Cryptic Puzzle

Eight Is Enough

Eight Is Enough

By Tom Toce

I wanted to make a COVID puzzle, one where all the entries, or at least the across entries, pertained to what’s been going on the past year. It proved too hard to do all the across entries—believe me, we would have ended up with a very unsatisfying puzzle. So I decided, eight is enough. Consequently, eight of the across entries are COVID-related. Their clues are presented randomly, and the solver will have to determine where in the grid they go.
There are six proper nouns, one of which is a two-word answer. All the other entries are playable in Scrabble. There are no foreign words or unusual words. Ignore punctuation, which by the way includes capitalization, because sometimes I’m trying to fool you. You may even have to supply punctuation that isn’t there in order for a definition or a construction to make sense.

Thanks to Bob Fink, Eric Klis, and Jerry Miccolis for test-solving and protecting me from myself. And you from me.

AcrossDown
 5. Fashionable once upon a time where the bulls run 1. Some people vomit travelling backwards and sway
 8. Resume filled with Socialist outlook 2. Does sip randomly at prompt
 9. Ejections over slam misplayed 3. A thousand sick following Dora’s treatment of thruway victims
12. Criticize me and my friends about Babycakes 4. Hopeless pair rot at O’Hare, maybe
14. What happens after you cut is otherworldly 5. Makes concrete inducements at the back end
15. Inquire after Tuesday for assignment 6. Put money where pocket watch goes?
20. Partly bare-assed region 7. Lively role Gal made new
23. Designates resources10. Future stardom seen in semipro misery
29. Starr saw hit epic movie13. Not going in for decorating after the first
30. Conversational Latin 101 at 6:5017. Little rascal permitted to be unqualified
19. Cash for a pool mishap
21. Wait a bit for the chorus
22. Everything’s a go for Lena’s pal Marnie
24. Approach, as our biggest enemy has no chemistry
25. Bader’s restatement bristles
28. First flame follows fluid flaunt

Quarantine clues
Single vaccine maker?
Swift response to COVID from Legend?
Some hair and some more hair found in isolation
Attend to reckless Unser
An old-fashioned C+ to a vaccine developer?
Focus in on madhouse medium
Possible fix lent to popular quarantine content provider
Obscure dogma skips clear of the peripherals

TOM TOCE is a retired FCAS living in New York City and is a member of the Jeopardy Hall of Fame. Solutions may be mailed to him at ttoce@nyc.rr.com.

In order to make the solver list, you should send him your solutions by June 1, 2021.

Previous Issue’s Puzzle—Phraseology

Across
 5. GYRATE—(planETARY Galewinds) rev.  
 7. EVENTFUL—EVE + NT + FUL[l] (l del.)
 9. ADMIRERS—(arm is red) ana.
10. AGREED—A + GREED
11. ALPHABETIZED—(baptized heal) ana.
13. LEADING—LEA + DING
15. LETTERS—L+E+T+T+E+R+S (hid every 4th)
18. ALLITERATION —ALL + ITERATION 
21. NEURON—(new + Ron) homonym
22. MONORAIL—(oilman or) ana.
23. ANTECEDE—(teen aced) ana.
24. MANAGE—MAN + AGE
Down
 1. FAMISHED—F(AM)ISHED
 2. REVERB—R(EVER)[o]B (o del.)
 3  BEDAZZLE  —ED + A + puZZLErs  
 4. STORED—lewiS TORE Dress (hid)
 6. YODELLER—Y+O+D+E+L+L+E+R (hid ends) 
 7. ERSATZ—robbERS AT Zales (hid)  
 8. USER—(sure) ana.
12. DROOLING—DR + [f]OOLING (f del.)
14. NO LONGER—NOLO + [u]NGER (u del.)
16. TUTORING—TUT + ORING
17. STYMIE—(my ties) ana.
18. AIRMEN—(remain) ana.
19. RENAME—R+E+N+A+M+E (hid ends)
20. LEAN  —Double Definition

Solvers
Steve Alpert, Anthony Amodeo, Dean Apps, Jack Brauner, Bob Campbell, Lois Cappellano, Jared Dashoff, Todd Dashoff, Mick Diede, Dave Dougherty, Deb Edwards, Mendy Friedman, Hayley Gold, Phil Gollance, Pete Hepokoski, Catharine

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