Enigmatic Variations 1305 Association by Clarence

8 unclued answers – * clues with additional words which are anagrams (plus a letter) of associations to the unclued answers. Quite quirky and a new setter for me Clarence.

A good mix of clues varying from easy to much harder to parse. 27ac left me scratching my head – it’s not in Chambers and I would think the real answer would be “Flick” being a double definition, but with only 4 characters available and the checking answers giving FL_C then the only answer I can see is FLIC.

My favourite clue was 4dn – a very elegant device.

As to the additional words (listed below and highlighted in red in the clue explanations) – all could be anagrammed (losing a letter) to famous sports commentators.  Their sports of expertise being the unclued entries.

towel – T = LOWE (Ted) (SNOOKER)

small-ankled – L = DAN MASKELL (TENNIS)

trooper – O = PORTER (Hugh) (CYCLING)

egurgitated – A = GUTTERIDGE (Reg) (BOXING)

wangle – L = AGNEW (Jonathan) (CRICKET)

unsolvable – B = O SULLEVAN (Richard) (RACING) – Horses

flamenco – F = COLEMAN (David) (ATHLETICS)

cornmeal – O = McLAREN (Bill) (RUGBY)

The unused letters can then be rearranged to give FOOTBALL and MOTSON (John) is visible in the NW to SE diagonal in the middle of the grid – to be highlighted to complete the puzzle.

Good fun – it certainly was with the unsolvable and egurgitated ones the trickiest of the anagrams from my point of view. Coupled with the fact I took Coleman out of cornmeal first until I realised the error of my ways.

Many thanks Clarence – I can’t get memories of Daktari out of my head.

Key:

DD Double definition; * anagram; Underline definition; Red additional word; Rev. reverse

 

Across

8 Record 80 in shade destroyed plants (8)

Ep (record) + r (80) in (shade)* = EPHEDRAS

9 Obsessive about oddly neat towel by lake (4)

a (about) + na (oddly neat) +  l(lake) = ANAL

10 Fancy nun with aura from Pacific island (7)

(nun + aura)* = NAURUAN

12 Dress small-ankled queen retiring to nurse former pupil (4)

Rev. ER (queen) around ob (former pupil – old boy) = ROBE

14 Frenzied interjection from Brussels over Italy (4)

EU (From Brussels) + o (over) + I (Italy) = EUOI

15 With this state, rare cooking could lead to diarrhoea (5)

(diarrhoea – rare)* = IDAHO

16 Conceal French investigators favouring City over United (7)

Surete (French investigators) swapping u(united) for ec (city) = SECRETE

19 Co-ordinate trooper doing away with American out of shame, possibly (4)

(shame – a (American) )* = MESH

20 Auction site, not up front, finally sells horses (4)

Ebay (auction site) – e (not up front) + s (finally sells) = BAYS

21 Avoiding inhaling at first, somehow aspire to grass (7)

(aspire to – I ) = ESPARTO

24 Place to pick fruit or vegetable (7)

Or + chard (vegetable) = ORCHARD

25 Books with lines about Australian mammal (5)

OT (books) + ry (lines) around a (australian) = OTARY

27 Touch film (4)

DD FLIC

30 Civilian partly egurgitated bones (4)

Hidden civILIAn = ILIA

31 Wangle small amounts of money to secure Arabian garments (7)

Songs (small amounts of money) around ar (arabian) = SARONGS

32 Two articles about idiot (4)

Rev. an + an (articles) = NANA

33 Recall endless thundering underground in carbon construction (8)

Rev. tonant (thundering) -t-t (endless)+ tube (underground) = NANOTUBE

34 One agent occupies fool with unknown philistinism (9)

I + g-man (agent) in Git (fool) + y (unknown) = GIGMANITY

 

Down

1 Settle with Bill outside once satisfied (5)

Pay (settle) in ad (bill) = APAYD

2 Tree so short accepted by yard (5)

Thus (so) – s + a (accepted) by y (yard) = THUYA

3 Mark’s providing support for that woman’s bust (4)

Her (that woman) + m (mark) = HERM

4 In prime positions, perhaps, ages (4)

pERhApS (i.e. prime positions 2,3,5,7) = ERAS

5 Immigrants, not posh, go out with idiots on vacation (6)

Issue (go out) – u (posh) + is (idiots on vacation) = ISSEIS

6 Criminal eats with bib, most like an infant (7)

(eats + bib)* = BABIEST

7 Holmes perhaps shut up about ultimately unsolvable brutal case (6)

(shut)* around l + e (ultimately brutal case) = SLEUTH

11 Moving south last, trap what might smell (5)

Snare (trap) moving S (south) last = NARES

13 Perform flamenco with European female (3)

Do (perform) + E (European) = DOE

17 Panic after Heard discovered Listener coverage? (7)

Heard – hd (discovered) + flap (panic) = EARFLAP

18 Charge ends (5)

DD Terms

22 Some cornmeal spoiled dish (3)

Hidden sPOIled = POI

23 Set eyes on lunatic ignoring ten mistakenly making proclamations for writer (6)

(set eyes on – ten)* = OYESES

26 Junior actor that’s leaving note to get something to eat (5)

Arnie (as in Schwarzenegger in Junior) – i.e. (that’s) + ut (note) = ARNUT

28 French separatist abbreviated writing (4)

Kanak (French separatist) – k = KANA

29 Point out powerless part of ego (4)

(point- p(powerless)* = NOTI