PUZZLE

TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES
By Travis Scholtens




Eight answers from the Across clues must first be altered before they can be entered in the diagram. Naturally, word lengths are omitted for these clues.

When the diagram is completed, the entry at 15A will be a familiar slogan describing the alteration.

Altered entries are common words and contain no proper nouns. Clued answers include one proper noun. 27A is an alternate spelling. As always, mental repunctuation of a clue is the key to its solution. The solution to the last puzzle appears after the jump.

across

   1.  After being fixed, paler cat is calmer

   5.  Shows are inside: second-rate, front of stage (5)

   9.  Sounds likely to be grounds for a lawsuit (5)

10.  Bordeaux cartel broken up

11.  World government players regarded to be intact

13.  Speaker czar

14.  Ovation less enthusiastic, initially: bravo! (3)

15.  See instructions (3,4,3)

18.  Frolicked in reversible scarlet cloak

20.  Old pie goes bad, becomes water molecule, e.g. (6)

22.  Chats about gym class, love, urges (6)

24.  Sweet drink from bar at center thrown back

25.  Pains leave shore with fore moved aft (4)

26.  Alarming contents of NASCAR in German

27.  Sore on eyelid in crust (yellow) (4)

28.  Put into concrete form, a nice rant goes off the rails

down

   2.  Beginning of novel buried amidst property claim sheets (5)

   3.  Core shown in bas-relief (3)

   4.  Overjoyed to be part of a family with no head (6)

   5.  Buffets for smokes (5)

   6.  Audible shaft moisture to perform again (4)

   7.  Everybody else up late? (2,2)

   8.  Convenience store blends test puree (9)

10.  Lions missing a thousand toy bricks (4)

11.  Great places mix up oxtail soup with no lox (7)

12.  Until death preserves Iberian diacritic (5)

13.  Thoroughly hinder packaging record with missing note (6)

16.  Not pro game: without me, it's a Cuban line dance (5)

17.  Wide awake right after beer (5)

19.  Project beginnings of each movie in theater (4)

21.  Write new leader (leader of English colony) (4)

23.  Tails-up nickels are evil (3)

SOLUTION TO LAST PUZZLE

NOTES FOR "DIRTY SCRABBLE":

The 7-letter words cannot be found in the Scrabble dictionary because they are examples of NAUGHTY BINGOES.

Note: * indicates anagram.

ACROSS: 1. fart(h)ing; 7. bri(T)e; 8. homophone, Tory; 10. hidden; 11. hidden; 12. two mngs.; 15. first letters; 17. *; 19. two mngs. -ski; 21. *; 22. NY-ET; 23. wog(G)(N)ish*

DOWN: 2. ars-E; 3. *; 4. ite(M); 5. *; 6. dip-S-hit; 7. ba(zoo)ms; 9. le-O; 13. homophone; 14. hidden; 16. B-row; 18. hidden, 20. *