“The perimeter comprises FIVE OF A KIND, and the answer to one clue might be found in any of them. Solvers must highlight this entry in an appropriate colour. Unchecked letters in the perimeter could spell MAN GUZZLES BAR CLEAN FOR MONTH. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.”
The perimeter of the grid spells:
FLAGON, JEROBOAM, METHUSELAH, SALMANAZAR, NEBUCHADNEZZAR
which are containers (listed in increasing volume) all of which could contain RED WINE (4 down).
Notation
(xxx) = definition
[xxx] = (anagram/homophone/container/etc.) indicator
XXX* = anagram
< = reversal
Please post a comment if the explanations are not clear.
| Across | ||
|---|---|---|
| 6 | BRISBANE | City of BR (Brazil) IS BANE (source of misery) (8) |
| 9 | HERM | Head HER (girl’s) M (MARLBOROUGH’s [first]) (4) |
| 10 | ALSO | A (One) LSO (group of players) and another (4) |
| 11 | MASA | MASA |
| 12 | DONS | Teachers [forming part of] |
| 14 | PINY | Needled P |
| 15 | WRITE | W (With) RITE (formal actions) set down (5) |
| 16 | ZEN BUDDHISM | {BUSHMEN DID}* [stray] [after] Z (zero) faith (11, two words) |
| 18 | EASEMENT | SE (Kent) MEN (people) EAT (take food) [around] – that’s right! (8) |
| 21 | NEIGH | ‘NAY’ [Heard] (yet more) noise from animal (5) |
| 22 | TORII | I (Institute) [invested in] TORI (architectural mouldings) for Japanese gateway (5) |
| 24 | HEXES | Witches HS ([initially] HAD STRESS) [crossing] EXE (river) (5) |
| 25 | DENIM | Material < MINED (dug up) [from the East] (5) |
| 26 | ROAMINGS | [In] RINGS (calls), O (old) < MA [retired] (graduate) rambles (8) |
| 28 | EMPARLAUNCE | Conference for Edmund’s EAR (attention) [involving] MP (politician), UN (a Parisian) [wearing] LACE (tie) (11) |
| 32 | HONOR | |
| 34 | GEST | GET (Learn) [about] S (saint)’s forgotten exploit (4) |
| 35 | RATE | |
| 36 | TANH | |
| 37 | RHEA | Moon seen from EAR |
| 38 | UTAH | State [regularly ignored]: |
| 39 | SELEUCID | Related to old line: ‘SELE (Good luck to local) U (United) CID (captain)’ (8) |
| Down | ||
| 1 | ARSON | Inflammatory behaviour from PARSON (rector) [no longer P (soft)-headed] (5) |
| 2 | OSMIUM | OS (Vast) MUM (silence) [has] I (one) element (6) |
| 3 | JASY | AS ([Last pair of] |
| 4 | RED WINE | ‘READ’ (Studied) [pronounced] WIN (effect) [on] E (Ecstasy) and alcohol (7, two words) |
| 5 | BENI | Plant BEIN |
| 6 | BLUE | Conservative ‘BLEW’ (boasted) [in conversation] (4) |
| 7 | BANDEIRANTE | Adventurer’s BAND (group) < [climbing] {ETNA |
| 8 | NAPHTHALENE | {AN ELEPHANT}* [wandering] [around] H (hot) compound (11) |
| 9 | HORS | Out of E (energy) [withdrawing from] HORS |
| 13 | STAGS | S (Son) TAGS (names) dogs (5) |
| 17 | MIEN | Bearing E (earth) [lifted] in MINE (excavation) (4) |
| 19 | SONE | T ( |
| 20 | NEO | Language ONE* [misinterpreted] (3) |
| 22 | TENOR | < NET (Catch) [up], OR (alternatively) drift (5) |
| 23 | IMPRESSA | Motto: ‘[New] |
| 27 | MASHUA | Andean grower ASH (remains) E ([close to] |
| 29 | MOTH | MOTH |
| 30 | NIHIL | HI (Greeting) L (lecturer) [after] < [turning up] IN (wearing) nothing (5) |
| 31 | CRED | < [Back], [partly] |
| 33 | NAAN | NAN (Relative) [consuming] A (American) bread (4) |
| 34 | GALA | Fair GAL (lady locally) [meets] A (one) (4) |
| F | L | A | G | O | N | J | E | R | O | B | O | A |
| R | B | R | I | S | B | A | N | E | H | E | R | M |
| A | L | S | O | M | A | S | A | D | O | N | S | M |
| Z | U | O | P | I | N | Y | P | W | R | I | T | E |
| Z | E | N | B | U | D | D | H | I | S | M | A | T |
| E | A | S | E | M | E | N | T | N | E | I | G | H |
| N | T | O | R | I | I | E | H | E | X | E | S | U |
| D | E | N | I | M | R | O | A | M | I | N | G | S |
| A | N | E | M | P | A | R | L | A | U | N | C | E |
| H | O | N | O | R | N | G | E | S | T | I | R | L |
| C | R | A | T | E | T | A | N | H | R | H | E | A |
| U | T | A | H | S | E | L | E | U | C | I | D | H |
| B | E | N | R | A | Z | A | N | A | M | L | A | S |