Charybdis is one of my favourite setters (mind you I’ve got quite a few). His puzzles are always sound and often quirky… like his recent Listener, #4268 Check This Out last November.
Here we had seven thematic items to be discovered in the perimeter, plus seven clues that needed to be shortened before entry, and 26 clues with an extra letter that had to be removed spelling out something helpful. Finally, a well-known phrase needed highlighting.
Although I started off well enough, with 8ac NARWHAL and 11ac NOON, I found a lot of the clues fairly tricky. I got DR as the letters missing from 2dn DROWNED on my first pass through the clues, but gave it little thought. However, a short while later, when I solved 24ac GABONESE which had a 3-letter entry (we were given answer lengths, and I assumed final entries would be real words), dropping BONES enabled me to spot the medical link. What’s more, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” immediately popped into my head, and it was (29, two words).
Not that the revelation helped me a huge amount with the rest of the grid, except that it seemed likely that the perimeter was made up of seven types of apple. However, when it was finally complete, highlighting the proverb in the shape of an apple was a delight.
The seven apples in the perimeter were: CODLIN, POMROY, SNOW, RUSSET, BRAMLEY, SEEK-NO-FURTHER and RENNET.
The seven doctors missing from the entries were PILLS, BONES, DOC, PHYS, MO, DR and MEDIC.
Finally, the extra letters in the clues, and anagram of the seven doctors, spelt out “D simply bins chomped cores.” I must admit that this had (has) me slightly confused as to who D might be.
As hoped, a magical little gem from Charybdis. Thanks.
Legend:
Definition in clue
word ord = word with superfluous letter in clue
[QUACK] = letters dropped from answer
ABC* = anagram
ABC< = reversal
abCDef = hidden
| ACROSS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No | Entry | Superfluous Letter |
Clue and Explanation |
| 8 | NARWHAL | Potty animal worshipper: “It could be I’m soppier with this big-toothed creature” (7) [Third Pass] |
|
| 10 | OOLOGY | D | Study of what whites are kept in? The study of wine has no OENOLOGY (study of wine) – EN |
| 11 | NOON | Almost nobody gives you time of day (4) NO-ON[e] (nobody) |
|
| 13 | OVERS[PILLS] | Tipsy solvers grabbing sauce back producing slops (10) SOLVERS* containing LIP< (sauce) |
|
| 15 | ENGELS | S | Social theorist’s base for all Scots in group having ANGELS (group having wings) with E (base) for A (all, Scottish) |
| 16 | LAWMEN | I | Maybe Californian LA WOMEN (maybe Californian, ie Los Angeles, babes) – O (love) |
| 19 | RYA | M | ARY* |
| 20 | DIPPY | P | Unhinged two pianos in work requiring no PP (two pianos) in DIY (work requiring no pro) |
| 22 | DADO | L | D (god) + ADO (flap) |
| 23 | DSO | Y | Within seconds in seconDS Ou |
| 24 | GA[BONES]E | West African sailor’s old — overcome by genes undergoing mutation (8) AB (sailor) O (old) in GENES* |
|
| 25 | SEAL | Sticky label for Xmas parcel to tie up (4) 2 meanings |
|
| 26 | EAVES | Where to pick things up days before, say? (5) sounds like EVES (days before) |
|
| 29 | [DOC]KING | Reducing amount of sorrel by meadow (7) DOCK (sorrel) + ING (meadow) |
|
| 31 | VOR | B | 2 meanings |
| 32 | HYADES | I | Five HYA (sounds like ‘higher’ further up) + DES[k] (table, a bit short) |
| 35 | RATU | N | Literature reveals there’s in liteRATUre |
| 36 | KNIFE | S | <em>Maybe FINK< (nark) + E (piece of Evidence) |
| 38 | [PHYS]ALIAS | Plenty, though not fast, lash out — I like bluebottles (9) (PLENTY – LENT (fast) + LASH)* + I + AS (like) |
|
| 40 | REEL | Dance and have odd look around (4) LEER< (odd look) |
|
| 41 | VENO[MO]US | Venerable old rodent cut down with poison (8) VEN (venerable) + O (old) + MOUS[e] (rodent, cut down) |
|
| 43 | YELLS | O | Screams from two LL (two Latins) trapped by YES (rather) |
| 44 | DOTE | L | Show D (daughter) + TOE* |
| 45 | FA CUPS | D | A lot of exposed cliff gives rise to the trophies of big FAC[e](exposed cliff, lot of) + UPS (gives rise to) |
| 46 | THEAVE | Rob’s said to be a lamb locally (6) sounds like ‘thieve’ |
|
| DOWN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No | Entry | Superfluous Letter |
Clue and Explanation |
| 1 | TAWNY | West and North Scottish river harbours and port (5) W (west) N (north) in TAY (Scottish river) |
|
| 2 | [DR]OWNED | Scotch mist — unruly teenager soaked to the skin (7) DROW (Scotch mist) + NED (unruly teenager) |
|
| 3 | DHOL | When cycling get a grip on cylindrical drum (4) HOLD (get a grip) cycled, ie letters moved from front to back |
|
| 4 | LAOS | Sound of an insect in the country (4) sounds like ‘louse’ (an insect) |
|
| 5 | NOBLY | C | League gets on by all working like (L (league) + ON BY)* |
| 6 | POO | H | OOP< |
| 7 | MOE | O | Charybdis holds zip — old strained ME (Charybdis) containing O (zip, ie nothing) |
| 9 | RAGAS | M | Right long story about R (right) + SAGA< (long story) |
| 12 | NAPE | P | Scrag’s back with N (en) + APE (nitwit) |
| 14 | RED ROT | E | Passionate when RED HOT (passionate) with H (heroin) as R (resistance) |
| 17 | AMEN | D | A (acre) + MEN (employees) |
| 18 | MALVAS | Hollyhocks etc (when they’re around in the Falklands) (6) when around IN, they are MALVINAS (Falklands); not to us though! |
|
| 21 | PASSERES | A lot of old birds die before start of spring (8) PASS (die) ERE (before) + S (start of Spring) |
|
| 23 | DAY | Diamonds for ever, or a time in vogue? (3) D (diamonds) + AY (for ever) |
|
| 25 | SILL | C | Almost SILL[y] (rash, almost) |
| 27 | VAN EYCK | O | Painter no longer with us VANE (wing) + YUCK (disgusting material) – U (for all to see, ie film classification) |
| 28 | EDILE | R | Magistrate lied dreadfully with first hint of LIED* + E (first of Ejection) |
| 30 | GRANDAM | E | MARG< holding AND |
| 33 | FAULTY | S | Defective ability to smell, say, when FACULTY (ability to smell, eg) – C (cent) |
| 34 | DIESEL | ______ is lead free with energy for acceleration? (6) (IS LEAD)* with E(energy) replacing A (acceleration); &lit. |
|
| 37 | FLYPE | What planes do on exercises — and back to strip? (5) FLY (what planes do) + PE(exercises) |
|
| 39 | CUTER | Morag’s ankle — right is more appealing (5) CUTE (ankle, Scottish) + R (right) |
|
| 42 | [MEDIC]EAN | Base to contain bones of Florence’s grand family (8) MEAN (base) containing DICE (bones) |
|
This was perhaps my favourite puzzle of 2013. For sheer enjoyment and amount of thematic material packed into the grid, I don’t think it could be bettered. As Dave has already said, the apple-shaped quotation was a great piece of work… And I took “D” to indicate “Doctor”!