From: roger@quantime.co.uk (Roger Phillips)
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles.crosswords
Subject: Spoiler, by Xrn (SPOILER)
Date: 20 Aug 92 17:35:24 GMT
Reply-To: roger@quantime.co.uk (Roger Phillips)
Organization: Quantime Ltd, London (software for market research)

This is the solution to a crossword I posted last week.
If you don't want to see the answers, skip this article now.
======================================================================

Half of the answers are entered in "rot13" code,
i.e. with the first half of the alphabet swapped with the second half.
(If your newsreader has a "rot13" command,
you'll be able to decode and encode the diagram with it.)

The diagonals, in the correct rot13 state, spell
"parrot native to New Zealand", a description of my "real" pseudonym,
Kea, which was presented in rot13-code as Xrn.
(It is coincidental that the code involves switching
the letters A-M and N-Z, and I AM originally from NZ. :-)

+----+----+----+----+----#----#----+----+----+----+----+----+
|1   |2   |    |3   |4   #5   #6   |7   |    |8   |9   |10  |
|  P |  E |  V |  F |  C #  K #  F |  O |  R |  C |  E |  D |
+----+----######----+----#----######----######----+----+----+
|11  |    |    |    |    |    |    #    #12  |    |    |    |
|  L |  A |  B |  R |  O |  I |  D #  S #  Y |  H |  N |  H |
+----+----######----+----+----######----######----#----#----+
|13  |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |    #    #    #    |
|  P |  U |  R |  P |  X |  B |  S |  S |  F #  A #  O #  B |
+----#----######----#----#----######----######----#----#----+
|    #    #14  #    #    #    #15  |    |    |    |    |    |
|  Y #  X #  C #  R #  C #  B #  F |  I |  L |  I |  N |  G |
+----######----#----#----#----######----######----+----+----+
|16  |    |    |    |    #17  |    |    |    |    |    |    |
|  R |  O |  N |  E |  O #  U |  R |  A |  O |  N |  A |  R |
+----######----#----#----#----################----+----######
|    #18  #    #    #    #19  |20  |21  |    |    |    |    |
|  Q #  E #  Y #  A #  M #  T |  E |  A |  R |  G |  A |  S |
######----#----######----#----+----#----######----#----######
|22  |    |    |    |    |    |    #    #23  #    #    #24  |
|  Q |  V |  C |  Y |  B |  Z |  N #  R #  Q #  A #  N #  F |
######----+----################----#----#----#----######----+
|25  |    |    |    |26  |    |    #27  |    |    |    |    |
|  O |  E |  V |  A |  W |  N |  Y #  A |  N |  N |  E |  X |
+----+----+----######----######----#----#----#----######----+
|28  |    |    |    |    |    #    #    #    #    #29  #    |
|  C |  R |  G |  E |  R |  Y #  Y #  M #  T #  G #  J #  N |
+----#----#----######----######----#----#----######----#----+
|    #    #    #30  |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |
|  T #  T #  N #  V |  I |  O |  L |  A |  T |  I |  N |  G |
+----#----#----######----######----+----+----######----+----+
|31  |    |    |    #    #32  |    |    |    |    |    |    |
|  E |  O |  A |  N #  E #  E |  R |  I |  R |  E |  V |  R |
+----+----+----######----######----#----+----######----+----+
|33  |    |    |    |    |    #    #34  |    |    |    |    |
|  T |  N |  G |  U |  R |  E #  F #  C |  E |  A |  S |  E |
+----+----+----+----+----+----#----#----+----+----+----+----+

Across
1    Snappy English homosexual living in New York (5)
        crisp = snappy; (Quentin) Crisp
6    Unnatural monster entrapped by G-man (6)
        forced = unnatural; orc in Fed
11   Drab oil spills betraying wrasse (7)
        labroid = wrasse; anag. "drab oil"
12   For starters, leis usually adorn us at this feast (4)
        luau, literal reading; initial letters
13   Russian writer's pronounced pay deductions for being in the
     union (in the Union) (9)
        check-offs = (U.S.) pay deductions for being in the union;
        sounds like "Chekov's"
15   Affair swamping one's office work (6)
        filing = office work; 1 in fling
16   Duplicator one operates partially? (5)
        Roneo, lit.; hidden
17   Noxious weed, he gets around letter censorship (7)
        hen-bane = noxious weed; {en + ban} in he
19   Sprayed at rages, it makes the eyes water (7)
        tear-gas, it makes the eyes water; anag. "at rages"
22   Pom laid out paper with graduations on (7)
        diploma = paper with graduations on; anag. "pom laid"
25   Indian plant making rain dance with LBJ? (7)
        brinjal = Indian plant; anag. "rain + LBJ"
27   Appropriate signature on intimate letters from a princess? (5)
        annex = appropriate (verb); Anne, X (X = kiss)
28   Bird favoured right wing (6)
        petrel = bird; pet + R + el
30   Ravishing instrument giant wielded (9)
        violating = ravishing; viol + anag. "giant"
31   Dawn's depicted in video animation (4)
        eoan = dawn's (ie "of the dawn"); hidden
32   Er, I've, er, shaken absent-mindedness (7)
        reverie = absent-mindedness; anag. "er, I've, er"
33   Great shakes around hot group (6)
        gather = group (assemble); H in anag. "great"
34   Stop disease finally, wearing a sheath (5)
        cease = stop; (diseas)e in case

Down
1    Clyde, gallivanting around clubs, went by bike (6)
        cycled = went by bike; c(lubs, in cards) in anag. "Clyde"
2    Gold in former French waters (4)
        eaux = French waters; Au in ex
3    Separate screen dumps (6)
        secern = separate; anag. "screen"
4    Fool ninety in wooded valley (7)
        coxcomb = fool; XC in coomb
5    Reportedly, essential heavy footwear for agricultural
     settlement (7)
        kibbutz = agricultural settlement; sounds like "key" "boots"
7    Nothing is as outrageous, or Italian (5)
        ossia = or (Italian); 0 + anag. "is as"
8    Workers in bonds nag with aching twists (9)
        chain-gang = workers in bonds; anag "nag + aching"
9    Madagascan raffia fabric runs: banana shakes (7)
        rabanna = Madagascan raffia fabric; r(uns, in cricket)
        + anag. banana
10   Excerpt from literary Don, with 9 letters omitted (5)
        quote = excerpt; Quixote minus IX
14   Quivering mate, mine worker (9)
        palpitant = quivering; pal + pit + ant
18   English locality distributed over net (7)
        Everton = English locality; anag. "over net"
20   I dropped out of serially organised US driving tests (7)
        rallyes = (U.S.) driving tests; anag. ser(i)ally
21   Language from "Amarica"? That's wrong (7)
        Aramaic = language; anag. "Amarica"
23   Switch ends of rough-edged knife (6)
        dagger = knife; ragged, with first and last letters switched
24   Showing perverse streak, my plans are all on ice (6)
        skater, my plans are all on ice; anag. "streak"
25   Vocal group, etc. to act up (5)
        octet = vocal group; anag. "etc. to"
26   More twisted, tangled wire, right? (5)
        wrier = more twisted; anag. "wire" + R
29   Stray condition posed by Washington (4)
        waif = stray; Wa(shington) + if (condition)

-- 
Roger Phillips                            roger@quantime.co.uk
"pooter, n. an entomological collecting bottle into which small
arthropods are introduced by suction." -- Chambers English Dictionary
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles.crosswords