Solution: Downright Cryptic
Answer: OWL CITY
Written by Level 51 and betaveros
This is a cryptic crossword. (In case solvers aren't familiar with cryptic crosswords, a brief introduction to them is provided at the bottom of the puzzle.)
The cryptic clues have the following solutions:
| Number | Clue | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| 1A | We heard minerals are what you can use to propel a boat (4) | OARS (“ores” homophone) |
| 5A | Stabilize body and laugh at newbie’s comical errors, at first (7) | BALANCE (initials) |
| 6A | Gordon Sumner receives approval, adding fuel to the fire (7) | ST(OK)ING |
| 7A | Child sent back “why?”—overly curious about others' affairs (4) | NOS<+Y |
| 2D | Lies ahead within Ottawa itself (6) | _AWA ITS_ |
| 3D | Loosen up broken cankles (7) | SLACKEN* |
| 4D | Without beginning, climbs trails that might be followed by a dog (6) | (-a)SCENTS |
When filled out correctly, the grid looks like this:
The word “Downright” in the puzzle title, when interpreted in a somewhat cryptic manner, hints at the way to extract from this crossword grid: reading down and right from the top-left corner to the bottom-right corner, along the main diagonal, spells out the puzzle answer OWL CITY.
Clue explanations
1A. We heard minerals are what you can use to propel a boat (4) OARS = what you can use to propel a boat; homophone (“We heard”) of ORES (“minerals”)
5A. Stabilize body and laugh at newbie’s comical errors, at first (7) BALANCE = Stabilize; first letters (“at first”) of Body And Laugh At Newbie's Comical Errors
6A. Gordon Sumner receives approval, adding fuel to the fire (7) STOKING = adding fuel to the fire; STING (“Gordon Sumner”) containing (“receives”) OK (“approval”)
7A. Child sent back “why?”—overly curious about others' affairs (4) NOSY = overly curious about others' affairs; NOS (“Child sent back”, SON in reverse) with Y (“why”)
2D. Lies ahead within Ottawa itself (6) AWAITS = Lies ahead; hidden word (“within”) inside ottAWA ITSelf
3D. Loosen up broken cankles (7) SLACKEN = Loosen up; anagram (“broken”) of CANKLES
4D. Without beginning, climbs trails that might be followed by a dog (6) SCENTS = trails that might be followed by a dog; ASCENTS (“climbs”) with first letter deleted (“Without beginning”)