We have to deal with a Shark puzzle this week – Hmm. A compiler whose puzzles I usually take some time to get tuned to the right wavelength. Misprints in the definitions this week to provide a pointer to 12 items to find in the completed grid.
Possibly slightly easier than I was expecting – though some tricky clues interspersed with several easier ones. Please feel free to pass comments on the parsing. I sort of get 16ac but suspect there is more to it than just the atomic number reference.
The misprints spelled out PHONETIC ALPHABET. And the 12 items to be found were all members of that group. KILO, ECHO, MIKE in an N shape then BRAVO, OSCAR, SIERRA and LIMA in an A shape then INDIA and DELTA in a T shape followed by FOXTROT, TANGO and GOLF in an O shape. Giving the word NATO in the completed grid which is the name given to the phonetic alphabet
A neat ending to an enjoyable puzzle – Thanks Shark
Key:
Underline – definition; * anagram; Re. reverse; DD double definition
ACROSS
| 2 Scandinavian island acquired German state (7) | |
| Got (acquired) + land (German state) = GOTLAND | |
| 7 Express rage over footman? (4) | |
| P | 7 Express page over footman? (4) |
| O(over) + ped (footman) = OP-ED | |
| 10 City pass through the Alps west of cycling crash (7) | |
| Col (pass through Alps) + boom (crash) cyling to ombo = COLOMBO | |
| 11 Fairy tale’s contents removed for Charles (5) | |
| H | 11 Hairy tale’s contents removed for Charles (5) |
| SCARY | |
| 12 Hamilton’s gathering alongside academy flier (4) | |
| Hui (Hamilton’s gathering) + a (academy) = HUIA | |
| 14 People see reporters needing no introduction (6) | |
| V (see) + noters( reporters) – n = VOTERS | |
| 16 Chemist’s 30-ish (6) | |
| Atomic number 30 is zinc = ZINCKY (Interesting clue) | |
| 17 Fine artist pads (4) | |
| O | 17 Fine artist pods (4) |
| Ok (fine) + ra (artist) = OKRA | |
| 18 Unlimited fishing! Arrive in numbers (6, two words) | |
| Trolling (fishing) – t – g (unlimited) = ROLL IN | |
| 19 Hands back number game (now dated) (4) | |
| N | 19 Hands back number Name (now dated) (4) |
| Rev. (men(hands)) + n (number) = NEMN | |
| 21 Playing clubs fool alliance (8) | |
| (clubs)* + ass (fool) = SUBCLASS | |
| 23 Nice bonny madam to help (4) | |
| E | 23 Nice bonne madam to help (4) |
| M (madam) + aid (to help) = MAID | |
| 25 Greedy dwarf swallowed fly (6) | |
| avid (greedy) – d ate (swallowed) = AVIATE | |
| 28 Award aged Bill with reward retrospectively (6) | |
| ad (Bill) + Rev. meed (award) = ADDEEM | |
| 31 Letter’s written on dog tag (5) | |
| Lab (dog) + el (letter) = LABEL | |
| 32 Somewhat asinine Roman? (4) | |
| Hidden (asiniNE ROman) = NERO | |
| 33 Clamp keeping temperature inside cover is insulated in this way (9) | |
| Haep (clamp) around t (temperature) + roof (cover) = HEATPROOF | |
| 35 Left dog hair (3) | |
| Rev. pom (dog) = MOP | |
| 36 Censor nearly everybody’s flab (5) | |
| T | 36 Censor nearly everybody’s flat (5) |
| Ban (censor) + all (everybody) – l = BANAL | |
| 37 American bloodsucker, last in the family (6) | |
| A (American) + gnat(bloodsucker) + e (last in the) = AGNATE | |
| 38 Concerned with three squares in crass fashion (10, two words) | |
| Re(concerned) + sss (three squares) in dense (crass) = DRESS SENSE | |
| DOWN | |
| 1 Having grasped rising measure, make out trimeter (6) | |
| Scan (make out) around Rev. oz (measure) = SCAZON | |
| 2 Goalie marked shot to win without a hitch (12, four words) | |
| (goalie marked)* = GO LIKE A DREAM | |
| 3 Bard’s round short throne (6) | |
| I | 3 Bird’s round short throne (6) |
| Tour (round) – r + can (throne) = TOUCAN | |
| 4 Sloth from Middle East horse amongst temperate lot (5) | |
| C | 5 Cloth from Middle East horse amongst temperate lot (5) |
| Aa (temperate lot) around bay (horse) = ABAYA | |
| 5 Stir river up (4) | |
| A | 5 Star river up (4) |
| Rev. Avon (river) = NOVA | |
| 6 Make yak and cow cross again around Somerset (5) | |
| L | 6 Male yak and cow cross again around Somerset (5) |
| Do (again) around Som (Somerset) = DSOMO | |
| 7 First pair swap over in dance number (9) | |
| COTILLION (dance) swapping o and c = OCTILLION | |
| 8 Old man and woman stew (6) | |
| Pa (old man) + ella (woman) = PAELLA | |
| 9 Bad-smelling Lord returns cleaner (5) | |
| Rev. Nosy (bad smelling) + d (lord) = DYSON | |
| 13 Isaac Walker loses cover (3) | |
| Hiker (walker) – ends = IKE | |
| 15 Spider possibly bites individual’s head, cure is found in Scotland (5) | |
| Rest (Spider possibly) around I (individual’s head) = REIST | |
| 20 Mild resort with place far from the beach (7) | |
| (Mild)* + and (with) = MIDLAND | |
| 21 Check small lock with electronic component (5) | |
| Snap (small lock) around e (electronic) = SNEAP | |
| 22 Carry on stage door (4) | |
| P | 22 Carry on stage poor (4) |
| Homonym Bear (carry) = BARE | |
| 23 Nearly confuse husband fronting sexually liberal Sikh (6) | |
| Maze (confuse) – e + h (husband) + bi (sexually liberated) = MAZHBI | |
| 24 Island on edge of Mediterranean, a place of great affinity close to Dardanelles? (6) | |
| I (island) + m (edge of Mediterranean) + bro (a place of great affinity) + s (close to Daradanelles) = IMBROS | |
| 26 One may use ratchet, lifting handle without associate (6) | |
| H | 26 One may use hatchet, lifting handle without associate (6) |
| Rev. name(handle) + x (without) + a (associate) = AXEMAN | |
| 27 Sage’s head of church in eastern Spain (6) | |
| A | 27 Saga’s head of church in eastern Spain (6) |
| Pope (head of church) in e (eastern) + e (spain) EPOPEE | |
| 29 Seats fellow with trunks fallen down (5) | |
| B | 29 Beats fellow with trunks fallen down (5) |
| F(fellow) + logs (trunks) = FLOGS | |
| 30 Pacts from Communist Society (5) | |
| E | 30 Paces from Communist Society (5) |
| Trot (Communist) + s (society) = TROTS | |
| 34 Pinch oldster? (3) | |
| T | 34 Pitch oldster? (3) |
| DD TAR |
Thanks, twencelas. When I saw the title I thought it might be base on the Hood poem November (no this and that). Then when I saw OCT and SEP in two columns I thought it might be months generally. I agree there was a range of difficulty in the clues, which is how I like it.
Aptly, a single word comes to mind: Bravo!