Sounds like there may be a seasonal theme here – Brussels Sprouts – tasty. Across clues are normal, whilst the downs have misprinted definitions – sounds fun. Then there is some modification required to the final grid
And fun it was.
Nothing overly tricky in the down clues – nice and gentle for Christmas time. Once completed the down clues yielded READ FIFTH CLUE LETTERS and when the fifth letter of each clue is read it gives LIKE VICTORIA WOOD’S VERY TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS.
This allows the perimeter to be filled with Presents, Crackers, Doors slamming, People bursting into tears(underneath ‘prese’of present.
These were all around a BIG DEAD THING (columns 6,7,8) which needed to be removed as per the full saying:
“It will be a very traditional Christmas, with presents, crackers, doors slamming and people bursting into tears, but without the big dead thing in the middle.”
A lovely puzzle summing up the modern feelings of Christmas very nicely. Thanks Chalicea and a happy new year to all.
Key Underline = definition; * = Anagram; Rev. = Reversed; DD = double definition
ACROSS
| L | 8 Small flaws starting to trouble listeners (5) T (starting to trouble) + ears (listeners) = TEARS |
| I | 10 Old-timers’ dances’ sudden sideways movement (5) DD = VOLTE |
| K | 12 Knockando’s casual over arriving the wrong way (4) O(over) + Rev. (indicated by the wrong way) arr (arriving) = ORRA{Knockando is a Scottish whisky) |
| E | 13 Sententious vampire’s decapitated and clothed in gold (8) Dracula – d (vampire’s decapitated) clothed in Or (gold) = ORACULAR |
| V | 14 Behave in a particular way; finishing after time (4) End (finishing) after t(time) = TEND |
| I | 15Warning in the manner of the marines (5) A la (in the manner of) + rm (marines) = ALARM |
| C | 16 Tobacco in Perth; en famille occasionally snuffed measure (7) aN fAmIlLe (occasionally snuffed)+ rod (measure) NAILROD |
| T | 17 Chortled! Note how, at first, river goes backwards! (6) Te (note) + h (how at first) + Rev.(Dee(river))= TEHEED |
| O | 20 Ed’s vow: he’s embracing absolute temperance principally (5) He’s around (embracing) a (absolute) + t (temperance principally) = HEAST |
| R | 22 Pop group’s engagement; fun for some (3) DD GIG |
| I | 24 Jinxing once damaged sailing boats with every piece of slats missing? (7) (sailing boats – slats)* = OBIAING |
| A | 26 Make amorous advances stripping faint with emotion! (3) Swoon (faint with emotion) – sn (stripping) = WOO |
| W | 27 Such was Stalin’s idea, prevent free expression arresting university lecturer (5) Gag (prevent free expression) around ul (university lecturer) = GULAG |
| O | 31 Harmonious if not nuanced regularly (6, two words) If NoT nUaNcEd = IN TUNE |
| O | 33 Festoons moth-eaten gauzes clumsily around oneself (7) (gauzes)* around i(oneself) = AGUIZES |
| D | 35 Roundels topped Greek vessels (5) Golpes(roundels) – g (topped) = OLPES |
| S | 36 When sent back, grass from Kilmarnock acts as informer (4) Rev. Star (Scottish grass) = RATS |
| V | 37 Revivers, maybe, preposterous crone consumed in great bounds in Speyside (8) Stens (Scottish bounds) around Rev. (hag – indicated by preposterous) = STENGAHS |
| E | 38 Noble almost beheaded with no end of ceremony (4) Nearly (almost) – n (beheaded) – y (no end of ceremony) = EARL |
| R | 39 Navy recruits European master to appoint new crew (5) Rn (navy) around e (European) + ma(master) = REMAN |
| Y | 40 Array of buckets raising water turned on circulated air (5) Rev. On + Rev(air) = NORIA |
DOWN
| R | 1 Unnaturally reared flesh study (6) Unnaturally reared fresh study (reared)* = REREAD |
| E | 2 Mistreated in anger, acquiring foes, for example (7) Mistreated in anger, acquiring fees, for example (in anger)* = EARNING |
| A | 3 Base and primarily servile half of army guarding king grovel in a band? (5) Base and primarily servile half of army guarding king gravel in a band? E (base) + s (primarily servile) + ar (half of army) around k (king) = ESKAR |
| D | 4 Tried a distraught verbal renunciation (6) Tried a distraught verbal denunciation (tried a)* = TIRADE |
| F | 5 Primitive lighters used this pole with bit of tallow on top of hook (6) Primitive fighters used this pole with bit of tallow on top of hook Spar(pole) + t (bit of tallow) + h (start of hook)SPARTH |
| I | 6 Twisted rogue gobbling old woman’s stuff adding passage of food (8) Twisted rogue gobbling old woman’s stuff aiding passage of food (rogue)* around hag (old woman) = ROUGHAGE |
| F | 7 Path in normal park quite creepy essentially (5) Path in formal park quite creepy essentially All (quite) + ee (cr ee py essentially) = ALLEE |
| T | 9 Sets of free creatures in schools or regularly pursued by bullies and insults at first (6) Sets of tree creatures in schools or regularly pursued by bullies and insults at first sChOoLs Or (regularly) = b + I (bullies and insults at first) = COLOBI |
| H | 11 OTT in retrospect, clutching old pain gave a particular yearning for something (6, two words) OTT in retrospect, clutching old pain have a particular yearning for something Rev OTT around ake (old pain) = TAKE TO |
| C | 18 Outlandish local number (first half only) played in vertical sections (8) Outlandish local number (first half only) placed in vertical sections (local + num)* = COLUMNAL |
| L | 19 Cabal without limits producing covering garment of Arab bands (3) Cabal without limits producing covering garment of Arab lands Cabal – cl = ABA |
| U | 21 Scotch otter area (3) Scotch utter area DD END |
| E | 23 Catch firm dubiously editing with director absent (6) Catch fire dubiously editing with director absent (editing – d (director))* = IGNITE |
| L | 25 Absorb hunch, possibly, during old romance (6) Absorb lunch, possibly, during old romance In (during) + gest(opd romance) = INGEST |
| E | 26 Obtaining women for bishop, market initially invited scorn? (7) Obtaining women for bishop, market initially invited score? Bazaar (market) swapping b(bishop) for w (woman) + i(invited initially) = WAZA-ARI (judo score) |
| T | 28 An Australian ice, great! Almost gloated when dancing (6) An Australian ice, treat! Almost gloated when dancing (gloated-d)* = GELATO |
| T | 29 In mythology, she was changed to a tree; plane? (6) In mythology, she was changed to a tree; plant? DD DAPHNE |
| E | 30 Dock misshapen timber (6) Deck misshapen timber (timber)* = BETRIM |
| R | 32 Extract from lathe mechanism providing stem of wood (5) Extract from lathe mechanism providing stem of word Hidden (laTHE MEchanism) = THEME |
| S | 34 Disastrously suing exploiting horde, maybe (5) Disastrously suing exploiting horse, maybe (suing)* = USING (horse being slang for heroin) |
‘A lovely puzzle…’ – I wholeheartedly agree. And an impressive feat to put the hidden message in those fifth letters – I am no setter, but I assume it must be easier to do this with first letters?…
Many thanks to Twencelas for such a warm and detailed blog and of course to mc_rapper67 and a Happy New Year to both with thanks for the regular blogs. Of course we should have included in this week’s solution to Just Brussels Sprouts that Victoria Woods’ sketch was about a vegetarian Christmas – thus the missing turkey (but space is always limited).
Intriguingly, mc_rapper67, it is easier to fit the message into the fifth than the first or third letter. I have done all three before and learnt that the fifth gives more leeway – there’s room for manipulation. The fourth is always generous but that depends on how many clues there are for the extra letters to spell the message out.
I just want people to know what a shambles the Daily Telegraph puzzles website is for subscribers. After being out of action for over two months it has returned but although they took my money for another year’s subscription three weeks ago they say my membership has expired. They do not answer emails and you cannot get through on the phone (I gave it an hour holding the line during which I listened to Dvorak’s 6th Symphony twice over). They only thing they are good at is taking your money – no inefficiency or technical problems there. So I will contact my credit card people to tell them I am not getting the service I paid for and get a refund that way. Do not subscribe to the Daily Telegraph!
Tony, if you can contact me at EVeditor@telegraph.co.uk, I’ll email you a copy of tomorrow’s EV. Hopefully this will help until your access is restored.
Chris Lancaster
Enigmatic Variations Editor
Thank you, Samuel, and sorry for the rant but yesterday afternoon after checking with my bank that the fault was not at their end I told them to go for a refund, so it’s likely that I am not entitled to any more puzzles. I was patient enough when the website was down but when it reappeared it was clear that some people could access it so why couldn’t they give me a password that would work? If I’d had a basic response or the offer of a partial refund it woud have made a difference but it’s clear there is chaos over there. Why didn’t they leave the old website running while they developed the new one? Sure it had bugs but it worked most of the time. So thanks anyway but the Listener and Inquisitor crosswords will be enough for me.
Tony, I passed on your comments to the Teegraph and they are very sorry about the problems you are having and will do their utmost to rectify the situation. Can you contact me at shirleycurran@orange.fr and I’ll forward the correspondence.
I’d just like to say publicly that I got a working password today and all is well! My sincere thanks to those who took an interest and intervened on my behalf and sorry for any drama I caused. Here’s to many more EVs!