PRIZE WEEK PUZZLE

ACROSS

4. AIDING not ailing. By AIDING a “destitute” “relative,” the pal is making a “sacrifice,” whether that entails helping with medical (i.e., ailing) bills or providing a roof over the relative’s head.

6. BEAST not feast. “A large” BEAST might well “furnish” a “meal” for the “explorer’s men.” A feast, however, is another way of referring to a “meal.”

9. CURVED not carved. Carved is too vague since the type of carving is not specified. Some carving could be considered tasteless or even ugly by some customers. However, CURVED “legs,” as opposed to straight ones, fit the clue well.

11. APT not opt. The clue word “validate” favors APT. To opt is to choose, not merely to “validate” the “choice.”

14. PLANKS not planes. PLANKS could “be helpful with” “construction,” but in terms of a tool, the “cousin” would probably need only one plane.

17. HAVE not hate. HAVE makes a comprehensive answer, which includes the feelings they’ve got (e.g., hate) about HAVING “to leave their pet behind.”

18. LOSER not lover. Since the clue already mentions that it’s a “romantic triangle,” lover is redundant. LOSER is best.

19. SPELL not spill. Usually, a spill is a painful occurrence, such as a fall from a bike, making “bad” unnecessary in the clue. SPELL is a better choice.

DOWN

1. CAUSE not pause. There might well have been a suspiciously long pause “during” the “discussion.” But more importantly, the “junior executive” would be trying to figure out the CAUSE of the pause and the meeting’s “uncomfortable atmosphere.”

2. KILLER not killed. It’s not always necessary to be so thorough in terms of investigating “every fact possible” if, for example, an act of nature was the obvious reason for an accidental death in which the victim was killed. Investigating all facts regarding a KILLER is best.

3. SEED not seek. Seek is inappropriate because the “organizers” can’t simply seek “top” “players”; rather, the “players” must prove that they’re proficient enough to qualify for the event. However, to SEED the “top” “players” to balance out the competition could result in some “exciting” final sets.

5. GOAD not goal. It’s not just “commerce students” who “need a” goal, but individuals in general, whether it’s financial, intellectual, educational or otherwise. But those individuals who are not sufficiently self-motivated, for instance, may well “need a” GOAD.

7. SNAKE not snare. Since a snare can simply be a type of drum, which obviously isn’t at all “harmful,” SNAKE makes a better answer.

10. RASH not rush. RASH makes a good choice. If a person such as an “entrepreneur” is forced “to make a” “decision” in a rush, that’s not necessarily indicative of someone who is “careless.” Time might be of the essence in a life-anddeath situation, for example, thereby forcing that person into such a situation.

12. PASS not pals. While her fellow team members (i.e., pals) might have aided in setting up the play, it’s the PASS that ultimately led to the “key goal.”

13. GLAMOR not clamor. She might be able to “count on seeing lots of” GLAMOR, but she would hear “lots of” clamor.

16. METAL not medal. Inspecting the METAL, the “official” might well conclude that “it’s probably gold.” As for medal, grammatically speaking, it would be referred to as being made of gold.