Stage Lines (solution)

by Kai Huang

Each clue solves to a 2-word term. The aha is that the answer terms pair up, so that one answer is the reverse of another answer.

For example,

• Someone who computes unions (5) = SET ADDER
• Weekends and holidays on a calendar (8) = RED DATES

SET ADDER spelled backwards is RED DATES (and vice versa).

Here are the rest of the answer terms, rearranged to place each pair of clues that produce reversed answer terms adjacent to each other:

• Travel from one side of a curved path to the other (6) = CROSS ARC
• Rude, unrefined member of an ugly, fanged humanoid race (3) = CRASS ORC
• “I had to write an IOU / To all the playas in my crew / No drinkin’ Chivas in bed / Because I’m too in the red”, e.g. (5) = DEBTOR RAP
• Where a colorful pet bird might sleep (9) = PARROT BED
• Buddy to play Twister with (7) = TANGLE PAL
• Small, biting fly that has landed near one’s boutonniere (7) = LAPEL GNAT
• Period of Turkish rule (7) = OTTOMAN ERA
• Sports stadium slogan (1) = ARENA MOTTO
• Shout from the ground to someone on a balcony (10) = YELL UPWARD
• Make a sketch of part of a block and tackle (9) = DRAW PULLEY
• Place to get a rotini martini (6) = PASTA BAR
• Plant fluid obtained from Morocco (4) = RABAT SAP
• Stomach problem for a stressed-out La Paz resident (6) = ANDES ULCER
• Genetic information of a person who lives in isolation (6) = RECLUSE DNA
• Apprehension of a weasel (9) = FERRET NAB
• Official supervising playful conversation (7) = BANTER REF
• Mesh containers for edible bulbs (6) = GARLIC NETS
• Cloth used to clean a signmaker’s template (5) = STENCIL RAG
• Agent of darkness (7) = NIGHT REP
• Distilled drink from southwest Australia (5) = PERTH GIN
• “Watch out for the Apple computer” (2) = BEWARE MAC
• Interconnected network of photo equipment (9) = CAMERA WEB
• Fanatical collector of old tunics bearing coats of arms (1) = TABARD NUT
• Flying mammal native to far northern treeless regions (8) = TUNDRA BAT
• Rodent willing to die for its beliefs (5) = MARTYR RAT
• Streetcar covered with a dark viscid substance (3) = TARRY TRAM

For answer extraction, we use the original order of the clues. However, the index we use is the number in parentheses associated with the other clue in each pair (this ensures the solver has figured out the aha). For example, in the pair:

• Someone who computes unions (5) = SET ADDER
• Weekends and holidays on a calendar (8) = RED DATES

we use index 8 for SET ADDER (extracting R) and index 5 for RED DATES (extracting A).

The final message reads OPPORTUNITY OR CURIOSITY OF NASA, cluing the final answer MARS ROVER.