“Clashes in 13 cells can be resolved to help reveal, obliquely, either a thematic question or a LOCAL DISTURBANCE. Select the question, thus eliminating the problem, and thematically modify four answers (of a kind) to illustrate its answer (30 cells), involving characters well-placed to deal with the issue. Enumerations refer to grid entries, which include non-words after thematic treatment. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.”
Inspection of the clues quickly shows up the likely four answers – the ones that claim to be 13-letters long. For me, the second of those was the first to fall – the homonym being one of several in the puzzle. PHANTOM ain’t gonna stretch to 13 spaces any which way. Crossing letters seem to indicate that it’s split PHAN…TOM or PHA…NTOM, but I’ve no idea what might be in the middle.
Quite honestly, I solved the four thematic clues without realising what they had in common! And I still couldn’t see what went in the middle.
However, the LOCAL DISTURBANCE turns out to be SOMETHING WEIRD (Geddit? there’s something weird in your neighbourhood!) As instructed, we select the question – WHO YA GONNA CALL?
I’ve been unwell, which I’m going to use as an excuse for still needing – even after that hint – to spot something looking a lot like a name I recognised. In any case, however tardy we are, we complete the four overlong grid spaces with the four Ghostbusters (VENKMAN, STANTZ, ZEDDEMORE, and SPENGLER), who are ‘busting’ the four underlong answers.
Then we sit back, relax, and listen to this banger (the theme from the film). Solvin’ makes me feel good!
| Notation | |
|---|---|
| Definition | word |
| Indicator | [word] |
| Anagram | WORD* |
| Reversal | <WORD |
As always, please let me know if anything isn’t clear.
| Across | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Stumbles over when drinking the first bottle (13)
|
SPIRIT |
| 10 |
Priest needs AA (answers) R (right) <NO
|
AARON |
| 12 |
Narrow oNe[‘s focus] with EAR (attention) (4)
|
NEAR |
| 14 |
[Picked up] “FAN TOM” (cool cat) in a Rolls-Royce (13)
|
PHANTOM |
| 16 |
Better TO P
|
TOP |
| 17 |
Previously asserted SADIST (cruel lover) [“just a little mixed up at heart”] (6)
|
SAIDST |
| 18 |
Grasshopper A (active) [following] WET (the rain) (4)
|
WETA |
| 19 |
“HI ALTER” (Welcome change) [for those attending] church’s top table (9, two words)
|
HIGH ALTAR |
| 21 |
Lady perhaps <[rolling] ELBO
|
NOBLE |
| 23 |
Poet’s completed [prime selection of] pOEtRy (3)
|
O’ER |
| 24 |
“ES” (Drugs) [given orally] for freedom from pain (4)
|
EASE |
| 26 |
[Terribly] {POOR, MY}* old fruit! (6)
|
POMROY |
| 28 |
{[Discovered]
|
PILAUS |
| 29 |
RE [On the Limits of] N
|
RENE |
| 30 |
[Some] politicianS ENacting change in Malaysia (3)
|
SEN |
| 32 |
YES (OK) [to accept] LL (50/50) calls (5)
|
YELLS |
| 33 |
Milk shortage [leaving] KEN B
|
GALACTIA |
| 35 |
Scottish band‘s V (Velocity)
|
VIRL |
| 38 | Join hidden [group of] blue-rINSE AMericans (6) | INSEAM |
| 40 | Deer |
ROE |
| 41 | SO (Very) U |
SOUL |
| 42 | Piped blood (4) | SANG |
| 43 | In SNAKE (epitome of treachery), A (America) [turns to] O (old) creep (5) | SNOKE |
| 44 | There’s no sunlight in this part of the Highlands (13) | SHADE |
| Down | ||
| 1 |
[Almost] SE
|
SEPTS |
| 2 |
PA (Pop)? HO (House)? [Every so often], wE cHoOsE smooth rock (8)
|
PAHOEHOE |
| 3 |
Wrong PAINT*, [unfortunately] (5)
|
INAPT |
| 4 |
SA (It) [jams] VAS (Tube) L (line): RY (railway) workers enthralled (8)
|
VASSALRY |
| 5 |
ETAGE (Floor) [covering] A (about) right for diner? (6)
|
EATAGE |
| 6 |
K
|
KONS |
| 7 |
IAN (Scotsman) and I [supporting] A (Australian) and NZ senators (7)
|
ANZIANI |
| 8 |
<STAR [turned] <[up] AT I (international)
|
RAT’S TAIL |
| 9 |
[Criminal] {MISTER B
|
TIMBRES |
| 11 |
Lines from [brief] RADI
|
RADII |
| 13 |
{A (Acting) T (tense), OR} [spinning] round (4)
|
ROTA |
| 15 |
Goat from
|
TAHR |
| 20 |
[Suppressing] UR (indication of primitive)
|
GENET |
| 22 |
Large amounts of BONA (goods), N (number) Z (unknown) AS (so far) (8)
|
BONANZAS |
| 24 |
More astute in C (Conservative) <REVEL (Party) [elevated] ER (former leader) (8)
|
CLEVERER |
| 25 |
Enclose SOUND (report) [about] [contents of]
|
SURROUND |
| 26 |
P (Prince) RAISES (introduces) honours (7)
|
PRAISES |
| 27 |
<[In recession], EG (say), [going under] {DUE TO}* [absurdly] extreme margin (7)
|
OUTEDGE |
| 30 |
Swimmer SAD (upset), [having caught] C (cold) (4)
|
SCAD |
| 31 |
|
GISMO |
| 32 |
Ed’s given expression to [ridiculous] WOKERY* (6)
|
YWROKE |
| 34 |
GIS (US soldiers) [hiding] O
|
GIOS |
| 36 | Fairy-bluebirds [flying] {IN [cut-off] ARE |
IRENA |
| 37 | Research [components of] moDEL VEhicles (5) | DELVE |
| 39 | M (Married) ENG (English) couple, old-fashioned (4) | MENG |
| S | P | I | V | E | N | K | M | A | N | R | I | T |
| E | A | N | A | A | R | O | N | N | E | A | R | I |
| P | H | A | S | T | A | N | T | Z | N | T | O | M |
| T | O | P | S | A | D | S | A | I | D | S | T | B |
| W | E | T | A | G | I | G | H | A | L | T | A | R |
| N | H | B | L | E | O | E | R | N | C | A | S | E |
| P | O | O | R | O | Y | N | P | I | L | A | U | S |
| R | E | N | Y | U | S | E | N | Y | E | L | L | S |
| A | G | A | L | A | C | T | I | A | V | I | R | L |
| I | I | N | S | E | A | M | S | R | E | R | O | E |
| S | O | Z | E | D | D | E | M | O | R | E | U | L |
| E | S | A | N | G | S | N | O | K | E | N | N | V |
| S | H | S | P | E | N | G | L | E | R | A | D | E |
Many thanks for the super blog, Mister Sting – glad you enjoyed and hope you are feeling better soon. Loved your sign-off, “Solvin’ makes me feel good!” 😁
Oops, only just saw that the blog was up for this. Loved it. Great fun and a magnificent penny drop with the clashing letters. I made a surprisingly quick start (over half filled in on my first pass, unheard of!) but then ground to a halt with the clues with letter clashes… I needed several breaks and restarts for my brain to unravel the last chunk of the clues. All worth it in the end for the smile it put on my face.
Many thanks to Cranberry and Mister Sting.
Loved this, thank you Cranberry!
One query: I interpreted the instructions to mean that we were required to erase (bust) the four ghosts before submission – is that right?
Thanks Rob & Kippax, glad you enjoyed. K: apologies if preamble wasn’t clear! The “problem” is the SOMETHING WEIRD that is eliminated by choosing the alternative clashing letters, WHO YA GONNA CALL. The modified answers involve the four “characters” being “well-placed” – ie shown ‘busting’ the four ghosts. So there was no requirement to then erase the ghosts. I guess that may well be the *next* logical step, so you’ve done an even better job of ghostbustin’ … but then the answer to the thematic question is no longer “illustrated” so I think it’s just one step too far, unfortunately! Thanks again 🙂