This is my second ‘enter where they will fit’ puzzle in a row. I normally enjoy these, but this one has an additional element on top of the cold solving – ten answers must be ‘thematically treated’.
That extra twist proved a bit of a challenge, because one couldn’t be sure that one had an entry in the correct place even when one had solved most of the clues. However, some of the answers that had to be ‘treated’ were obvious, since there was no space in the grid for the longer clues. A bit of counting showed that if the ten clues each had four letters removed the results would fill the grid. The fact that the elements to be removed were repeated also helped.
The letters to be added are RAYITUBA + an A that I can’t account for (Thanks mc_rapper and Phil R). These letters can be rearranged into RUBAIYAT. The Rubaiyat of Omar Kayyam contains the following lines:
“Wake! For the Sun, who scattered into flight / The Stars before him from the Field of Night”
This explains why we are to remove the following from various clues (two of each):
LYRA VELA ARGO NOVA URSA
Notation
(xxx) = definition
[xxx] = (anagram/homophone/container/etc.) indicator
XXX* = anagram
< = reversal
reach = letter added before solving
BALLYRAG = thematic element to be removed before entry into grid
Please post a comment if the explanations are not clear.
| ABOMASUS | In AUS (Australia) BOMA’S (anaconda’s) stomach (8) |
| ACAI | AC (Bill) AI (fish) for fruit (4) |
| AMBIT | A MB (doctor) has IT in reach (5) |
| ANAEROBE | Organism not needing O2 ARENA* [redeveloped] with OBE (decoration) (8) |
| APTEST | AP (Apparently) TEST (exam) shows the most clever (6) |
| ARABIA | RABI (Harvest) [covered in] AA (lava) in part of Middle East (6) |
| ARABLE | A RABBLE (Crowd), [no] B ([end of] MOB), fit for ploughing (6) |
| ASSIST | Play ASS (Equus) IST (first) (6) |
| BALLYRAG | Perhaps troll ALLY (partner) [in] B (second-rate) RAG (newspaper) (8) |
| BLENNY | BL (Law graduate)’s EN (letter) to N (name) Y (unknown) fish (6) |
| CERVELAT | In CE (church) RV (bible) <TALE (story) [about] sausage (8) |
| COARBS | Irish heads of families finding O ([bit of] OPPORTUNITY) [in] CARBS (spuds, maybe) (6) |
| DELICATE | DELI (Shop) CATE |
| DENIS | Thatcher, for example, IS [pursuing] DEN (study) (5) |
| DISGORGE | Remove sediment from DIS (god)’s GORGE (throat) (8) |
| EASTS | Directions for players (5) |
| EMBARGOED | [Unusual] {BARGE [with] DOME}* is prohibited (9) |
| EMOTE | E (Eastern) E (European) [holds] MOT (French word) to be exaggerated expression of feelings (5) |
| ERSE | Language [from] |
| ÉTAT | Rank <TATIE (spud) left out I [to be sent back] (4) |
| FEDERAL | F (FERMANAGH[‘s first]) [revolutionary] LEADER* was Unionist (7) |
| GARGOYLES | They’re ugly and could become [terribly] GORY [in] GALES (high winds) (9) |
| GLASSFULS | Amounts of liquid swallowed by LASS (girl) [in] [turbulent] GULF* S (STREAM [initially]) (9) |
| GULLY-RAKERS | [Stormy] {SKY RARE}* GULL (to deceive) [first] cattle thieves in Perth (11) |
| HEME | Pigment‘s HE (cardinal) ME (note) (4) |
| IGAPO | I (Island) with GAP (unfilled space) O (of) an area of forest (5) |
| ILIAN | TRoy‘s I (current) <NAIL (pin) [up] (5) |
| IMMUNISED | Protected [stirring] {INSIDE MUM}* (9) |
| INNOVATION | INN OVATION (Applause at pub) for season’s new growth (10) |
| IOTA | Shred <{A TO I} (first nine letters) [returned] (4) |
| LABOUR-SAVING | [In] LAVING (washing) there’s O (nothing) [in] BURSA (pouch) that reduces work (12) |
| LEAVE | LE (The French) AVE (hail) time off (5) |
| MARG | < [Raise] GRAM (very small amount), a fatty thing (4) |
| MAS | [Unfinished] MAS |
| MOST | The majority of MO (Second) ST (Street) (4) |
| NAUTILI | Molluscs [cooked] {UNTIL A1}* (7) |
| RATE-CAP | Put limit on tax of RAT (strikebreaker) taking <PACE (step) [to go back] (7) |
| REIMBURSABLE | AB (Sailor) [overcome by] MULBERRIES* [gone bad] can be refunded (12) |
| ROSACEA | [Treated] {A COURSE}* kind of skin disease (7) |
| SCARABS | They were sacred to Egyptians, SC (namely) ARABS (7) |
| SELF-DRIVE | SELF (Ego) DRIVE (trip) without a chauffeur (9) |
| SICKO | It’s macabre SIC (thus) KO (to floor) (5) |
| SLALOMS | {SO SMALL}*, [running] zigzags (7) |
| SPOT | Mark‘s S (special) POT (vase) (4) |
| STEDDY | Formerly stable (STEDD (function) Y (unknown)) (6) |
| TAMEST | Least inspiring TEST (exam) [in] AM (the morning)? [On the contrary] (6) |
| TARED | RED (Communist) TA (army) [first] ascertained weight of container (5) |
| TEF | Grass is TEFLON (non-stick)? [Not half] (3) |
| TENOVAGINITIS | Tennis elbow, for example, needs TEN OVA (eggs), and GIN (stiff drink) with IT (vermouth) and I (one) S ([splash of] SODA) (7) |
| TESTE | Witness of TEST (trial), ([beginning to] END) (5) |
| TRAVEL AGENT | RAVEL (Composer) gets AG (silver) [in] TENT (temporary accommodation) for organiser of awaydays? (11, two words) |
The completed grid looks like this:
| G | Y | L | E | S | D | E | L | I | C | A | T | E |
| L | H | E | M | E | T | R | A | G | E | N | T | A |
| A | R | A | B | L | E | S | C | A | R | A | B | S |
| S | A | V | E | F | F | E | A | P | T | E | S | T |
| S | T | E | D | D | Y | B | C | O | A | R | B | S |
| F | E | D | E | R | A | L | A | I | M | O | S | T |
| U | C | A | M | I | R | E | I | M | B | B | L | E |
| L | A | B | O | V | I | N | G | M | I | E | A | G |
| S | P | O | T | E | O | N | A | U | T | I | L | I |
| T | A | M | E | S | T | Y | I | N | T | I | O | N |
| A | R | A | B | I | A | M | M | I | E | L | M | I |
| R | O | S | A | C | E | A | A | S | S | I | S | T |
| E | G | U | L | K | E | R | S | E | T | A | T | I |
| D | I | S | G | O | R | G | E | D | E | N | I | S |
Thanks for explaining the ‘useful name’ – I had AABRTUY but couldn’t find the last one – the ‘I left out’ of TATIE. I had the two ‘A’s as ‘A crowd…’ for arable, and ‘small Amount’ for MARG. I think you have put ‘amount’ in your parsing, but not flagged the A as an addition?
As it happens, I considered RUBAIYAT as a possibility (although it isn’t really a name, more of a noun?), but didn’t get as far as looking through the text. Fortunately it wasn’t necessary to get the extra word to complete/submit the puzzle.
I realised that some longer words would need shortening, but it was only when I re-wrote all the answers out in ascending lengths that I saw all the LYRAs, VELAs and NOVAs etc. amongst the overly long words…and then some more in the other answers, and it all fell into place, eventually.
We do seem to have had a lot of jigsaws and variations on jigsaws recently…a few years ago I would normally just pass them by, but the necessity of blogging when they fall on my shift has encouraged me to put some more effort in, and I now find them enjoyable and rewarding – as with this one. Thanks Mr Sting, and MynoT.
Another highly enjoyable EV from a fine selection this year. It took me a while for the PDM, embargoed and gargoyles opening the door for me. Agree with mc_rapper on the missing A from the MARG clue.
Carte blanches do appear to split the crowd but I do enjoy them.
Many thanks to both MynoT for the blog and Mister Sting for the fun and games.