Hi everyone. I had an Ace (of Hearts) weekend, as I noticed that this setter had also provided the Listener puzzle of the day before and so did that too for comparison. Bountiful entertainment indeed, for which many thanks to The Ace of Hearts!
The preamble reads:
Four normal clues lead to thematic answers, each producing a single-letter clash in one cell when entered. From the answer to every other clue a letter must be deleted wherever it appears before entry into the grid; definitions refer to the full unmutilated answer, wordplay and numbers in brackets to the grid entry. The omitted letters in clue order spell out a definition of a two-word subheading in Chambers which must be highlighted in the completed grid. This definition, which might be described as THE BOUNTY, gives a cryptic indication of how to resolve the clashes. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended; the answer to 8 down is in ODE.
No particular trials or tribulations to report, although I think I got lucky finding the required subheading in Chambers fairly early from a partial definition. This made life much easier, knowing which letters would be omitted from the wordplay and grid entries. These omitted letters give:
A REWARD FOR A PROSCRIBED OUTLAW’S HEAD
… which is the third definition in Chambers for HEAD MONEY. And, sure enough, it’s there in the completed grid.
The four normal clues all led to outlaws, and all clashed at their first letters with an M from the crossing entry. M immediately suggested money, and choosing M produced real words. So I selected M (money) in exchange for the first letter (head) of the outlaws – to give the required HEAD MONEY, or THE BOUNTY.
| Clue No | ANSWER |
Clue with definition underlined | |
| Explanation, with quoted indicators in italics and ANSWER letters in bold caps | |||
| Across | |||
| 1a | MARASMUS | Morose Maud’s oddly wasting away (6) | A |
| MoRoSe MaUd’S oddly | |||
| 5a | EPIGRAM | Detective in for example American satirical poem (6) | R |
| PI (detective) in EG (for example) + AM (American) | |||
| 10a | ADENOMATA | Bill generated moan at glandular swellings (8) | E |
| AD (bill) + an anagram of (generated) MOAN AT | |||
| 11a | DOWNA | Ancient Scots cannot assume it in the country (4) | W |
| DON (assume) + A (it in the country) | |||
| 12a | NUTRIMENTAL | Let mint run wild – it’s nourishing (10) | A |
| LET MINT RUN anagrammed (wild) | |||
| 16a | ABHOR | Loathe anonymous American man consuming heroin (4) | R |
| A (anonymous) + BO (American man) around (consuming) H (heroin) | |||
| 17a | INDIGOLITE | Bluish-black mineral consisting of dichroite absorbs conductance (9) | D |
| IN IOLITE (consisting of dichroite) contains (absorbs) G (conductance) | |||
| 19a | KNIFE | Earl to blacken revolutionary attempt to defeat by treachery (4) | F |
| E (earl) and INK (to blacken), reversed (revolutionary) | |||
| 21a | HOBART | Drinking establishment in outskirts of hot island capital (5) | O |
| BAR (drinking establishment) in the outer letters (outskirts) of HoT | |||
| 22a | HEREOF | Tip off the retreating enemy about this (5) | R |
| Without the first letter (tip off), tHE + the reversal of (retreating) FOE (enemy) | |||
| 23a | LARIAT | In Perth whirl revolving lasso (4) | A |
| TIRL (in Perth, whirl) reversed (revolving) | |||
| 25a | PLUMASSIER | Jenny perhaps wearing hat that is initially riveting feather seller (9) | P |
| ASS (jenny perhaps) inside (wearing) LUM (hat) and IE (that is) + the first letter of (initially) Riveting | |||
| 27a | GERAH | Five agorot each invested in growth hormone (4) | R |
| EA (each) inside (invested in) GH (growth hormone) | |||
| 30a | OLD MEN FORGET | Lord and servants frequently grasp the meaning of Cooper’s autobiography (10, three words) | O |
| LD (Lord) + MEN (servants) + FR (frequently) + GET (grasp the meaning of) | |||
| 31a | HOOD MOOD |
Stop overdose in American’s vicinity (4) | |
| HO (stop) + OD (overdose) | |||
| 32a | SEMANTEME | Word conveying definite idea of contents of memo before empty marriage (8) | S |
| The inner letters of (contents of) mEMo + ANTE (before) + the outer letters only of (empty) MarriagE | |||
| 33a | CASSINI | French fashion designer in Italian town making final direction change (6) | C |
| ASSI[s]I (Italian town) with the final S changed to N (making final direction change) | |||
| 34a | TRULLAN | Describing old church council talks using Latin liturgy at Nicaea originally (6) | R |
| Talks Using Latin Liturgy At Nicaea originally | |||
| Down | |||
| 1d | BANDIT MANDIT |
Stripe on Italian enemy plane (6) | |
| BAND (stripe) + IT (Italian) | |||
| 2d | IRIDIUM | Germany intercepts suspicious heavy metal (4) | I |
| D (Germany) goes inside (intercepts) RUM (suspicious) | |||
| 3d | TORY MORY |
Your books upset Conservative (4) | |
| YR (your) and OT (books) reversed (upset) | |||
| 4d | SAMBAL | Part of crust casing mum’s curried dish (5) | B |
| SAL (part of crust) around (casing) MA (mum) | |||
| 6d | PANENTHEISM | Harshly criticise the one indicated in New Mexico – religious doctrine (9) | E |
| PAN (harshly criticise) + THIS (the one indicated) in NM (New Mexico) | |||
| 7d | GOLD-BEATING | Pummelling of precious metal proceeding around broken table (10) | D |
| GOING (proceeding) around an anagram of (broken) TABLE | |||
| 8d | ANOTHERIE | In Australia, one more flower part I start to examine (8) | O |
| ANTHER (flower part) + I + the first letter of (start to) Examine | |||
| 9d | DACOIT MACOIT |
Burmese thief backing scoundrel coordinator regularly (6) | |
| The reversal of (backing) CAD (scoundrel) + coOrdInaTor regularly | |||
| 13d | TRIPETALOUS | Having three leaflike parts tilt in such a manner, recently elevated (10) | U |
| TRIP (tilt) + SO (in such a manner) and LATE (recently) reversed (elevated) | |||
| 14d | CONFUTEMENT | Disproval against pleasure overwhelming me after Ecstasy (9) | T |
| CON (against) + FUN (pleasure) surrounding (overwhelming) ME after E (ecstasy) | |||
| 15d | MILER | Middle-distance runner dropping right to the bottom of bog (4) | L |
| We are moving R to the end of (dropping right to the bottom of) MIRE (bog) | |||
| 18d | ANGELENOS | Some Californians fancy English women, no casual whim (8) | A |
| An anagram of (fancy) ENGL[i]S[h] [w]O[m]EN with no anagram of (casual) WHIM | |||
| 20d | WILMA | Film actor in part has woman’s name (4) | W |
| fILM Actor in part | |||
| 22d | HIGH MASS | Audibly greeting mother in solemn service (6, two words) | S |
| HIGH, a homophone of (audibly) HI (greeting) + MA (mother) | |||
| 24d | WRYTHEN | Old twisted weak railway decade old (6) | H |
| W (weak) + RY (railway) + TEN (decade old) | |||
| 26d | ADNATE | Head naturalist somewhat attached to plant’s organ (5) | E |
| HeAD NATuralist somewhat | |||
| 28d | AORTAL | Cleaned out outrigger and taffrail of vessel (4) | A |
| With the removal of inner letters (cleaned out), OutriggeR and TaffraiL | |||
| 29d | EDEMA | We serve them pizza ultimately unhealthy mass (4) | D |
| wE servE theM pizzA ultimately | |||
A simple idea neatly executed (excuse pun). Some tougher than usual clues made for a good challenge with the theme not obvious to me until near the end. Thanks to The Ace of Hearts and to Kitty.