The Puzzler

By Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon

Janus-Faced

Like lhe two-faced Roman god Janus, solvers of this puzzle will need to look both ways. Each row contains up to three words reading forward and up to three other words reading backward, using all 13 squares in each case. Word breaks are not marked and do not necessarily coincide for the two directions.

Each row’s words, forward and backward, have their definitions only strung together in random order in lieu of normal cryptic clues. Down entries are clued normally. There are ten proper nouns among the 38 forward and backward entries and three among the Downs; an alternate spelling appears in row b.

Across

a. Conservative party members corrupt humor headliner

b. Sweet girl Helen’s mother, native of Yemen city in the north, inspiring spirit

c. Select European part of a church square made of clay pipe

d. Solitary U.S. President goes back over problem resulting from stress

o. Explosive speaker can love tender, starchy Polynesian food

f. Box vessel of 1492 mint wine from Greece

g. Nosy Parker called attention to utensils

h. Ready to publish best current commercials, “Bug Bites”

Down

1. Marble—plain or garish (6)

2. Theodore’s clutching bouquet (4)

3. Train goes into food truck (9)

4. Pop singer’s band engulfed in deafening noise (4)

5. Weave clean new web in the middle (6)

6. Chances with Ohio dentist (4)

7. Chalice holding a Maine rose (6) (two words)

8. Split monthly bill? (4)

9. Auditor’s informed what Quasimodo did (6)

10. Mischievous ne’er-do-well smothers derisive look (5)

11. Road in Laker territory is for Celtic VIPs (6)

12.Anticipating version of next tape around the fourth of March (9) 13. Candiotti dissembled, speaking for the record? (9)

14. Sends out cheer (6) {two words)

15 Paid off kid adopted by foundation (6)

16. Announced places in churches for rogues(6)

17. Sterne confused Hemingway (6)

18 ft. Tee in back of golf course cries for woods (6)

19. Poem unusually deep about love (5)

20. Judge rejected T. S. Eliot heartlessly (4)

21. Fish and beef (4)

22. One British pol’s naughty children (4)

23. Ten horses around a mountain (4)

Note: The instructions above are for this month’s puzzle only. It is assumed that you know how to decipher dues. For a complete introduction to clue-solving, send an addressed, stamped long envelope to the Atlantic Puzzler, 74? Boylston Street, Boston, Mass. 02116.

ANSWERS TO THE DECEMBER PUZZLER

“ Snow Job ”

Across, a. BLARNEY (anag.) b. S-LOPE; KOD(I)AK c. THE(RAP)Y d. RENO-W(o)N; BASIL (anag.) e. F(ADD)ISH f. EAGER (anag.); HO(P)E g. VI-DEOT-APE (toed anag.) h. WEAVE; FR(ID) AY i. TEL-EKIN-ETIC (rev.) j. CAIRO (hidden); (p)IOUS k. RAMADA(1N)N 1. I(N)-L-ET Down. 1. FIDGET (anag.) 2. DfO-ORB )ELL 3. DI THE RED 4. SUPPLY (double def.) 5. CIAO (homophone) 6. SEED (double def.) 7, CHIP(PEW)-A 8. OP(TION)AL (I not anag.) 9. S(L)ENDER 10. POLO (double def.) 11. OD(E)S 12. VAT(I)-CAN 13. STRAW (rev.) 14, K(ILL)Y 15. JAM-B 16. LED A 17. AFAR (hidden) 18. FINE (double def.)