Solution and Annotation (Solution No. 3,351)

Below the fold is the solution and annotation to this week’s The Nation cryptic.

Solution to The Nation puzzle no. 3,351

Legend: “*” anagram; “~” sounds like; “<“ letters reversed; “( )” letters inserted; “_” or lower case: letters deleted; “†” explicit in the clue, “^” first or last letter or letters, “{“ relocated letter or letters; “§” heteronym, “¶” letter bank, “‡” Spoonerism

Across

1a	NORMAN MAILER	Pun.
9a	VEST_IGE_	VEST (“garment”) + t^IGE^r (middle letters indicated by “inside of”)
10a	ADAM ANT	ADAM (“first male”) + ANT (“insect”)
11a	*LENG TH_	*GLEN (cross-ref to 24d, anagram indicated by “traveling”) + TH_e_ (omission of last letter indicated by “most of”)
12a	SPI(*TFI)RE	*FIT (anagram indicated by “to be thrown”) contained in (“in”) SPIRE (“steeple”)
14a	AL(BAT)ROSS	AL (†) + ROSS (“Betsy”) containing (“seen outside”) BAT (“club”)
16a	B LOCK	LOCK (“bolt”) following (“after”) B (“second-rate)
17a	S TORE	outrageous^S^ (last letter indicated by “termination of”) + TORE (“rent”)
18a	L*ATITUDES	tria^L^L (last letter indicated by “ultimately”) + *SITUATED (anagram indicated by “poorly”)
20a	*PLAYM ATE	*MY PAL (anagram indicated by “manipulated”) + ATE (“put away”)
22a	RE(E)FER	REFER (“point”) containing (“around”) juk^E^ (last letter indicated by “back”)
25a	<NO C<AN D O	<CON< (“prisoner,” reversal indicated by “turning west”) + AND (†) + ^O^regon (first letter indicated by “heading”)
26a	LEI SURE	LEI (“something associated with an island vacation”) + SURE (“yes”)
27a	*SOYLENT GREEN	*STERNLY GEE NO (anagram indicated by “snarled”)

Down

1d	N(OV)ELLA	NELLA (“woody building”) containing (“encircles”) gr^OVes (middle letters indicated by “center of”)
2d	_RISEN_	comforte_R IS EN_tirely (hidden word indicated by “part of”)
3d	*ARIS(TO)TLE	*REALIST (anagram indicated by “confused”) containing (“taking”) TO (†)
4d	M EEK	^M^ickey (anagram indicated by “originator”) + EEK (“a mouse!”)
5d	*INAPPOSITE	*OPIE PAINTS (anagram indicated by “badly”)
6d	ENAC T
7d	MA RIG OLD	MA (“mother”) + RIG (“to arrange”) + OLD (“gray”)
8s	ST(R)EAK	butche^R^ (last letter indicated by “finally”) contained in (“cuts”) STEAK (“piece of meat”)
13d	<TOILE<T ROLL	<ELIOT< (“poet,” reversal indicated by “getting up”) + TROLL (“to fish”)
15d	B(ROMAN)C E	ROMAN (“Italian”) contained in (“in”) BC (“British Columbia”) + ^E^xplained (first letter indicated by “originally”)
16d	¶BUTTERING	¶BUTTE RING
17d	S(U)PINE	SPINE (“resolve”) containing (“to imprison”) ^U^kraine (first letter indicated by “leader”)
19d	S_URGEON	S_t_URGEON (“fish,” omission of ^T^ail (first letter indicated by “part of”) indicated by “removing”)
21d	*MANGO	*AMONG (anagram indicated by “nuts”)
23d	F LUTE	F (“loud”) + LUTE (“musical instrument”)
24d	GLEN	lon_G LEN_s (hidden word indicated by “reveals”)