Basement Pantry

Anand Sarwate

HINTS:
SOLUTION:

Each of the clues is for a six letter word:

Apathy TORPOR
Bar in Maine, e.g. HARBOR
Braided bread (alt.) CHALAH
Brazilian mister SENHOR
Darmstadt province HESSEN
Fatty PORKER
Hired thugs MUSCLE
Indonesian island BORNEO
Invitation to pray OREMUS
Kazakh mountain sheep ARKHAR
Kidd's Tanzanian hideout MESALI
Kristol, e.g. (abbrev.) NEOCON
Laser inventor MAIMAN
Leighton company AKAMAI
Like fly sketch comedy troupe PLUSHY
Make dim (obs., rare) ENDARK
Many frequent drinkers LUSHES
Most timid SHYEST
Pakistan city LAHORE
Purim book ESTHER
Rail genus RALLUS
Smart CLEVER
Smog monster HEDORA
Speaker ORATOR
Swift god HERMES
Symptom of head ringworm KERION
Thickets (obs.) HORSTS
Tropical fruits MANGOS
Whistler or rockling GOSSET
Zambian cooking hut INSAKA

The trigrams in the words overlap like this:

END ARK HAR BOR NEO CON
CHA LAH ORE MUS CLE VER
INS AKA MAI MAN GOS SAT
HED ORA TOR POR KER ION
PLU SHY EST HER MES ALI
RAL LUS HES SEN HOR STS
The first column spells END CHAINS SHED PLURAL. The last column spells CONVERSATIONALISTS. Shedding the plural gives the answer.

Answer: CONVERSATIONALIST