HAI/T + IAN 12 anag. 13 LA + UNDRESS 14 GORGON + ZOLA 17 P + AIR 20 hidden 21 2 defs. 23 S + TATUS QUO (outsquat anag.) 25 anag. 27 DOOR + DIE 28 NAIR + OBI (rani anag.) 29 2 defs. DOWN 2 AL + ARM 3 R + AINDROP (I pardon anag.) 4 LEG + ALI + ZED 5 NEH-RU (rev.) 6 HA(I)RD + O 7 2 defs. (ref. 3226, 18D) 8 2 defs. 9 anag. (altering or integral) 15 RIG + MA ROLE 16 pun 18 RE-STRAIN 19 S(MASH)ING 22 rev. hidden 23 S + AD-AT (rev.) 24 hidden 26 [s]TROVE
Feb 15, 2012 / Joshua Kosman and Henri Picciotto
Puzzle No. 3227 Puzzle No. 3227
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A PRINTABLE PDF ACROSS 1 Comedy team is evergreen and resilient (6,3,5) 10 Railroad that is one of the three R’s (7) 11 McKellen follows head-over-heels Thai island resident (7) 12 Directed and edited media (5) 13 She washes, as the Spanish disrobe (9) 14 Ugly female novelist makes cheese (10) 17 Soft melody for two (4) 20 Border divided Germany down the middle (4) 21 Unusual pain killers: they are used in The Three Musketeers and The Seven Samurai (3,7) 23 Locals finally outsquat stranger where things are now (6,3) 25 Stray wantonly with lecher (5) 27 Determined opening game piece (2-2-3) 28 Rani ruined belt in African city (7) 29 Strenuous questioning for a PhD, often (3,5,6) DOWN 2 Fear Capone with a weapon (5) 3 Reluctantly to begin with, I pardon lousy bit of weather (8) 4 Sanctioned part of a trip with Muhammad, ending in London (9) 5 Former Indian leader exalting primordial chicken? (5) 6 Bob, for one, is rigorous about intelligence operations up front (6) 7 Encore “Repeat something on a list, nearly at speed (7)” for anyone who solved last week’s puzzle (9) 8 Americans can be jerks (5) 9 Altering integral for mathematical figure (8) 15 Complex procedure to equip Gertrude or Jocasta, for example (9) 16 Country inhabited by sleepy yes-men? (4,2,3) 18 Hold back to filter again? (8) 19 Carol, about long-running TV show: “It’s first-rate” (8) 22 In Chad, Rupert reversed seclusion (6) 23 Look what I did: at first, successfully resurrected slain Arab leader (5) 24 Letters in marquee reveal title of William Burroughs opus (5) 26 Endeavored to overlook source for valuable collection (5) ACROSS 1 anag. 9 REC(IT)AL[l] 10 OF F(BE)AT 11 A OR T + A 12 anag. 13 2 defs. 14 anag. 17 anag. 19 A + L(C)OVE 22 PEPPER + ON + I 24 I + MAGE 26 G(EST)ALT 27 S([b]UIC[k])IDE 28 S(PENDING)M + ONE + Y DOWN 1 B(ERR)A 2 INC + URSION (in sour anag.) 3 anag. 4 hidden 5 POOH + POOH (hoop rev.) 6 AF + FAIRS 7 anag. (&lit.) 8 STRANG(L)E 13 HOM(EP)AGE 15 anag. 16 hidden 18 ITE[m] + RATE 20 anag. 21 anag. 23 2 defs. 25 E(LEG)Y (rev.)
Feb 7, 2012 / Joshua Kosman and Henri Picciotto
Puzzle No. 3226 Puzzle No. 3226
Click here to download a print-friendly PDF version of this page. ACROSS 1 Presbyterians converted pop star (7,6) 9 Nearly remember one that’s tagged within concert (7) 10 Live inside of obese eccentric (7) 11 Choice of Ford models with a large vessel (5) 12 Episcopal stirred a soft drink (5-4) 13 Came down hard and saluted (6) 14 Drifting agnostic goes to hell (8) 17 Satanism defiled part of a log (8) 19 Nook with a flame limiting start of conflagration (6) 22 It might come from a pig: kind of spray on individual’s face (9) 24 One charmer in a picture (5) 26 Neoconservative paragon incorporating 1970s self-help movement’s overall pattern (7) 27 For example, Hemingway’s faction hijacking stripped Buick (7) 28 Allowance is imminent between Sunday and Monday, at one day’s close (8,5) DOWN 1 Yogi’s degree concealing blunder (5) 2 Incorporated in sour, irrational attack (9) 3 Sean cut crumbling fruitcake (7) 4 Named bicycle “Pterodactyl’s Guts” (6) 5 Ring up Winnie to express impatience (4-4) 6 Air Force exhibitions for business (7) 7 I make notes, perhaps! (5) 8 Last bit of fuel caught in foreign throttle (8) 13 Internet location’s tribute involving record (4,4) 15 Quarantine lunatic into a silo (9) 16 Mixed morass or tedious excerpt (8) 18 Repeat something on a list, nearly at speed (7) 20 Sort of Islamic philosophy of church-state separation (7) 21 Makes a pass at Shinto stranger (4,2) 23 Sends assignments (5) 25 Sorrowful poem set amid the old uprising (5) ACROSS 1 LACE + RATIONS 9 ASSE[n]T 10 CLASS + MATE 11 2 defs. 12 FE + MALE 14 F(ACSIM)ILES (scam I anag.) 16 F[our] + IV + E (&lit.) 18 [i]S + AN E 19 LE + F(TWINGE)R 22 PAT + RON 23 P + R(E)AMBLE 26 ELUC + I + DATE (clue anag.) 27 ID + I(O)M 28 anag., &lit. DOWN 1 “list” 2 CAT-HOLIC 3 RECON + SIDE + R 4 anag. 5 [j]OUSTER 6 anag. 7 [p/L]AYOFF 8 2 defs. 13 YES + T(E)RY + EAR 15 CONS + TRUES 17 TI + RAM + I + SU (rev.) 18 SUP(P)ER 20 “roomy” 21 NO VICE 24 B(RIB)E 25 T(AX)I
Jan 31, 2012 / Joshua Kosman and Henri Picciotto
Puzzle No. 3225 Puzzle No. 3225
Click here for a printer-friendly version of the puzzle. ACROSS 1 Shoestring budgets resulting in tears (11) 9 Removing “No” from agreement is a good thing (5) 10 Style defeat for school chum (9) 11 Friendly, when nearing the end of one’s term (8) 12 Iron man or woman (6) 14 Exact replicas of scam I deviously inserted in records (10) 16 One-fourth of four, plus four, on its face, equals…! (4) 18 All there is, ultimately: an E (4) 19 In Paris, the franc involves sharp pain for Sarkozy opponent, in all likelihood (4-6) 22 Sponsor Buchanan and Reagan (6) 23 Finally stop long-winded speech about energy introduction (8) 26 Clarify cryptic clue one time (9) 27 I’d love to go inside—I’m getting a foot in the door, for instance (5) 28 A product of innovative tour science! (6,5) DOWN 1 Composer’s catalog sung (5) 2 Church member addicted to pets? (8) 3 Think over scouting team with rocket launcher (10) 4 Take out wood (4) 5 Discharge decapitated medieval combatant (6) 6 Differential gear: fan is on a boat (9) 7 24 entailing LP trade brings job loss (6) 8 Revolutionary respect (6) 13 Indeed: attempt to take saxophone, at last, and organ, is so 2011 (10) 15 Parses opposing arguments with levels (9) 17 Dessert in America: I foul it up (8) 18 Hint of paprika in excellent meal (6) 20 Running from the nose and from the mouth, with plenty of space (6) 21 Young nun, or what she should display (6) 24 Bone covered with half-beef grease (5) 25 Hack and chop within outskirts of Tbilisi (4) ACROSS 1 2 defs. 9 A + B(STAIN)ED 10 rev. 11 PERCUSSION + CAP (supersonic anag.) 14 anag. 17 [h]OBOE[s] 19 ‘[h]EELS 20 2 defs. 22 M(I + LIT + ARYBR)ASS (Barry anag.) 26 “Ritz” 27 CAPRI + CORN 29 G + ONE WITH THE WIND DOWN 1 anag. 2 A + ESIR (rise rev.) 3 ABA + C + USES 4 and 28 rev. 5 RA + DIO 6 TO + PICS 7 IN + CA(PA)BLE 8 [hoa]GY + [he]RO 12 SAT IN 13 JET + TI(SON)ED 15 anag. 16 hidden 18 CUR + B-SIDE 21 2 defs. 23 anag. 24 initial letters 25 2 defs.
Jan 25, 2012 / Joshua Kosman and Henri Picciotto
Puzzle No. 3224 Puzzle No. 3224
ACROSS 1 Letter sequence in an old joke, one that concludes with “I’m a frayed knot” (9,6) 9 A spot in part of the garden stayed dry (9) 10 Recall to go over old compact car (5) 11 Explode supersonic cover for toy gun ammunition (10,3) 14 Trash cores in a heap—their sections are in this puzzle (10) 17 20 naked tramps (4) 19 They’re slippery parts of ‘enry ‘iggins’ shoes (4) 20 For instance, fiddle with piece of equipment (10) 22 Generals and I touched down with Barry, unfortunately, in a mob (8,5) 26 Delivered hotel’s legal documents (5) 27 Stars in island entertainment that is shmaltzy (9) 29 Movie’s family rating which can’t be removed from the reel? (4,4,3,4) DOWN 1 Abandoned mine cop had fought for (10) 2 Norse gods originally advise, “Get up! Get up!” (5) 3 Group of lawyers with 100 applications for digital calculators (8) 4 and 28 Main objection raised is petty (3-3) 5 Egyptian and Italian gods communicate through the air (5) 6 Headings to photographs (6) 7 Powerless, in telegram, to protect father (9) 8 Hoagy (40%), hero (50%)… in the end, it’s just a sandwich (4) 12 Demonstrated a fabric (5) 13 Discarded plane even conceals boy (10) 15 Criminal: “I’m cool—ban Gabriel García Márquez, say” (9) 16 Change seen in neutral territory (5) 18 ”Where to Recycle a Dog”: a song not likely to hit the charts (8) 21 It may no longer cut a chestnut (3,3) 23 Implied attic is a mess (5) 24 Dressing the fronts of armoires in old lingerie items (5) 25 Grasp and shoot (4) 28 See 4 ACROSS 1 pun 8 2 defs. 9 ADHE + RENT (head anag.) 11 OV(ERR)ID + E 12 NE(UR)ON 14 “Harry” 15 P(HEN + OMEN)A 17 ST(EEL + D)RUM 19 RAP ID 20 “claws” 22 S + CISSORS (Cross is anag.) 24 “wring tale” 25 anag. 26 2 defs. DOWN 1 AS + TROPHY + SICS 2 T(ANGER)IN + E 3 S(WE)ARBY[’s] 4 G + RAN + DOPER + A 5 hidden 6 anag. 7 hidden 10 INCAN + DESCENT 13 V(ERM)I + CELLI (R.E.M. anag.) 16 EX-P + LOSIVE (olives anag.) 18 LA SAG(N)A 19 REST + ART 21 ALI + BI 23 YAW + P (way rev.)
Jan 18, 2012 / Joshua Kosman and Henri Picciotto
Puzzle No. 3223 Puzzle No. 3223
ACROSS 1 “I should buy a hybrid, I should buy a hybrid,” for example? (14) 8 Edgy present, perhaps (5) 9 Follower of head mystic, torn (8) 11 Neutralize Roman poet clutching slip with ease, initially (8) 12 Old city held by very bright, specialized cell (6) 14 Hearing Belafonte is difficult (5) 15 “Manifestations of Chicken”: sign in Pennsylvania (9) 17 Slippery one could ultimately come in to play a guitar or percussion instrument (5,4) 19 “Speedy Snoop Dogg” for Calvin Broadus, e.g. (5) 20 Grandfather, among others, discussed cat’s features (6) 22 Gymnastics feat “Southern Cross” is choreographed (8) 24 Raccoon’s twist-and-squeeze anecdote told (8) 25 Outlandish ideas expressed to the audience (5) 26 Canceled date? It’s a letdown (14) DOWN 1 Science attacks, following baseball team’s award (12) 2 Citrus incense packed in a can with a bit of emulsifier (9) 3 Completely trust our group in fast-food restaurant, starting with dessert (5,2) 4 Gang leader fled junkie—a spectacle (5,5) 5 A nymph in the chorus (4) 6 16 trooped all over (7) 7 Landlord enters—grow nervous (5) 10 Peruvian ancestry? Brilliant (12) 13 Noodles around, playing R.E.M. (six strings) (10) 16 Volatile former pâtissier originally chopped olives (9) 18 Here’s the dish: Martin finally invested in L.A. Story (7) 19 Take it from the top with what’s left: illustrations (7) 21 Fighter, swinging both ways, is out (5) 23 Whitman’s barbaric cry, raised very softly (4) ACROSS 1 29 8 26 down 8 29 1 pun 3 “wins or not” 9 anag. 10 TAB + OO 11 [s]IC[k] + EMAN (name rev.) 12 SLAP + DASH (pals rev.) 14 NORT + HS + TAR (Tron rev.) 17 palindrome 19 hidden 20 anag. 22 GAME(P)LAN 23 PAR + SEE 26 hidden 27 2 defs. 28 2 defs. DOWN 1 anag. 2 [w]ADDLE 3 WARP + ATH[o]S 4 odd letters 5 SME[g] + LLA + RAT (rev.) 6 RET(Y)PE (Peter anag.) 7 2 defs. 13 2 defs. 14 ROLE + MODEL 16 anag. 18 VITA + MIND 21 “a plum” 24 S + TIFF 25 rev.
Jan 10, 2012 / Joshua Kosman and Henri Picciotto
Puzzle No. 3222 Puzzle No. 3222
ACROSS 1, 29, 8, 26 down, 8, 29, 1 Song excerp2 from 19T5? (3,3,3,3,3,3,3) 3 One way to manage a tie at a hearing—victories or otherwise (7,4) 9 Brew ale, burned within the limits of tolerance (9) 10 Bill loves that which is forbidden (5) 11 Essentially, sick and regressive reputation for someone who once delivered (6) 12 Random friends retreating with élan (8) 14 Disney movie about high school: Sailor’s Guide for Sailors (5,4) 17 Leo’s heroine looks the same in the mirror (4) 19 Unemployed guest of David Letterman (4) 20 Sneakily trap a rich father (9) 22 Foreign orchestra includes piano in program (4,4) 23 Zoroastrian is average, capisce? (6) 26 Sound captured by Saudi oilman (5) 27 Hatter’s routine—it could get you wet (9) 28 Pondered and re-enslaved? (11) 29 See 1 across DOWN 1 Broadway musical that’s nothing like Footloose (3,4,4) 2 Puzzle: how a duck can walk without a head (5) 3 Pervert musketeer without leader in obviously hostile courses of action (8) 4 Arrests odd characters in (near) base (4) 5 Suspect and besmirch all jewelry, uncovered and returned (5,1,3) 6 Peter Tosh welcomes Mary, at last, to enter again (6) 7 Scarecrow, for instance, is an easy one to deal with (2-7) 8 See 1 across 13 Actor’s accounts of wastelands (5,6) 15 Part T or A, for example (4,5) 16 Somebody like Savion Glover can depart, unfortunately (3,6) 18 Resume covering brain with healthful substance (7,1) 21 A fruit in your mouth is cool (6) 24 Hard, small quarrel (5) 25 Stain blouses upside down (4) 26 See 1 across ACROSS 1 2 defs. 5 INTE(G)R + A 9 G(ENOC)ID + AL (rev.) 10 F(L)ORA 11 EPS + OMS + A + LT’S 12 I GO + R 13 hidden 15 POTASSIU + M (I pass out anag.) 18 ref. 22 across 19 MU + FTI (fit anag.) 21 A + FA[i]R 22 anag. 26 I(BIZ) A 27 P(O)INCIANA (in a panic anag.) 28 GE(RAIN)T 29 GRA[b] + TINE DOWN 1 TI(GRE + A)N (rev.) 2 N(ONE)S 3 INC + UM + BENT 4 RED CAR + PET 5 IS + LET 6 TU(F)T 7 GO + OD GRIEF (fog ride anag.) 8 AN + AGRA + M (ref. 1 across 5, 28, 29, 1 down, 18, 20) 14 CHE(VALI[d])ER 16 anag. 17 SI + MULA + CRA (rev.) 18 2 defs. 20 2 defs. 23 anag. 24 init. letters 25 MAG + I (rev.)
Jan 4, 2012 / Joshua Kosman and Henri Picciotto
Puzzle No. 3221 Puzzle No. 3221
ACROSS 1 Sharper-tasting Moroccan port (7) 5 Outside opening of garage, bury a car (7) 9 In retrospect, traffic control device found in Los Angeles archaeological site is murderous (9) 10 Plants seed of litigation in places for public discussion (5) 11 Records mantras before one officer’s: in brief, they are cathartic (5,5) 12 I’m like, “Spring of Rite, man!” (4) 13 Bionic hero captures a specialized market (5) 15 Shocked, I pass out: one thousand is K? (9) 18 Signalling, spot famous catch (6,3) 19 Greek character: poor fit for civilian clothes (5) 21 From a distance, a blonde lost me as a subject… (4) 22 …waving as Ling Ling goes berserk (10) 26 Spanish island’s commercial domain breaking Iowa apart (5) 27 Bush, in a panic, irrationally clutches Obama’s head (9) 28 Circumventing downpour, catch mythical Welsh king (7) 29 Almost seize part of a fork covered with cheese (7) DOWN 1 Ethiopian raised minor complaint about a bit of work (7) 2 Bill goes in opposite directions for afternoon services (5) 3 Incorporated…er…crooked office holder (9) 4 Vehicle for the fire chief receives favorite kind of treatment (3,6) 5 Key is allowed (5) 6 Pharaoh grasps top of frond cluster (4) 7 Heavens! Leave fog, ride recklessly (4,5) 8 Granite, for everything else on the periphery of an Indian city near Mexico’s capital (7) 14 Amid gaiety, nearly legitimate knight (9) 16 Hammering broken cog in turn (9) 17 Representations of curve college grad is flipping (9) 18 Perhaps sad or wrenching (7) 20 Don’t drop your keys there—you’ll get no appreciation from him (7) 23 Putin’s terrible advice (5) 24 Baghdad resident initially inspected reactor and questioned intelligence (5) 25 One leg up for wise men (4) ACROSS 1 & 12 2 defs. 5 pun 9 EMOT + IONAL (tome rev., a lion anag.) 10 hidden 11 “dew wet” 14 PRIM + AL 16 LUR(K)E + R[ogue]S 17 & 22 2 defs. 18 P(OTHER)B 19 S[tud]Y + STEM 23 S + KID 26 A + PING 27 CAL(CU)L + ATE 28 LA(YET)TE 29 anag. DOWN 1 SP(EED) UP (rev.) 2 EV(OK)E 3 hidden 4 urn anag. 5 HELL(H)O + LE 6 WE + A(THERE)YE 7 IMP + RUDE + N[o]T 8 anag. 13 anag. 17 OB + STAC + LE (rev.) 18 2 defs. 20 M(ID + W)EEK 21 INF[o] + LOW 24 hidden 25 2 defs.
Dec 21, 2011 / Joshua Kosman and Henri Picciotto
Puzzle No. 3220 Puzzle No. 3220
ACROSS 1 and 12 Part of home stereo system for politician (7,2,3,5) 5 Militant, not unlike a street vendor? (7) 9 Intense book about a lion: Wild (9) 10 Ballerinas penetrate housing for Quaker? (5) 11 Music for two called morning moisture moist (4) 12 See 1 across 14 Preeminent and prudish: Gore (6) 16 In a chatroom, silent types attract about 1,000 heartless rogues (7) 17 and 22 Single piece of furniture’s hookup (3,5,5) 18 Greens lead around alternative (7) 19 Eviscerate study to check method (6) 22 See 17 across 23 Joke following student’s first slide (4) 26 Mimicking a knock from the engine (5) 27 Copper in ring corroded figure… (9) 28 …even inside overdue baby’s clothes (7) 29 Tech pioneer: “I know A-Z, but in a different order” (7) DOWN 1 Accelerate return of young dogs to captivate Sandra (5,2) 2 Call forth the First Lady, securing permission (5) 3 Fabric displayed by Greek nitwit (4) 4 Second round urn? (6) 5 Greeting involves Haitian leader in Port-au-Prince, the scene of misery (8) 6 Watchfulness you and I agreed to maintain at that point (7,3) 7 Careless urchin, unrefined and not without love (9) 8 Nerdish tangle impedes… (7) 13 …engineer that grew it, allowing neither 4 nor 21 (10) 15 Amid wandering, tiny trace of ethical courage and honesty (9) 17 The Spanish cat’s smell wafts up—that’s a deterrent (8) 18 What you might do on bumping into a donkey: duck! (7) 20 Between Tuesday and Thursday, recognize Wednesday comes in like a lamb (7) 21 Revenue from news, mostly meager (6) 24 Sikh, a kinsman, sports brown cloth (5) 25 Hum with Neil’s partner (4) ACROSS 1 RABBI + TEARS 6 2 defs. 10 2 defs. 11 anag. 12 “let’s” 13 AVO[w] + I + DANCE 14 anag. 15 B + EAGLE 18 S(ED)ANS 19 I + R(ON)ING 21 O(VERB)ITES (toes I anag.) 23 anag. 25 rev. 26 RE + VEREN(C)E (veneer anag.) 27 NAT + O 28 G(HOSTS)TORY DOWN 1 rev. 2 anag. 3 IN + VESTMENT + BANK 4 EMU + LATE + D 5 RAT(I) ON 7 P(R)AWN 8 anag. 9 pun 14 LA(STONE)IN 16 GL IS S AND O 17 MISS + IVES 20 ST + ARCH 22 [s]EXIST 24 REED + Y (deer rev.)
Dec 14, 2011 / Joshua Kosman and Henri Picciotto