Click
HERE to download a printable PDF of this puzzle.
And don’t miss Kosman and Picciotto’s crossword blog,
Word Salad.
ACROSS
1 and 28 Taking priority can be a way to do things in woods, behind a conifer-covered area (5,3,8)
5 Head of Republic and leader of Congress bombed areas (6)
10 Composer’s snarl (5)
11 and 25 Totally overheard: conversation concerning smoked fish and mineral (4,5,3,6)
12 Vehicles! (7)
13 Rackets incorporating pig rejects (7)
14 Levities gone bad, beginning with tube (10,3)
18 To form pairs outside, take in some herb or condiment (6,7)
22 Gull-like bird swallowed by marine mammal, without start and without end (7)
23 Treacherous deceit leading to a drink (4,3)
25 See 11
26 Can giraffe’s sides touch? (5)
27 Gone crazy about male chromosomes, a requisite for human life (6)
28 See 1
DOWN
1 Cry “Fie!” to unnatural savagery (8)
2 Engineer loses face in Ohio or Missouri (5)
3 City promoted the sixth manservant (3,4)
4 Many longshoremen hiding material for stockings (5)
6 Idiot omitting “Losses” from lists of sports statistics (7)
7 Bit of fabric enveloping first-rate timepiece (9)
8 Jaunty, like a croupier’s tool? (6)
9 Some music I’d invested in: hogwash (4,4)
15 Treat lady badly, like some saints? (6-3)
16 Colonists dispersed 20s (8)
17 Like some heirs—bringing up father and mother, perhaps (8)
19 Require a bromantic tête-à-tête? (7)
20 Support newsletter (7)
21 Leo covers a piece in a smooth musical style (6)
23 Lurking in Leipzig, looting a house—that’s cold (5)
24 Dance beat with energy (5)
ACROSS 1 CONNECT + I + CUTER 9 RAN + G.E. 10 ENG + ROSS + ED 11 AG + LITTER 12 ASS + IGN (gin anag.) 14 LAS(T)S 16 PRO-GENIES 17 VENI + AL SIN (slain anag.) 19 UNF + IT (fun anag.) 22 V.E. + SSEL (less rev.) 23 MEN SWEAR 26 CAR + GO + CU(L)T 27 [r]AMBLE 28 MARTIN(AHING)IS
DOWN 1 CURT + AIL 2 2 defs. 3 anag. 4 pun 5 C + AGE 6 T + ROUSSEAU 7 rev. hidden 8 A + DON + IS 13 PO(INSET)TIA (patio anag.) 15 ST([s]AGED)OOR (rev.) 17 V + IV + ACE 18 NO + STRUM 20 musical notes 21 TUR[n]KEYS 24 SWAM + I 25 SU + FI (rev.)
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.