“The correct letters of misprints in definitions, in clue order, provide a French version (ignoring one accent) of a common English idiom and some additional assistance, which together will explain each EXCUSEZ-MOI required in a number of undefined, but otherwise plain, clue answers. Enumerations refer to entry lengths. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended; one answer is an abbreviation.”
The correct letters spell A CHACUN VIENT SA CHANCE – DAYS IN FRENCH.
The English version of that idiom is EVERY DOG HAS HIS DAY; days (in French) are to be entered in to the undefined clues, which are all dogs.
Notation
(xxx) = definition
[xxx] = (anagram/homophone/container/etc.) indicator
XXX* = anagram
< = reversal
“XXX” = homophone
Low in pride = misprint in definition
Please post a comment if the explanations are not clear.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1 | MITE (Little child) RED (embarrassed) wearing headdress of Indians (7) | MITERED |
| C | 7 | Low in pride, CO (company) [retains] HEAP (pile) (6) | CHEAPO |
| 12 | N (New) D (department) [in] < {ROOM (office) OK (fine)} [in retrospect] (13) | KLUNDIOMONDOR | |
| H | 14 | Inward movement with waste [almost] < SUR |
INRUSH |
| A | 16 | Experience lidos of old, AE (aged) [admitting] SHAM (pretence) (6) | ASHAME |
| C | 17 | Edmund’s home down with AIL (trouble) [in] AVE (street) (6) | AVAILE |
| 18 | RAD (Radical) [infiltrates] LABOR (New York’s workers collectively) (13) | LABRADOJEUDIR | |
| U | 22 | {PET NUN}* [is cracked], not mired (6) | UNPENT |
| 24 | PINS (Secures) CHE (revolutionary) R (rule) (13) | PINSCMARDIHER | |
| N | 26 | HON (Dear) [almost] SHU |
HONSHU |
| 30 | PL (Place) OUT* [in circulation] (13) | PLUMERCREDITO | |
| V | 31 | Old indentor [manoeuvred] ONSIDE* (6) | EDISON |
| I | 33 | Did amply |
EDUCED |
| E | 35 | Short gamy S (son) EVENS (quits) (6) | SEVENS |
| 36 | |
MSAMEDIONGREL | |
| N | 37 | Cops S (section) TEER (spread) with S (strangeness) (6) | STEERS |
| T | 38 | COD (Local chap) with EINE (old eyes) that’ll counter swing? (7) | CODEINE |
| Down | |||
| S | 2 | {ALLY IS}* [somehow] pure enough (6, two words) | I’LL SAY |
| A | 3 | Con in LA is SHUT* [up] (4) | TUSH |
| C | 4 | Will’s rakes in [swarming] {RED ANTS}* (7) | ENDARTS |
| 5 | R (Take) OVER (half a dozen balls) (13) | RDIMANCHEOVER | |
| H | 6 | One tending to slots in Leeds getting N (number) in DO NOT (forbidding words) (6) | DONNOT |
| 8 | {UNDO H (hard)}* [nuts] (13) | HOUVENDREDIND | |
| A | 9 | Bond of diverters once [seen regularly throughout] |
ENSA |
| N | 10 | [Mostly] POIN |
POPLIN |
| C | 11 | Stale OR (yellow) < RED (wine) [upset] (5) | ORDER |
| E | 13 | [Build] {CHAP |
CALIPH |
| D | 15 | Old comely presentation HIDE (to conceal fully) and [only half] HI |
HI-DE-HI |
| A | 19 | Bulk D |
DEMUR |
| Y | 20 | J (Judge) UR (sign of hesitation) with OR (soldiers) one assigned to Arran (5) | JUROR |
| S | 21 | EN (Nut) NUIS |
ENNUIS |
| I | 23 | Electronic part containing tread [adjusted] {TIE ROD}* (6) | TRIODE |
| N | 25 | Take wife, perhaps, LG (large) [in] INDUE (supply) (7) | INDULGE |
| F | 27 | Fully pledged in the extreme and |
OLDEST |
| R | 28 | Widely admixed, I C (see) ON (forward) IC (in charge) (6) | ICONIC |
| E | 29 | Ruby’s voice, ST (quiet) EVEN (still) (6) | STEVEN |
| N | 30 | Charges the ordering PER (of a) MS (manuscript) (5) | PERMS |
| C | 32 | SEEM* [odd] to have shattered bearings in arms (4) | SEME |
| H | 34 | Welsh candle [spotted among] groCERIes (4) | CERI |
| M | I | T | E | R | E | D | C | H | E | A | P | O |
| K | L | U | N | D | I | O | M | O | N | D | O | R |
| C | L | S | D | I | I | N | R | U | S | H | P | D |
| A | S | H | A | M | E | N | A | V | A | I | L | E |
| L | A | B | R | A | D | O | J | E | U | D | I | R |
| I | Y | E | T | N | E | T | U | N | P | E | N | T |
| P | I | N | S | C | M | A | R | D | I | H | E | R |
| H | O | N | S | H | U | I | O | R | N | I | S | I |
| P | L | U | M | E | R | C | R | E | D | I | T | O |
| E | D | I | S | O | N | O | E | D | U | C | E | D |
| R | E | S | E | V | E | N | S | I | L | E | V | E |
| M | S | A | M | E | D | I | O | N | G | R | E | L |
| S | T | E | E | R | S | C | O | D | E | I | N | E |
When I first tackled this I got a long way with the clues that had definitions (26 of 32 in total) but mistakenly made only a token effort at the clues for the longer entries, solving none of them. As the message made only partial sense I saw no way to get any further and was happy to stop.
On my return to the puzzle several days later I focused first on two clues that I suspected had given me the wrong letters. In 4d ENDARTS I had changed ‘rakes in’ to ‘takes in’, but ‘races in’ was indeed a better choice, and my T changed to C. In 11d ORDER I had changed ‘stale’ to ‘state’, whereas ‘scale’ yielded the required letter C instead of T. This was my main problem because ‘state’ and ‘scale’ were equally good corrections to make.
It was a rewarding moment (at last) to reveal the complete phrase in perfect French ‘à chacun vient sa chance’, and the LABRADOR that had been partially visible almost since the start made me think immediately of ‘every dog has its day’. Filling in all the compound words was straightforward and enabled me to finish off the few stubborn clues in the bottom half.
Thanks to Eclogue for an excellent theme and design and a very good set of clues. The title was very apposite and would have helped with those seven clues if I had given it a moment’s thought.
And thanks to Mister Sting for the blog.
Mister Sting
At 30a the answer is the easily pronounceable word PLUMERCREDITO, not just PLUTO!
Alan B
Ah yes! Excuthursdayez-moi!
I was a bit slow getting going on this one, only getting one thematic answer in the first pass (and not knowing what to do with it). Once I spotted “days in French” emerging at the end of the message, I was able to enter those into thematic entries – I’d guessed by then all the long entries were thematic – and made rapid progress from there, spotting “every dog has his day” as the English equivalent and finishing at a gallop. Good fun and definitely one of those themes I would never have thought of! Thanks Eclogue and Mister Sting
My experience was very similar to that of Stick Insect in solving this one. Quite a while pondering what was going on then bang, a quick finish. A very clever concept thanks Eclogue. And thanks to Mister Sting for the blog.