ST×NLB Cross-References: Month for starving spirits seeking sustenance

SINGAPORE – This week’s ST×NLB Crossword was constructed by me and edited by NLB librarian Sasha Tan, who is part of a team of 40 volunteers from both organisations.

Customary offerings of food and ASH (15D) remnants from burning joss paper or paper effigies are common sights during the Hungry Ghost Festival, which runs from Aug 13 to Sept 10 this year. 

The festival has its roots in Chinese folk religion and is mostly observed by Buddhists and Taoists to honour their ancestors. According to traditional beliefs, the gates of the underworld open during the SEVENTH (9A) lunar month, allowing the spirits of the departed to return to earth and look for food.

Burnt paper offerings traditionally take the form of joss paper or “hell money”, meant to ensure the deceased are well taken care of in the afterlife. In recent years, modern conveniences and luxury goods like cars, yachts and smart devices have also been turned into offerings.

Did you know? Although the Chinese calendar follows the phases of the moon, it is not a true LUNAR CALENDAR (6D) like the Islamic calendar which determines when Hari Raya falls. Instead, it is a lunisolar calendar that adds an extra “intercalary” month as needed to keep it in sync with the seasons.

That is why Chinese holidays like Chinese New Year and the Hungry Ghost Festival tend to occur around the same time each year according to the Gregorian solar calendar, while Hari Raya dates are constantly shifting.

Here are some other interesting bits of trivia and some fun puns for you from this week’s puzzle.

5A. HOLLAND Village is the buzzy neighbourhood that inspired a popular Channel 8 drama called Holland V (2003). Despite its name and the fact that it once featured a replica windmill, it has no known historical links to the Netherlands or Dutch settlers. The area is supposedly named after Hugh Holland, an early resident of Singapore whose history is not well documented.

14A. YAMAHA is the [Manufacturer of motorcycles or music makers], although there are technically two separate companies with the same name that happen to share a common ancestor. Yamaha Corporation started out as Nippon Gakki making musical instruments in the late 1880s. It started making motorcycles in 1954 and later spun off Yamaha Motor as a separate entity.

16A. Younger solvers might not recall the debate over whether to open a CASINO in Singapore back in 2005. Many opposed the idea initially, including Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, but it was eventually decided that resorts which just happened to feature casinos would bring significant economic benefits to Singapore. The euphemistic term “integrated resort”, which was coined in Singapore, is now used internationally to refer to casino hotels.

23A. Some of us might have an ABDOMEN that features six-pack muscles, while others might have one capable of containing a six-pack worth of beer. Either way, you could call it a [Six-pack container, perhaps?]

13D. Why is a NUN a [Habitual worshipper?] Because she often prays and wears a habit.

20D. [Artist and activist Yoko] ONO is something of a crossword cliche, since her surname is such a useful fill. According to xwordinfo.com, Ono has appeared in the New York Times Crossword over 400 times since the 1970s, with over 100 instances referencing her famous husband John Lennon in some way. We opted to define her in her own right as an artist and activist.

Book recommendations

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

16A. “I heard a man who worked in a CASINO say that no one gets ruined by losing, they get ruined by trying to win back the money they lost.” – Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

17D. “A pack of INDOMIE noodles is simply a 20-cent packet of instant noodles. How can it matter so much? It matters because Indomie noodles represent the process by which poverty, through innovation, can become prosperity.” – The Prosperity Paradox: How Innovation Can Lift Nations Out Of Poverty by Clayton M. Christensen

18D. “I’m acutely aware of how flimsy the space is between us now, slippery, finite, closable. Maybe this is why people take trips, for that feeling of your real life liquefying around you, like nothing you do will tug on any other STRAND of your carefully built world.” – Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Across

1. Like a mosaic (5): TILED

5. _______ Village (buzzy neighbourhood that inspired a Channel 8 drama) (7): HOLLAND

8. “___ had enough!” (3): I’VE

9. Month for starving spirits seeking sustenance (7): SEVENTH

10. From birth (5): NATAL

12. Cross-cultural community cohesion (6,7): RACIAL HARMONY

14. Manufacturer of motorcycles or music makers (6): YAMAHA

16. Entertainment venue that might be integrated into a resort (6): CASINO

19. Influencer with insights, supposedly (7,6): THOUGHT LEADER

22. Reserve, in local parlance (5): CHOPE

23. Six-pack container, perhaps? (7): ABDOMEN

25. Najip ___ (local entertainer) (3): ALI

26. When a 13th month bonus is paid (4,3): YEAR END

27. Videos on Instagram, often (5): REELS

Down

1. Police officer’s less-lethal option (5): TASER

2. Real-time video feed (4,3): LIVE CAM

3. She fed on forbidden fruit (3): EVE

4. Practice of maintaining pearly whites (6,7): DENTAL HYGIENE

5. “I suppose that was quite amusing” (2,2,2): HA HA HA

6. It’s used to determine when Hari Raya falls (5,8): LUNAR CALENDAR

7. Famously cloned sheep (5): DOLLY

11. The way, according to Lao Tzu (3): TAO

13. Habitual worshipper? (3): NUN

15. Joss paper remains (3): ASH

17. Noodle brand with a Jakarta HQ (7): INDOMIE

18. Unit of hair (6): STRAND

19. Obiang (5): TACKY

20. Artist and activist Yoko (3): ONO

21. Sergeant and Captain, e.g. (5): RANKS

24. Football chant, when repeated (3): OLE

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