Long, but easily understood preamble this week.
A letter has been dropped from each clue (except 38) and should be reinserted before solving. In clue order, the dropped letters spell a song title and the surnames of its composer, lyricist and two noted performers. For eight cells, letters are not indicated by wordplay; these 38 should be remedied by dropping into each the letter from the same column in the top row. After exchanging two letters within the remains of the top row, solvers should be able to refill 1ac/5ac with a name thematically linked to the song title. The final grid contains only real words, phrases or proper nouns. The spelling at 37 is given by Collins.
I had to complete this one on Saturday and write the blog, as I’m off sailing (no computer!) to Devon next week for five days. Fortunately it was not too difficult.
The letters “dropped from each clue” gave a song title, its composers and two singers. The song title was reasonably easy to deduce from my initial P?N?IES?RO??E?V etc. and was PENNIES FROM HEAVEN, in line with the title “Good Fortune”. Because of time pressure I Googled at this point to find Arthur JOHNSTON (music) and Johnny BURKE (lyrics). The two singers – one began with C, the other ended in A – were clearly Bing CROSBY and Frank SINATRA.
Now “Pennies from Heaven” also brought to mind a 1978 BBC TV series written by DENNIS POTTER, starring Bob Hoskins in his first major role.
The top row had to be modified to give a “name thematically linked with the song title” and Dennis Potter was the right number of letters and was 6, 6. According to the preamble 8 letters had to be “dropped” from the top row and inserted elsewhere, and two “exchanged”
A number of clues had letters not indicated by the wordplay. These GAPS (38A) were to be filled by the “dropped” letters, leaving spaces on the top row (not explicit in the preamble, but reasonably clear).
The top row contained DIPPED DODDED and after working out the eight letters to be “dropped” it dawned on me that they were all either Ps or Ds – pennies being dropped from heaven!!
So what was left was ?I??E? ?O??E?. Switch the I and the E (both unchecked) and the top row can becomes ?E??I? ?O??E? and can be filled with DENNIS POTTER. Hey presto!
All that remained was to check that the final grid contained all real words. The modified words became DRESSING-DOWN (no change), NOISED, NOSHER, SAGGED, PROMOS, TARTED, TRIER and REPROGRAMMED – fine!
So thanks to Eclogue for a puzzle solvable and bloggable in a day – don’t know what I would have done otherwise – but interesting and challenging enough to maintain interest and to leave one or two clues to ponder over before parsing them fully.
Across |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue (definition) | Answer | Wordplay | X |
| 1 | Parish priest stopped working outside and Plunged in (6) | DIPPED | P(arish) P(riest) in DIED (stopped working) | P |
| 5 | Having polled, dEad’s not even educated (6) | DODDED | D(ead) + ODD (not even) + ED(ucated) | E |
| 10 | LaNd Rover maybe protected by this space cut on rail (6, 2 words) | ROO BAR | ROO(M) (space cut) + BAR (rail) | N |
| 11 | NUmber put on floating vessel is something annoying (4) | NARK | N(umber) + ARK (floating vessel) | N |
| 12 | Live note holding VI on the turn (5) | EXIST | TE (note) round SIX (VI) all reversed (on the turn) | I |
| 14 | Describing clEan sheet, maybe, where credit is positive (5) | CRISP | CR(edit) + IS + P(ositive) | E |
| 16 | STokes on old woman’s tobacco (4) | SHAG | S(tokes) + HAG (old woman) | S |
| 17 | Measure yellow body in Flight? (6) | METEOR | METE (measure) + OR (yellow) | F |
| 18 | Half have followed Jock’s arch coveR, for the record (6) | SLEEVE | SLEE (Scots version of sly = arch) + VE (half have) | R |
| 19 | Go OTT on account of party (6) | OVERDO | OVER (on account of) + DO (party) | O |
| 21 | Natural obliteration of Mark in berm’s collapse (6) | INBRED | (Inbred means innate = natural): Remove M(ark) from BER(m) add IN and anagram. [INBER]* + D “dropped” from top row | M |
| 22 | Taking up witH, I chant outside (6) | SIDING | I in SING (chant) + D “dropped” from top row | H |
| 24 | Yearn desperately for linEn (6) | NAPERY | [YEARN]* + P “dropped” from top row | E |
| 27 | SpAin boat’s pole, it’s made of hard timber (6) | DEODAR | E (Spain) + OAR (boat’s pole) + two Ds “dropped” from top row | A |
| 29 | Literary publication has beginnings of gin recipe with slaVe, perhaps, absent (6) | GRANTA | G(in) + R(ecipe) + ANT (slave) + A(bsent) | V |
| 31 | Tropical fruits in the year notE active (6) | ANNONA | ANNO (in the year) + N(ote) + A(ctive) | E |
| 33 | With circuit not opening at EasterN, rector is more determined (6) | DOURER | (t)OUR (circuit not opening) + E(astern) + R(ector) + D “dropped” from top row | N |
| 35 | Shoemaker for Hamish’s special Jowl (4) | SNAB | (Scots form of snob): S(pecial) + NAB (nab=head=jowl) | J |
| 36 | Ingredients for sOups acceptable to prince (5) | OKRAS | OK (acceptable) + RAS (prince) | O |
| 37 | Absolute force having discrimination against one with Hoar (5) | AGISM | A(bsolute) + GISM (force) | H |
| 38 | Holes fifth at Augusta, Georgia lying first (4) | GAPS | GA (Georgia) + S (fifth of AuguSta) + P “dropped” from top row | |
| 39 | It’s said I tend towards Irish Nomen (6) | EILEEN | Sounds like I LEAN (tend) | N |
| 40 | Placed Strait within strait (6) | NESTED | ST(rait) in NEED (need=distress=strait) | S |
| 41 | NaTive of Scotland’s buried dead borne by uncovered coffin carrier (6) | EARDED | (b)EARE (a Spenserian form of BIER – coffin carrier) remove initial B (uncovered) and insert D(ead) + D “dropped” from top row | T |
Down |
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| No. | Clue (definition) | Answer | Wordplay | X |
| 1 | GoOd’s abandoned loose garment for a thrashing (12) | DRESSING-DOWN | DRESSING(g)OWN (loose garment) minus G(ood) + D “dropped” from top row | O |
| 2 | HaNg in suspense is captured by writer of the macabre (5) | POISE | IS in (Edgar Allen) POE | N |
| 3 | More refined hops Boiled with half of beer (6) | POSHER | [HOPS]* = (be)ER | B |
| 4 | Removed e.g. Urial’s tuft, raising press notice (6) | DAGGED | (To dag is to remove wool tufts from a sheep, and a urial is a himalayan sheep): EGG (press) + AD (notice) all reversed + D “dropped” from top row | U |
| 5 | GReeks’ early track shows operating system holding memory (6) | DROMOS | DOS (operating system) round ROM (Read Only Memory) | R |
| 6 | At any time ordinary Knight’s cloudy over Spain (4) | ONCE | O(rdinary) + N (knight) + C(loudy) over E (Spain) | K |
| 7 | MadE dash to stir up trade (6) | DARTED | [TRADE]* + D “dropped” from top row | E |
| 8 | When standing, Scot’s Clang, say, is less soppy (5) | DRIER | REIRD (Scots noise = clang) reversed (when standing) | C |
| 9 | Persuaded to Reject obsession, deputy spread more marg (12) | DEPROGRAMMED | DEP + [MORE MARG] + D “dropped” from top row | R |
| 13 | Very exact to begin with, BrOad in Albany is about to get muddled in Glasgow (6) | TAVERT | TART (broad in Albany, USA) round (is about) V(ery) E(xact) | O |
| 15 | OS is essential for successful natation (4) | ULNA | Hidden in successfUL NAtation | S |
| 20 | Ure’s group’s alBum backing Queen with drip (6) | VIENNA | (“Vienna” is an album by Midge Ure and Ultravox): (Queen) ANNE + IV (drip) all reversed | B |
| 23 | Old ladY is an idiot (4) | NANA | Double definition (old lady and idiot) | Y |
| 25 | Sources of Euler’s number rationale and theory Seduced by subject matter? (6) | ENRAPT | First letters of Euler’s Number Rationale And Theory + P “dropped” from top row | S |
| 26 | After short measure, perhaps it’s oIk for Mac to have told tales? (6) | YARNED | YAR(d) (short measure) + NED (Scottish oik) | I |
| 27 | Wee creature young Morag, perhaps, Never initiated (6) | DASSIE | (l)ASSIE (young Morag, never initiated) + D “dropped” from top row | N |
| 28 | Military engine of old ASS (6) | ONAGER | double definition (ASS and old military engine) | A |
| 30 | Characters to the French Tear, once almost (5) | AURAS | AU (to the French) + RASE (old word for race = tear) | |
| 32 | RApt one inside bode ill (5) | OBIED | I (one) in [BODE]* | R |
| 34 | Being part of chAin’s base (4) | ESSE | ESS is part of a chain + E (base) | A |
While this one was a one-session solve, it was only afterwards that I realised what a fine construction the clues and grid are , with the strong thematic element.
I liked 19A, from extreme to the other with the subtraction of one letter ! Good stuff.
Thanks Eclogue for a pleasant Sunday morning solve and to Hihoba of course for the blog.
Seems like a long time ago I did this (and I was on a different continent to what I now am on) but I recall being rather pleased to get everything in this – for a change. Think I completed it sometime Saturday night.
Mrs Terrier was inspired last week. She started looking at the clues, said it seemed pretty obvious where letters had been omitted and after reading 7 or 8 clues (without actually solving them), she said “It looks like ‘Pennies from Heaven'” and gave the puzzle to me for the legwork, i.e. the little matter of finding out who wrote and performed the song, solving the clues and filling in the grid! She did a similar thing with the Listener a few weeks ago, deducing from five minutes looking at a few unsolved clues that the theme was “U and Non-U”, then leaving the drudgery to me. I think this is known as teamwork.
We got back together to finish this one, expecting Dennis Potter to be the name on the top row, and it was Herself again who spotted that the letters to be moved were all D or P. Thanks to Eclogue for giving us a PDM which actually involved pennies dropping!
Yes – halfway through the first pass, having solved GAPS straightaway & got the second omitted P, I guessed “Pennies from Heaven”, verified by the pattern “???n?es ?r?? ?e????”. Digging out the composer & lyricist held me up for a while, but a nice (albeit) simple puzzle from Eclogue, to whom thanks. And thanks too to the blogger/sailer.
PS I had an alternative wordplay at 30d: RASH^3 in Chambers is obsolete for “tear”.
Or indeed ‘sailor’.
Enjoyable puzzle. I entered PITTER PATTER at 1a.