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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 They promote 28 nuts (11)
9 Wild beast takes LSD the wrong way and steps down (9)
10 Storage site to get rid of marijuana? (5)
11 Small leaves annoy and repel Mr. Flynn (an old-time movie star) (5,5)
12 Critical mass requires serenity (4)
13 Oranges, enclosed by bruised rind and protected from the elements (6)
14 “Tito, drunk, walks into a bar…”—that’ll slay ’em (8)
18 Thailand’s capital has trendy administrative district (8)
20 Stop playing in winter outerwear (6)
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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23 Western singer is enthusiastic (4)
24 Grasp tangled hempen cord (10)
26 Eliminate hint of prurient desire (5)
27 Our group getting back in sack with a prostitute (9)
28 Where managers are 1A, after putting things in order (7,4)
DOWN
1 Essentially, Paul quit taking Introduction to Toxicology and went to class without receiving credit (7)
2 Mean to acquire a bit of rationality through someone else’s experience (9)
3 Update equipment when thief returns (6)
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4 Josh interrupts since failing to write (8)
5 Aims to dispatch top to bottom (4)
6 Renée Fleming, for one, hurried inside to absorb love (7)
7 Tina’s makeup (3,5)
8 Bad time for a romantic couple (4)
15 Hardwood veneer stripped from something that stings and something that whistles (9)
16 Local torn about viewpoint (8)
17 Ex-wife in disreputable tavern hiding broken core (8)
19 Outspoken command made a continuous noise (7)
21 Legislature gripped by weakness eternally (7)
22 Proclaims “toss-up” is doubtful (6)
23 For the most part, sound of a fall when climbing mountains (4)
25 Some knights joust expertly, despite intermittently using their heads (4)
SOLUTION TO PUZZLE NO. 3475
ACROSS 1 BOOT + H 4 FL + ETCHER 10 LE(G + END)ARY 11 B(ERR)Y 12 [m]ORAL 13 S + HIP 14 FI[d]EL-D 16 K(IDD)O (did anag.) 17 OP + PO + SITE 19 S + CREAMER 21 [s]-EWER-S 25 BAT(E)S (stab rev.) 26 final letters 27 P + AGE 29 SWAN + K 31 anag. 32 REST + Y(L)ES 33 O + SCAR
DOWN 1 BULL + O(C)K 2 ONG(U)ARD (dragon anag.) 3 HUN + T 5 LAY(U)P (play anag., &lit.) 6 & 30 TA(B)KE + Y 7 HARVE[y] + ST 8 RI(Y)AD + H (raid anag.) 9 B([o]ATH + R)OOM 14 rev. hidden 15 RO + GE + RS (rev.) 18 P + ERO(XI)DE 20 C + U(TLAS)S (salt rev.) 22 letter bank 23 SHE + ARER (anag.) 24 A(BUS)ER (era anag.) 26 anag. 28 C(AM)O
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).