Enigmatic Variations No. 1684: Sobering Thought by Eclogue

Hello all.  Sobriety is the order of the day for this crossword …

 

The preamble:

Answers to clues for perimeter entries are to be treated before entry in one of two ways. Four of these clues lack a definition, giving thematic answers which must be replaced with other words prior to entry in line with the theme; the other four clues lead to answers from which the entry is thematically derived. These changes are suggested by a SOBERING THOUGHT, the source of which is given by single extra letters generated by wordplay in each of the remaining clues. Finally, one entry must be replaced in accordance with the completion of the quotation, leaving real words or phrases throughout. Letters in unchecked and mutually checked perimeter cells could make SAKI PROFITABLE.

 

I’m in the thick of an extremely busy couple of weeks so this stayed on my to do pile for some time.  Although my habit when blogging is to solve solo, a couple of evenings ago when my solving buddy asked if I was free for puzzling, I thought why not mix it up a bit?  It seemed a bit silly to say “sorry, I’m not free to do a puzzle because I have a puzzle to do”!

We just ignored all of the perimeter words until most of the rest was done.  We didn’t ignore the message: we used it to help as it formed, but didn’t follow the reference until we hit a slow point near the end.  This was given by the extra letters generated from wordplay:

PROVERBS CHAPTER TWENTY VERSE ONE AV BIBLE

Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.

I let my “research assistant” do the looking up, and initially had it that strong drink is “a brawler.”  This confused us a little but I looked again and found that the Authorised Version is the same thing as the King James Version, which is good because my preferred source for biblical quotations uses the KJV.  In any case, “raging” was the option that made sense thematically.

Each of the four undefined (thematic) answers is a wine and each is a “mocker” in the grid, in line with the verse.  Each of the remaining perimeter answers is an anagram of a strong drink (the grid entry), which, thematically, is “raging”.

Finally, I saw that FALL GUY in 13a (whosoever is deceived thereby) can be replaced with the last two words of the quotation and so is NOT WISE.

Well, I’m not wise even though I may be sober, but I have been entertained.  Thanks Eclogue!

 

 

#	ANSWER (ENTRY)	Clue with definition underlined
		Explanation, with quoted indicators in italics and ANSWER letters in bold caps
Across
1a	SPÄTLESE (SATIRIST)	Sea pelts rocks (8)
		SEA PELTS is anagrammed (rocks)
7a	KARA (ARAK)	Sikh adornment used to serve gunners (4)
		KA (used to serve) + RA (gunners)
10a	TORNADO	Chief naval group having a party in storm (7)	P
		TO[p] (chief) + RN (naval group) + A + DO (party)
11a	HEART	Important organ is rather poor (5)	R
		An anagram of (… poor) [r]ATHER
13a	FALL GUY (NOT WISE)	Dupe young hack, insanely ugly (7, two words)	O
		F[o]AL (young hack) + an anagram of (insanely) UGLY
14a	DIKE	Velocity constant in plunge into water trench (4)	V
		K (velocity constant) in DI[v]E (plunge into)
15a	NIDI	Nurseries in province to stop working (4)	E
		NI (province) + DI[e] (to stop working)
17a	GLENYS	Years after, valley reveals holy woman (6)	R
		Y[r]S (years) after GLEN (valley)
18a	BELIES	Fails to fulfil distribution of bibles across Spain (6)	B
		An anagram of (distribution of) [b]IBLES across E (Spain)
19a	RESORBENCE	Screen robes erroneous re-engagement? (10)	S
		An anagram of (… erroneous) SCREEN ROBE[s]
20a	JAILBREAKS	Jack, slippery rascal with bike escapes from custody (10)	C
		J (Jack) + an anagram of (slippery) RAS[c]AL with BIKE
25a	INSIST	Demand regulating this sin (6)	H
		An anagram of (regulating) T[h]IS SIN
28a	ENHALO	Bear Shakespearean prince with ordinary ring (6)	A
		E[a]N (bear) + HAL (Shakespearean prince) with O (ordinary)
32a	AMIR	Backing first Italian prince (4)	P
		In reverse (backing), [p]RIMA (first Italian)
33a	EDIE	Girl providing in wartime discredited masks (4)	T
		DiscrEDI[t]Ed hides (masks) the answer
34a	LEMURIA	Ariel sprawled over big bird in Roman festival (7)	E
		ARI[e]L anagrammed (sprawled) around (over) EMU (big bird)
35a	RIATA	Rope sailor into melody from the east (5)	R
		Reversal of (… from the east) TA[r] (sailor) going into AIR (melody)
36a	PANICLE	Inflorescence shown by ice-plant surprisingly (7)	T
		ICE–PLAN[t] anagrammed (surprisingly)
37a	NIEF (FENI)	Fine punished old duke (4)
		FINE anagrammed (punished)
38a	VERDELHO (VILIFIER)	Warring held over (8)
		An anagram of (warring) HELD OVER
Down
1d	INGOTS (STINGO)	Train got shunted containing metal bars (6)
		TraIN GOT Shunted containing the answer
2d	TRADE	Tie knowledge back to deal (5)	W
		[w]ED (tie) and ART (knowledge) back
3d	IN-LINE	A German system being an integral part of program (6)	E
		[e]IN (a German) + LINE (system)
4d	RALLY	Assembly organised lines over yard (5)	N
		RA[n] (organised) and LL (lines) over Y (yard)
5d	SOUS	Five-centime pieces historically special, all French (4)	T
		S (special) + [t]OUS (all French)
6d	THYME	Your money losing against Herb (5)	Y
		THY (your) + M[on]E[y] losing ON (against)
7d	AEDILE	Lived extravagantly under aged Roman magistrate (6)	V
		An anagram of (… extravagantly) LI[v]ED under AE. (aged)
8d	RAISINS	Ingredients of Xmas pud lift members in office (7)	E
		RAIS[e] (lift) + INS (members in office)
9d	ARKLE	Famous racehorse, a gem that’s short of starting price (5)	R
		[sp]ARKLE[r] (a gem) that’s short of SP (starting price)
12d	TOKAY (TEASE)	Approval follows Tenor (5)
		OKAY (approval) follows T (Tenor)
13d	FILE	Record loud strain locally (4)	S
		F (loud) + [s]ILE (strain locally)
16d	Q-SORT	Psychological test question vexed Troy (5)	E
		Q (question) + SOR[e] (vexed) + T (Troy)
18d	BREED	Train weary journalist (5)	O
		B[o]RE (weary) + ED (journalist)
19d	RISSIAN	Grandma, one senior climbing around Iceland, related to freezing in mountains (7)	N
		Reversal of (… climbing) NA[n] (grandma), I (one) and SR (senior) around IS (Iceland)
20d	RIOJA (JIBER)	Foreign agreement after city (5)
		JA (foreign agreement) after RIO (city)
21d	LIGETI	European composer’s subject: Italian revolutionary (6)	E
		LI[e]GE (subject) + IT (Italian) reversed (revolutionary)
22d	KHARIF	Crop of Asian drug containing what’s almost forbidden (6)	A
		KIF (drug) containing all but the last letter of (almost) HAR[a]m (forbidden)
23d	GLIA	Ancient covering returned to good supporting tissue (4)	V
		[v]AIL (ancient covering) reversed (returned) to G (good)
24d	REPORT (PORTER)	Account concerned with demeanour (6)
		RE (concerned with) + PORT (demeanour)
26d	NUDIE	Naked point to fade away (5)	B
		NU[b] (point) + DIE (to fade away)
27d	SCLAV	Pole of yore for one such in Glasgow meeting heads (5)	I
		S[i]C (such in Glasgow) + LAV (heads)
29d	NGUNI	African person of importance bearing weapon (5)	B
		NI[b] (person of importance) containing (bearing) GUN (weapon)
30d	AMICI	Roman friends escape here in Paris … (5)	L
		[l]AM (escape) + ICI (here in Paris)
31d	KEPI	… whose military headgear is to preserve independence (4)	E
		K[e]EP (to preserve) + I (independence)