Some normal clues to be jumbled and some clues with additional letters in the wordplay to be entered normally. The extra letters spelling out the adventurous group who are in two symmetrically placed areas in the final grid. Sounds like a jigsaw puzzle.
Whilst the clues were relatively straight forward it proved quite a challenge fitting the letters into the grid. I needed the theme to complete it.
The extra letters spelt out FOUR CHILDREN AND A DOG – The famous five immediately sprang to mind. TIMMY was the first name I spotted in the lower right of the grid, then GEORGE from Courgette fell into place and soon JULIAN DICK and ANNE were added in a 5 by 5 square.
- JULIA
- NDICK
- ANNEG
- EORGE
- TIMMY
Symmetrically opposite this square managed to yield
- THEFA
- MOUSF
- IVEBY
- ENIDB
- LYTON
A lovely endgame certainly. The square of size five fitting perfectly with the theme.
Many thanks Piccadilly
Key:
* Anagram; Underline definition, rev. reverse
ACROSS
| F | 2 Write carelessly if replacing answer in word game (8) |
| Scrabble (word game) change if for a (answer) = SCRIBBLE | |
| *11 Extreme dislike of bowler opening for England (4) | |
| Hat (bowler) + e (opening for England) = HATE | |
| O | 12 Gold aristo wasted in country (7) |
| Au (gold) + (aristo)* = AUSTRIA | |
| *13 Impromptu tour of Uist happening by chance (10) | |
| (tour of Uist)* = FORTUITOUS | |
| *14 Part of speech backing appeal to Yemen’s leader for conciseness (7) | |
| Rev. verb (part of speech) + it (sex appeal + y (Yemen’s leader) = BREVITY | |
| U | 15 Part of the world Cats musical regularly visited (4) |
| cAtSmUsIcAl = ASIA | |
| *16 Playful talk hurtful in mature years (8) | |
| Bad (hurtful) + in + age (mature years) + BADINAGE | |
| R | 20 Long for local to give birth (4) |
| Yearn (long) = YEAN | |
| *21 Start to track South African turaco over European province (5) | |
| T (start to track) + Rev. (lory (South African turaco) = TYROL | |
| C | 22 Lacking oxygen, clean out effervescing liquid used in purification (6) |
| (clean out – o) = ELUANT | |
| 25 Sports grounds first had iai-do featured (6) | |
| H | Hidden firST HAD IAi-do = STADIA |
| *27 Get wild sheep from island in river flowing through Kazakhstan (5) | |
| I (isand) in Ural (river) = URIAL | |
| I | 28 Alien’s slippery slope (4) |
| (alien)* = LEAN | |
| *30 Dive, getting fish for young bird (8) | |
| Duck (dive) + ling (fish) = DUCKLING | |
| 31 Part of foot in loch, second of toes missing (4) | |
| L | In loch – o (second of toes) = INCH |
| *32 Horse overturned nest, upset seabirds (7) | |
| Rev. nag (horse) + (nest)* = GANNETS | |
| *36 Cutter goes off to find vegetables (10) | |
| (cutter goes) = Courgettes | |
| D | 37 Gift I left US leader (7) |
| President – I = PRESENT | |
| *38 The team from ‘Happy Endings’ showing TV award (4) | |
| End of The team from ‘Happy = EMMY | |
| R | 39 Train radar west? On the contrary (8) |
| (radar west)* = EASTWARD |
DOWN
| E | 1 Ferocious people are overcome by caustic remarks in the end (7) |
| Tart (caustic) + are + s (remarks in the end) + TARTARS | |
| *2 Thin fog is in Montana (4) | |
| Is in MT (Montana) = MIST | |
| *3 Navy chow, mostly stewed fish (7) | |
| (Navy chow – w)* = ANCHOVY | |
| *4 Broken denture I joined after separation (8) | |
| (denture I)* = REUNITED | |
| *5 Punches heads of fighters in boxing school (4) | |
| FIBS – heads of fighters in boxing school | |
| N | 6 Scorch piece of raw sweetbread (4) |
| Burn (scorch) + r (piece of raw) + BURR | |
| *7 Pretentious talk worries obstinately courageous people (8) | |
| Bull (pretentious talk) + dogs (worries) = BULLDOGS | |
| P | 8 Putting last of water in cup emptied square earthenware pot (5) |
| r (last of water) in cup + se (emptied square) = CRUSE | |
| L | 9 Time sculpting in Italy – year off for painter (7) |
| T (time_ + (in Italy – y)* + TITIAN | |
| U | 10 Planet having angstrom for radius? The devil! (5) |
| Saturn with a(angstrom) for r (radius) = SATAN | |
| *12 Fairy female? Yes (3) | |
| F (female) + ay (yes) = FAY | |
| *17 I party with former queen, a besotted admirer (8) | |
| I + do (party) + late (former) + r (quuen) = IDOLATER | |
| *18 Curse German making loud noise (4) | |
| Ban (curse) + g (German) = BANG | |
| *19 In France, I embraced a new woman (4) | |
| Je (I in french) around an (a new) = JANE | |
| *20 Source of light like the moon envelops Michigan at close of day (8) | |
| Lunar (like the moon) around Mi (Michigan) + y (close of day) = LUMINARY | |
| *23 Forbidding expert to smirk (7) | |
| Grim (forbidding) + ace (expert) = GRIMACE | |
| S | 24 Had confidence in surgical support to ease discomfort initially (7) |
| Truss (surgical support) + t e d (to ease discomfort initially) = TRUSTED | |
| A | 26 Worry about old letter overturning tenant’s rights (6) |
| Rev. (Eat (worry) about rune) = TENURE | |
| D | 28 Heartlessly lampooned invalids’ piteous speech impediments (5) |
| Ldisps (Heartlessly lampooned invalids’ piteous) = LISPS | |
| O | 29 Start of August – month press chief exerted influence (5) |
| A (start of August) + Oct (month) + ed (press chief) = ACTED | |
| G | 32 Numbers of sheep in second year not specified (4) |
| Teg (shhep in 2nd year) + ns (no specified) = TENS | |
| *33 Voiced support for drink (3) | |
| Homonym tee (support) = TEA | |
| *34 An alcoholic with Pinot needing physical therapy when separated (4) | |
| W (with) + Pinot – PT (physical therapy) = WINO | |
| *35 Irritable, could be fidgety with bad fit (4) | |
| (fidgety – fit)* = EDGY |
It’s been a quieter EV year for me so far, but I felt able to dip into this one — Piccadilly’s clues are usually not too hard, and the cleverness is left for the messages he can hide in the grid. A nice one here, very well done. Although I never read this selection of Blyton stories, preferring instead her “The ____ of Adventure” series, with Jack, Philip, Dinah, Lucy-Ann and Kiki the parrot instead. All the same, thanks Piccadilly!
I always like Piccadilly’s EVs. Whilst they will never be the most difficult, they always have tight clues without any superfluity, and are very elegant. This was no exception.
I too liked the “… of Adventure” books, Jaguar, but my favourite Blytons were the “R mystery” books (The Rockingdown Mystery, the Rubadub Mystery, etc) with Roger, Dinah, Snubby, Barney and his pet monkey Jemima.