The initial grid is suffering from a lack of Education. Sounds familiar when I watch politicians on the news trying to understand simple maths and science.
Several answers were too short for the grid entry and with the preamble saying the final grid only contained real words, it was pretty obvious that a letter needed adding to make another word. 12 letters were missing, which showed my lack of Education – or more specifically illustrated to me that SCHOOLMASTER is an anagram of THE CLASSROOM. These being the 3 words to put under the grid – an even nicer touch being that these words could be read in the grid.
- THE CLASSROOM (read top to bottom)
- SCHOOLMASTER (read left to right)
So that completed my education.
Thanks Jaques for a lovely puzzle.
Rev. Reverse; DD Double definition; Underline – definition; * asterisk
Across
1 I like settling in parking afflictions they can bring on a rash (9)
I + as (like) in P (parking) + sores (afflictions) = PSORIASES
10 Reed species with seed-head? (6)
Sp (species) + ear (seed-head) = SPEAR – entry = SPHEAR
12 Cut nothing for wraparound garment (5)
Pare (cut) + o (nothing) = PAREO
13 Reverses ballot? Dooms elderly (8)
De-votes (reverses ballot) = DEVOTES – entry = DEVOTEES
14 Almost disgusting slight (5)
Slimy (disgusting) – y = SLIM – entry = SCLIM
15 Legal intermediate not having second to complain to Macbeth? (4)
Mesne(legal intermediate) – s = MENE
16 Sulks about fertiliser being used casually (6)
Pet (sulks) + re (about) = PETRE – entry = PETREL
17 Large South American, name unknown conceals signature (6)
N (name) + u (unknown) around hand (signature) = NHANDU
19 Wary sun’s torrid in places holidays start? (8)
(warysun)* = RUNWAYS entry = RUNAWAYS
22 See routine progress rebuffed is coming from upbringing (8)
La (see) + rut (routine progress) + run (progress) = NURTURAL
26 Naïve comic maybe dealing with larks (6)
(naïve)* = AVINE entry = SAVINE
29 Clumsy cowboy dropping out of East (6)
Gaucho(cowboy) – o (out) + e (east) = GAUCHE
30 Neat border following conclusion of edit (4)
T (conclusion of edit) + rim (border) = TRIM
31 Learn about newspaper’s first derelict hack (5)
See (learn) around n (newspaper’s = SNEE entry = SNEER
33 Drunk’s focus shot with pints left still in the glass? (8)
U (Drunk’s focus) + (pints)* around l (left) = UNSPILT – entry = UNSPOILT
34 Labrador perhaps not concerned with stick (5)
Canine (Labrador) – in (concerned with) = CANE Entry = CANOE
35 Uncle neglected money it could make you sick (6)
Eme (uncle) + tin (money) = EMETIN
36 Being first to play responding to needing clubs shifted up front (9)
Reacting (responding) CREATING Entry = CREMATING
Down
1 Signatory’s initial follows postscript in letters from overseas (4)
Ps (postscript) + I (in) + s (signatory’s initial) = PSIS
2 Doctored last drop of drink is taken away and investigated (6)
Spiked(doctored) – k (last drop of drink) = SPIED – entry = SPICED
3 Withdraw from currency network, once taxman’s involved (6)
Rete (network) around IR (taxman) = RETIRE
4 Augmented reality with each part of theatre (5)
AR (Augmented reality) + ea (each) = AREA – entry = AREAL
5 Vehicle with NASA unusually going round plain with sparse vegetation (7)
(NASA)* around van (vehicle) = SAVANNA
6 Forgotten fear around century arising, that’s an age (6)
Rev. hope (forgotten fear) around c (century) = EPOCH Entry = EPOCHA
7 Bath’s drain having plughole’s end blocking to flow no longer (5)
Ren (to flow no longer) around e (plughole’s end) = REEN – Entry = TREEN
8 Take care over tense final point (5)
T (tense) + end (final point) = TEND – Entry = TEEND
9 Espouse raging at Nancy, she’s got attitude (7)
(espouse)* = POSEUSE
11 Change? Not me! (6)
DD = ALTER – Entry = HALTER
18 To get folds out of stuff, iron maybe no good for starters (7)
gun (iron) – g (good) + tuck (starters) = UNTUCK – Entry = UNSTUCK
20 Ruddy (only half) encapsulating red of rust (7)
Sanguine(ruddy) – sang around red = UREDINE
21 Promise to pay for something done about fungus (6)
Act (something done) around cep (fungus) = ACCEPT
23 Possibly mesmerized in Sunderland’s possession? (6)
Hidden = sUNDERland = UNDER Entry = UNDOER
24 Tunes composed, not prearranged (6)
(Tunes)* = UNSET Entry = SUNSET
25 Notable red wine from Bordeaux for fish? (6)
Che (notable red) + vin (wine for Bordeaux) = CHEVIN
27 Elevated nomadic huntsmen run after American buffaloes (5)
Rev. San (nomadic huntsmen) after r (run) after a(American) = ARNAS
28 Venue for law partners to get into dispute (5)
Vie (dispute) around SN (partners) = VISNE
29 Poet’s ambition – pieces for play having first half following on from second (5)
Lego (pieces for play) swapping halves around = GOLE Entry = GOLEM
32 One no good bit of pasture, maybe Don moves on by (4)
I (one) + ng (no good) = ING Entry = RING
Very enjoyable, thanks, Jacques. We hadn’t realised that THE CLASSROOM would anagram to SCHOOLMASTER but liked the way you used that. It’s great that the reviews are appearing earlier. Thank you twencelas. I have so often found that I have forgotten the puzzle by the time the review appears, so this change ismost welcome.
This must have been difficult to construct, given the need for ordering in two directions. As it happened I spotted THE CLASSROOM first and automatically added the fairly well-known anagram before realising that it too was logically placed. I’d initially suspected that the three R’s might be involved somehow. Very enjoyable – many thanks.
A nice entertaining grid fill, with the missing letters and the likelihood of schoolmaster becoming apparent fairly early. Then a period of frustration trying to find the words to go under the grid – kept trying to find something like “filling the gaps” to mean education or some relevant quote to tie them together. Some grumbling about lack of direction from the setter until finally thought to look at the missing letters downwards. A great PDM – and muttered apologies to the setter: it was definitely me not him/her. And what a feat of construction as all the missing letters had to be precisely positioned and still create real words. And symmetry still maintained – I’m sure I would have given up on that. Congratulations to Jaques and thanks twencelas for the blog.
THE CLASSROOM/SCHOOLMASTER is such an apt anagram that it must have appeared in a clue somewhere before, at least once. I don’t remember seeing it, but that doesn’t mean anything. The use of it as the basis of a theme like this is a delight, especially when the two parts are so neatly placed. One of the best EVs, indeed advanced puzzles, I’ve seen for a while.
Nice to see the blog earlier too.
I really enjoyed the PDM when it came to fill in the space below the grid. I came very close to writing in something like ‘FILLING IN FORM’ but fortunately looked at the anagram possibility for THE CLASSROOM and then it fell into place. I very much appreciated the grid construction to allow those missing letters to be read also as SCHOOLMASTER, having only previously noticed the reading in row order not columns.
My favourite clue was 25D for CHEVIN with its lovely disguised wordplay.
Remembering the previous EV by Jaques (which was enjoyed by the sole commenter on that occasion) I was a tad surprised that this one took me so long to get into and then so long to finish (in the bottom left).
At some point, I found that the likely ‘extra’ letters, reading down, could make 10 out of 12 letters of THE CLASSROOM, and that helped me to finish. The anagram SCHOOLMASTER occurred to me pretty quickly, and those ‘two ways’ of deploying the letters were obviously what was wanted in the space below the grid.
Having now read the blog, I’m amazed to see SCHOOLMASTER going across the grid, complementing THE CLASSROOM perfectly. With that revealed, I appreciate the design even more. I noted that as many as nine of the 12 extra letters made new words both Across and Down. A rewarding puzzle in the end, and a very good one.
Thanks to Jaques and twencelas.