Frame Of Reference
by Dave Shukan
The graphic and title plainly suggest bowling. Solve the clues, and notice that the same letters tend to be used in the answers and particularly in pairs of answers.
Each pair of answers, starting at the foul line, represents a frame in a bowling game in which the available letters are: ADEIMNOPRT. If not all letters are used during a frame, they are reset (as in bowling) for the next frame. The first two throws in the 10th frame knock down all the pins, so an extra throw (the 21st clue) is awarded.
Starting from the bottom (the foul line), the solutions are:
PITA
MODERN
PANDER
OMIT
MINOR
ADEPT
DIP
TONEARM
IMPEND
TARO
TEMPO
DRAIN
PAT
IRON
ROMP
ENTIA
MEAN
TRIPOD
IMPORTED
NA (symbol for sodium)
TI
Scoring each frame as in a game of bowling (including accounting for spares) gives:
16, 15, 13, 16, 15, 13, 7, 9, 18, 12
Translating this into letters in the usual way gives: POMPOM GIRL.