ST×NLB Cross-References: Like goods on Carousell, often

SINGAPORE – This week’s ST×NLB Crossword was constructed by Ong Hui Ying from the National Library Board, who is part of a team of 40 volunteers from both organisations. Here’s her message to solvers:

In this puzzle, Ong, who also constructed our Aug 30 puzzle, gives a creepy call-out to the myth of the PONTIANAK (15A), which is well known in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Our local [Ghostly figure associated with the scent of frangipani] has inspired numerous horror films and ghost stories since the 1950s. While the upcoming Halloween season is linked to supernatural forces internationally, the pontianak does not restrict her hauntings to any particular part of the year.

According to folklore, a pontianak is the vengeful spirit of a woman who died during pregnancy or childbirth. In some versions of the tale, a corpse can be prevented from transforming into one through a burial ritual that involves sticking a NEEDLE (9A) into each palm and placing a chicken egg under each armpit.

If one is unfortunate enough to encounter a pontianak – taking the form of a beautiful woman with long, dark hair – regular weapons like KNIVES (18D), including [Parangs or balisongs, e.g.], may not be entirely effective. Instead, a nail must be driven into the back of her neck, which supposedly transforms her back into an ordinary woman.

It is even said that some men have gone on to marry and have families with pontianaks after subduing them in this manner. The man must take care never to remove the nail, lest the pontianak reverts to her true form.

I couldn’t imagine being so [Casually unconcerned], or NONCHALANT (11D), about my spouse being a (temporarily restrained) undead creature. Honestly, I feel sorry for the poor pontianak, dying so tragically and then continuing to be controlled by a man even after death.

Well, that’s a bit of a downer, isn’t it? Let’s have a look at some other entries in the puzzle:

8A. I’m a big fan of finding good deals on the online marketplace Carousell. USED items, sometimes described euphemistically as “pre-loved”, can be had for a fraction of their retail price, even if they are in excellent condition. 

10A. If you’ve ever been part of a uniformed group CCA, you might be familiar with calamine LOTION, a liquid topical medicine used to treat mosquito bites. A popular song often sung at CCA camps contains the refrains “flea, fly, mosquito” and “calamine, calamine, calamine lotion”. Ugh, just thinking about that song makes my back itch.

23A. Chinese CLAN associations are mutual aid organisations where members may share a surname. They were set up during colonial times by Chinese migrants, many of whom spoke mutually unintelligible dialects. Some were organised around their members’ geographical origins, while others were lineage-based, taking surnames as an indicator of shared heritage. Many remain active today, offering dialect classes and other cultural activities to a new generation.

2D. The [Home-grown ice cream brand whose name evokes very fresh milk] is UDDERS, founded by lawyer-turned-entrepreneur Wong Peck Lin and her husband David Yim in 2007. The couple started the brand to offer local alternatives to international ice cream brands, with flavours like chendol, Thai iced tea and durian.

3D. An EN BLOC sale refers to a collective property sale, in which a multi-unit property development, such as a condominium, is sold by its owners to a single buyer. Such deals usually require consent from at least 80 per cent of current owners to go ahead, although this is set to be lowered for some older properties following recent changes to the law.

Book recommendations

Let the week’s clues inspire your next read, courtesy of NLB. Follow the links to borrow.

14A. “With anyone over fifty you can be fairly confident what’s been taught and what’s been left out. But these young people have such an intelligent, knowledgeable surface, and then the crust suddenly breaks and you look down into depths of CONFUSION you didn’t know existed.” – Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

11D. “If you always dreamed of writing a novel or a memoir, and you used to love to write, and were pretty good at it, will it break your heart if it turns out you never got around to it? If you wake up one day at eighty, will you feel NONCHALANT that something always took precedence over a daily commitment to discovering your creative spirit?” – Bird By Bird by Anne Lamott

19D. “Once I had asked God for one or two extra inches in HEIGHT, but instead he made me as tall as the sky, so high that I could not measure myself.” – I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai with Christina Lamb

Across

7. How pasta is often preferred (2,5): AL DENTE

8. Like goods on Carousell, often (4): USED

9. It puts the puncture in acupuncture (6): NEEDLE

10. Calamine formulation, perhaps (6): LOTION

13. ___ Burger (fast-food chain known for its rice “buns”) (3): MOS

14. Disordered state (9): CONFUSION

15. Ghostly figure associated with the scent of frangipani (9): PONTIANAK

19. “Wait, what?” (3): HUH

20. Free taster (6): SAMPLE

21. ______ piety (6): FILIAL

23. ____ association (organisation where members share a surname) (4): CLAN

24. Author King or director Chow (7): STEPHEN

Down

1. Great work, in Latin (6,4): MAGNUM OPUS

2. Home-grown ice cream brand whose name evokes very fresh milk (6): UDDERS

3. Collectively, in a property sale (2,4): EN BLOC

4. Limb that may be pulled in jest (3): LEG

5. It’s a numbers game? (6): SUDOKU

6. Star sign meaning “twins” (6): GEMINI

11. Casually unconcerned (10): NONCHALANT

12. Frivolous, like idle chatter (5): INANE

16. Light-footed (6): NIMBLE

17. Type of roller skates (6): INLINE

18. Parangs or balisongs, e.g. (6): KNIVES

19. Stature (6): HEIGHT

22. Type of cable, especially for charging devices (3): USB

If you have any feedback, feel free to write to us at stgames@sph.com.sg. See you next week!