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Word Salad.
ACROSS
1 In jail, an advantage initially: hide a tool for smashing walls (12)
10 Contracting one’s lips in a reddish kiss, at first, to call on the phone (9,2)
11 and 27 One who defends Indian state distortion (6)
12 Ordinary and not bad, as a prefix (6)
13 Strong rebuke: “Republican insect!” (8)
15 Importance of eliminating the initiator of crime (4)
16 Meddlers barring metal KISS arrangement (10)
19 Opposed Eastern European to undermine craft (5,5)
21 Jump back to front as part of 14 (4)
23 Instrument that sounds wretched and disgusting (4,4)
25 Idiot twin misplaced the thing (6)
27 See 11
28 Misers hide piles in broken casket (11)
29 George Bush buries wines in five locations in the completed grid—that’s where you’d find equipment for these (6,6)
DOWN
2 Harper, overlooking technique for tolerance… (6)
3 …is supporting Putin’s affirmative platform (4)
4 Whisks off garb (tees, e.g.) (10)
5 It’s cured pain, sir! (7)
6 Molten rock surrounding grandmothers (5)
7 Get to pontificate, not quietly (5)
8 Starts a dance for a nonunion establishment (4,4)
9 Withering introduction to speech, with plenty of sentimentality? (8)
14 Criminal course sped! (3,7)
17 Walk to it unsteadily, with a certain amount of power (8)
18 Wisenheimer to spoil brat, ultimately, interrupting back talk (5-3)
20 Milosevic heartily eating seafood dish (7)
22 Select alien striker (6)
23 Bawl uncontrollably about club’s rule (5)
24 Luster of an actor (father or son) (5)
26 Disregarding the odds, jumped to a dramatic hairstyle (4)
ACROSS 1 CHARLES(LAUGH)TON 9 P(L)UMP 10 RE(S)PELLED 11 [m]IC[e] + ELAND + [m]IC[e] 12 “liar” 14 AS + SU(MI)NG 16 hidden 18 anag. 20 FLUSHO(U)T 23 “scene” 24 AL(MAMA)TER 27 H(Y)GIENIST (nighties anag.) 28 R + AMEN 29 “bairn assess a tease”
DOWN 1 CAP + RIP(ANT)S 2 AM + USE 3 LI(PB + A)LM (mill anag.) 4 S + TRIDENT 5 AL’S + ACE 6 GRE(M)LIN (linger anag.) 7 TA + L(KRAD)IO (rev.) 8 anag. 13 anag. 15 S + C + AVENGER 17 anag. 19 CAN + TEEN 21 US airma[n] anag. 22 MA + NIAC (rev.) 25 TEM (rev.) + PI 26 AHA + B
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.