This is a variety cryptic in which the down answers must be encrypted using a substitution cipher before being entered into the grid.
This is hinted at in the flavortext—the downworlders are trying to avoid running into a cross, so they have appointed substitutes to appear in their stead.
Once the grid is filled in, the unclued central across entry reads DON’T FEAR THE REAPER, which is the solution to this puzzle.
T | A | X | I | S | H | E | B | R | E | W | D | A | N | I | E | L |
U | N | T | W | I | S | T | P | W | O | R | K | S | R | S | S | D |
T | U | T | A | H | Y | W | E | F | T | C | R | Y | W | O | L | F |
L | E | H | I | S | A | V | E | D | S | T | A | R | I | U | W | Y |
A | S | P | O | C | K | W | Y | O | G | H | D | M | U | F | F | S |
H | I | E | D | S | A | P | S | H | T | K | Y | O | T | O | T | R |
D | O | N | T | F | E | A | R | T | H | E | R | E | A | P | E | R |
F | H | O | Z | A | W | A | D | R | O | D | D | S | C | H | I | P |
S | T | U | D | Y | M | Q | U | A | D | M | S | W | E | D | E | D |
N | E | R | A | I | T | E | M | U | S | T | E | N | J | E | T | E |
E | L | A | P | S | E | D | O | P | A | L | D | C | A | F | E | S |
T | C | S | L | J | Z | O | N | E | D | S | W | A | N | S | E | A |
A | D | J | U | R | E | R | A | N | K | L | E | J | N | E | X | T |
Across | Clue | Answer | Explanation |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Conveyance you can hire to sail against the wind and ocean’s noise | TAXI | homophone for “tack, sea” |
4 | חצי ראש על בירה!—Half-head on beer | HEBREW | he(ad) + brew |
8 | Prophet in deal gone wrong | DANIEL | anag. |
12 | Straighten the spine of viscount, wistfully | UNTWIST | viscoUNT WISTfully |
13 | Thermodynamic quantity of tungsten or potassium | WORK | w + or + k |
16 | “Out ahead” is where to find the location of 19 A | UTAH | oUT AHead |
17 | You and I, going by foot, make something that looms consume | WEFT | we + ft |
18 | Three emerging from crypt reversed course to scare people with invented threats | CRY WOLF | cry + rev. flow |
19 | City in the “French Hawaii” | LEHI | le + hi |
20 | Like moonwalks, spacewalks commit to long-term storage | SAVE | rev. EVAs |
22 | Taking the mound for the first inning but leaving before the fifth, a marquee player—for example . . . | STAR | star(ting) |
24 | . . . Dr. K—falls behind western Rangers et al. | SPOCK | rev. cops + k |
25 | “Ye Olde” glyph had, at first, been a letter in Middle English | YOGH | initials |
26 | Messes up things to keep body parts warm | MUFFS | double def. |
27 | Moved swiftly to camouflage eavesdropping | HIED | homophone for “hide” |
28 | They’re easily taken from outer Somalia, and one more thing | SAPS | sa + ps |
29 | Japanese city is satisfied with adopted plaything, in retrospect | KYOTO | toy in ok, rev. |
38 | Selection from Berlioz awakens conductor | OZAWA | berliOZ AWAken |
39 | Dentist follows old line at the Preakness | ODDS | o + dds |
40 | Nacho ingredient: half a smoked jalapeño | CHIP | chip(otle) |
41 | Pay careful attention to hunk at gym | STUDY | stud + y |
42 | Quinnipiac University’s academic dormitories, originally a specific area on campus | QUAD | initials |
43 | Weeds, bananas, and rutabaga | SWEDE | anag. |
45 | I, returning, met a man with his paramour | ITEM | i + met rev. |
46 | Gun for shooters in Brooklyn evincing recoil | STEN | nets rev. |
48 | West Side Story character Krupke’s last dance move | JETE | jet + e |
49 | Passed by, unexpectedly pleased | ELAPSED | anag. |
50 | Hey, buddy, nice stone | OPAL | o + pal |
51 | Spot for a pot made from California iron | CAFE | ca + fe |
52 | Region of O3 giving off oxygen | ZONE | ozone − o |
53 | Welsh city using transposition awes NSA | SWANSEA | anag. |
54 | Strongly impel a spinner; push without gravity | ADJURE | a + dj + ur(g)e |
55 | Gnaw at lower extremity and joint | RANKLE | r + ankle |
56 | 10 embracing 10 on the way back to MIT dorm, colloquially | NEXT | x in ten, rev. |
As explained in the flavortext, the down answers rely on a substitution cipher.
down answer letter | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
entered in grid as | S | I | L | M | T | B | N | C | P | X | Q | U | F | E | D | Y | V | H | R | A | W | G | O | Z | J | K |
The checked letters in the puzzle are pangrammatic, so by solving all clues the entire cipher can be deduced; although only parts of it are needed to extract the final answer, this allows the entire puzzle to be solved.
Down | Clue | Answer | Explanation |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Choose Megatron to be transformed into solenoid | ELECTROMAGNET | elect + megatron anag. |
2 | Jack, a VI-1 alum, to use the doorbell as a way to show disrespect | JEERING | j + ee + ring |
3 | A garment for supporting actor and winner of an Oscar in 1985 | ABRAHAM | a + bra + ham |
4 | Fascinated by sprung trap | RAPT | anag. |
5 | Huckleberry—one from Northern Europe | FINN | double def. |
6 | Mowing results in chaos when large Japanese men grab each other | SUMO WRESTLING | anag. |
7 | Decapitated Iditarod participant is eponym for Poe’s house | USHER | (m)usher |
9 | Bugler’s signal when fight is given up | TAPS | spat rev. |
10 | Become a fountain of tears when fight lost, right? | BAWL | b(r)awl |
11 | Empathetic groom (not bachelor), fathers, and the People of Israel uncommonly dined | COMPASSIONATE | com(b) + pas + sion + ate |
14 | Hustle, bustle, and have both a tenant and a landlord | SUBLET | anag. |
15 | Skill, I agree, involves more than a bit of curiosity | ACUMEN | a(cu)men |
21 | Give up most of the way through trivia contest, at bottom of bracket | QUIT | qui(z) + t |
22 | Rave wildly and swear | AVER | anag. |
23 | #1 baseball card publisher eliminating baseball’s position #1 | TOPS | to(p)ps |
31 | Yank is an architect at church | WRENCH | wren + ch |
32 | Formerly about the ear, from another culture | EXOTIC | ex + otic |
33 | Revealed in the mirror: undressed, undressed, undressed | NUDE | rev. hidden |
34 | Southern antique auctioned off | SOLD | s + old |
35 | Point where there’s no vibration (up-and-down motion) of the head and tail of animalcule | NODE | nod + e |
36 | Everything in New York is bad | NAUGHTY | n(aught)y |
37 | Fictional MIT alum found in lair on Manhattan | IRON MAN | laIR ON MANhattan |
42 | Senses using one’s ears, nose | KNOWS | homophone for nose |
44 | Upwardly mobile poet loses excellent prop | STAY | y(e)ats rev. |
45 | Howls at the moon in Massachusetts and San Francisco, e.g. | BAYS | double def |
46 | Running the gamut near Australia | A TO Z | at + oz |
47 | Sister captures boy’s heart with part of speech | NOUN | n(o)un |