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
8 Reed concealing sheep left a smoky hole in the ground (8)
9 Operator with tractor trailer in the beginning (6)
10 Rip off HarperCollins’s chief (6)
11 Believing in God and the self, be loyal almost to the end (8)
12 Assuming a flute (4)
14 Roots transformed into trunk (5)
16 Loudly supplicate for the hunted (4)
17 At first, experiments yield redesigned something to keep out the light (6)
18 Marine struggling to stay put (6)
We hope you enjoyed the story you just read, just one of the many incisive, deeply reported articles we publish daily. Now more than ever, we need fearless journalism that moves the needle on important issues, uncovers malfeasance and corruption, and uplifts voices and perspectives that often go unheard in mainstream media.
Donate right now and help us hold the powerful accountable, shine a light on issues that would otherwise be swept under the rug, and build a more just and equitable future.
For nearly 160 years, The Nation has stood for truth, justice, and moral clarity. As a reader-supported publication, we are not beholden to the whims of advertisers or a corporate owner. But it does take financial resources to report on stories that may take weeks or months to investigate, thoroughly edit and fact-check articles, and get our stories to readers like you.
Donate today and stand with us for a better future. Thank you for being a supporter of independent journalism.
Thank you for your generosity.
21 50 start to unclog duct (4)
23 Feel bad about decapitated bird (5)
24 Designer employed by Mother Teresa (4)
25 Look for this below—it’s not too complicated (8)
27 Someone aiming for improvements rioted recklessly (6)
29 Wild, wild rice (6)
30 Unbreakable, like 14 entries whose extremities are excluded from the wordplay (8)
DOWN
1 Jethro, heading to the back: “I’m on the job all day, every day” (4-4)
Get unlimited access: $9.50 for six months.
2 Encounter air conditioning (4)
3 Some things of mine: tip of tall tree, and something that might destroy it (6,4)
4 Take in aura’s core characteristic (7)
5 Front of hospital locale (4)
6 Creative clip art’s deserving of gold medal (5,5)
7 Competitive, within limits (6)
13 Like ABC or another trio of consecutive letters spoken by sailor? Yes (10)
15 Excessive, like a Hanukkah quarrel? (4-3-3)
19 No Latina is wrong in this magazine? (8)
20 Hoist one brew—you get it for nothing (7)
22 Fool that is tender on the other side of the border (6)
26 One convertible holds ten team members (4)
28 Finchley resident’s unit (4)
SOLUTION TO PUZZLE NO. 3510
ACROSS 1 & 14D JUST IN TIM(B)E + R(L)AKE 4 hidden 10 B + [q]UILT 11 PAT + RON + AGE 12 [s]EX + PIRED (anag.) 13 PI(ERR)E 15 anag. 17 B(A + M)B + I 18 C (do) + E (mi) + D (re) + E (mi) + D (re) 20 I + NSIDE (anag.) + JOB 22 CU(TU)PS 24 anag. 26 D IS PLAYED 27 hidden 28 ENTIT[y] + LED 29 RE(T[o]Y)PE (peer anag.)
DOWN 1 JA(BB + ERWO)CK (wore anag.) 2 S + NIP + PET 3 INTER(B)RED 5 ANT(IPOD + E)S 6 O + ZONE (&lit.) 7 A + NAG + RAM 8 AXE + L 9 SPU (rev.) + D 16 H(AIRS)TYLE (ethyl anag.) 17 anag. 19 DRU(MS + E)T (turd rev.) 21 anag. 23 anag. 24 rev. 25 anag.
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.