Matrix crossword no. 16: "The Brainstrain Intersection".
Copyright John English 1995.
This puzzle originally appeared in Matrix 116. (Matrix is the
newletter of the British Science Fiction Association.)
(For those not in the know, The Scottish Convention was Intersection,
the 53rd World Science Fiction Convention, which was held in Glasgow,
Scotland, in August 1995. The guests of honour were Samuel R. Delany
and Gerry Anderson. Now read on...)
In honour of The Scottish Convention, this issue's crossword consists of
two intersecting puzzles. The perimeter of the top puzzle, when read
clockwise starting from the top left corner, will spell out the titles
of four works by one of Intersection's guests of honour (4 words, 19
letters; 2 words, 9 letters; 1 word, 12 letters; 1 word, 8 letters) while
the perimeter of the bottom puzzle, when read clockwise starting from the
top left corner will spell out the titles of four works by the other
guest of honour (4 words, 16 letters; 2 words, 10 letters; 1 word, 8
letters; 2 words, 14 letters). The perimeters are otherwise unclued.
Numbers appearing in the titles should be spelled out as words wherever
necessary. The unchecked letters of the top puzzle's perimeter (including
the two letters at the points where the two puzzles intersect) can be
rearranged to spell O, BUT INTERSECTION BE THY CHEERY JOY while the
unchecked letters of the bottom puzzle (also including the two letters at
the points where the two puzzles intersect) can be rearranged to spell
"WRITTEN HOT NOVEL, MAN!" RANTS BROTHER. Otherwise, all clues are normal.
| Across. |
| 6. | Resolve to be obsessive? Yes, sort of! (7) |
| 7. | Morwood's safe? (5) |
| 8. | Lift engineers surround Wintermute and others (5) |
| 9. | A hundred on bucking bronco at centre of plant (7) |
| 10. | Result of wages being cancelled? (3-3) |
| 12. | Heinlein's work completed before weekend (6) |
| 14. | Coppers turned and lifted some sugar (7) |
| 20. | Exciting story about Switzerland's currency (7) |
| 21. | Pertaining to essayist, the European MacDonald (5) |
| 22. | Secret police ingest a potion (7) |
| 23. | Cloying sentimentality let race evolve (7) |
| 24. | Symbol of energy, doctor attending writer (6) |
| 27. | Tots' dad turns to drink (4,2) |
| 30. | Paradigm was once sufficient (7) |
| 31. | Doctor invokes household god to extract tooth (5) |
| 32. | The language of Hollywood? Money! (5) |
| 33. | Aims uncertain, scripted without producer at first (7) |
|
| Down.
| | 1. | Deranged liar, yet truth comes out (7) |
| 2. | Ylem initially found in singularity? Not according to this author! (5) |
| 3. | Ditch model, foreign, topless (6) |
| 4. | Salesman in capital city turns to ruler (7) |
| 5. | Formic heartburn cure? (7) |
| 11. | Chattered about article held by tailless ringbearer (7) |
| 13. | Helium rises in Brown University due to Le Guin's work (6) |
| 15. | Church melody played at academic appointment (5) |
| 16. | Be stuck initially in departure (5) |
| 17. | Mercury's number of minutes per hour, according to Aldiss (6) |
| 18. | Dangle us in exhaust (7) |
| 19. | Herbert nearly gains a hundred in foreign currency (5) |
| 25. | Somehow Tubb ran to barrel of surprises (4,3) |
| 26. | Writers drowned in river; think of the cost! (7) |
| 28. | Page cut about and got married (7) |
| 29. | Old sailor summoned up deity (Norse deity), full of energy (3,3) |
| 31. | Balrog's lair in Missouri has uplifting atmosphere (5) |
|