This week’s preamble was fairly straightforward, with an extra word to be identified in every clue:
Solvers must highlight, appropriately in two cases, five works by famous 17ac (58 cells in total). Each clue contains an additional word that must be removed before solving; when read in clue order, two letters (in the same position) in each of these words spell out further HIGHLIGHTS. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.
I wondered if the puzzle itself would be as straightforward, knowing that Xanthippe, especially over at the Listener, can be a tricky setter. I was getting a bit worried when I failed with the first few acrosses. However, 13, 15 and 16 came to the rescue. The extra word “eddy” in the first indicated that the two letters would be in positions 1, 2, 3 or 4, but I didn’t look any further. Which was a shame since ey Jude would have revealed all!
After my first run through the clues, 17ac could be completed to give SONGWRITERS, and it was then that I examined the extra words for the clues I had in more detail. It didn’t take long to be able to string the nine Beatles’ songs together: From Me to You, Hey Jude, Ticket to Ride, Eleanor Rigby, Get Back, I Want to Hold Your Hand, Can’t Buy Me Love, I Feel Fine and Day Tripper.
I finished the grid in a total of about an hour and a half, so a straightforward solve it was. Finally, I had to identify five more songs in the grid occupying over a third of the cells.
FIELDS FOR EVER was a give-away across the top and that presumably had to be highlighted in STRAWBERRY (well, red). SUBMARINE was in column 2 and needed to be highlighted in YELLOW. (This brought a shudder as I recalled my woeful highlighting in Nudd’s recent Listener, Paint My Old LP.) HELP! came next in the left column, and after two minutes, I had three of the five. PAPERBACK WRITER came next a couple of minutes later, at which point I ground to a halt. The last one would occupy 21 cells.
I needed a list of Beatles hits to enable me to track down the last song, THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD, wending its way through the grid.
Thanks for a relaxing solve for my first puzzle of the year, Xanthippe.
Solving time: about two hours.
Legend:
Definition in clue
Extra word in clue
E R = 1st and 4th letters of extra word
ABC* = anagram
ABC< = reversal
abCDef = hidden
| ACROSS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No | Entry | 1st & 4th Letters |
Clue and Explanation |
| 1 | FIELDS | F R | Former US comedian catches 2 meanings |
| 5 | FOR | O M | Number audibly in favour of sounds like FOUR |
| 7 | EVER | M E | Always divide (s)EVER (divide minus first letter) |
| 10 | ANNIE | T O | Musical number has one NNIE (NINE with I (one) moving right) after A (alto) |
| 11 | MERELY | Y O | Only Mark roused early with energy for a M (mark) + EERLY* (EARLY with E for A) |
| 12 | CLEM | U H | Cold C (cold) + MEAL< (food) – A (about) |
| 13 | AMOEBA | E Y | Simple lifeform regularly seen in lake AEOMAB* (regular letters in lAkE wOrM mAyBe) |
| 15 | HELD | J U | Restrained agitated LED* after H (henry) |
| 16 | LOGMAN | D E | Lumberjack 2 meanings (reference to Napierian logarithms) |
| 17 | SONGWRITERS | See preamble (11) | |
| 19 | RUT | T I | Excitement from mostly RUT(h) (Book of Ruth, mostly) |
| 20 | GEOS | C K | EG< (say, returning) O (over) S (southern) |
| 22 | APSE | E T | Program’s broadcast revealing extremity of sounds like APP’S (short for Application’s, program) |
| 25 | HANDWORKS | T O | (DARK SHOW)* containing N (Nationalist) |
| 27 | EMEU | R I | Uncle starting to unhood EME (uncle) + U (start to Unhood) |
| 28 | ILLS | D E | Medicine’s knocking out first (p)ILLS (medicines, missing first letter) |
| 30 | YGO | E L | Spenser went hidden in saY GOod |
| 32 | ABSCONDENCE | E A | Desertion and inattention surrounds prisoner ABSENCE (inattention) about CON (prisoner) D (diamonds) |
| 35 | PROTON | N O | PRO (expert) TO (for) N (nuclear) |
| 37 | SHOE | R R | Broken HOSE*; reference to cobbler’s last |
| 39 | EIDOLA | I G | Images, electronic E (electronic) + (I LOAD)* |
| 40 | ORGY | B Y | Knocking back unknown beer curtailed (Y (unknown) GRO(g) (beer, curtailed))< |
| 41 | BARDOT | G E | Screen legend and BAR (stop) + DOT (stop, as in full stop) |
| 42 | EASLE | T B | Hot ashes from setting afire a hidden in afirE A SLEeper |
| 43 | SERE | A C | Old claw in dry and withered 2 meanings |
| 44 | PAP | K I | Photograph 2 meanings |
| 45 | WRITER | W A | E.g. Rowling’s R (runs) in WI (women’s group, Women’s Instutute) + (pes)TER (harry, half hidden) |
| DOWN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No | Entry | 1st & 4th Letters |
Clue and Explanation |
| 1 | FATHER | N T | Rich FAT (rich) HER (female’s) |
| 2 | IN RE | T O | Slippery rein is concerning REIN* |
| 3 | ENCLOTHE | H O | Dress and nurse EN (nurse) CLOT (fool) H(om)E |
| 4 | DELUGE | L D | Drag LUG (drag) in DEE (river) |
| 5 | FEMURS | Y O | FURS (hides) around E(l)M (tree, hollow) |
| 6 | ORAL | U R | Test on section of track missing current O (on) RAIL (section of track) – I (current) |
| 7 | ELOGE | H A | Praise for late band, good on ELO (band) + G (good) + E (stagE, ultimately) |
| 8 | EMBASSAGE | N D | English manipulate bishop inside E (English) MASSAGE (manipulate) with B (bishop) inside) |
| 9 | REANNEX | C A | REX (Henry VIII once) about ANNE (his wife, reference Anne of Cleves) |
| 11 | MEOW | N T | Xanthippe, ME (Xanthippe) O (old) W (wife) |
| 14 | MOTOR | B U | Berber’s MOOR (Berber) holding T (fleeT, last letter) |
| 17 | SUBMARINE | Y M | Vessel American US< (American, capsized, ie inverted) + BRINE (sea) about MA (Morocco) |
| 18 | IDOL | E L | Latin completes promise L (Latin) after I DO (promise, as in wedding vow) |
| 21 | ODSO | O V | Surprised expression over O (over) + DSO (award) |
| 23 | PSYCHIST | E I | Bridge player (SS (Spades twice) PITY)* about C (clubs) |
| 24 | HELPERS | F E | Assistants take in new sheep R (take) in SHEEP* about L (50) |
| 26 | NICOL | E L | Crystal reportedly sounds like NICKEL (silvery element) |
| 28 | INHOOP | F I | Family restrict wearing IN (wearing) HOP (flight) around O (Ohio) |
| 29 | LENGER | N E | Ed’s extended ire at the French obscuring a ANGER (ire) with LE (the, French) instead of A; Ed = Edmund Spenser |
| 31 | OPENER | D A | Starter, duck and O (duck) + N (and) in PEER (lord) |
| 33 | STOAE | Y T | EATS< (destroys, climbing) outside O (of) |
| 34 | DIRT | R I | Queen covered in R (queen) surrounded by DIT (song, old) |
| 26 | NADA | P P | Zip cases, CANADA (country) – CA (cases); zip = nothing |
| 38 | OGLE | E R | Stare at mistake on pitch edge, lacking in OG (own goal, ie mistake on pitch) + LINE (edge) – IN |
I don’t remember coming across Xanthippe in the EV before, but I enjoyed this one. I’m not sure I found it as easy as you did, however! It took a long time to find THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD, primarily because it was very winding indeed. Although I hadn’t come across Xanthippe before, I hope to come across her(?) again soon.
I’m glad you enjoyed the puzzle Brian. I’ve been writing barred thematically since 1994 but I’m not that prolific. The earliest record of my EVs that I have was in 1999 but I’ve a feeling I had one before that (can’t seem to get onto Dave’a database to check at the moment).
Xanthippe
Ps you’re right that with my pseudonym I should be female but I’m not!
Thanks for the comment about the Database being down. Sorry for the glitch… it’s back up again now (but let me know if you have a problem). It shows your earliest EV was back in 1998. Thanks again for this one; good fun.
Thanks Dave working now.