Raffles is a relatively new setter with his first EV last November, no. 1149 Common Usage with its Nancy Mitford theme. His first Listener was a few weeks ago — no. 4356 Mashonaland, based on La Donna è Mobile.
In this quest, six entries were clued without definition and were part of a thematic group. The other clues had a misprint in the definition, with the correct letters spelling out more members of the group. The final member had to be slotted in under the grid. Finally, five cells would need substitutions to explain the reason for this last members absence.
I found this a relatively straightforward solve, although some of the clues had quite elaborate wordplay, eg 36ac.
Getting the corrected misprints starting B·NNET…, I thought we might be in Pride and Prejudice country. In fact, it was the wordplay-only clues which gave the game away for me. BEAVER at 1dn and BOOTS at 10 didn’t help, but BROKER and BANKER started ringing bells. Unfortunately, they didn’t ring loudly enough, and I needed to resort to Google to identify the characters from Lewis Carroll’s The Hunting of the Snark.
These were:
BAKER
BANKER
BARRISTER
BEAVER
BELLMAN
BILLIARD-MARKER
BONNET-MAKER
BOOTS
BROKER
BUTCHER
These are the crew of a ship hunting a Snark. Describing one, the Bellman finishes with
But oh, beamish nephew, beware of the day,
If your Snark be a Boojum! For then
You will softly and suddenly vanish away,
And never be met with again!
Thus, the Baker disappears in the poem for the “Snark was a Boojum you see”. SNARK in column 7 becomes BOOJUM (JU occupying the same cell), and the BAKER is entered in the space under the grid.
Many thanks for an enjoyable puzzle, Raffles, and for an excuse to reread a bit of nonsense.
Legend:
Definition in clue
Misprint correction in blue clue
X = Corrections to misprints
ABC* = anagram
ABC< = reversal
abCDef = hidden
| ACROSS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No | Entry | Correct Letter |
Clue and Explanation |
| 1 | BRACED | B | Prepared for a CAR< (coach) in BED (berth, perhaps) |
| 5 | SINGLE becomes BINGLE |
O | LEGS* clogged by IN |
| 11 | PINNINGS becomes PIONINGS |
N | Stone P (quietly) INNING (gathering) + S (bit of Slate) |
| 13 | AMOROSA becomes AMOROSO |
N | Prophet entertaining soldiers – head of army loved AMOS (prophet) containing OR (soldiers) + A (head of Army) |
| 14 | VIOLA | E | Ravishing, but can begin to get lost? VIOLATING (ravishing) – TIN (can) – G (begin to Get) |
| 15 | RICIER becomes JUICIER |
T | Early samples of rye inconclusively cereal-like; in European regions more like initial letters of Rye Inconclusively Cereal-like In European Regions; this misprint seems a bit weak so I may have it wrong! |
| 16 | STREAKER becomes STREAMER |
M | One who disrupts ((A KEEN STAR TREK) – TAKEN)* |
| 19 | RESTYLE | A | Go over Y (variable) in [W]RESTLE (fight) |
| 21 | ASHY | K | A SHY (fairground stall) |
| 22 | BABY | E | Times that sailor goes into BY (times) with AB (sailor) in |
| 24 | BUTCHER | Ship returning before the woman’s going round about (7) (TUB< (ship) HER (woman's)) round C (about) |
|
| 28 | STUNSAIL | R | Cloth spread to get STUN (floor, vb) + S (start of Serious) + AIL (trouble) |
| 30 | OWNERS | B | Those with debts absorbing new OWERS (those with debts) containing N (new) |
| 32 | QUEEN | I | Lord QUERN (mill) with E (base) for R (resistance) |
| 35 | BELLMAN | Measure mass half a chicken contains (7) BAN[TAM] (half a chicken) containing ELL (measure) M (mass) |
|
| 36 | EGESTING | L | For example, taking a (GUEST (visitor) – U (upper-class) + I (one)) in EN (space) G (centre in niGer) |
| 37 | REREAD | L | One returning after a break, taking a bit of tagine to RETREAD (someone returning to work after a break) – T (bit of Tagine) |
| 38 | DRAPET | I | A little bit of Scotch and French DRAP (a little bit of Scotch, ie Scottish word) + ET (and, French) |
| DOWN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No | Entry | Correct Letter |
Clue and Explanation |
| 1 | BEAVER | British bird hugging Virginia back (6) B (British) + (REE (bird) containing VA (Virginia))< |
|
| 2 | RAMIS | A | Backing shift SIMAR< (shift, clothing) |
| 3 | CURL | R | Dog’s left CUR (dog) + L (left) |
| 4 | DISMAL | D | Hell’s pain in DIS (Hell) + MAL (pain) |
| 6 | INTI | M | Roman couple carrying books for South American II (Roman couple, ie 2) containing NT (books, New Testament) |
| 7 | NIP | A | 2 meanings |
| 8 | GNEISS | R | Pressing drops through the bottom when breaking a (PRESSING – PR (per rectum, through the bottom))* |
| 9 | ESTRAY | K | Charger regularly sets first one of TRAY (charger) with ES (regular letters of sEtS) first |
| 10 | BOOTS | Raspberry tarts lacking filling (5) BOO (raspberry) + T[ART]S |
|
| 12 | GOETHE | E | German, old, with facility as a G (German) O (old) + ETHE (facility) |
| 17 | EYOT | R | Translate “scary” into dialect, ultimately getting last letters of translatE scarY intO dialecT |
| 18 | EATS | B | E (European) ATS (military women, Auxiliary Territorial Services) |
| 20 | EARWIG | A | EAR (attention) + WIG (extra locks?) |
| 22 | BROKER | Brother in Texas, say, keeps very well (6) BRER (brother in Texas say, ie the USA) containing OK (very well) |
|
| 23 | BANKER | Yearn to dump husband for bachelor (6) HANKER (yearn) with B (bachelor) for H (husband) |
|
| 25 | UNBEND | R | Become U-BEND (trap, WC) around N (noon) |
| 26 | HIEMS | R | MS (Morning Spent, primarily) after HIE (urge, archaic word) |
| 27 | RENNET | I | Note overturned TENNER< (note) |
| 29 | LEAVE | S | Latin American enters first female L (Latin) + A (American) in EVE (first woman) |
| 31 | RATA | T | Proportionately not for PRO RATA (proportionately) – PRO (for) |
| 33 | ULNA | E | UNA (girl) containing L (middle of feLix) |
| 34 | USE | R | American English for old US (American) E (English) |
Relatively straightforward, but none the worse for that. I had to find out my copy of the source material to confirm all of the “B” people. Thank you to Raffles.