ST×NLB Cross-References: Hound’s warning sound
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Eh, last warning ah.
PHOTO: PIXABAY
Sasha Tan
SINGAPORE – This week’s ST×NLB Crossword was constructed by assistant Life editor Boon Chan, who is part of a team of 40 volunteers from both organisations. Here’s his message to solvers:
Turns out, it’s harder to construct a crossword than to solve one. I wanted to have a bit of fun with the clues and hope you will enjoy this puzzle. Thanks for playing!
This puzzle had me thinking about the many ways one might spend a rejuvenating weekend, especially after a workweek dominated by a LAUNDRY LIST (2A) of tasks, or what we might call a [Lengthy catalogue of things to be ironed out?].
The expression arose alongside commercial laundry services in the 19th century, when customers used itemised forms to keep track of the soiled articles they sent away for washing. By the mid-20th century, the term had acquired its now-familiar figurative meaning: a lengthy, often tedious catalogue of items.
Come the weekend, though, I would hope my to-do list looks a little more like this:
1. Find somewhere comfortable to lounge LANGUIDLY (17A) – in the sense of being relaxed, rather than [In a sluggish manner] – and put on some music. Although it may be uplifting in a manner of speaking, ELEVATOR MUSIC (20A) would not be my first choice here. Perhaps I’d turn instead to home-grown Mandopop star STEFANIE (12A) Sun – a big star by any measure – or her collaborator JJ LIN (28A). The pair wrote the pandemic tribute Stay With You together and performed its English version at the 2020 National Day Parade. More recently in 2025, Lin also made a surprise appearance at Sun’s concert at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
2. Enjoy some piping hot TEA (13D), whether the brewed beverage, a spot of hot gossip or both at once. Those watching their sugar intake might reach for a low-calorie sweetener such as SPLENDA (24D), while a bit of lemon ZEST (30A) could add some citrusy zing.
3. Take a long, restorative soak in the TUB (35D), feeling a little like a teabag myself.
4. Catch a movie. Christopher Nolan has recently put the cinematic spotlight not on the ILIAD (7D) – Homer’s epic centred on Achilles and the Trojan War – but on the ancient Greek poet’s other great work, The Odyssey, which follows the eponymous Odysseus on his long journey home. Nolan’s adaptation is itself something of a technical epic, as it is the first feature film shot entirely using 70mm IMAX cameras. Nearly three hours in the cinema should take care of a substantial part of the afternoon.
5. If I’m feeling a little adventurous, I could take a wander over to the ARTSCIENCE Museum (1D), the familiar bayside venue whose exhibitions cross the boundaries between art, science, technology and culture. The iconic building, designed by architect Moshe Safdie in the form of a 10-petalled lotus, has been dubbed the “Welcoming Hand of Singapore”.
6. If I’m feeling considerably more adventurous, I could head instead to USS (3D) – Universal Studios Singapore. Signature attractions at the Sentosa thrill-seekers’ locale include Battlestar Galactica: Human vs Cylon, the world’s tallest pair of duelling roller coasters, and Minion Land, which is based on the popular Despicable Me and Minions franchises.
So, as this week’s puzzle reminds us, there are many ways to relax and recharge over a weekend, including by doing a crossword!
Here are some other interesting clues this week:
31A. The CRESCENT is a [Shape appearing in the national flag], where it represents a young nation on the ascendant. Interestingly, Singapore’s flag could have been entirely blue, but then Deputy Prime Minister Toh Chin Chye rejected that proposal.
36A. The National Environment Agency, or NEA, is the [Stat board overseeing mosquito control]. Under the NEA’s Project Wolbachia, male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes carrying Wolbachia bacteria are released to mate with urban females, producing eggs that do not hatch due to a reproductive incompatibility caused by the bacterium. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that the programme significantly reduced the mosquito population at release sites, and cut residents’ risk of dengue by more than 70 per cent.
2D. The [Local arts college with a French-sounding name] is LASALLE. It was founded by Brother Joseph McNally in 1984 as St Patrick’s Arts Centre with just 27 students. Its establishment helped spur the development of Singapore’s contemporary art scene, as this BiblioAsia account of the movement explains. The college’s present name honours John-Baptiste de La Salle, a French priest and educational reformer who founded the De La Salle Brothers organisation.
5D. A REF is [One often accused of being kayu, for short]. The Malay word kayu literally means “wood”, but in local sporting parlance, a referee denounced as kayu is being accused of blindness, incompetence or both.
17D. The LTA, or Land Transport Authority, is the [Local organisation that moves many people?], not necessarily in the sense of being emotionally affected, but rather helping commuters get around via Singapore’s network of roads and rails.
Book recommendations
Let the week’s clues inspire your next read, courtesy of NLB. Follow the links to borrow.
30A. “When we traded homemaking for careers… we gave up the aroma of warm bread rising, the measured pace of nurturing routines, the creative task of molding our families’ tastes and ZEST for life; we received in exchange the minivan and the Lunchable.” – Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: Our Year Of Seasonal Eating by Barbara Kingsolver
13D. “Don’t drink your TEA like someone who gulps down a cup of coffee during a work break. Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the whole earth revolves—slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future.” – The Miracle Of Mindfulness: An Introduction To The Practice Of Meditation by Thich Nhat Hanh
15D. “At times a person will make EYE CONTACT with Marianne, a bus conductor or someone looking for change, and she’ll be shocked briefly into the realisation that this is in fact her life, that she is actually visible to other people. This feeling opens her to certain longings: hunger and thirst, a desire to speak Swedish, a physical desire to swim or dance.” – Normal People by Sally Rooney
Across
2. Lengthy catalogue of things to be ironed out? (7,4): LAUNDRY LIST
8. Molecular messenger (3): RNA
10. Ex-NCMP Jenn Jong (3): YEE
11. “___ the season!” (3): TIS
12. Sun who’s a big star in the Mandopop scene (8): STEFANIE
14. Lasting mark (4): SCAR
16. ___ shading (cartoon-style rendering technique) (3): CEL
17. In a sluggish manner (9): LANGUIDLY
20. Uplifting tunes? (8,5): ELEVATOR MUSIC
25. Printer ink container (9): CARTRIDGE
28. Singer JJ, who has collaborated with 12-Across (3): LIN
30. Citrus shaving (4): ZEST
31. Shape appearing in the national flag (8): CRESCENT
36. Stat board overseeing mosquito control (3): NEA
37. Commonly torn tissue, in brief (3): ACL
38. Yuletide month, for short (3): DEC
39. Magic chant (11): ABRACADABRA
Down
1. ________ Museum (multidisciplinary exhibition venue by the bay) (10): ARTSCIENCE
2. Local arts college with a French-sounding name (7): LASALLE
3. Thrill-seekers’ locale in Sentosa, briefly (3): USS
4. Make the grey go away, say (3): DYE
5. One often accused of being kayu, for short (3): REF
6. Nay’s rhyming opposite (3): YEA
7. Tale of Achilles (5): ILIAD
9. Genial (4): NICE
13. Brewed beverage, or Gen-Z gossip (3): TEA
15. It’s maintained during a staring contest (3,7): EYE CONTACT
17. Local organisation that moves many people? (3): LTA
18. Hound’s warning sound (3): GRR
19. Informal debt note (3): IOU
21. One who may soothe ill felines (3): VET
22. ___ Seng (CC11) (3): TAI
23. Noodles, locally (3): MEE
24. Low-calorie sweetener (7): SPLENDA
26. Harder to come by (5): RARER
27. Strive (for) (3): GUN
29. “Orh...” (1,3): I SEE
32. Biological pouch (3): SAC
33. Scouts, squash or string ensemble, e.g. (3): CCA
34. Ballot box overseer, in brief (3): ELD
35. Spot for a soak (3): TUB
If you have any feedback, feel free to write to us at stgames@sph.com.sg. See you next week!
