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ACROSS
1 Weigh down our retreat, carrying tote, sack, or bundle, e.g. (10)
6 Experts with permission to enter after removing duplicates (4)
9 Listening to Hitler in anger (5)
10 I can mug loudly for cosmetic products (3,6)
12 Unsoiled? Ridiculous misconception (8)
13 After mediocre grade, failure is not so far off (6)
15 Countryman caught in a rainstorm (9)
16 Devour accessory (5)
17 Stream magazine keeping back letter from Athens (5)
19 One who drinks a lot of brewed cocoa? I’ll set about heating at first (9)
21 Solitary military officer lacks company? Yes (6)
22 Shield is put down when holding a lance’s end (8)
25 Childish member of a social group breaking in tool (9)
26 Chart of gangsta hip-hop hits (5)
27 Start to haul ancient part of a boat (4)
28 Pretentious dancer originally coming inside to iron fancy garment (5,5)
DOWN
1 Speaker’s frequently murdered (5)
2 How to get silence from Western lawman and galoot (7)
3 Comedy duo to incinerate footwear over most of penitential period (5,3,5)
4 Destroyed their coral, expecting no response (10)
5 Excellent No. 1 weapon (4)
7 Revolutionary sale disrupted Manhattan neighborhood (7)
8 Poor sci-fi novel is sleep-inducing (9)
11 Libertarian fantasy, ultimately: not winding up quiet and stalwart (5,8)
14 Nary a buck is raised to shelter a grumbler (10)
15 Lee dominates small and mischievous aquarium dweller (9)
18 Aware of a bit of murky fluid swirling around pole (7)
20 Loss of oil, perhaps, in the era of kale salad? (7)
23 Internet hosting entails a distinctive set of beliefs and practices (5)
24 Mine a kind of bread (4)
SOLUTION TO PUZZLE NO. 3436
ACROSS 8 STAN + DU(PT)O 11 T + EMPO (anag.) 12 REF(ORME + R)S (more anag.) 13 ARMC (anag.) + ANDY 17 anag. 22 AP(PEAS)ED 23 “dualists” 25 2 defs. 28 anag.
DOWN 1 AS(H)TRAY + S 3 AD + VO(CA)TE 5 EM + BR(Y)O 6 UN + DERF (rev.) + EEDS (anag.) 7 ERAS + ED 9 PAR(AD)IS + E 14 aimed anag. 16 DI(SPOS)AL (sops rev.) 18 NEEDLES + S 19 anag. 20 M(ODIF)Y (Fido rev.) 21 LOL + IT + A
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.