A puzzle from Ifor with clashes between the wordplay and the defined grid entry. The difference between the clashing letters leading to the population of the bottom row.
Some tricky definitions in the clues but all unscrupulously fair.
Working out the differences between the letters in either direction did not yield any words – so a bit of lateral thinking was needed (which to be honest the preamble alluded to). The letter Z being missing from the final grid.
To solve you needed to use the periodic table to determine the letter for the bottom row by using the difference of their atomic number Z . e.g. Y (Yttrium – 39) – K(Potassium – 19) = 20 (T in the alphabet)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periodic_table
Computing each difference yielded TRANSMUTATION (or changing one chemical element into another) – Isaac Newton wrote more on alchemy than gravity – apples fall but turning lead into gold has much more profit potential
Thanks Ifor – I do hope this series continues to amuse us.
Time for me to go to the Blaydon races – the specific races referred to in the song are 160 years old today. Whilst Balmbras may still be there; there are no buses stopping there anymore.
Key – underline (definition); * anagram; Rev. reversed; First answer grid entry/ second wordplay
ACROSS
1 Lucky stake not won in two-up (6)
swy (two-up) around pawn (stake) – w (won) = SPAWNY
7 Chicken is headless, with mind dead (6)
is – i (headless) + care (mind) + d (dead) = SCARED
11 Everything fine in short wood with nothing in the middle (3)
oak(wood) moving o to the middle = AOK
12 One originally born without name in part upset natural father, perhaps (9)
(o (one originally) + ne (born) – n(name) + in part)* = BIOPARENT
13 All sides lost, and more than just locally (3)
aNd + mORe = NOR
14 Unplanned performance better to finish early (6)
improve(better) – e = IMPROV
17 Representation lost immediately before including university (6)
stat (immediately) around u (university) + a (before) = STATUA
19 Temporary minister sacked after term of success fades out (7)
(minister -s)* = INTERIM
20 Disprove once before felony’s admitted (5)
Hidden befoRE FELony’s = REFEL
23 Hang around utterly vacantly past starting time (7, two words)
(uy (utterly vacabtly) + past)* + t (time) = STAY PUT
25 Abandons preparations to shoot strangers from Edinburgh crossing borders of Clydebank (7)
uncos (strangers from Edinburgh) around ck (borders of Clydebank) = UNCOCKS
28 Once recently advanced, and elsewhere retreated (5)
a (advanced) + Rev. et al (and elsewhere) = ALATE
30 Mark Antony’s shout louder than orator stumbling over Brutus’s penultimate letter (7)
(orator + u)* = OUTROAR
31 Obliteration certain to follow troops with guns (6)
sure (certain) after Ra (troops with guns) = RASURE
35 Temper keeping daughter in from dawn to dusk (6)
allay (temper) around d (daughter) = ALLDAY
36 Scots challenge when beginning to fail (3)
when – w (beginning) = HEN
37 Headgear leaves stuffing badly shaped (9)
tea (leaves) in (shaped)* = HEAPSTEAD
38 Measure of work therefore falling short (3)
ergo(therefore) – o = ERG
39 Shafts of gold interrupting shadowy bars (6)
or (gold) in (bars)* = ARBORS
40 See without network’s backing (6)
Ex (without) + Rev. rete (network) = EXETER
DOWN
2 Bear right after opposite prompt backfires (4)
ok (right) after rev. op (opposite prompt) = POOH/ POOK
3 A sorry track restricting one lacking in willpower (7)
a + (track)* around i = AKRATIC
4 Incandescent with wrong drink turning up (8)
(with)* + Rev. tope (drink) = WHITEHOT/ WHITEPOT
5 Radical’s confusion after sudden cry from setter, maybe (6)
pie (confusion) after yip (sudden cry – dog) = YIPPIE
6 Joint initially offering spirits in large bowls (6)
j (joint orginally) + rum (spirit) in os (large) = JORUMS
7 Quiet surrounding position in Oprah’s sentimental drivel (5)
pos (position) in sh (quiet) = SPOSH
8 Any formerly rejected book rattles cages (3)
Rev. hidden = booK RAttles = ARY/ARK
9 ‘Tear here’, state boxes (4)
Hidden = heRE STate = RENT/REST
10 Add to job list in a line for Macron (7)
DD ENQUEUE
11 No organised design in awfully grainy quantised particle (9)
(grainy quantised – design)* = ANTIQUARK/ANTIQUARY
15 Large hint, craftily making use of deception (9)
(large hint)* = PALTERING/ HALTERING
16 Trainspotter sounding more stupid (6)
sounds like grosser (more stupid) = GRICER/ GROCER
18 Psalms translated over time (6)
trans (translated) around t (time) = TRACTS/ TRANTS
21 Size up verse, one from here and there on the page, perhaps (8)
eye (size up) + rhyme(verse) = EYE-RHYME
22 One using marquetry by way of really changing missing length (7)
in (by way of) + (really – l)* = INLAYER
24 Inspired teacher of the afflicted behind support (7)
prop (support) + (the)* = PROPHET
26 Fattened pig took first place (6)
sow (pig) + led (took first place) = SOILED/ SOWLED
27 Ice-cream dessert is due after originally being ordered (6)
(is due + a)* = SUNDAE/ SUIDAE
29 Left to develop before sun withers (5)
(left)* + s (sun) = WELTS/ FELTS
32 Blackleg lifted prohibitions (4)
Rev. bans (prohibitions) = SCAB/ SNAB
33 At this point, before entropy rises (4)
Rev. ere (before) + S (entopy)HERE/ SERE
34 The countryside’s on work, for the most part turning up (3)
Rev. opus (work) – s = UPO
Doh – this was a DNF from me – had a full grid and clashes, and lots of additions/subtractions of letter values giving me gobbledygook – but couldn’t make that lateral leap to Z = atomic number, despite repeated readings of the Chambers entry for Z! Good job it wasn’t my turn to blog – thanks to Ifor for the challenge, and twencelas for the explication…)
(NB. I have seen indications elsewhere that the EV will be continuing, ‘in print form only’…which can only be good news! Not sure what this means for us bloggers, as I use the PDF version from the website to ‘scrape’ the clues for my blogs…time will tell.)
i had abandoned the atomic number idea after initially applying the letter difference and writing down the resulting element’s symbol. only after much banging the head against the wall did i note the small variety of clashing letters, and read the preamble more carefully!
thanks to ifor for an enjoyable puzzle with very fair cluing, and pleasing clashes. though maybe having to comb through the definitions of Z was not the most satisfying way to find the trick.
Quite a challenge for me. Took me quite a while to consider element numbers, so that was a big penny drop for me. Couldn’t parse 2 down so thanks to twencelas for explaining that and to Ifor for the mental workout.
PS: twencelas – not sure you meant UNscrupulously in second paragraph? But made me smile
Thanks Stick Insect – not entirely sure how that faux pas got through, but further evidence of my shoddy editing.
I made the leap from Z to atomic number and the endgame – but when I looked back at the leap, I did think it a bit chancey. Some rather remarkable replacements, and who would have thought you could get so many letters by differences between single letter elements.
Not too tricksy clues and I enjoyed 1A as it is a word I used to use at school. I wonder if that’s a word known nationally as I always assumed it was local NE dialect. So could be very wrong.
The endgame took me several iterations of thr theme. The preamble and grid pointed to Z and Atomic Numbers. How clever by Ifor .
Do you run in the race twencelas ? I’m at the stage of my life when I’m spectator only. Collingwood Street used to house my business. It’s mainly glitzy bars now selling drinks I’ve never heard of.
Thanks to Ifor for more EV fun and twencelas for the blog.
Great news if there’s an EV reprieve. I have a subscription and download the pdf weekly. Will that no longer be available ?
Phil R – spawny is , in common usage in the north east, but can’t say I’ve heard other regions use it. As to running in the Blaydon race – snapped my achilles around 15 years ago which is true but a bit of a lame excuse, as I have no long term issues – but whilst I liked a good run, I never saw the appeal of running in large crowds – The GNR being a prime example of to misquote a certain Mark Twain ” A good run spoiled”.
Thanks to all as usual, especially for the exhaustive and accurate blog. As I’ve mentioned over at Big Dave’s, it’s actually possible to generate all 26 letters by this process, some in several ways.
I was actually very happy with “unscrupulously fair”, taking it as a deliberate compliment. To my way of thinking the game we play involves the setter being as devious as possible while always offering the opportunity for success to the solver.