Puzzle No. 3257

Puzzle No. 3257

And don’t miss Kosman and Picciotto’s crossword blog, Word Salad.

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

Click HERE to download a printable PDF of this puzzle.
And don’t miss Kosman and Picciotto’s crossword blog, Word Salad.
ACROSS
 1 See 2 if confused about final two parts of clues (7)
 5 Filthy locale outside university, very loud and poorly ventilated (6)
 8 “Goodbye, trouble!” is heard (5)
 9 Places where animals graze in unadulterated delight (8)
11 Will examine last word at end of fight (9)
12 Benjamin’s half—it alternates with the second half of 5 across (5)
13 and 10 downThis hint to four words hidden within this puzzle’s entries was not uttered by a discoverer of DNA, nor by a master decipherer of clues (10,2,4,6)
16 A monster, and therefore repulsed (4)
18 Part of church: section of cheap seats (4)
19 Ocean bird harassed hat wearers (10)
23 Hipster’s comeback: it is implied (5)
24 Creatively recook rap to produce a kind of musical (4,5)
26 Monkeys with computer get a question half-written (8)
27Times-edited articles (5)
28 and 15 downPrehistoric boast about ravaged zone at onset of epoch (6-3)
29 I agree to equip hothead and heavyweight (5,2)
 
DOWN
 1 Sexist metaphor: he wants “a pert bombshell” (4,3,5)
 2 Ties at first, then victories for baseball team (5)
 3 Erudite fellow getting up to embrace actress Blanchett (8)
 4 Sage’s torn panties (7)
 5 Irrationally respect symbol of authority (7)
 6 Dangerous snafu disrupted beginning of enterprise (6)
 7 Wood cube securing front of fortress in skirmish (9)
10 See 13 across
14 Spooner’s tacky first-born gets a comfy seat (4,5)
15 See 28 across
17 Go back and forth around noon—starting a little late, feeling faint (8)
20 I hear the lady’s outfit is covered with hair (7)
21 Emile Zola, famously: “California brought up dreadful curse” (7)
22 Injury is a feature of rigorous training (6)
25 Former tennis champion is upset (5)

SOLUTION TO PUZZLE NO. 3256

 
ACROSS 1 anag. 4 S(MIDGE)N 8 rev. 9 BA[ck] 10 THOR + N 11 OF FENDERS 12 “gallop, pole” 14 hidden 17 MA(K)E 18 ART I CU[r/L]ATE 20 B(L)ACK + L + UNG (rev.) 21 PE(T)ER 23 SP(HERO)ID (dips rev.) 24 E + NAMEL[y] 25 LA(TEN)CY (net rev.) 26 N(OT)YET
DOWN 1 rev. 2 2 defs. 3 MERING(U)E (regimen anag.) 4 SCAF + FOLDING 5 IN + FA(N)T 6 G + UATEMALA (a lame tau rev.) 7 N + UKES 11 OP + PORT + UNITY 13 LIKE + AS + HOT 15 anag. 16 BUM PINTO 19 SKI(RU)N 20 2 defs. 22 hidden

Disobey authoritarians, support The Nation

Over the past year you’ve read Nation writers like Elie Mystal, Kaveh Akbar, John Nichols, Joan Walsh, Bryce Covert, Dave Zirin, Jeet Heer, Michael T. Klare, Katha Pollitt, Amy Littlefield, Gregg Gonsalves, and Sasha Abramsky take on the Trump family’s corruption, set the record straight about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s catastrophic Make America Healthy Again movement, survey the fallout and human cost of the DOGE wrecking ball, anticipate the Supreme Court’s dangerous antidemocratic rulings, and amplify successful tactics of resistance on the streets and in Congress.

We publish these stories because when members of our communities are being abducted, household debt is climbing, and AI data centers are causing water and electricity shortages, we have a duty as journalists to do all we can to inform the public.

In 2026, our aim is to do more than ever before—but we need your support to make that happen. 

Through December 31, a generous donor will match all donations up to $75,000. That means that your contribution will be doubled, dollar for dollar. If we hit the full match, we’ll be starting 2026 with $150,000 to invest in the stories that impact real people’s lives—the kinds of stories that billionaire-owned, corporate-backed outlets aren’t covering. 

With your support, our team will publish major stories that the president and his allies won’t want you to read. We’ll cover the emerging military-tech industrial complex and matters of war, peace, and surveillance, as well as the affordability crisis, hunger, housing, healthcare, the environment, attacks on reproductive rights, and much more. At the same time, we’ll imagine alternatives to Trumpian rule and uplift efforts to create a better world, here and now. 

While your gift has twice the impact, I’m asking you to support The Nation with a donation today. You’ll empower the journalists, editors, and fact-checkers best equipped to hold this authoritarian administration to account. 

I hope you won’t miss this moment—donate to The Nation today.

Onward,

Katrina vanden Heuvel 

Editor and publisher, The Nation

Ad Policy
x