This is a very nice puzzle–not too hard, but with a bit of an extra challenge regarding the unclued apparatus.
The special instructions read as follows: Six clues contain an extra word, each defining one of the thematic perimeter answers (one being 2 words) which are to be entered clockwise where they will fit. 1A and 1D define the theme. Wickball also comments: Barred but easier than IQ or EV.
There is an error in the special instructions, in that the theme is actually defined by 2A and 2D, which together provide ALTERING ANAGRAM, which in application should be read both literally and cryptically.
A tip of the hat to Andrew for helping me resolve some of the problems that I was having pulling together this blog post.
Reading clockwise from 12:00, the thematic perimeter words are all anagrams:
ALTERING / LINGER AT / INTEGRAL / TANGLIER / TRIANGLE / RELATING
These correspond to the extra words in the clues as follows:
10A: WHOLE = INTEGRAL
16A: KNOTTIER = TANGLIER
20A: EXAMINE = LINGER AT
35A: FIGURE = TRIANGLE
9D: TELLING = RELATING
30D: MUTANT = ALTERING
Update: As soon as I hit “publish,” I noticed a typo of my own in the grid below. IMPAIRMENTS ends with an “S,” not an “L.” Well, I hope you get the idea anyway.
| ACROSS | ||
| 7 | TANNER |
Rent an eccentric – used to be two for a bob (6)
|
| Anagram of (eccentric) RENT AN, i.e., a sixpence coin | ||
| 10 | SUDAN |
Star is holding back a whole day in African republic (5)
|
| SUN (star) around (holding) A + D (day) reversed (back)
WHOLE is an extraneous word. |
||
| 11 | BUMBOAT |
Floating supplier of duff craft (7)
|
| BUM (duff) + BOAT (craft) | ||
| 12 | LARGOS |
Slow movements take in old African capital (6)
|
| R (take, for Latin “recipe”) inside (in) LAGOS (old African capital, i.e., former capital of Nigeria) | ||
| 14 | PENNATE |
7 briefly returning during exercise with feathers (7)
|
| TANNE[R] (7 across, minus final letter [“briefly”], reversed [returning]) inside (during) PE (exercise) | ||
| 15 | HERBS |
The bribes lacking bite somehow could be both sage and madder (5)
|
| Anagram of (somehow) THE BRIBES minus (lacking) BITE | ||
| 16 | ACACIA |
Prime about knottier cases, all about tree (6)
|
| A1 (prime) + CA (about) + CA (cases), all reversed (all about)
KNOTTIER is an extraneous word. |
||
| 17 | ROSA |
Oars working for hippy group? (4)
|
| Anagram of (working) OARS, and cryptic definition for the genus of roses, which produce rose hips. | ||
| 18 | OTIC |
Chaotic part of the ear (4)
|
| Hidden in (part) [CHA]OTIC | ||
| 19 | REATA |
Tear around with a tethering rope (5)
|
| Anagram of (around) TEAR + A | ||
| 20 | POMEGRANATE |
British in Australian rock broadcast examine oriental fruit (11)
|
| Homophone for (broadcast) POMMIE [or POMMY] (British in Australian) + GRANITE (rock)
EXAMINE is an extraneous word. |
||
| 24 | LAIRS |
Sailor, missing nothing, sadly retreats (5)
|
| Anagram of (sadly) SAIL[O]R, minus “o” (nothing missing) | ||
| 27 | AMMO |
In the morning, medic could be shot (4)
|
| AM (in the morning) + MO (medic) | ||
| 28 | GOBI |
By repute, Roy Orbison cycling to desert (4)
|
| BIG O (Roy Orbison, “by repute”), rotating last two letters to the front (“cycling”) | ||
| 31 | GREASE |
Relax at the end of Greek musical (6)
|
| GR (Greek) + EASE (relax) | ||
| 32 | STOMA |
Opening most peculiar academy (5)
|
| Anagram of (peculiar) MOST + A (academy) | ||
| 33 | NEUTRON |
Tiny particle makes one turn nasty (7)
|
| Anagram of (nasty) ONE TURN | ||
| 34 | TENANT |
Occupier‘s camping article? (6)
|
| This should be read cryptically as AN (article) inside a TENT, thus, “camping.” | ||
| 35 | FIGHTER |
Figure eight arranged to board French aircraft (7)
|
| Anagram of (arranged) EIGHT inside (to board) FR (French)
FIGURE is an extraneous word. |
||
| 36 | INURE |
Accustom one to run back to base (5)
|
| I (one) + RUN reversed (back) + E (base) | ||
| 37 | RISING |
Teacher from the east in grand revolt (6)
|
| SIR (teacher) reversed (from the east) + IN + G (grand) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | NAVAHO |
Native American of the fleet almost holding out at first (6)
|
| NAVA[L] (of the fleet “almost”) + first letters of (“at first”) H[OLDING] O[UT] | ||
| 2 | ANAGRAM |
Unclued (7)
|
| Thematic word | ||
| 3 | TRUSS |
Starbursts oddly lacking support (5)
|
| Every other letter of (“oddly lacking”) [S]T[A]R[B]U[R]S[T]S | ||
| 4 | REBECCA |
Note live chapters originally accepted eponymous heroine (7)
|
| RE (note) + BE (live) around (accepted) C + C (first letter of (“originally”) C[HAPTERS], twice), i.e., of the Daphne du Maurier novel | ||
| 5 | NUANCE |
Trace picked up new type of acne (6)
|
| Homophone of (picked up) NEW + anagram of (type of) ACNE | ||
| 6 | LACTATE |
Salt lake in France beside gallery (7)
|
| LAC (lake in France, i.e., in French) + TATE (gallery) | ||
| 8 | NARES |
Nostrils are in opposite directions (5)
|
| ARE inside (in) N + S (opposite directions, i.e., North and South) | ||
| 9 | IMPAIRMENTS |
Handicaps of rogue pilots telling vacuous tales (11)
|
| IMP (rogue) + AIRMEN (pilots) + T[ALE]S (“tales” with the inside removed, or “vacuous”)
TELLING is an extraneous word. |
||
| 10 | SONAR |
Fly high over northern echo system (5)
|
| SOAR (fly high) around (over) N (northern) | ||
| 13 | OBOE |
Whiff over Old English part of the wind (4)
|
| B.O. (whiff) reversed (over) O.E. (Old English) | ||
| 20 | PAGEANT |
What P could mean, a National Trust spectacle (7)
|
| PAGE (what P could mean) + A + NT (National Trust) | ||
| 21 | GASOHOL |
Fuel cells perhaps, so hot inside (7)
|
| SO + H (hot) inside GAOL (cells, perhaps) | ||
| 22 | NOTE |
Anything but the seventh? (4)
|
| I think this is supposed to read cryptically and &lit as NO TE, but I am not sure how that works, when “te” itself is the seventh note on the scale. Maybe this clue should say “On the contrary” at the end? | ||
| 23 | AGONIST |
Dancing tango is agent in cell biology (7)
|
| Anagram of (dancing) TANGO IS | ||
| 25 | RETIRE |
Turn in State-side to improve road grip? (6)
|
| Double (and cryptic) definition, with the second part reading “re-tire,” using the American (State-side) spelling of “tyre,” which presumably would improve road grip. | ||
| 26 | SARGE |
Familiar NCO rages at sea (5)
|
| Anagram of (at sea) RAGES | ||
| 29 | OMANI |
Man from Rome beheaded one from Muscat (5)
|
| [R]OMAN (man from Rome “beheaded”) + I (one) | ||
| 30 | BANANA |
Outlaw an American mutant fruit (6)
|
| BAN (outlaw) + AN + A (American)
MUTANT is an extraneous word. |
||
| 32 | STERN |
Severe case of toothache acquired by nurse (5)
|
| Outer letters of (case of) T[OOTHACH]E inside (acquired by) SRN (nurse) |
I tried and failed to download and print this puzzle a couple of days ago, but, with help of the hints that appeared here since, I managed to print the grid and clues (separately!) today and got stuck into the puzzle.
I noticed pretty quickly that the thematic hint would appear in 2a/2d and not 1a/1d.
By starting in the top left corner and working clockwise, I picked up both ‘whole’ and ‘knottier’ as two of the surplus words as well as ANAGRAM, ALTERING and RELATING quite early on, establishing a clear pattern for finding and matching up all the thematic elements. I enjoyed working all the way round the grid to completion. LINGER AT and ‘examine’ were the last two items both to find and to match.
I found the clues generally quite easy to solve, and I can confirm the setter’s assertion that this would be ‘easier than IQ or EV’!
I took 22d to be an &lit. ‘Anything but the seventh’ is a NOTE in any musical scale (as is the seventh itself, named TE in sol-fa notation). The ‘?’ indicates a definition-by-example.