By Warren Manners
Across
1 Gaiter
5 Storm preceder
9 Capital of Bulgaria
14 Typical Messi adjective
21 California indians
22 Cause of some shaking and fever
23 Safari sighting
24 Like some mathematical proofs
25 “Killing an ” (controversial Cure song)
26 Kruger National Park terrain
27 Knuckled under
28 Came to rest
29 Mary Ann Evans
32 It’s left of center?
33 Essential tool for healthcare actuaries (abbr.)
34 Put on display
35 Going to experience
37 AC/DC classic
39 It’s sometimes hidden
44 Flying Circus lead-in
46 They give people big heads
48 Bombshell feature
50 Add a rider
51 Memory foam developer
55 Alberta export
57 They’re often in chains
59 Small oil producers
61 “Witness” witnesses
63 Drilling grp.?
65 Louisa May Alcott
67 Often seen in streams
69 Woodcarving tool
72 Gourmandize
75 City once called Terminus
77 A spouse, in Savoie
78 Épouse, in Epping
81 Juicy bits
82 “Fight Club” agent
83 Royal symbols
85 Orioles’ complement
87 Intentions
89 Typical SV job openings
90 JK Rowling
94 Type of agreement
98 Paddington Bear’s place of origin
99 “ coward?”: Hamlet
100 Set straight
101 “Lenore” poet
104 Memento
106 Sail support
108 An office may have one
110 “…Lamentings heard i’ th’ air, strange _ of death”: Macbeth
112 Pennsylvania, notably
114 First Roman emperor
117 Its highest point is Mount Sunflower
118 Violet Paget
121 A blue moon
123 Pledge from the faithful
124 Clippers
126 “Delphine” author Madame de
129 Comedy routine
131 DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots
132 Balderdash
133 Nautical rope
135 Ticket imperative
137 X, at times
139 Aver
141 Current outlet
143 On the move
145 They’re not standard
150 Comedy routine
152 It has a bad rep
154 Alice Mary Norton
156 Question to one who just got in
160 What holds hold
162 Barnyard plaint
163 “, sing America” (Langston Hughes poem)
164 “No doubt”
165 Washington State Island
166 Womanizer
167 2005 Emmy winner for Dramatic Series
168 Report holders
169 Lean and lanky
170 Lost one’s grip
171 Canards
Down
1 Pipe tobaccos
2 Reduce to a pulp
3 Here, there and everywhere
4 Proscribed
5 Concave molding
6 “The African Queen” screenwriter James
7 Founder of the national French opera
8 Islamic holy city
9 Public and private groups
10 “Thriller” video costar _ Ray
11 Pet, informally
12 Maladroit
13 Throwing in
14 Grendel’s abode
15 “Peace!”
16 Amantine Dupin
17 Military sleuths: Abbr.
18 Hairy Himalayan
19 Prop ending
20 Band with the love ballad “Love Ballad”
30 Pictorial PC display
31 Master of ceremonies
36 Pet or pat suffix
38 Currency of Western Samoa
40 Becomes clear
41 Harassed amiably
42 Univ. with Clerics and Rogues
43 Clio honorees
45 Base address
47 It leaves an impression
49 Cosmonaut’s home
51 Like Horatio Hornblower’s career
52 Island town in “Jaws”
53 Sneak by
54 Addled
56 Cattle call
58 Duck also called white nun
60 East of North
62 Coveted distinction
64 Divinity degree
66 Kind of patch
68 Put an edge on
70 Three-horse chariot
71 Ostrich relative
73 Oklahoma native
74 ANOVA calculation
76 Religious residence
79 It must be followed
80 Kuwaiti haves
84 Evening, along the Arno
86 Hebrew prophet
88 In a predicament
91 Arcadian
92 Division division
93 Afghan city on the Hari Rud
94 “Anywhere” singer Rita
95 New Testament bk.
96 Exeter exams
97 Blue blood’s pride
101 Tomato product
102 Nebraska tribe
103 City on the Ruhr
105 Charlotte Bronte
107 Form 1040 deduction
109 O, as opposed to X
111 City in Oklahoma
113 North of East
115 Japanese sandal
116 Possessive in Paris
119 Brief association?
120 Mixed “suns”
122 Hyp/Adj
124 Mom-and-pop org.
125 Possessive in Pittsburgh
127 Computer programming language
128 Site of many a protest
130 Acknowledged
134 River or sea
136 Royals of the 1500s
138 Conclusion of a singles match?
140 Every book has one
142 Really fancy
144 Hardship
146 Base exercise
147 First Holy Roman emperor
148 A pirate’s “hempen halter”
149 Little monsters
151 Attic collection, perhaps
153 Oxford part
155 Sumerian god of wisdom
156 USPS concerns
157 On a roll
158 LGA posting
159 Criticism, so to speak
161 Jack Lemmon/Ted Danson film
Solutions may be emailed topuzzles@actuary.org. In order to make the solver list, your solutions must be received by June 1, 2026.
Previous Puzzle: Al-tourney-tiv
Solvers: Dean Apps, Alan Clark, Jared Dashoff, Todd Dashoff, Ken Kudrak, George Levine, Jim Muza, Madhumathi Windon, and Wendy Windsor.