NO WINNER THIS WEEK!!

ACROSS

5. HOARSE not coarse. Anyone with a coarse (defined as: of inferior or poor quality) “voice” would probably not be a “member” of a “well-trained” “choir.” However, if a “choir” “member” had a serious cold, that individual’s “voice” might well be HOARSE.

6. VERVE not nerve. To be a successful “circus” performer, VERVE “is necessary.” However, not all those in the “circus” (e.g., dancers and clowns) perform daring feats where nerve is crucial.

7. LESS not loss. A “business” that makes LESS is best. One usually refers to a firm having suffered a loss, rather than “making” one.

10. SONS not sins. SONS is apt. Sins is redundant due to the clue word “disgraced.”

12. NOT not now. NOT is best. Now is poor grammatically, being superfluous with the present tense “are.”

13. PACKED not picked. Although consumers may “carefully” pick out “gifts,” hasty, last-minute “Christmas” shopping is certainly something consumers do a lot of during the holiday season. Therefore, PACKED makes a more logical choice.

16. VALLEY not volley. It wouldn’t be just one volley that the director would “need” for the bombardment, but many. That’s why VALLEY is a better answer.

18. SILVER not salver. A salver, which is defined as a tray, is not necessarily of significant value. SILVER is a better choice.

DOWN

1. WORK not worm. Since the definition of to worm is to obtain something by “cunning” persistence, the clue word “cunning” is superfluous. WORK is best.

2. SENSE not tense. A tense isn’t “supposed to be” anything other than what it is: past, present or future, for example. However, there could have been multiple ways to interpret the context of a passage (i.e., SENSE) in the “exam,” which might well have frustrated the “university student.”

3. TEST not rest. TEST is apt. The clue doesn’t specify the type of rest. If, for instance, it’s merely a work break as opposed to a nap, he might not find the office noise to be “irritating” at all.

4. DECISIVELY not derisively. Whether the criticism of the “plan” was delivered in a derisive manner or otherwise, it’s still a DECISIVE rejection by the “friend.”

7. LINK not line. “You might call” “a hyphen” a LINK, but it is, indeed, a line.

8. COOK not book. Whether the “recipes” were in an

“18th-century” book or printed on separate pieces of paper, they still originated from a COOK.

9. GOOD not gold. The fact that the “lettering” is gold doesn’t necessarily make it “festive”; much depends on the style of the “lettering” and its background, rather than simply a gold color. GOOD is apt.

11. SNARE not snarl. A snarl would indicate a single animal. Usually a SNARE is set by a trapper who believes there are fur-bearing “animals” “in the area.”

13. PLANE not place. In the “past,” a PLANE “with the Red Cross insignia would probably have been safe.” Place is too vague. For example, apartment or office buildings where “Red Cross” officials or volunteers lived or worked could have been bombed along with many other parts of a city.