A nice short preamble: five answers have one letter added or removed and then arranged for entry. The lengths for these clues refer to the answer, rather than entry, lengths, so they are easily identified. The five letters can be arranged to form a word which explains how to resolve the clashes in every other entry.
This puzzle took a bit longer than the average for the last few weeks, just over two hours, but that is quite short for the average Oxymoron (Schadenfreude) puzzle. Eight clues solved after the first pass, and about the same again before the number of clashes of Bs and Ls started looking suspicious. Soon after, I had the five letters for the important word, LSBIS, leading to BLISS as the word to resolve the clashes. So all the BLs become S. The title refers to Sir Arthur Bliss, and 2 August is the 118th anniversary of his birth. I suppose that it’s not possible, even for Oxymoron to get the remarkable timing shown in Schadenfreude’s Inquisitor 135 with its 50th and 100th anniversaries for Cockerell and Bleriot respectively.
So, time for all the B/L clashes to be replaced, with ample opportunity for changing a B too many or an L too few!
Legend:
ABC* = anagram
ABC< = reversal
abCDef = hidden
B or L = clashing B or L
X or Y = extra or missing letters for five-letter word
| ACROSS | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | LAPILLI | pieces of lava: LAP (surround) ILL (distressed) I (island) |
| 7 | SLABS | pieces of cake: SLAB (sticky) S (square) |
| 12 | INQILAB | revolution: IN (popular) Q (queen) I (in) LAB (Labour) |
| 13 | OILCLOTH | waterproof: SOIL (dirty, vt) – S (section) + CLOTH (sails) |
| 14 | AUTOPSIED | having a pair of leafy parts (DIPETALOUS): (DOES A TULIP)* |
| 15 | POLSKA | vessel (KOPAL): KA (spirit) in POL (half POLand) |
| 16 | DEBTS | duties: D (director) + BEST* |
| 18 | OBAS | more than one ruler: OB (died) AS (in year of salvation, anno salutis |
| 19 | BODES LAW | astronomer’s rule: (E WAS BOLD)*; Johann Bode’s law relating to the relative distances of the planets; you’ll have to look under Law in Chambers to find it |
| 22 | SURREBUT | lawyer’s reply: SURE (certain) including R (right) + BUT (objection) |
| 25 | TOLA | weight: TO (of) LA (note) |
| 27 | TOLED | used a decoy: TOD (sly chap) trapping LE (the French) |
| 30 | FALLAL | knick-knack: LA (look) in FALL (ruin, vt) |
| 32 | BLETHERER | gossip (person): LET (allowed) HE (tom, =male) in BRER (brother, southern US) |
| 33 | GLORIOLE | gold ring (halo): GL (extremely GracefuL) ORIOLE (bird) |
| 34 | ABBASID | descendant of Mohammed’s uncle: ABBA (father) S (succeeded) ID (the same) |
| 35 | BIBBY | stateroom: BIB (drink) BY (in reserve) |
| 36 | GOOBERS | nuts: GO (leave) + [B (bachelor) SORE]* |
| DOWN | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BOOKPOST | method of transmitting reading material: OB< (old boy) OK (with approval) POST (announce) |
| 2 | AMIDOL | developer (photographic): A + M (master) IDOL (fantasy) |
| 3 | PABULAR | of food: P (priest) + TABULAR (forming a table) – T (tons) |
| 4 | INCAS | lives in a shack (CABINS): CAIN (murderer) guarding B (black) + S (son) |
| 5 | BUBUKLE | red pimple: BUB (baby, Aus) LUKE* |
| 6 | INTOED | famous (NOTED): [D (dutch) ETON (school)]< |
| 8 | BIASES | influences: BASES (first principles) constraining I (current) |
| 9 | ABOIL | in excited state: A + BOIL (cook) |
| 10 | LACET | braiding: ACE (of highest quality) in LT (centre of boLTon) |
| 11 | SLED | conveyance without wheels: LED (was in front) after S (seconds) |
| 17 | SWABBERS | game of cards: WAS* + BB (two bishops) ER (Elizabeth) S (stokes); stokes as in the measure of kinematic viscosity |
| 20 | ETAERIO | Greek trilogy (ORESTEIA): [TIRESOME – M (money)]* |
| 21 | BOB HOPE | American entertainer: BO (a man) B (born) HOPE (confidence) |
| 23 | RETRAL | towards the back: [R (rook) + LATER]* |
| 24 | LIEBIG | beef extract: LIE (depend) BIG (very important) |
| 26 | BARBER | strap (barber, slang): B (barrels) in BARE (empty) R (back of cellaR) |
| 28 | OBOLI | pieces (coins): LOBO< (wolf) + I (in) |
| 29 | BE ALL | everything that will be (Shak): LABEL* |
| 31 | BRILL | 2 meanings: excellent & fish |
| 32 | LEAL | faithful: in fickLE ALthough |