MIKE BROWN, HOW I KILLED PLUTO--It was... clear that if the asteroids were... schools of minnows swimming among the pod of whales, then Pluto and the Kuiper belt objects were simply a previously overlooked collection of sardines swimming in a faraway sea.
| A. | Flat-bodied marine specimen such as an opah | MOONFISH |
| B. | Dramatically collapse | IMPLODE |
| C. | Sound of a hit in Gotham | KAPOW |
| D. | Expense for a sci-fi movie's budget | EFFECTS |
| E. | Carrier in the legal profession | BRIEFCASE |
| F. | Systems that require training | RAILWAYS |
| G. | Pair of socks (hyph.) | ONETWO |
| H. | Bon mot | WITTICISM |
| I. | People who haven't a chance of winning (hyph.) | NOHOPERS |
| J. | Parking place near a strip | HANGAR |
| K. | Topless at the lunch table? (hyph.) | OPENFACED |
| L. | Words of woeful wondering (3 wds.) | WHYOHWHY |
| M. | Verb in a model-building kit | INSERT |
| N. | Titular urging in a Porter musical (2 wds.) | KISSME |
| O. | Not of high character | IGNOBLE |
| P. | Moving and bending with supple ease | LITHE |
| Q. | Bawdy language or behavior | LEWDNESS |
| R. | Encryption "machine" of W.W. II | ENIGMA |
| S. | Deny any responsibility for | DISAVOW |
| T. | Where we may observe our place in the universe | PLANETARIUM |
| U. | Apollo 13 mate of Haise and Swigert | LOVELL |
| V. | Depiction on the flag of Alaska (2 wds.) | URSAMAJOR |
| W. | Trial for you and your buds (2 wds.) | TASTETEST |
| X. | The solar system's farthest-flung neighborhood (2 wds.) | OORTCLOUD |