Central Intelligence

Each numbered row or column is filled by two words, clued in order but with no answer lengths given. These words are to be entered without regard for the diagram's heavy bars. When all answers are in place, each 3 x 3 square will contain eight letters, two of them identical. By placing that repeated letter in the center of each 3 x 3 square, solvers will spell out a phrase descriptive of their handling of this business. Four clue answers are capitalized.

Click here for last month's Puzzler solution.

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1. Lost in fog, according to hearsay

    Collared by Edward, Spot chewed the scenery

9. Thailand's westernmost border foes?

    Edible crustaceans pop into stomachs

10. Working hard but lovelessly in floor design

    Greek character's pet grape

11. Lover put me in hopper?

    Miscreant's ultimate motive for crime

12. Pass time, and stick around

    Chief spy group turned old

13. Carol takes bite, engaging in barbed insults

    Get an alien spy

14. Use a PC set within reach

    Author right in the middle of washing

15. Hunter's living quarters in back

    Fork stuck into fish for test

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1. Rather dull color was of substance

    Examine unfinished stint

2. Hawk possesses medium sense of perception

    Most saw well

3. Seem pleased about one comparison

    Chief of police in crime finale

4. Note of the scale in awful hymn

    Theodore keeps relative ragged

5. Charm of Latin and English, in retrospect

    Acting governor, for example, in rift

6. Initially, old dogs don't sense chances

    Wood lodge for a Navajo in springtime

7. Follow team's leader on run

    City of New Orleans

8. Aloofness of Ollie's partner surrounded by tumblers

    Bit of trivial clothing is just one of those things?

Note: The instructions above are for this month's puzzle only. It is assumed that you know how to decipher clues. For a complete introduction to clue-solving, click here.