Click HERE to download a printable PDF of this puzzle.
Puzzled? No more cross words! Read Kosman and Picciotto on “Solving The Nation’s Cryptic Puzzles.” Or watch this video.
ACROSS
1 and 4A The French woman is skeptical about the French attorney’s pairs, four of which are displayed in this diagram (though one member of each pair is not clued) (5,8)
4 See 1A
9 Unimpressive individual conceals disparity in amplifier (9)
10 Not clued (5)
11 Invalid removing contents of nutshell (4)
12 Compelling return of electronic credit card by American agent (10)
13 Not clued (6)
15 Hang around with worker, swapping sources of trouble and litigation (6)
16 Help is not great when incomplete (3)
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.
The Nation’s experienced team of writers, editors, and fact-checkers understands the scale of what we’re up against and the urgency with which we have to act. That’s why we’re publishing critical reporting and analysis of the war on Iran, ICE violence at home, new forms of voter suppression emerging in the courts, and much more.
But this journalism is possible only with your support.
This March, The Nation needs to raise $50,000 to ensure that we have the resources for reporting and analysis that sets the record straight and empowers people of conscience to organize. Will you donate today?
18 Look inside slit for shoe (6)
20 Assumption in here: mistreated cow (6)
23 Putting off announcement about piano functioning (10)
24 Old South American hiding in mountain cabin (4)
26 Halt the start of elections, in case… (5)
27 …one survey in Ohio confused the masses (3,6)
28 Not clued (8)
29 Get rid of errors in an alphabetical sequence where Boston University is failing (5)
DOWN
Get unlimited access: $9.50 for six months.
1 European newspaper covering a child’s retail merchandise (8)
2 Escorts set up unaccompanied concert date (7)
3 Raise head of drowsy friend in California heat? (4)
4 Took the plunge, winning love and the heart of Carey Mulligan (2-4)
5 One kind of strength, mostly found in our gang’s tools (8)
6 Vital cure reformulated to make it profitable (9)
7 Use an ax when cutting into sap’s television drama (3,4)
8 Iron roundabout, without a charge (4)
14 Chew so messily when eating dessert that’s a masterwork (9)
16 Populous city in Ghana is unfortunately getting hot (8)
17 Second-rate rule entails similar violation (8)
19 Never drink red wine without beginning to darken (7)
21 Blunder involving party led by Mandela’s supporters as a group (3,4)
22 Lacking leadership, bank’s business is close (6)
23 Shakespearean character found on the ice? (4)
25 Not clued (4)
SOLUTION TO PUZZLE NO. 3498
ACROSS 1 [s]PAWN 3 TSA (anag.) + REV + ITCH 10 P(HOT)O’S + HOP 11 LO(GI)C[k] 12 RO + YAL (rev.) 13 OR + BITERS 16, 21, 5, & 28D LIT + HOG + RAP + HER 18 2 defs. 20 TRICE(RA)TOPS 22 AT(RAND)OM 24 CU BAN 27 hidden 28 HAILS + TORM[e] 29 F(OX + T)ERRIER 30 rev.
DOWN 1 PA(PERP)LATE 2 WOO + [la]DY 4 S + “cool, bored” 6 hidden 7 anag. 8 [c]HUCK 9 anag. 14 BANG + OR + MAINE + E 15 anag. 17 THIR-[s]-TY-S + IX 19 T(ESTC)ASE (sect anag.) 23 AT ONE 25 “boos” 26 hidden
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).