Hello everyone, and the now-usual thanks to mc_rapper for ensuring that we bloggers have access to a usable version of the puzzle. That I wasted a few moments wondering what relevance Daniel had in 24d is due only to my own imperfect proof-reading of the converted text! As for the puzzle itself, another enjoyable EV from Vagans, to whom thanks.
The preamble:
Six clues have thematic answers. The remaining across clues each have an extra letter generated by their wordplay giving, in clue order, an instruction showing IT’S NOT WHAT YOU SAY that matters. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended; one answer is an abbreviation.
1d was the first entry I noticed didn’t fit. Then 10a and 8d confirmed that we are entering the relevant clue types rather than the answers. The later part of the message took longer to appear, and it was fortunate that this wasn’t critical to discovering what was going on, allowing us to skate over the little oops in 30a …
ENTER THE CLUE DEVICE
| Clue No | ANSWER | Clue with definition underlined | |
| Explanation, with quoted indicators in italics and ANSWER letters in bold caps | |||
| Across | |||
| 1a | CUCKOO | Crazy signal, crazy cook (6) | E |
| CU[E] (signal) + an angram of (crazy) COOK | |||
| 6a | SCARPA | Clear off mark on face (6) | N |
| SCAR (mark) + PA[N] (face) | |||
| 10a | RED HERRING ODD LETTERS |
Cured fish reek; ‘Do heed, Rory,’ I’d nag from time to time (10, two words) | |
| ReEk; ‘Do HeEd, RoRy,’ I‘d NaG, odd letters (from time to time) | |||
| 11a | AFIRE | Burning tree in rash goddess’s grip (5) | T |
| FIR (tree) in A[T]E (rash goddess) | |||
| 12a | TREVIS | Bonds with vicar in stall (6) | E |
| TI[E]S (bonds) containing (with … in) REV (vicar) | |||
| 13a | RETROFIT | Update old-fashioned glazing mix (8) | R |
| RETRO (old-fashioned) + F[R]IT (glazing mix) | |||
| 16a | AIDE | Confidential assistant acting against trend (4) | T |
| A (acting) + [T]IDE (trend) | |||
| 18a | ARRÊT | Judgement another Rabbi on reflection embraces (5) | H |
| AnoT[H]ER RAbbi in reverse (on reflection) holds (embraces) the answer | |||
| 19a | GEMS | General Staff seizing old uncle to get jewels (4) | E |
| GS (General Staff) around (seizing) EM[E] (old uncle) | |||
| 20a | NEMESIA | Dry pieces retroverted in a flower from Africa (7) | C |
| SE[C] (dry) and MEN (pieces) reversed (retroverted) + I’ (in) + A | |||
| 23a | ENLIVEN | Cheer Kingmaker’s family capturing Knight on return (7) | L |
| NEVIL[L]E (Kingmaker’s family) containing (capturing) N (knight), reversed (on return) | |||
| 25a | THAN | Haunt weirdly again in some parts of the country (4) | U |
| HA[U]NT anagrammed (weirdly) | |||
| 27a | BEERY | Ale-loving at first Burton finally became strangely frightening (5) | E |
| At first Burton + finally becamE + E[E]RY (strangely frightening) | |||
| 29a | ALFA | Grass? A Luxembourg craze (4) | D |
| A + L (Luxembourg) + FA[D] (craze) | |||
| 30a | HOUSE-DOG | Under-secretary wearing stockings to follow canine guard (8) | S E |
| U[S] (under-secretary) inside (wearing) HOSE (stockings) + DOG (to follow) | |||
| 32a | SPINET | Surgeon follows to give twist to instrument (6) | V |
| [V]ET (surgeon) goes after (follows) SPIN (to give twist to) | |||
| 33a | SHIRR | Rishi losing head with bishop in gathering (5) | I |
| r[I]SHI without the first letter (losing head) + RR (bishop) | |||
| 34a | IRRELEVANT SPOONERISM |
Marrowsky’s hot belonging near academic (10) | |
| A spoonerism of (Marrowsky’s) hot belonging near = not belonging here | |||
| 35a | YENNED | Contradict, backtracking about central expressed desire (6) | C |
| DENY (contradict) reversed (backtracking) around (about) [C]EN (central) | |||
| 36a | ESTEEM | Set high value on experience from east and be fruitful (6) | E |
| SE[E] (experience) backwards (from east) + TEEM (be fruitful) | |||
| Down | |||
| 1d | MISTAKE CHARADE |
Millions Vagans to pledge as wager in error of judgement (7) | |
| A charade of M (millions), I (Vagans) and STAKE (pledge as wager) | |||
| 2d | UNFEIGNED | Real fungi need cooking (9) | |
| FUNGI NEED anagrammed (cooking) | |||
| 3d | COIT | Booty down under: send missing two thousand (4) | |
| CO[mm]IT (send) without (missing) MM (two thousand) | |||
| 4d | ODEONS | Old director ages in theatres (6) | |
| O (old) + D (director) + EONS (ages) | |||
| 5d | OLEFINE | Hydrocarbon function losing initial resistance? Excellent (7) | |
| [r]OLE (function) without (losing) its leading R (initial resistance) + FINE (excellent) | |||
| 6d | SET IN | D’Urberville girl shortly coming back, not out to become established (5, two words) | |
| TESs (D’Urberville girl) without the last letter (shortly) reversed (coming back) + IN (not out) | |||
| 7d | À TERRE | Rector seen twice in a casual shirt on the ground (6, two words) | |
| R R (rector seen twice) in A and TEE (casual shirt) | |||
| 8d | IMPROPER REVERSAL |
Unfit representative (alternatively, Prime Minister) I upset (8) | |
| The reversal of (… upset) REP (representative), OR (alternatively), PM (Prime Minister) and I | |||
| 9d | ASSET | Savings account set up for valuable business property (5) | |
| TESSA (savings account) reversed (set up) | |||
| 14d | REM | In the end, enter intense dream for eye movement in sleep (3) | |
| The final letters of (in the end) enteR intensE dreaM | |||
| 15d | REINFORCE | Strengthen control over waterfall (8) | |
| REIN (control) over FORCE (waterfall) | |||
| 17d | SPURIOUS DELETION |
Promissory notes subject to rejection: removing note that’s forged (8) | |
| IOUS (promissory notes) following (subject to) SPUR[n] (rejection) with the deletion of (removing) N (note) | |||
| 21d | ENQUIRE | Investigate nurse leading old-fashioned choir (7) | |
| EN (nurse) preceding (leading) QUIRE (old-fashioned choir) | |||
| 22d | TRIVIAL ANAGRAM |
Maladroit vitrail of little importance (7) | |
| An anagram of (maladroit) VITRAIL | |||
| 24d | IRON-ON | Denial retracted after pistol fixed by heat (6) | |
| The reversal of (… retracted) NO (denial) after IRON (pistol) | |||
| 25d | TUSSIS | Hack sits awkwardly boxing our group in (6) | |
| SITS anagrammed (awkwardly) around (boxing … in) US (our group) | |||
| 26d | HAE | Ambassador holds acreage for Highlanders to keep (3) | |
| HE (ambassador) contains (holds) A (acreage) | |||
| 27d | BOSSY | Domineering men in US heartlessly unproductive (5) | |
| BOS (men in US) + ShY (unproductive) without the middle letter (heartlessly) | |||
| 28d | DOTED | God! Bible section editor was foolish once (5) | |
| D (deus, god) + OT (bible section) + ED (editor) | |||
| 31d | DIME | Small change from the east in the Midwest (4) | |
| The answer is found in reverse inside (from the east in) thE MIDwest | |||
Thanks, Kitty – and apologies for Daniel/denial slipping through the net…Thanks also to Vagans for an enjoyable solve with a novel twist…
I have to confess that I couldn’t solve the IRRELEVANT Marrowsky, but luckily that was irrelevant for submission, as it clearly had to be SPOONERISM.
Did anyone else have Bananarama/Fun Boy Three ear-worming after this?…’…it ain’t what you set, it’s the way that you set it, that’s what gets results….‘
Oh, mc_rapper, you haven’t the ghost of the need to apologise! I just found Daniel rather amusing.
EV’s don’t generally generate many comments, but I’m a little surprised nobody else has popped up to mention 30a, or the fact that you don’t actually need to solve all the clues to complete the puzzle. Quite ironic that IRRELEVANT is arguably irrelevant!
Speaking of which, the Marrowsky clue very nearly defeated me too. I did think of the right word, but with no checkers had no confidence it was the intended answer. Having looked up Marrowsky, I was very surprised indeed not to have met him before in crosswords.
No earworms form this one. The song currently buzzing around my head, a delayed result of a recentish Times Quick Cryptic, is Joy Division Oven Gloves by Half Man Half Biscuit …
mc_rapper, you weren’t alone. I didn’t see the Marrowsky for IRRELEVANT either.
It’s unusual to be able to complete an EV without solving all of the clues.