I have no idea what the title means, although it does sound a bit like a Swedish clothing company … or is that Hennes & Mauritz?
Each across clue has a misprint, sometimes in an unchecked cell, with the correct letters spelling out a phrase. Then there are 65 cells to highlight. I don’t know if I’ve got enough ink!
Pretty straightforward fare, I thought, the phrase being THREE SHEETS TO THE WIND, and one word for DRUNK requiring highlighting in each column of the finished grid. In column order they are: WET – OILED – TANKED – FOU – HIGH – INCAPABLE – FULL – LIT – BLIND – MORTAL – MERRY – LEGLESS
A good solid puzzle from Oxymoron (aka Schadenfreude). And the title gives the real first names of Brahms and Liszt!!
Solving time: about 1¾ hours.
Legend:
ABC* = anagram
ABC< = reversal
abCDef = hidden
X = correct letters / misprints in across clues; in 1ac, for example, the T is the correct letter, clue answer is WAFT, and entry is WAFF.
| ACROSS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | T | WAFF | flag (WAFT): A FT (one foot) with W (wide) at the front |
| 5 | H | SAMPMIRE | plant with fleshy leaves (SAMPHIRE): (PIE + MARSH)* |
| 10 | R | ESCOITS | guards (ESCORTS): C (caught) in E (English) SORTS (ranks) |
| 11 | E | IBORIA | two European ones (ie countries, viz IBERIA, Spain and Portugal): LIBERIA (West African country) – L (left) |
| 12 | E | SUGARLD | sweet (SUGARED): GUS< (boy sent back) + A (active) RED (communist) |
| 15 | S | BITTH | posts on board (BITTS): BITS (small tools) securing T (the) |
| 16 | H | IOTTIE | heat producer (ie hot-water bottle, HOTTIE): HIE (hasten) holding OTT (excessive, ie over the top) |
| 17 | E | ACAR | tree (ACER): R (rook) on ACE (unreachable service) |
| 19 | E | NOTBAING | non-existent state (NOT-BEING): O (of) T (Troy) BEING (present) after N (heleN’s termination) |
| 21 | T | CONEECK | strife (CONTECK): CONTE (short story) + K (king) about C (Catholic) |
| 26 | S | TRIAGEE | more than one sorting out (TRIAGES): (A TIGER’S)* |
| 27 | T | FLESHPON | striptease club (FLESH POT): (LEFT POSH)* |
| 29 | O | MMDS | public examination at Oxford (MODS): MO (doctor) + D (‘d, short form of did) + S (special) |
| 30 | T | PEDARA | basket (PETARA): TAR (salt, as in sailor) in PEA (vegetable) |
| 32 | H | DIEMS | William’s winter (HIEMS, Shakespeare): HIS (greetings) taking ME< |
| 34 | E | ABUSAGR | improper use (ABUSAGE): A + AGE (long time) outside BUS (public transport) |
| 35 | W | LOEFUL | wretched (WOEFUL): [O (old) W (women)]< + E (base) + FUL(L) (mostly strong) |
| 36 | I | LEGERON | prisoner’s restraint (LEG-IRON): (ONE GIRL)* |
| 37 | N | ORDATELY | with much decoration (ORNATELY): OR (gold) + NEATLY* |
| 38 | D | RYNS | support for millstone (RYND): sounds like RIND (outside) |
| DOWN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WETBACK | illegal immigrant: W (with) + ET (alien) + BACK (support) | |
| 2 | ASTI | wine: AS (like) + IT< (the other) | |
| 3 | FOUTRES | worthless and despicable chaps from Perth (Scotland): FOU(L) (almost filthy) + TRES (very) | |
| 4 | HIGH-TECH | state-of-the-art: H (hospital) + TECH (college) admits GI< (retired soldier) H (heroin) | |
| 5 | STAIN | spot: TA (volunteers) in SIN (anger, perhaps) | |
| 6 | MILITAR | once warlike: (MILITAR + ONE)* = ELIMINATOR | |
| 7 | MORT | 2 meanings: a great deal, for some & loose woman | |
| 8 | IRITIS | problem with the eye: IS (exists) after I (one) RIT (scratch) | |
| 9 | EALE | probably Hamlet’s evil (from Hamlet): E (English) ALE (porter) | |
| 13 | ROOK | card sharp: CROOK (criminal) – C (clubs) | |
| 14 | LINKED | went arm-in-arm: K (knight) in LINE (succession) + D (daughter) | |
| 18 | COILED | wound (past of wind): COLE (old king) D (died) receiving I (one) | |
| 20 | BLINDAGE | temporary screen: LINDA (girl) G (good) in BED – D (director) | |
| 22 | CAPABLE | qualified: AB (sailor) in PLACE* | |
| 23 | LAMIGER | cripple: A (accepted) MIG (fighter) in in LE (French the) R (resistence) | |
| 24 | LESSONS | tellings off: SON (boy) in LESS (fewer) | |
| 25 | KEDGED | warped: EDGE (crest) with DK< (dark) outside | |
| 26 | TOFU | cooking paste: in extracT OF Cooking | |
| 28 | NOSEY | inquisitive: [YE (the old) SON (disciple)]< | |
| 30 | POLO | dance: (l)OL(a) (Lola stripped) in PO (pole) | |
| 31 | ALFA | grass: A (accepted) + F (fellow) in LA (US city) | |
| 33 | MOON | show can (= buttocks, ie show bum): MO (tick) ON (over); a saucy little clue to finish! | |
Hi Dave,
The title refers to Brahms and Liszt, rhyming slang for ‘p*ss*d’.
Hi Chunter,
Yes, I did suss it in the end, thanks to Google; the opening line just meant that I had no idea when I started what the title meant. I should have explained at the end, but I assumed everyone knew what B&L meant; for any foreign solvers I should have been more explicit, for which I apologise. It would be interesting to know how many people correctly interpreted the title from the word go … not that it would have helped that much.
Dave.
I’ m afraid (not having done the puzzle) that I just read your first sentence. A NY resolution – read entire post before replying to it!