Enigmatic Variations 1238 Reckonin’ by Eclogue

A puzzle by Eclogue this week – four cells containing clashes, the wordplay in each clue having an extra letter and the first line of a verse to find. If that’s not enough the last word of the first line is to be written beneath the grid.

Some amusing clues – 8ac to me was a little unconventional unless I’ve missed something with chariot serving a dual purpose as definition and anagram source. 3dn seems to lead to an extra p which may well be my mis-parsing.

As to the four clashes – I was expecting single letters but they proved to be multiple letters which when combined spelled out types of teeth.

WISDOM (16ac and 2dn)

INCISOR (13ac and  10dn)

CANINE (25dn and 35ac)

MOLAR (37ac and 23dn)

As to the extra letters they spelled out

TO PASS UP GOBSTOPPERS FROM RESPECT TO ME CHOPPERS – P. AYRES (Pam Ayres)

http://pamayres.com/index.php/2011/08/oh-i-wish-id-looked-after-me-teeth/

The first line of which is “Oh I wish I’d looked after me teeth”.

TEETH is to be written under the grid with Oh I wish I’d looked after me being seen in 2 semicircles passing through the clash squares (which were to be blackened – indicating tooth decay) with the semicircles representing a mouth.

All in all a very satisfying end game – and a poem best listened to.

Thanks Eclogue

Key: * anagram; Rev. reverse; DD double definition; Underline definition

ACROSS

	1 Japanese wrapping damaged tutus with smut (8)
T	(tutus+smut)* = TSUTSUMU
	6 Chariot crashing, losing one colt (4)
O	(Chariot – I – c)* = RATH
	9 Keeps running off posters (6)
P	(posters)* = STORES
	10 Spain follows return of European payment for bank, in some cases (6)
A	e (spain) after Re (e (European) + award(payment) = DRAWEE
	12 Such a troll perhaps is loutish (6)
S	So (such) + a + fish (troll) = OAFISH
	13 Nice daughter isn’t playing this scene (6)
S	(nice + d + isn’t)* = INCIDENT
	14 Wife’s about to employ a pad for the head locally (4)
U	W (wife) + a (about) + use (employ) = WASE
	15 Pooh’s parent, writer recalled beyond measure (5)
P	Mil (measure) + Rev. (pen (writer)) = MILNE
	16 Small women with nervous sigh, whisper perhaps (3)
G	S (small) + w(woman) + (sigh)* = SWISH
	18 Girl, single, returning to the heart of Rear Admiral (4)
O	Ra (rear admiral) around Rev. (one(single)) = RENA
	20 Breaking down, lovelorn young son initially embraces sibling (5)
B	Lys (, lovelorn young son initially ) around sib (sibling) = LYSIS
	22 SA ostrich is running and so on (6)
S	(and so on)* = NANDOO
	24 Greyfriars’ coffin came into contact with fate (6)
T	Kist (Greyfriar’s coffin) + met (came into contact with) = KISMET
	26 Army’s out of French butters (5)
O	TA (army) + hors (out of French) = TAHRS
	31 Gold strike in the air (4)
P	Au (gold) + rap(strike) = AURA
	33 Old Uncle Earl’s one sitting in Brussels (3)
P	E (earl) + mep (one sitting in Brussels) = EME
	35 One taking orders got ironed out before middle of week (5)
E	(ironed)* + ee (middle of week) = ORDINEE
	37 Awkward girl left after concerning germicide (4)
R	For (concerning) + mor (awkward irl) + l (left) = FORMOL
	38 Will’s to enable hearing and German’s safe somehow (6)
S	Und (and German) + (safe)* = UNDEAF
	39 Fritter’s cooked on ring (6)
F	(fritter)* = TERRIT
	40 Translator’s subject is material (6)
R	Tr (translator) + issue (subject) = TISSUE
	41 Webber, perhaps, composed opera about Evita, initially number one (6)
O	(opera)* around e (Evita initially) + I (one) = EPEIRA
	42 Various memes scattered over with bearings (4)
M	(memes)* = SEME
	43 Drying up? Unknown wrong answer is (8)
R	X (unknown) + (answer is)* = XERANSIS

DOWN

	1 Thug from East London’s bungled ’eists involving books (6)
E	(eists)* around ot (books) = TSOTSI
	2 Celebrity, perhaps, to lead rave over manuscript (5)
S	Star (to lead) + do (rave) + ms (manuscript) = STARDOM
	3 Friends taking in short journey for exams (6)
P	pals(friends) in trip (short journey) = TRIALS
	4 Conduct female in age-old practice (5)
E	Ure (age-old practice) around she (female) = USHER
	5 One part of oracle residing in tauric mythology (4)
C	Hidden taURIC Mythology = URIM
	6 Angular measurement issuing in rays (6)
T	DD radiant (issuing in rays) = RADIAN
	7 Japanese divine composed endless nonette (5)
T	(nonette – e)* TENNO
	8 Inside area of oche, toe roughly straight (6)
O	Hidden ocHE TOE ROughly = HETERO
	10 Confuse discombobulated minister, do (6)
M	(minister do)* = DISORIENT
	11 Embracing the Spanish we would join together (4)
E	We’d (we would) around el (the Spanish) = WELD
	14 Reasons to slash wych with spades (4)
C	(wych)* + s (spades) = WHYS
	17 In place of short hill rising to market (4)
H	Rev. (hil (short hill) + eu (market) = LIEU
	19 Forgotten to take beef up round acreage (4)
O	Re. (moan (beef)) around a (acreage) = NAAM
	21 Attack generated fears about training (6)
P	(fears)* around pt (training) = STRAFE
	23 Gloomy Doc joins up with Wyatt, maybe (4)
P	Dr (doc) + earp (Wyatt) = DREAR
	24 Russian whips tail off rising dive-bomber, capturing the same (6)
E	Rev. (Stuka – a (dive bomber) around one (the same)) = KNOUTS
	25 Seem upset about a fish measure concerning islanders (6)
R	(seem)* around a + cran (fish measure) = MACANESE
	27 Masters of Germany slip up with females around (6)
S	Err (slip up) in hers (females) = HERREN
	28 Gossips to Jonathan, longing for past to be different (6)
P	Yen (longing for) + (past)* = YENTAS
	29 Gain by labour, at first imitating every fortune maker, perhaps (5)
A	Earn (gain by labour) + ie (at first imitating) =  ERNIE (old Premium bond computer)
	30 Advantage occurring in blood dysfunction (4)
Y	Hidden (bloOD DYSfunction) = ODDS
	32 Following trustee wrapped up in unnatural fear (5)
R	Tr (trustee) in (fear)* = AFTER
	34 Former record company’s covering tune for bonny lassie (5)
E	EMI (former record company) around air (tune) = MAIRI
	36 French birds suppressing call on waters (4)
S	Oiseaux (french birds) – oi (call on) = EAUX