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Puzzled? No more cross words! Read Kosman and Picciotto on “Solving The Nation’s Cryptic Puzzles.” Or watch this video.
ACROSS
1 Provide food and support for insect (11)
7 Partner’s half of counterrevolution (5)
8 Where celebrities are often found: an eco-chamber? (5,4)
10 Fat cat’s last permit (6)
11 People making a choice to eat right (doughnuts, more or less) (8)
12 State “Costello is McKellen” to actor in the lead (9)
14 Small joke twisted… (4)
17 …with phone-company unit (4)
18 Frame that is ruined as a consequence (9)
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.
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20 Jockey is a guy backing theatrical program of skits, songs, and dances (8)
22 Eatery with zero cash (6)
24 In Northern California, crank is awake during the night (9)
25 Ironclad escape for 7A (5)
26 Filmmaker’s building extension in roughly all four directions (5,6)
DOWN
1 Legal action in polite attire? (5,4)
2 Race winner’s fast pace uphill, showing equilibrium after shedding outer garments (8)
3 Unrestrained anger, lacking the final bit of inhibition! (4)
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4 Booze in Spielberg movie about Eno (9)
5 Advance by Confederate general sounds forlorn (6)
6 Where the Lyonnais get water to sharpen razor’s edge, at first (5)
7 Book caught fire and raised welt—a portent (6,5)
9 Hit man’s crumpled up cable for a hateful person (11)
13 Amusement in the morning hours? That’s a contradiction for a Belgian or Greek ruler (9)
15 Heavily step up, clutching open fabric for tablecloth alternative (5,4)
16 Productive territory on the upswing, getting one over terrible flu (8)
19 Foretells the end of summer in nearly a month (6)
21 Rising, I see tin chip (5)
23 Swiss artist’s modeling material discussed (4)
SOLUTION TO PUZZLE NO. 3464
ACROSS 1 anag. 9 CHI + RRUP (rev.) 10 [t]RELA + PSE (rev.) 11 anag. 12 PAR + IS 13 RUM(MAGE’S)ALE 16 & 18 [tr]ASH CAN 19 HIGH + LIGHTER 21 T + ROUT 22 A BUN DANCE 25 O(RIGA)M + I 26 P(LATE + A)U (up rev.) 27 letter bank
DOWN 1 EC(CENT)RIC (Circe rev.) 2 RUIN + G 3 anag. 4 HI + PP + O 5 “tern’s tale” 6 EL(LIP)SE 7 anag. 8 hidden 14 MANDOLI(N)S (salmon I’d anag.) 15 ENG + RAVING 17 HAR (rev.) + L + EQUIN[e] 19 H(OTC)AKE 20 GA + DDA + FI (rev.) 21 T + ROOP (rev.) 23 [s]UPPER 24 NI(E)CE
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).