11.25.12 — The Cryptic

 

 

Vagabond hobo clown, images.myspacecdn.com

 

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Sunday, November 25, 2012

 

Cryptic Crossword by Jeffrey Harris / Edited by Will Shortz

Across — 1. In Canaan, he spied cold beer bottle’s top (5), CALEB; 4. Bit of fiction with a different sort of reality! (5, 4), FAIRY TALE; 9. Greek character pitching Pine-Sol (7), EPSILON; 10. Parrot flying around island where you can see lots of birds? (7), AIRPORT; 11. Say “attack,” grabbing Ronald (9), PRONOUNCE; 12. Type part of nasty letter (5), STYLE; 13. “Calvin and Hobbes” girl settled issue (5), SUSIE; 15. I fell asleep after taking lithium on a pedestal (8), IDOLIZED; 18. Eccentric sat, drank mugs of beer (8), TANKARDS; 20. Words of praise about land near Britain (5), KUDOS; 22. Al Roker’s debut interrupting morning wake-up call (5), ALARM; 23. As a result, it’s picked out after a Denis Leary comedy (9), THEREFORE; 25. Old actor groomed his pets (7), THESPIS; 26. John, George and Ringo live near guitarist Paul (7), BEATLES; 27. Habitat for Humanity champion embracing pokey builder (9), CARPENTER; 28. Simplifies some contracts after removing Latin (5), EASES.

 

Down — 1. Lowest-quality copy in box (8), CHEAPEST; 2. Reportedly moderates teaching sessions (7), LESSONS; 3. Lead characters in “Bend It Like Beckham” or “The Hobbit” (5), BILBO; 4. Enthusiast taking in major lender (9), FINANCIER; 5. One game in motion picture (5), IMAGE; 6. Germany’s last king taking awfully drastic measure (9), YARDSTICK; 7. Painkiller annoyed bum (7), ANODYNE; 8. Cosmetician Lauder is in France and center of Greece (5), ESTEE; 14. English boy from Mayberry eating low-fat ice cream treat (6, 3), ESKIMO PIE; 16. Seafood restaurant rebuilt by a resort (6, 3), OYSTER BAR; 17. Sizes up jennies? (8), ASSESSES; 19. A strangely mature beginner (7), AMATEUR; 21. Scribbles down scores (7), DOODLES; 22. Not a fan of clown’s first trick (5), ANTIC; 23. Vanadium inserted into upside-down test tube (2, 3), TV SET; 24. Periods of history we ultimately wipe from memory (5), ERASE.

 

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Puzzle available on the internet at

THE NEW YORK TIMES — Crossword Puzzles and Games.