Thinking Inside the Box - Wednesday, March 1, 2023

Cubic crosswords are like three crosswords in one. The only new feature is that answers can run over the edges of the cube (for example, 4-Across on the A-Side extends to the C-Side). Happy solving!

A-Side Clues

ACROSS

1. Azog the Defiler from “The Hobbit,” e.g.

4. Ranch animals

7. Exclamation of discovery

8. “Fire ___!”

9. Sleep stage

10. Manufacturer of bug repellent?

11. Forbidden

13. Unflinching

16. Remus or Romulus, e.g.

19. Two - ___ sloth

20. Nefarious

21. Gambas al ajillo, e.g.

DOWN

1. Cosmic “cloud” past Pluto

2. Big bird?

3. Pick

4. Paddle boat

5. Off-roader, for short

6. Language spoken by 58% of Ghanaians

12. Dog park designation

14. It’s got you covered

15. Wandered

16. “Uhhh guys? ___ got company...”

17. Ellipse

18. Mr. Potato Head piece

B-Side Clues

ACROSS

1. Device that needs to be juiced up?

2. Encourage

3. Disney character based on a Hans Christian Anderson novel

4. Aptly named author of “The Cloister and the Hearth”

5. World generation code, in Minecraft

7. “Tik Tok” star

10. Winter coat?

11. Most probable roll in Monopoly

14. Not just “a”

15. Novelist Zola

16. Soak up

17. Mineral deposits

DOWN

6. Artist’s stand

7. Toolboxes

8. Amazon device

9. Leak slowly

12. Punk offshoot

13. YouTube short, for short

C-Side Clues

ACROSS

1. Morse morsel

2. Sick

3. Mixolydian, e.g.

5. Position to strike?

7. Take the L, so to speak

11. One of five in the acronym HOMES

12. Head

DOWN

4. Instrument played by Sheku Kanneh-Mason and Yo-Yo Ma

5. Golden Ball winner for the 1970 World Cup

6. Singles

8. Boat paddle

9. Genre whose name comes from how a scratchy guitar sounds

10. Slippery swimmer