This puzzle originally appeared in the May 28, 1988, issue.
ACROSS
1 Perhaps one of the characters in Guys and Dolls, hoping to be better (Teddy was one). (3,4,6)
10 An obvious tool for the woodsman, but that’s what the country does, according to some people! (7)
11 Drink and make merry with music— the oriental says it’s good for you! (7)
12 Act put on with a short skirt, getting able to see the Republic, possibly. (9)
13 They may be proper, or quite common—implying an absence of sunburst. (5)
14 Even a bad priest might show such sprightly wit. (6)
16 The kind of supper a dog enjoys might be responsible for much growth. (8)
19 A little bit of money, as the British once said, should be quite a distant object. (8)
22 and 20 If fit enuf, have a fling with one of the main drags! (5,6)
23 The roving, roving traveler might have such a case! (9)
25 A ringer with a short, sharp shock— holding an experiment in the lab, perhaps. (4,3)
26 A rather large trouble for the maid, as they used to say! (7)
27 The stuntman for the actor has a purpose, but you might be expected to get it with a pun. (6,7)
DOWN
2 What I do when I flash a big smile in support? (1,4)
3 What a professional rider has to do to progress? (3,2,4,3,3)
4 A southern neighbor has me with a number of football players, and a little company to provide it. (6)
5 Drunk, as they say, but there’s no getting on with it in the classic movie. (4,4)
6 What isolationists preached might be not in! Not in? Never! (15)
7 In part when I sleep, I cure another person of sensitive taste. (9)
8 One of the Yellow Pages might be an expensive put-on! (4,4)
9 Iron? Bronze? They’re examples of what one does in time. (4)
15 Left on top, the rest comes up with a greasy liquid of this in case it’s for the papers. (9)
17 Continue to prevaricate? Be quiet! (3,5)
18 Once containing a sour mixture, it certainly wasn’t off the beam! (2,6)
21 Mar the surface between C and G, with one in the card game. (6)
22 Little 17 without the register? (4)
24 The arrangement of fiber in wood or cereal? (5)
Frank W. Lewis