Puzzle No. 3231

Puzzle No. 3231

And check out Kosman and Picciotto’s new 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 new crossword blog, Word Salad.
ACROSS
 1 Occupy London captures a tower (5)
 4 Unoccupied resort town seized by a fit (9)
 9 Stapler defaced wall’s coating (7)
10 Message overwhelms Republican that is preoccupied (7)
11 Irrational idolatries—they are found near the front of this magazine (10)
12 At first, Lebanese instrument is not subtle (4)
15 Cache rudimentary audio holding—that’s clever (6)
16 Pitiful way to quote reactionary (8)
18 Someone occupying the White House in the absence of chief occupant (8)
20 Communist skill backing Wall Street occupation (6)
23 Tubers (potatoes) ultimately can come back (4)
24 Occupancy that nuns undergo? (10)
26 Nameless, leaderless throngs heralding recovery (7)
27 In Tuscany, who opposed wine? (7)
28 Fops take a shine to Aykroyd and Rather (5,4)
29 Move sneakily, occupying business I’d leveraged (5)
DOWN
 1 Sprinkles phosphorus ray—an occupational hazard? (6,5)
 2 Greener pasture diverted fire (7)
 3 Tear into wine ad throughout the magazine? (10)
 4 Scared of air force incursion… (6)
 5 …and one excellent baseball team (2,4,2)
 6 Songbird’s amusing escapade (4)
 7 What banks might get from taxpayers: trouble during an outbreak (7)
 8 See 26 down
13 Anarchic roar incited true believer (11)
14 I space out around wrong places to buy drugs (10)
17 Secretly like film? (2,6)
19 E.g., Lisa and Paul entertaining an afterthought (7)
21 Head of senate departed, drawn and stooped (7)
22 Public spectacle on the rise over the United States: a pain in the neck, mostly (6)
25 Occupied, like public transportation? (4)
26 and 8 On beginning, antonyms affront (6)

ACROSS 1 center stage anag. 9 SWA + [p]HILI[p] (was anag.) 10 anag. 11 rev. 12 anag. 15 S(A BOT)AGE 16 FRE(NZ)Y 19 hidden 20 LIF(E + BOA)T 23 NOTORI(O)US (is on tour anag.) 27 REBEC + CA 29 MAN(A)GER 30 STAGE (F)RIGHT

DOWN 1 2 defs. 2 CO + IN 3 EX(I)T SIGN (sexting anag.) 4 AD(V)ISE (ideas anag.) 5 & 25 2 defs. 6 TRINI[dad] 7 O + SCARS 8 R + OMNEY (money anag.) 13 IS + RAEL (Lear rev.) 14 hidden 17 N(EON + L)IGHT 18 WINS + [h]OMER 19 pun 21 T + APE(R)S 22 DON + ATE 24 TUBA + S (abut rev.) 26 rev. 28 alternate letters

Support independent journalism that does not fall in line

Even before February 28, the reasons for Donald Trump’s imploding approval rating were abundantly clear: untrammeled corruption and personal enrichment to the tune of billions of dollars during an affordability crisis, a foreign policy guided only by his own derelict sense of morality, and the deployment of a murderous campaign of occupation, detention, and deportation on American streets. 

Now an undeclared, unauthorized, unpopular, and unconstitutional war of aggression against Iran has spread like wildfire through the region and into Europe. A new “forever war”—with an ever-increasing likelihood of American troops on the ground—may very well be upon us.  

As we’ve seen over and over, this administration uses lies, misdirection, and attempts to flood the zone to justify its abuses of power at home and abroad. Just as Trump, Marco Rubio, and Pete Hegseth offer erratic and contradictory rationales for the attacks on Iran, the administration is also spreading the lie that the upcoming midterm elections are under threat from noncitizens on voter rolls. When these lies go unchecked, they become the basis for further authoritarian encroachment and war. 

In these dark times, independent journalism is uniquely able to uncover the falsehoods that threaten our republic—and civilians around the world—and shine a bright light on the truth. 

The Nation’s experienced team of writers, editors, and fact-checkers understands the scale of what we’re up against and the urgency with which we have to act. That’s why we’re publishing critical reporting and analysis of the war on Iran, ICE violence at home, new forms of voter suppression emerging in the courts, and much more. 

But this journalism is possible only with your support.

This March, The Nation needs to raise $50,000 to ensure that we have the resources for reporting and analysis that sets the record straight and empowers people of conscience to organize. Will you donate today?

Ad Policy
x