Hello all. Thanks to Ranunculus for a smashing puzzle which I really enjoyed solving.
The preamble:
Twelve across and twelve down answers CLASH at their intersections; each clash must be resolved by choosing the letter which leaves two real words and relegating the other letter to the bottom of the column. Solvers must replace the letters in four cells in the completed grid, making only real words, to reveal two names (23 letters, to be highlighted) which complement those in the shaded row. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.
Letter clashes can make things tricky, but with just one in each column I wasn’t too fazed. Still, a couple of the clashes towards the bottom of the grid took some work to resolve.
The names formed are:
JONES SIMONON
Mick JONES and Paul SIMONON were in THE CLASH. It made sense that the two names to find in the grid would be other members of the classic line-up, and so it proved – along the first and 7th rows, we have:
POPPER DEADON and GOE STMUMMER
The four characters which clash with the names we seek are resolved to make:
TOPPER HEADON and JOE STRUMMER
– leaving real words, as required.
It is rare to have the title of the puzzle so plainly describe its theme as well as its gimmick!
| Clue No | ANSWER | Clue with definition underlined |
| Explanation, with quoted indicators in italics and ANSWER letters in bold caps | ||
| Across | ||
| 1a | POPPER | Old man, a stud of a kind (6) |
| POP (old man) + PER (a) | ||
| 6a | DEAD-ON | Correct one fellow after another forgetting name (6) |
| DON (one fellow) after DEA[n] (another [fellow]) without (forgetting) N (name) | ||
| 10a | BOOS | Voices disapproval of louts knocking rector out (4) |
| BOO[r]S (louts) removing (knocking … out) R (rector) | ||
| 11a | IAMBIC | One’s breadth I originally calculated using metric system (6) |
| I AM (one’s) + first letters of (… originally) Breath I Calculated | ||
| 12a | SANS | Without spades, accepted two different poles (4) |
| S (spades) + A (accepted) + N S (two different poles) | ||
| 13a | ENSILAGE | Rene’s not the first gal I made into anagram fodder (8) |
| Without the initial letter (… not the first), rENE’S GAL I made into anagram | ||
| 15a | TASER | Lie around embracing a stunner (5) |
| REST (lie) reversed (around) holding (embracing) A | ||
| 18a | PERCALE | Band denied whiskey is reflected in feeble material (7) |
| CRE[w] (band) without (denied) W (whiskey) is reversed inside (reflected in) PALE (feeble) | ||
| 19a | ROARERS | Old-time brawlers less frequently encountered square boxing ring (7) |
| RARER (less frequently encountered) and S (square) around (boxing) O (ring) | ||
| 20a | SEED | Race those following a bee (4) |
| SEE (C) and D are those following A and BEE (B) in the alphabet | ||
| 21a | GOES | Tries addition to car for substantial loads (4) |
| Appended to CAR, the answer makes carGOES (substantial loads) | ||
| 22a | MUMMERS | Month before season, start to back veteran players (7) |
| M (month) before SUMMER (season) with the initial S moved to the end (start to back) | ||
| 24a | APPLIED | Assigned iTunes login, I swapped with neighbour (7) |
| APPLE ID (iTunes login) in which I is swapped with its neighbour E | ||
| 29a | ITCHY | Current champion among outsiders for trophy, prompting me to scratch (5) |
| I (current) + CH (champion) inside (among) the outer letters of (outsiders for) TropY | ||
| 30a | PENALISE | Mobile plan with EE is disadvantage (8) |
| An anagram of (mobile) PLAN with EE IS | ||
| 31a | HAIN | Series that has Charlie going spare at Balmoral (4) |
| [c]HAIN (series) that has C (Charlie) removed (going) | ||
| 32a | MISHAP | Navigational aid brought about his bizarre accident (6) |
| MAP (navigational aid) around (brought about) an anagram of (… bizarre) HIS | ||
| 33a | MERE | Nothing better than some reindeer sandwiches (4) |
| SoME REindeer goes around (sandwiches) the answer | ||
| 34a | RECALL | Take the whole order back (6) |
| REC (recipe: take) + ALL (the whole) | ||
| 35a | STRESS | Draw attention to woman that’s kept clear of very busy road (6) |
| [mi]STRESS (woman) without (that’s kept clear of) MI (busy road) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1d | JESTER | Wag tail endlessly when following this setter (French) (6) |
| STERn (tail) without the last letter (endlessly) when following JE (this setter (French)) | ||
| 2d | POSSE | Group of friends enjoy bar snacks on vacation (5) |
| POSSE[ss] (enjoy) without (bar) SnackS on removing the inner letters (on vacation) | ||
| 3d | POSEURS | Chambers user misspelt ‘attitudinisers’ (7) |
| POS (chambers) + USER anagrammed (misspelt) | ||
| 4d | ENERGETIC | Forcible quote about eating green bananas (9) |
| CITE (quote) reversed (about) around (eating) an anagram of (… bananas) GREEN | ||
| 5d | RISK | Danger element in fireworks – I reject rockets (4) |
| The answer is hidden in fireworKS – I Reject which is reversed (rockets) | ||
| 6d | DISHES | Show contempt for guards that lady outwits (6) |
| DIS (show contempt for) surrounds (guards) SHE (that lady) | ||
| 7d | ABLE | Practised both with cap on and without (4) |
| [cap]ABLE means practiced with or without CAP at the top | ||
| 8d | DIANA | Goddess a support when upset (5) |
| AN AID (a support) when reversed (when upset) | ||
| 9d | NEEDED | Wanted earth stopped after Norway’s got to the very top (6) |
| E (earth) and ENDED (stopped) once N has moved to the very beginning (after Norway’s got to the very top) | ||
| 14d | GALORE | Diminutive singer forgoing night in receives gold aplenty (6) |
| [nightin]GALE (diminutive singer) missing (forgoing) NIGHT IN takes in (receives) OR (gold) | ||
| 16d | CRUMMIEST | Hard rind surrounds minute core of Camembert that is most unpleasant (9) |
| CRUST (hard rind) surrounds M (minute), the middle letter (core) of cameMbert and IE (that is) | ||
| 17d | PEOPLE | Type of music incorporating electronic, Latin, house, ultimately folk (6) |
| POP (type of music) incorporating E (electronic), followed by L (Latin) and the last letter of (… ultimately) housE | ||
| 20d | SOOTHER | Dummy gun has hearts sinking (7) |
| SHOOTER (gun) has H (hearts) sinking lower in the word | ||
| 21d | GASPER | Close to bullying, according to fag (6) |
| The final letter of (close to) bullyinG + AS PER (according to) | ||
| 22d | MEDIAL | Male with ideal bum like ex in boxers (6) |
| M (male) + an anagram of (… bum) IDEAL | ||
| 23d | STYLUS | Pen, one for animals longing to be clipped (6) |
| STY (one [pen] for animals) + LUSt (longing) having the last letter removed (to be clipped) | ||
| 25d | PANIC | Become hysterical about 1 down getting cocked up (5) |
| C (about), I (one) and NAP (down) all getting reversed (cocked up) | ||
| 26d | SNARE | Stokes stretched over boundary for remarkable catch (5) |
| S (stokes) + RAN (stretched) reversed (over) + the last letter (boundary) of remarkablE | ||
| 27d | VASE | Pot very like Ecstasy (4) |
| V (very) + AS (like) + E (Ecstasy) | ||
| 28d | ASPS | Petulant people scrapping with venomous snakes (4) |
| [w]ASPS (petulant people) getting rid of (scrapping) W (with) | ||
This took a bit of teasing out, but I got there in the end – including the face-palm when I realised the double-significance of the title! Thanks to Ranunculus and Kitty…
There is a setters blog in the usual place on the BD site where Ranunculus gives a detailed account of the puzzle’s gestation…
I am as ignorant about (most) bands as some solvers are about cricket, but no need to complain: it just meant that this very neat puzzle took longer to work out. SIMENON seemed to emerging alongside JONES, but how to find the E? Until the Google moment, Thanks to Ranunculus, and to Kitty for the colourful unravelling.