Scoreboard

This puzzle's grid represents a baseball scoreboard, with answers to clues entered Across and Down and heavy bars serving only to separate the innings. Across entries are clued in order of their appearance in the rows labeled a-d. Each Across entry is either six or nine letters long, spanning two or three complete innings. The 18 clued Down entries are all seven letters long and belong in the columns not containing shaded squares. In each inning one Down answer's first letter should be removed to the shaded square in the top of the inning, and the other Down answer's last letter should be removed to the shaded square in the bottom of the inning; solvers must determine which is which. When nine innings are completed, the letters in their 18 shaded squares will lead to each team's score; these scores may be entered in the last two shaded squares. Finally (and fittingly, we hope), the site of the game will be seen in the last two, unclued six-letter Downs. Answers include two proper names. Those are the ground rules -- now, play ball!

Unfortunately, this month's puzzler's oblong shape does not reproduce well on the Web. We recommend printing it out at a larger size or, better yet, obtaining a copy of the print version of The Atlantic Monthly.

Previous Puzzlers:

"Celebrating the Fourth"
July, 1997

"Fortune Cookies"
June, 1997

"Slide Show"
May, 1997

Diversions Index

Clues

Across

a. Pitcher and catcher entering a melee I stirred up little by little
At first, behold two under dog
Look into eating second piece of sushi, marine creature with spines (two words)
Such flaky sopranos go downhill fast

b. Something chewy eaten by General Bean
Bell and General Electric brought back a holiday drink
Shed in marsh
Move like a giant assortment of boards
Punch captures a tuba's sound

c. Doctor outside Nice fixed cut fine
Again engage rebuffed woman's wrath
Girl's name is unknown in part of the Northeast
One kind of tree in New Mexico is not healthy
Try love after lithium for psychic energy

d. Card in coaster went laterally
Day care centers operate from behind chains
Kill listener with charm
Minimally promote wacky SNL dueler

Down

1. Associate blurred vision with fortune-teller
Make-believe gin mixed into chow

2. Partially crimped edges stayed
Throw to left end and laugh

3. Chicken portion comes with beeper
Art even troubled old-timer

4. Trace of iodine found in skeleton behind eastern woods
Way of reckoning time involving top of ladies' underwear

5. Accumulate around a small underground pipe (two words)
Copies of cipher kept by ancient king

6. Rage about leader of Austria -- the idiot
Worked as an attendant for some paper in South Dakota

7. Briefly describe all but the beginning of shtick about Liberal
Bed receives ultimate in acclaim for coziness

8. In shade, somewhat regular
Defenseless nude wandering around a room

9. Oblique figure agitated mob in mad rush
Fifty dividing hot, sweet bread