Carnival Booth

a cryptic puzzle by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon

Puzzle
“Hits” in the grid include every letter of the alphabet except Q-P. When paired with “doll” and said aloud, you get a “kewpie doll” (a classic carnival prize).

Across

  • 1.
    APLOMB: A(PL)OMB ("Moab" anag.)
  • 6.
    FJORDS: F(J)ORDS
  • 11.
    CHIMERA: CHI(MER)A
  • 12.
    ORION: O + RION (rev.)
  • 13.
    RITE: RITE ("right" hom.)
  • 14.
    COLA: COL + A
  • 15.
    FINALE: F + IN + ALE
  • 16.
    STRUCK: S + TRUCK
  • 17.
    ZYDECO: ZanY + DECO
  • 23.
    FRIEND: F(R)IEND
  • 25.
    GHOSTS: G + HOSTS
  • 29.
    HARLEM: HAR(L)EM
  • 31.
    IRMA: IRMA (hid.)
  • 32.
    PERU: PER + U
  • 33.
    SIENA: SIENA (anag.)
  • 34.
    DAPPLED: D(APPLE) + D
  • 35.
    HANDLE: HANDLE ("Handel" hom.)
  • 36.
    TAMARI: TAM + A(R)I

Down

  • 1.
    ACRES: A(C)RES
  • 2.
    PHILTER: PHILTER ("filter" hom.)
  • 3.
    LITER: LIT + ER
  • 4.
    MEXICO: ME(XI) + CO
  • 5.
    BRINK: B + RINK
  • 6.
    FAVA: FAVA (hid.)
  • 7.
    JOWLY: J + OWLY
  • 8.
    RIOTED: RIOTED (anag.)
  • 9.
    DOLL: DO + L + L
  • 10.
    SNAP-ON: S(NAP)ON
  • 15.
    FUSE: F + USE
  • 18.
    DOOM: DOrm roOM
  • 19.
    CATERER: CATERER (anag.)
  • 20.
    OFFISH: OF + FISH
  • 21.
    AIRMEN: AIRMEN (anag.)
  • 22.
    SHERPA: S(HER)PA
  • 24.
    NASAL: NASAL (hid.)
  • 25.
    GLOAT: G(L)OAT
  • 26.
    STELA: STELA (anag.)
  • 27.
    SAUDI: S + AUDI
  • 28.
    ARIA: A + RI + A
  • 30.
    RUDE: RU(D)E