Lots going on in this preamble: a person appearing as an abbreviation (eh?), clues without definitions, unclued entries, and wordplay leading to an extra letter not entered. Plus something that appears in ODQ, and something else that doesn’t … looks like Google might have to come to the rescue.
I solved the top right corner fairly quickly, but instead of the rest of the puzzle proceeding at the same speed, it seemed to slow down to a crawl (the all fours type, not swimming). I didn’t really get stuck at any point, but the solve felt much longer than it actually was.
I started thinking that the acrosses might spell a quotation from the 21st century version of the Bible: “Yo! I am come among you”. Finally seeing “unmuz” led me to the entry in ODQ “I am come among you ‘unmuzzled'”, from a speech by William Gladstone. This is cryptically given by the extra letters as YO – I AM COME – U UNMUZZLED. They continue GOD’S ONLY MISTAKE BD, referring to Benjamin Disraeli’s bitchy interpretation of GOM, which stood for Grand Old Man to Gladstone’s supporters (news to me). WILLIAM GLADSTONE is an anagram of the undefined entries plus the abbreviation: WAIL INSTALLED GOM, and the unclued entries are INTOXICANT, DICTATOR, FIVE HUNDRED and BEGIN, which lead to BENJ (a drug) AMIN D ISRAELI (Menachem Begin). Finally GOM is to be highlighted in the centre of the grid.
Solving time: just short of two hours.
Legend:
ABC* = anagram
ABC< = reversal
abCDef = hidden
X = extra letters in wordplay
| ACROSS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FIVE HUNDRED | Unclued | |
| 10 | Y | ABSTERGE | purge: STY in A BERGEN (Norwegian city) – N (end of infectioN) |
| 12 | O | ELVEN | tricky: [E (English) + NOVEL]* |
| 13 | WAIL | undefined: sounds like WHALE | |
| 15 | I | east | point: in recipE AS ITemised |
| 16 | A | ASEPSES | exclusions of tiny organisms: [SEASCAPES – C (hundred)]* |
| 17 | M | IGLOO | residence in chilly setting: I (one) + GLOOM (darkness) |
| 19 | C | SITULA | old bucket: (LUCAS)* with IT inside |
| 21 | O | SNACK | light meal: A CO(O)K (chef half-heartedly, ie only one O) after SN (tin) |
| 22 | M | NUCLEI | central masses: CLEM (starve) amid [RUIN – R(right)]* |
| 23 | E | SWINGOMETER | psephological device: (I GREET NEWS)* about OM (award); I got a bit confused here, thinking psephology was the study of brain bumps (phrenology)!! |
| 25 | U | CTENES | swimming aids: CUTE (quaintly pleasing) + NES(S) (loch, mostly) |
| 27 | U | DRAMA | tense situation: DURHAM (county) – H (hotel) + A |
| 30 | N | SMOKER | sort of concert: S (special) MONIKER (nickname) – I |
| 31 | M | ALDER | tree: ALDERMAN (civic dignitary) – A N (new) |
| 32 | U | ARIDEST | most dry: DUE (tribute) in ARISTO (duke) – O |
| 34 | Z | BLAG | theft: LAG (prisoner) in BZ (Belize) |
| 35 | Z | UNAU | sloth: NAZE (head) – E (European) in UU (two universities) |
| 37 | L | LEWIS | Scottish island: LEW (lukewarm) + I + SqualL |
| 38 | DICTATOR | Unclued | |
| 39 | E | ONE-STEPPING | dancing: NEST (home) in O (old) E (English) EPPING (forest) |
| DOWN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | D | FAN | supporter: FAND (try, once) |
| 2 | G | IBIS | wading bird: GIB (rock, ie Gibraltar) + IS |
| 3 | O | ETYPIC | not conforming: EPIC (long poem) about TOY (sport) |
| 4 | D | URAEUS | snake symbol: DURA (grass) + SUE< (woman) |
| 5 | S | DELTA | letter abroad: SLED< (wintry transport) + TA (starts to Take Austrian) |
| 6 | O | RETINUE | train: (ROUTINE)* about E (Spain) |
| 7 | N | ELEGY | mournful song: LEG (on, à la cricket) in NEY (old marshal) |
| 8 | L | MESODERMS | layers of cells: SOLDER (join) in MEMOS (notes) – O (nothing) |
| 9 | INTOXICANT | Unclued | |
| 11 | Y | SEESAWED | went up and down: SYE (strain) + SD (Swaziland) laden with AWE (fear) |
| 14 | M | ISLE OF MAN | British territory: (FILM NAMES)* acquiring O (Oscar) |
| 16 | I | ASSOCIABLE | describing linked ideas thus: SOC (society) in ASIA (the East) + BILE (humour) |
| 18 | INSTALLED | undefined: IN (popular) STALL (trick) + ED (journalist) | |
| 20 | S | CLEAREST | extremely obvious: LEAR (king) beset by (SECTS)* |
| 24 | T | NECROSE | effect end of vivid material: (CENSOR)* + TE (note) |
| 26 | A | HORACE | poet: HOAR (white) ACE (expert) |
| 28 | K | REDCAP | military policeman: (PARKED)* about C (college) |
| 29 | BEGIN | Unclued | |
| 30 | E | STUDS | bosses: SET (arranged) + PUDS (hands) – P (pressure) |
| 33 | B | SOON | early: BOON (blessing) after S (start of Service) |
| 36 | D | ERG | measure of work: in hERD Gauged |
Enjoyable puzzle, not particularly difficult, I got the idea fairly early on from BD and the reference to ‘rival’ in the preamble.
Another puzzle on the occasion of the bicentenary of the birth of William Gladstone (29 December 1809)? (There was also Guardian 24,893 by Pasquale.)