Hello all.
The preamble:
Solvers must complete the perimeter so that a wish expressed in BABY’S FIRST WORDS (bar the last of these, which appears elsewhere) reads clockwise from top left. Unchecked letters therein might wrongly show I ONLY IMITATED IT, OKAY? A forename and surname appear symmetrically placed in the grid. Solvers must change the latter in accordance with another of the speaker’s wishes (in ODQ), creating new words. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended; 36 is in Collins.
I filled in most of the grid before trying to find the perimeter wish. Once I did it was not too hard to decipher:
GIMME A WHISKEY, GINGER ALE ON THE SIDE, AND DON’T BE STINGY …
… BABY! (this last word found in the title), which completes a quote from Anna Christie, the first lines of GRETA GARBO in her first talking picture. She is known for saying “I want to be alone” – so in the grid, we change GARBO to ALONE, leaving new words as instructed.
Very nice – thanks Ifor.
| Clue No | ANSWER | Clue with definition underlined |
| Explanation, with quoted indicators in italics and ANSWER letters in bold caps | ||
| Across | ||
| 8a | REESTS | On the move, reset section becomes rank (6) |
| An anagram of (on the move) RESET + S (section) | ||
| 10a | RIGOUR | Unswerving enforcement of law in scripture good for us, mostly (6) |
| RI (scripture) + G (good) + OURs (for us) without the last letter (mostly) | ||
| 11a | GUJERATI | Argue vigorously about judge backing child opposed to all language (8) |
| ARGUE anagrammed (vigorously) around (about) J (judge) + the reversal of (backing) IT (child opposed to all – in the children’s game) | ||
| 12a | ANTI-G | Giant slaloms, resistant to acceleration (5) |
| GIANT is anagrammed (slaloms) | ||
| 15a | REGRET | Show contrition for greater shambles after losing heart (6) |
| An anagram of (… shambles) GREaTER without the middle letter (after losing heart) | ||
| 16a | AGA | Chief officer once more missing within a small group (3) |
| AGA[in] (once more) without (missing) IN (within a small group) | ||
| 17a | ILIAC | Bony hair-like structures, beginning to end (5) |
| CILIA (hair-like structures) with the first letter moved from the beginning to the end | ||
| 19a | RODMAN | Novel about Lord Fisher (6) |
| ROMAN (novel) around (about) D (deus, god, hence Lord) | ||
| 21a | BEGET | Cause like this one constrained by opinion (5) |
| EG (like this one) inside (constrained by) BET (opinion) | ||
| 23a | SAAG | Spinach yield with doubled acreage (4) |
| SAG (yield) with A (acreage) repeated (doubled) | ||
| 25a | SEC | Dry in places on the way back, avoiding high mountain (3) |
| [pla]CES reversed (on the way back) without (avoiding) ALP (high mountain) | ||
| 26a | NIELLOED | Remodelling endlessly, leaving marks artfully cut and filled to improve appearance (8) |
| rE[m]ODELLINg without the last letter (endlessly) omitting (leaving) M (marks), anagram (artfully) | ||
| 28a | EDHS | Old letters returned in fresh delivery (4) |
| The answer is contained in reverse in (returned in) freSH DElivery | ||
| 29a | MINOTAUR | Monster of myth, originally moving into a historic city (8) |
| The first letter of (… originally) Myth +an anagram of (moving) INTO A + UR (historic city) | ||
| 30a | BAIRAM | Festival hoax, outside broadcast (6) |
| BAM (hoax) around (outside) AIR (broadcast) | ||
| 34a | ROTA | Corrupt answer in ecclesiastical tribunal (4) |
| ROT (corrupt) + A (answer) | ||
| 35a | REGAR | Rich soil for Indian gardener scratching pit for cultivation (5) |
| GAR[den]ER removing (scratching) DEN (pit), anagrammed (for cultivation) | ||
| 37a | BORD | Lost committee initially by beginning beforehand (4) |
| The first letter of (initially) By + ORD (beginning beforehand) | ||
| 38a | NO-BRAINER | Big shot drops from the sky, unveiling very simple problem (9) |
| NOB (big shot) + RAIN (drops from the sky) + without the outer letters (unveiling), vERy | ||
| 39a | ODYLE | Arbitrary name given to force anybody left-wing embraces (5) |
| AnybODY LEft-wing surrounds (embraces) the answer | ||
| 41a | AZIONE | A band that goes round hosting independent musical drama (6) |
| A + ZONE (band that goes round) containing (hosting) I (independent) | ||
| 42a | REBOZO | Long scarf grew without ends, one not so bright (6) |
| gREw without outer letters (without ends) + BOZO (one not so bright) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1d | GRUELLED | Grand day to restrict reception in the morning, subjected to severe trial (8) |
| G (grand) and D (day) around (to restrict) RUELLE (reception in the morning) | ||
| 2d | MEER | Former absolute ruler of the Muslim world (4) |
| A double definition | ||
| 3d | ÉTAGE | Floor display in Paris – without the French (5) |
| ÉTA[la]GE (display in Paris) without LA (the French) | ||
| 4d | WRIEST | Most bitter twist from truth obscuring letter of agreement (6) |
| WREST (twist from truth) around (obscuring) I (letter of agreement) | ||
| 5d | HISTRIO | Cast riots after greeting faded actor (7) |
| Make an anagram of (cast) RIOTS after HI (greeting) | ||
| 6d | SONG | Chinese dynasty’s poetry in general (4) |
| Two definitions | ||
| 7d | ERICA | Plant group from generic area (5) |
| The answer is taken from genERIC Area | ||
| 9d | STREEL | Determination to embrace Republican trail in Galway (6) |
| STEEL (determination) going around (to embrace) R (republican) | ||
| 13d | TAMARAOS | Buffaloes increase rapidly in number, returning after America’s engaged by volunteers (8) |
| In reverse (… returning), SOAR (increase rapidly in number) after AM (America) is inside (engaged by) TA (volunteers) | ||
| 14d | BIRCHIR | Use rod to thrash middle of African river for one of its fish (7) |
| BIRCH (use rod to thrash) + the middle of afrIcan + R (river) | ||
| 18d | CEIBA | Tropical tree suffering dieback after bark’s stripped (5) |
| An anagram of (suffering) dIEBACk having removed the outer letters (after bark’s stripped) | ||
| 20d | OLEO | Spread blood, yet without any skin being broken (4) |
| Inner letters of (… without any skin) bLOOd yEt anagrammed (broken) | ||
| 22d | GERMAINE | Rudiment of Shakespeare relevant in speech (8) |
| GERMANE (relevant), homophone (in speech) | ||
| 24d | ABUTILON | Flower border set out in line, with nothing hidden (8) |
| ABUT (border) + an anagram of (set out) IN and L (line) around (with … hidden) O (nothing) | ||
| 27d | LIMBER | Flexible arm, maybe swinging about (6) |
| LIMB (arm maybe) + the reversal of (swinging) RE (about) | ||
| 29d | MORNED | Modern dances lacking a cutting edge? (6) |
| MODERN is anagrammed (dances) | ||
| 31d | A-ROAD | Trunk route in Germany, say, no longer heading to Berlin (5) |
| A[b]ROAD (in Germany say) without (no longer) the first letter of (heading to) Berlin | ||
| 32d | MORES | Rather singular customs (5) |
| MORE (rather) + S (singular) | ||
| 33d | PROBE | Investigation of difficulty having left money set aside (5) |
| PROB[l]E[m] (difficulty) with the removal of (having … set aside) L (left) and M (money) | ||
| 36d | ERIN | Land of poets with temperature dropping before winter shivers (4) |
| W (with) and T (temperature) are removed (dropping) before [w]IN[t]ER is anagrammed (shivers) | ||
| 40d | DOH | Note of death ringing over after striking each time (3) |
| D[eat]H is going around (ringing) O (over), removing (striking) EA (each) and T (time) | ||