NO WINNER THIS WEEK!!

ACROSS

1. WASTED not wanted. “A lot of food” might well be WASTED while “serving large banquets.” But it’s in preparing and ordering the ingredients that much “food is” wanted. It’s already available by the time the banquet is underway.

5. FIELD not yield. “A grain” farmer might have pride in not only his FIELD, but in the effort it has taken to acquire and cultivate it. While he’s contemplating his crop yield, it would be at that point that he’d be thinking in terms of “money alone.”

6. PACE not pact. Keeping a pact is too vague since there are many reasons why two countries might have formed a pact, including trade as well as arms. Keeping PACE is a logical answer.

7. STOCK not stack. The stack “of fresh produce” would, in essence, be the “vendor’s” STOCK, regardless of how it’s arranged.

9. DECAY not delay. Since the definition of “wary” is looking out for possible danger, DECAY is the best match. It’s not the delay of a visit to the dentist that the “tourist” “should be wary of”; it’s the DECAY caused by the delay.

11. LIFE not wife. It could be the wife who is financing much of her extravagance, especially if she has a high-paying job. LIFE is more straightforward with regard to the “partner’s” expenses.

13. AIM not vim. “Youth nowadays” might need “a lot of” AIM “to get ahead.” But some young people are so talented, it’s possible they could achieve significant success with a minimum of energy (i.e., vim).

15. SALES not tales. SALES is a straightforward answer. The stories (i.e., tales) on the site may be getting positive comments without necessarily increasing the viewership enough to label it a “successful” “website.”

17. THROAT not threat. THROAT is best. Since a threat is defined as something menacing, “uncomfortable” is redundant when linked to it.

19. TOOL not toil. Usually “new” machines intended for “manufacturing” purposes are developed to eliminate some kind of physical or mental toil that would otherwise be necessary, making toil superfluous. TOOL is a better option.

DOWN

2. ANGLE not ankle. Perfecting an ANGLE in a drawing would be indicative “of a good illustrator.” However, the “illustrator” would be creating a representation of an ankle, not the ankle itself.

4. PISTON not pistol. The clue implies there’s one simple “operation” involved, which fits best with a PISTON and its reaction to expanding gas. As for a pistol, there are often multiple actions involved that a user should know about before handling one.

6. PLACE not peace. PLACE makes an apt choice. Since peace is defined as “an undisturbed” state of mind, the clue word “undisturbed” makes peace redundant.

8. COOK not cool. There are many dishes that a person is “supposed to” COOK “before serving.” However, usually a “dish” is left to cool on its own. A person isn’t needed to perform this function.

10. DICTION not fiction. The “high school” grad, “studying for an arts degree,” could expect “a good standard of” DICTION. But fiction can be of varying caliber, in order to allow students to experience and appreciate various styles of writing.

12. FILE not film. The “information” is kept on film; whereas, it can be kept “in a” FILE.

16. SAIL not soil. The clue indicates that there is a degree of “surprise” involved, which isn’t the case with soil because it’s normal for dirt to be blown “away” in the “wind.” SAIL makes a better answer.