(NEAL) STEPHENSON, CRYPTONOMICON — There was a time when places like... Oxford and Cambridge existed... to train ministers, and their job was... to say something thought-provoking several times a week. They were the retail outlets of the profession of philosophy.
| A. | One way to reach a conclusion | SYLLOGISM |
| B. | Everything (2 wds.) | THEWORKS |
| C. | Composer of "Three Pieces in the Shape of a Pear" (2 wds.) | ERIKSATIE |
| D. | Classic slapstick comedy scene (2 wds.) | PIEFIGHT |
| E. | Mental midget (hyph.) | HALFWIT |
| F. | One who has untied a knot (hyph.) | EXHUSBAND |
| G. | The land down under | NETHERWORLD |
| H. | What ballplayers hit after games | SHOWERS |
| I. | Collapsible item invented by Antoine Gibus (2 wds.) | OPERAHAT |
| J. | "Dryad of the trees," to Keats | NIGHTINGALE |
| K. | Writers' blocks? | CHAPTERS |
| L. | Changer of stations | REMOTE |
| M. | Annual | YEARBOOK |
| N. | The opposite of verbose | PITHY |
| O. | The opposite of verbose | TERSE |
| P. | Affected by too many catches | OVERFISHED |
| Q. | Connection, link, tie | NEXUS |
| R. | Cushioned furniture for one's dogs | OTTOMAN |
| S. | River and city of Saskatchewan (2 wds.) | MOOSEJAW |
| T. | What a think tank is meant to do | IDEATE |
| U. | Last-minute reluctance or timidity (2 wds.) | COLDFEET |
| V. | One like Micawber or Pangloss | OPTIMIST |
| W. | 1940 novel about Bigger Thomas's travails (2 wds.) | NATIVESON |