Thanks to Gaufrid for stepping in!
I have switched phones and had apparently turned off email updates, alarms, and notifications (although not the messages every five minutes suggesting I buy extras)!
Appropriately, the phone I’m (mis)using is the new Bond phone. There’s obviously the possibility of a Bond reference in the title, especially when there’s a Bond film coming out soon (actually, it’s out now), but is it actually Bond-related?
No. It’s not. It’s about the HINDENBURG, as the letters in the circled cells reveal.
A lecturer at university played the video of the Hindenberg disaster. However, I didn’t recall enough about the video to help me HIGHLIGHT SPEAKER AND REACTION, as the additional letters in down clue subsidiary indications requires.
The speaker was (Herbert) MORRISON, whose surname is in the fifth row. Part of his news report – OH, THE HUMANITY! AND ALL THE PASSENGERS – can be found in diagonal ‘stripes’ running NE, starting in the fifth and tenth cells of the first column, and continuing in equally spaced lines (it’s a tough one to spot given the length of the quotation).
This was an enjoyable solve, but my main impression is that nearly a quarter of the grid is predetermined by the letters that need to be highlighted. It’s quite an achievement to work from that and create a grid that can be populated in a way that doesn’t ever seem forced.
[I’m leaving the below in place (but italicised), because I think it’s important to highlight Gaufrid stepping in and to thank him for doing so.]
Apologies for the late appearance of this post. For some unknown reason, Mr Sting has been unable to complete his blog. The solutions/parsing have been uploaded but not a full preamble/explanation.
From the reminder notes that Mr Sting had left himself, it would appear that the extra letters in the down clues gave HIGHLIGHT SPEAKER AND REACTION.
The required highlighting was therefore (Herbert) MORRISON and OH, THE HUMANITY! AND ALL THE PASSENGERS which is connected with the Hindenberg disaster.
Above notes added by Gaufrid.
Notation
(xxx) = definition
[xxx] = (anagram/homophone/container/etc.) indicator
XXX* = anagram
< = reversal
COSH = extra letter
Please post a comment if the explanations are not clear.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SAICE | Groom‘s ICE (formality) [follows] SA (it) (5) | |
| 5 | STUNNING | Very impressive TUNNING (storing of wine) [after] S ([close of] VENDANGES) (8) | |
| 11 | LECANORA | CLEAN* [rocks] with OR (yellow) A (American) lichen (8) | |
| 12 | CUT IT | Commonly manage C (college) UT (do) with IT (sweet wine) (5, two words) | |
| 13 | OXYTONES | [Moving] {ON TO SEXY}* words, stressed at the end (8) | |
| 14 | CHOREE | CHORE (Routine task) with E ([tip of] GOALIE’s) foot (6) | |
| 15 | LAXIST | One with loose morals LT (LEFT [heartless]) [welcoming] AXIS (alliance) (6) | |
| 16 | MORRIS | Country game M (marks) OR (men), < SIR (gentleman) [repelled] (6) | |
| 17 | ON OATH | ||
| 19 | SELFNESS | Personality‘s {SENSES FL (flourished)}* [when given a jolt] (8) | |
| 23 | BEDASH | Sprinkle BED (garden plot) with ASH (volcanic dust) (6) | |
| 25 | TEE-OFF | TOFF (Good sort) [possessing] EE (eye of cadee) for start of play (6) | |
| 29 | ECHIDNAS | Burrowing mammals CHID (once criticised) [in] < SANE (reasonable) [retrospective] (6) | |
| 32 | DUEFUL | Poet’s fit is D (DRAMATIC [at first]) and RUEFUL (deplorable), [losing head] (6) | |
| 33 | TELFER | Suspended cable car‘s REFLET (iridescent lustre) [reflected] (6) | |
| 35 | HOSTEL | Inn‘s HOST (publican) [brewing] ALE* A (before) [resigning] (6) | |
| 36 | IDAEAN | [Developed] {AN IDEA}* of a classical mountain (6) | |
| 37 | ABSOLVED | Discharged AB (seaman) SOLVED (settled) (8) | |
| 38 | IGLOO | I (Institute) [new] LOGO* producing depressed place for seal (5) | |
| 40 | IDEALISE | [Revised] {E (English) DAILIES}* to regard as perfect (8) | |
| 41 | RED ROUTE | Traffic control system REROUTED (redirected) with D ([onset of] DELAY) [coming earlier] (8, two words) | |
| 42 | GNATS | ||
| Down | |||
| H | 1 | SACCOS | Bishop’s vestment, SAC (pouch) and COSH (weapon) (6) |
| I | 2 | ALU | AIL (Trouble) with U ([bit of] UNCOOKED) potato (3) |
| G | 3 | CHIRR | GS (GRASSHOPPER’s [limits]) [harbour] [abnormally] RICH* vibrant sound (5) |
| H | 4 | EXTERNS | Non-residents HEX (curse) TERNS (fliers) (7) |
| L | 5 | SLOE | Sour tasting fruit SOLEL* (SOLELY [cut back]) and [mashed] (4) |
| I | 6 | TEXTS | [After] T (time), EXITS (leaves) books for study (5) |
| G | 7 | NATANT | Floating TAGNANT* ([top removed from] STAGNANT) [liquid] (6) |
| H | 8 | IONIAN | Ancient island inhabitant [disoriented] {IN HANOI}* (6) |
| T | 9 | GASTHOF | Hotel in Munich [accommodated] {FAT GOTHS}* (7) |
| S | 10 | STOOL | < SLOOTS (In the Namib, water channels) [going round] tree stump (5) |
| P | 15 | LOST | Confused PLOT (stratagem) [involving] S (son) (4) |
| E | 16 | MEET | [Going round] E (Spain), EME (old uncle) and T (AUNT [finally]) come into contact (4) |
| A | 18 | OPED | OAP (Pensioner) with ED (education) began appearing in poetry (4) |
| K | 20 | FAFF | FAK ([Cut short] FAKE (counterfeit)), F (French) F (francs) fuss (4) |
| E | 21 | SIC | SICE (Six) set upon (3) |
| R | 22 | AFAR | |
| A | 23 | BED HAIR | Casually dishevelled morning head, H ([touch of] HASTE) and AI (sloth) [in] [tangled] BEARD* |
| N | 24 | HELL | SCHNELL (German quickly) [abandoning] SC (self-contained) gambling house (4) |
| D | 26 | EILDING | DEIL (Devil in Glasgow) DOING (working) [without] O (ordinary) Lanarkshire fuel (7) |
| R | 27 | MESSED | M (Mobile) {DES RES}* [not properly] supplied with food (6) |
| E | 28 | DUELLO | |
| A | 30 | NEELD | [Hammered] LEADEN* pointer in the past (5) |
| C | 31 | SYNODS | < CONY (Old fool) [turning up] [within] SD ([confines of] SACRED) S (special) assemblies (6) |
| T | 33 | TREST | TEST (Trial) [involving] RT (radio telegraphy) support in the regions (5) |
| I | 34 | FAGIN | Gangland maestro FAI |
| O | 36 | IDEE | Nice notion IE (that is) [welcoming to] DEO (God) (4) |
| N | 39 | OWT | Anything said in the countryside [upset] TOWN* (3) |
I was just about to post a comment hoping that all was well with you, Mister S, when up you pop! Thanks for the blog and thanks also to Chalicea for a chilling reminder (the newsreel footage is particularly distressing). The only very minor points are the extra (red) letters required at 23dn & 31dn (in BE[A]RD & [C]ONY respectively).
^Fixed!
Thanks for pointing that out, and for your concern. I’ve fallen into a pit of maths study and need alarms to tell me to eat, go out, or post crossword blogs.
Thanks to Mr Sting, Gaufrid and Dave. I always look forward to the balanced views of the fifteen squared bloggers after the sometimes absurd or unrealistic views expressed on TSTMNBM and I became rather worried when nothing appeared, thinking ‘Skyfall’ had been either unsolvable or far too easy for comment; so it was a great relief when Mr Sting finally appeared. Indeed, Mr Sting, that long quotation was an immense constraint, and I am delighted that you felt that my coping with it wasn’t too forced. Thanks, as always.