(SIMON) BARNES, THE MEANING OF BIRDS — Drab birds can be suddenly aflame with iridescence when seen in a good light. A springtime starling explodes into a heavenly creature of glowing purple, lit with deep blues and greens, all of it spangled with gold.
| A. | Exhibiting genu varum | BOWLEGGED |
| B. | Tax evasion indictee of 1931 (2 wds.) | ALCAPONE |
| C. | Alternatives to jigs, waltzes and strathspeys | REELS |
| D. | Identify with finality (2 wds.) | NAILDOWN |
| E. | Figure with a pair of foci | ELLIPSE |
| F. | Activity for a batter or a boxer | SLUGGING |
| G. | Lend a bit of a thrill | TITILLATE |
| H. | Minimal margin size for many printers (hyph.) | HALFINCH |
| I. | Blend by suspending one liquid in another | EMULSIFY |
| J. | Rainy day creations of tots (2 wds.) | MUDPIES |
| K. | Napoleon's cousin | ECLAIR |
| L. | Material supplementing the main text | APPENDIX |
| M. | "I wouldn't go back and change a thing" (2 wds.) | NOREGRETS |
| N. | Clique that might be chic (hyph.) | INCROWD |
| O. | Like the German word for "girl," grammatically | NEUTER |
| P. | War of 1812 treaty site | GHENT |
| Q. | Up in the air | OVERHEAD |
| R. | Carrier of a fleet's commander | FLAGSHIP |
| S. | Country largely comprising the Kalahari Desert | BOTSWANA |
| T. | Feeling morally or financially beholden | INDEBTED |
| U. | 1984 movie about a Soviet invasion of the U.S. (2 wds.) | REDDAWN |
| V. | Judge's act at the end of a workday | DISROBING |
| W. | Using covert operations | STEALTHY |