Balancing Acts, eh? What sort of acrobatics does Nudd have in store? He/She/It tells us to highlight “the work in which the quotation was originally attributed”. That’s an odd instruction – what can it mean? (Well, it’s fairly clear what it means, but what does it imply about the quotation?)
A fair mixture of the relatively easy (16 across, 34 down) and the somewhat trickier (for me, 8 down was one such), but the main challenge presented was due to the obscurity of many words used – but that’s all part of the enjoyment, isn’t it? I was amused to see the word ‘ned’ make an appearance.
The phrase spelled out by the extra is DWARFS ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS and what have we here? It’s an eclectic selection of dwarfs and giants.
The work to be highlighted is the METALOGICON which is not one of the evil transformers, but a book written by John of Salisbury. In it, John attributes the phrase, not to the Oasis brothers, but to Bernard of Chartres (strange that he and John had the same middle name). But you knew all that already.
Actually, what John wrote was “nanos gigantium humeris insidentes”, but doubtless you knew that also.
John doesn’t tell us how the dwarfs got there or how the giants feel about it.
Notation
(xxx) = definition
{xxx} = (anagram/homophone/container/etc.) indicator
XXX* = anagram
< = reversal
xxx = unused letter(s)
DAW = extra letter
Please post a comment if the explanations are not clear.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AWNED | Bearded Scots hooligan stalking old simpleton (5) | bearded: DAW + NED (Scots hooligan){stalking} |
| 5 | NIGGLING | Fussy old gang seizes lecturer after trap backfires (8) | fussy: <GIN (trap){backfires} + ins. {seizes} of L (lecturer) in GING (old gang) |
| 11 | PLANNER | One with scheme for introduction of peregrine falcon (7) | one with scheme: P (introduction of Peregrine) + LANNER (falcon) |
| 12 | BILIMBI | Fruit in bisexual prisons (7) | fruit: BI (bisexual) + LIMBI (prisons) |
| 15 | BLAE | Cameron’s livid to remain nursing old score (4) | Cameron’s {Scots} livid: ins. {nursing} of LAW (old score) in BE (remain) |
| 16 | SIDEARM | Criminal admires weapon (7) | weapon: ADMIRES* {criminal} |
| 17 | RELY | Depend on fresh supply of horses (4) | depend on: RELAY (supply of horses) |
| 18 | GLEN | Depression regularly encountered in galleons (4) | depression: GaLlEoNs {regularly encountered} |
| 19 | STROP | Censure strong work (5) | censure: STR (strong) + OP (work) |
| 20 | CEREUS | Coat with wax one cactus (6) | cactus: CERE (coat with wax) US (one) |
| 21 | CHATTY | Small child irritable and dirty down under (6) | dirty down under: CH (small child) + RATTY (irritable) |
| 23 | COATI | Quote from Shakespeare provided that carnivore (5) | carnivore: COAT (quote from Shakespeare) + IF (provided that) |
| 25 | NEO | One desecrated language (3) | language: ONE* {desecrated} |
| 26 | FLORA | Vegetable life flourished on rail (5) | vegetable life: FL (flourished) + SORA (rail) |
| 27 | HOKING | Losing nerve, missing first of cues and overacting (6) | overacting: cHOKING (losing nerve){missing first of Cues} |
| 28 | ORMOLU | Yellow mould in the North used initially for gold-leaf (6) | gold-leaf: OR (yellow) + MOOL (mould in the North) + U (Used initially) |
| 30 | ALGAE | Tangles possibly unstable galena (5) | tangles possibly: GALENA* {unstable} |
| 33 | BEMA | Where an orator might speak in coaster without a sign of hesitation? (4) | where an orator might speak: removal {without} of ER (a sign of hesitation) from BEERMAT (coaster) |
| 35 | GEST | Mercury set about old romance (4) | old romance: HG (mercury) + SET* {about} |
| 36 | TEAR GAS | Mace perhaps found in Great Sea wreck (7, two words) | mace perhaps: GREATSEA* {wreck} |
| 37 | OLID | Substantial rank (4) | rank: SOLID (substantial) |
| 39 | PRICKLE | Run into troublesome child (a little pain) (7) | a little pain: ins. of R {run} into PICKLE (troublesome child) |
| 41 | APOLOGY | Bertie maybe abandons study of writing specimen barely worthy of its name (7) | specimen barely worthy of its name: removal {abandons} of GR (Bertie maybe) from GRAPHOLOGY (study of writing) |
| 42 | SIRENIAN | Egyptian god’s restricting space for aquatic mammal (8) | ins. {restricting} of EN (space) in OSIRIAN (Egyptian god’s): |
| 43 | SNIPS | Hand-shears small antelope applying metric horsepower (5) | hand-shears: SUNI (small antelope) + PS (metric horsepower) |
| Down | |||
| 1 | ALBERICH/ATLAS | Unclued | |
| 2 | NIL | Zero number – incorrect (3) | zero: N (number) + ILL (incorrect) |
| 3 | EVIL | Old unfortunate lived recklessly (4) | old unfortunate: LIVED* (recklessly) |
| 4 | DAMAGE | Loss from cheese over a period of time (6) | loss: EDAM (cheese) + AGE (a period of time) |
| 5 | NIBELUNG/BAUGI | Unclued | |
| 6 | GLOIN/CORMORAN | Unclued | |
| 7 | GAUDS | Paints cheeks – once – covering complexion in certain places with something impressive (5) | paints cheeks – once: ins. {covering} of RUD (complexion in certain places) in GAS (something impressive) |
| 8 | INVAR | Alloy of unalterable nature’s shedding iodine – not clever (5) | alloy: removal {shedding, not} of I (iodine) and ABLE (clever) from INVARIABLE (of unalterable nature) |
| 9 | GRUMPY/ANTAEUS | Unclued | |
| 10 | WINE COOLER | Graves might be found in this pig pen (10, two words) | graves might be found in this: SWINE (pig) + COOLER (pen) |
| 11 | PISÉ | Clay is penned by mystery author (4) | clay: ins. {penned} of IS in POE (mystery author) |
| 13 | METAL | Loud rock music from FM and elsewhere… (5) | loud rock music: FM + ET AL. (and elsewhere) |
| 14 | PROTRUSILE | …progressive, lustier playing, can be pushed out (10) | can be pushed out: PROG (progressive) + LUSTIER* {playing} |
| 15 | BLEAK | Desolate open country seized by bank (5) | desolate: ins. {seized} of LEA (open country) in BK (bank) |
| 22 | TOLED | American’s lured to work with education (5) | American’s lured: TOIL (to work) + ED (education) |
| 24 | TIARA | Return of a traitor capturing Italy’s papal office (5) | papal office: ins. {capturing} of I (Italy) |
| 29 | MALIKS | Indian employers’ mother takes holiday in the North (6) | Indian employers: MA (mother) + LAIKS (takes holiday in the North) |
| 31 | GATOR | Golf course echoing one found in the Everglades () | one found in the Everglades: G (golf) + |
| 32 | EGG ON | Encourage negotiable grade (5, two words) | encourage: NEG (negotiable) + GON (grade) |
| 34 | ESPY | Observe eccentric types (4) | observe: TYPES* {eccentric) |
| 38 | ICON | Picture sonic explosion (4) | picture: SONIC* {explosion} |
| 40 | KAI | A meal in Auckland – mostly cabbage (3) | a meal in Auckland: KAIl (cabbage){mostly} |