“The puzzle’s theme is a work by a well-known British crime writer.” Well, I just read a book by a well-known British crime writer, and I know who I think it is…
Fairly obviously, the theme is a work by AGATHA CHRISTIE (any doubt was dispelled by talk of multiple stage and film adaptations). But which one?
It turns out to be PHILOMEL COTTAGE, which was adapted for the stage and then filmed as LOVE FROM A STRANGER (the US title was ‘A Night of Terror’), and then filmed again as (in the UK) A STRANGER WALKED IN (and called, I believe, ‘Love From a Stranger’ in the US). The combined UK titles are to be highlighted.
A COTTAGE can be found on the bottom row, PHILOMEL is to be written under the grid.
Unfortunately, I can’t fully parse 40ac and 16dn. Thanks, Richard Heald! I’m also unsure about fine = arty, but that must be what’s intended.
Notation
(xxx) = definition
[xxx] = (anagram/homophone/container/etc.) indicator
XXX* = anagram
< = reversal
Please post a comment if the explanations are not clear.
| Across | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | CABBAGY | CAGY (Wary) [about] BBA (bankers) like Collard perhaps (7) |
| 6 | THYRSE | Staff [making a contribution to] MerTHYR SExtet (6) |
| 11 | OVERTRADE | Buy too much to settle OVER (done) TRADE (deal) (9) |
| 12 | CYMA | [Short] CYMA |
| 13 | BELOVE | BE (Remain) LOVE (dear) and no longer fancy (6) |
| 14 | FROME | Town and river FROM (of) E (Spain) |
| 17 | PATROLMAN | {TRAMP, [mostly] ALON |
| 18 | LARUS | [Endless] LAR |
| 20 | ENTERA | Guts AREN’T* [affected] by E (energy) (6) |
| 21 | ACHARYA | AA (Association of architects) [split by] CHARY (fastidious) teacher (7) |
| 24 | REYNAUD | French actor is [unexpectedly] RUDE* [about] <ANY (some) [backtracking] (7) |
| 28 | AFFIRM | State makes <FA (note) [about] FIRM (company) (6) |
| 33 | ZINEB | Insecticide – EZB [‘Z in EB’] perhaps? |
| 35 | MEAT-EATER | Dog, perhaps ME (setter), ATE (worried) A (about) [abrupt] TER |
| 36 | IRONY | Hard words of praise in criticism (5) |
| 37 | MUCK IN | Give help with MU (letter) C (about) KIN (relationships) (6, two words) |
| 38 | URDÉ | [Boundless] |
| 39 | TISIPHONE | <{IS IT} [returning] PHONE (call) that causes fury with a capital F? (9) |
| 40 | MASCOT | [‘M as COT’: What makes a MILLION COTILLION (dance)] for good luck (6) |
| 41 | TAGETES | French marigold TAGS (shreds) [in] ÉTÉ (summer in France)? [On the contrary] (7) |
| Down | ||
| 1 | COBBLER | Fruit pie and a drink for a local snob (7) |
| 2 | AVENA | Some cereals hAVE NArrow [boxes] (5) |
| 3 | BROGUE | B (Second-rate) ROGUE (crook)’s Irish accent (6) |
| 4 | GREAT AUK | ‘Grey talk’ (Dull conversation) [on the radio] with grounded old flier (8, two words) |
| 5 | YANTRA | (Promote) <{ART (cunning) NAY (vote against)} mystical diagram (6) |
| 7 | HERON | |
| 8 | RYMME | Old skirt M M (married) [twice] [in] RYE (historic Sussex town) (5) |
| 9 | SMEARY | This [greasy] POT* [can give you] SOME PARTY! (6) |
| 10 | EARNS | Acquires |
| 15 | OLGA | Holy woman [thrown in] GAOL* (4) |
| 16 | ARTY | HE [misses out] with HEARTY (bluff), getting fine (4) |
| 19 | ACADEMIA | Learned people MADE [up] [the nucleus of] A CIA. (European company) (8) |
| 22 | RIND | Outside fitting (4) |
| 23 | AMBONES | Reading desks – AM (American) and B (British) ONES (types) 7) |
| 25 | EPEIRA | Garden creeper {IE (that is) [cultivated with] RAPE}* (6) |
| 26 | NATO | United States seNATOr [assimilates] (4) |
| 27 | DETEST | Dislike DE TEST (of French cricket)? |
| 29 | FITCHÉ | ITCH (Irritation) [at the heart of] FE (Further Education) cut – to a point (6) |
| 30 | IMAUM | Devotional leader is I (the first person) A (about) [to break] MUM (the silence) (5) |
| 31 | WARDS | FOR these minors, [could be] FORWARDS (front men)? (5) |
| 32 | LENTO | LENT (Fast) O (overs), slow movement (5) |
| 34 | EXINE | EINE (Flower) [covering] X (each) outer membrane (5) |
| C | A | B | B | A | G | Y | T | H | Y | R | S | E |
| O | V | E | R | T | R | A | D | E | C | Y | M | A |
| B | E | L | O | V | E | N | F | R | O | M | E | R |
| B | N | A | G | P | A | T | R | O | L | M | A | N |
| L | A | R | U | S | T | R | A | N | G | E | R | S |
| E | N | T | E | R | A | A | C | H | A | R | Y | A |
| R | E | Y | N | A | U | D | A | F | F | I | R | M |
| I | P | W | A | L | K | E | D | Z | I | N | E | B |
| M | E | A | T | E | A | T | E | R | T | D | X | O |
| A | I | R | O | N | Y | E | M | U | C | K | I | N |
| U | R | D | E | T | I | S | I | P | H | O | N | E |
| M | A | S | C | O | T | T | A | G | E | T | E | S |
___________PHILOMEL_____________
40ac: million with m as cot = cotillion (a dance).
16dn: (he)arty.
For 16d, there’s bluff = hearty, he misses out, so that leaves arty. But I don’t know how fine comes into it.
I saw ‘fine’ as the definition in 16d – arty = aesthetic, refined?…
Nice puzzle – thanks to blogger and setter. My only gripe is that ‘symmetrical’ in the preamble – I think ‘symmetrical-ish’ might have helped…I spent a fair amount of time trying to find a contiguous set of 25 mirror or 180-degree symmetrical cells – not easy in a 13×12 grid!