ST×NLB Cross-References: Like Russell Lee’s ghost stories, supposedly

SINGAPORE – This week’s ST×NLB Crossword was constructed by my puzzle co-editor, NLB librarian Sasha Tan, who is part of a team of 40 volunteers from both organisations.

Some time last year, I witnessed something [Deeply appalling] – one might say ABYSMAL (15D) – on a public bus. An older man sitting in the back row was hunched over in his seat, clutching his foot.

My immediate first thought was that he might have been suffering a leg cramp or perhaps a LIGAMENT (3A) injury, but then a sharp clicking noise rang through the quiet bus. He was clipping his toenails, sending crusty crescents of keratin cavorting through the cabin.

Ah, these people really do exist, I thought to myself.

Of course, I had seen videos online of such behaviour invariably attracting BACKLASH (1D) from commenters, but witnessing it in person felt surreal. I wanted to slap him, shame him or swear at him for displaying such flagrant disregard for his fellow public transport USER (26A). 

But, being the only other passenger in the bus and faced with the prospect of actually confronting a stranger, I understood viscerally why most bystanders prefer to AVOID (5D) intervening. What if he shouted at me or got violent? Goodness, what if he threw his nail clippings at me?

Instead, I shot him the most EVIL (21D) look I could muster and willed him to spontaneously COMBUST (9A), but he was too BUSY (1A) attending to his toes to even notice me. I chose a seat by the door and tried to ignore the click-click-clicking coming from the back of the bus.

So when the Land Transport Authority put up sticker decals in April exhorting commuters not to groom themselves on public transport, I was firmly in the camp that agreed it was necessary. 

But perhaps it could have gone further to introduce a new member of the Thoughtful Bunch. The loveable mascots for graciousness include STAND-UP STACEY (14A), the [Rising star on the MRT?] who encourages us to give up our seats to those in need, and Move-In Martin, who sets an example by moving in, so others can board.

I reckon we could use a No-Go Norman who goes around calling out bad behaviour and egregious violations of social norms. 

22A. In 1998, Singapore got its very own TV superhero when VR MAN aired on Channel 5. The titular hero, played by James Lye, had the power of virtual reality projection or “virping”, allowing him to manifest objects using his imagination a la the DC Comics superhero Green Lantern. VR Man’s nemesis was called Click Click Man, who no doubt retired after a storied life of crime to continue his diabolical exploits on public buses, armed only with a nail clipper.

24A. Someone who is said to be off in LA-LA LAND is out of touch with reality, akin to an inhabitant of a fantasy dreamworld. The phrase might also make a good name for a zi char restaurant that specialises in lala clams, a popular seafood dish often fried with sambal sauce or ginger and spring onion.

2D. The [Eastern estate whose name means “Four Beauties”] in Mandarin is SIMEI, a subzone of Tampines. The estate’s four main streets were originally named after the legendary four great beauties of ancient China, Xishi, Diaochan, Guifei and Zhaojun. However, residents found the hanyu pinyin street names difficult to pronounce, so the Housing Board renamed them Simei Streets 1, 2, 3 and 4 in 1987.

7D. Russell Lee’s The Almost Complete Collection Of TRUE Singapore Ghost Stories has enjoyed enduring widespread popularity here since it launched in 1989. Year after year, entries from the series consistently rank among the NLB’s list of most borrowed physical adult books. Perhaps the next edition might include a tale about a ghostly uncle condemned to clip his spectral toenails on the bus for all eternity? (No, I am not over it.)

13D. Ever had a colleague just stand by and watch while you had to do something difficult or physically tiring? Your [Unhelpful co-worker’s ability] might be called EYE POWER, an apt descriptor when someone’s only contribution is supervision.

20D. ETHOS Books is the independent home-grown [Publisher of many a SingLit title]. One of its latest offerings is poet Theophilus Kwek’s debut work of creative non-fiction, Odeon: An Ode, which explores the many lives of 331 North Bridge Road as a cinema, cabaret, rubber factory and more through the eyes of migrant worker Fazley Elahi Rubel, who helped build it, and former president Devan Nair, who once frequented the offices of the Singapore Teachers’ Union there.

Book recommendations

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

12A. “It is a lovely ODDITY of human nature that a person is more inclined to interrupt two people in conversation than one person alone with a book.” – Rules Of Civility by Amor Towles

17A. “As a rule, our decision-making is MYOPIC, shortsighted, and lacks imagination. We’re heavily incentivized to seek rewards in the present, which can greatly cost our long-term Future Selves.” – Be Your Future Self Now: The Science Of Intentional Transformation by Benjamin Hardy

6D. “Ideas are made of blocks. Rigid and hard. And stories are made of a gauze that is ELASTIC. You can almost see through it, so what is beyond is tantalizing.” – By The Light Of My Father’s Smile by Alice Walker

Across

1. Not free (4): BUSY

3. Band between bones (8): LIGAMENT

9. Burst into flames (7): COMBUST

10. Anime enthusiast, perhaps (5): OTAKU

11. Vice disclosed by Pinocchio’s nose (5): LYING

12. Curious thing (6): ODDITY

14. Rising star on the MRT? (5-2,6): STAND-UP STACEY

17. Unable to focus beyond a certain point? (6): MYOPIC

19. Like Valu$ goods (5): CHEAP

22. Virtually a local hero in the 1990s (2,3): VR MAN

23. Apt format for a production of Frozen (3,4): ICE SHOW

24. Dreamworld… where zi char clams may abound? (2-2,4): LA-LA LAND

25. One who interfaces with interfaces (4): USER

Down

1. Negative reaction, particularly from the public (8): BACKLASH

2. Eastern estate whose name means “Four Beauties” (5): SIMEI

4. Soul-searching (13): INTROSPECTION

5. Siam (5): AVOID

6. Stretchable (7): ELASTIC

7. Like Russell Lee’s ghost stories, supposedly (4): TRUE

8. Hardy, like hiking boots (6): RUGGED

13. Unhelpful co-worker’s ability (3,5): EYE POWER

15. Deeply appalling (7): ABYSMAL

16. It admits one (6): TICKET

18. Group that may confer (5): PANEL

20. Publisher of many a SingLit title (5): ETHOS

21. Word before twin or spirit (4): EVIL

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