By Tom Toce
Six entries are unclued. You will be able to figure out the entries through the crossed letters and with the knowledge that they pertain to subject matter that often appears in this magazine. There are five proper nouns (two don’t have to be but are as clued) and one slang word. Everything else is playable in Scrabble. Ignore punctuation, which is intended to confuse. Thanks to Bob Fink, Eric Klis, and Jerry Miccolis for test-solving and editorial suggestions.
| Across | Down | ||
| 1 | Unclued | 1. | Almost completely unclear—I give up |
| 9 | Turner Classic with John and Jimmy: a medical drama (two words) | 2. | Sweets around and I eat steadily from the get-go |
| 10 | It features Szechuan dishes | 3. | Miniature caliper misplaced |
| 11 | Working title is pretentious | 4. | Record year for Italians visiting British Museum |
| 12 | Unclued | 5. | Bell-shaped Bellini coloratura takes liberties at the premiere |
| 13 | Unclued | 6. | Hipster scatters Chinese currency in Mexican state |
| 14 | Rained furiously on Sakharov | 7. | Having little prospect of a favorable outcome while recycling song “Defying Gravity” |
| 16 | Rationalize fringes of excruciating abuse | 8. | Wife to former President: “Tricky, bar Liddy” (two words) |
| 19 | Unclued (two words) | 13 | Least attractive reliquary featuring poet’s monogram |
| 23 | Unclued | 15 | From Spain, days for a dispersal |
| 24 | Board room didn’t raise $1,000,000 | 17 | Ugliness controls from the start with John’s tiny one losing her head |
| 26 | Groom, I must say, is “delicate” | 18 | Mix up over Republicans’ guy |
| 27 | Contaminated gasohol in some ‘hoods | 20 | A Mideasterner/May be overcome/By haiku waiting |
| 28 | Unclued | 21 | Am I going after small-scale, authentic Japanese art? |
| 22 | Many hoofprints evidently—can we change the subject? | ||
| 25 | Randy’s stylus without a tip is broken | ||
TOM TOCE is a senior manager for actuarial services with Ernst & Young in New York and is a member of the Jeopardy Hall of Fame.
Solutions may be emailed to him at Thomas.Toce@ey.com.
In order to make the solver list, your solutions must be received by Jan. 31, 2020.
Previous Issue’s Puzzle—Mapping Your Way
| Across | Down | ||
| 1. | AMPLE—cAMP LEe | 1. | AQUA—A + QUAFF – F – F |
| 4. | MOO—MOOn | 2. | PANSY—PANS + Y |
| 6. | BURRO—BURROw | 3. | EXPO—sEXPOt |
| 9. | URN—run anagram | 4. | MARXIST—MAR(X)IST |
| 10 | PERKY—PER + K + Y | 5. | OXY—rOXY |
| 11 | AXMAN—tAXMAN | 6. | BRAT—Double definition |
| 12 | EYE—I homonym | 7. | RUMINATOR—R + UMINATOR (Minotaur anagram) |
| 13 | JILTS—JILl + T + S | 8. | OWN UP—grOWNUPs |
| 15 | SNAP—naps anagram | 14 | TAU—centaur |
| 19 | PRETEXT—PRETEX + T (expert anagram) | 16 | SPED—caSPer + frEDdy |
| 21 | UNWANTED—(nun wed at) anagram | 17 | RENEGE—RENE + G + E |
| 23 | DOTAGES—DOT + AGES | 18 | SWATCH—Double definition |
| 25 | RECURVE—RECURring loVE | 20 | EXTREMIST—EX + TREMIST (set trim anagram) |
| 26 | ITEM—time anagram | 22 | DREW—(ragweeds – sage) anagram |
| 27 | ACUTE—ericA CUT Emily | 24 | SIC—SnItCh |
| 28 | SEED—horSE EDifice | 25 | RETIRED—Double definition |
| 33 | PRIZE—pries homonym | 26 | INPUT—I(NPU)T (pun anagram) |
| 34 | VERDI—drive anagram | 29 | EXTRA—histEXting + TRA (Art anagram) |
| 35 | TOO—T + O + O | 30 | FELL—F + ELL |
| 36 | TOTAL—Triassic + Octopi + Toured+ Around + Libya | 31 | MINI—Minnie homonym |
| 37 | TAD—T(A)D | 32 | WONT—town anagram |
| 38 | INAPT—IN + APT | 34 | VET—Double definition |
