I had the dubious honour of blogging MynoT’s last EV, No 1280 Occasional Item of Furniture which required all answers to be encoded using the element numbers from the periodic table. I hoped that this one wouldn’t take me as long to solve and blog as that one.
The preamble was straightforward:
Clues are shown in alphabetical order of their answers, and must be entered where they will be FITTING; the answer to the first clue is an across entry. Every cell contains only one letter, and Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.
First reaction was that there were an awful lot of 6-letter entries. Moreover, it didn’t take long to realise that, whereas there were 43 clues, there were only 36 entries in the grid. After my first pass through the clues, I had some 8-letter answers but nothing that came near to the 12-letter entries around the perimeter.
Unfortunately, the first clue I solved, number 2, I wrote in my notes as ARTISTIC!! That caused me one big headache, since I couldn’t get the 8-letter entries around the centre of the grid to mesh. Eventually, I tried to fit some words into the grid, and four of the 4-letter words CARE, CIRE, EARD, EGAD got me going out from the middle. Even more eventually, I resolved clue 2 to give ARTISTRY and all fell into pace.
Well, it took a bit more fiddling and fitting to see how the perimeter entries were built: 1ac GELATI overlapping TINA overlapping NATION, and similarly GLOSS + SOLO + OLOGIST, NERVE + VERA + RACKING and THIRD + DREADING.
Thanks MynoT for some unintentional difficulty this week. What will you have in store for me next time?!
Solving time: About an hour longer than it should have been!
Legend:
Definition in clue
ABC* = anagram
ABC< = reversal
abCDef = hidden
| No | Entry | Entered At | Clue and Explanation |
| 1 | ALIENATE | 11ac | Goddess to pursue a right to transfer ATE (goddess) after A LIEN (right) |
| 2 | ARTISTRY | 11dn | In these pursuits is attempt following skill? IS TRY (attempt) after ART (skill) |
| 3 | ATLAS | 3dn | In the end almost a giant AT LAS[t] (in the end, almost) |
| 4 | CARE | 15ac | Mind vehicle heading for European CAR (vehicle) + E (European, first letter) |
| 5 | CHUNK | 28ac | Block Conservative strongman C (conservative) + HUNK (strongman) |
| 6 | CIRE | 15dn | Take in crushed ice with glossy appearance R (take) in ICE* |
| 7 | DREADING | 32ac | Fearful of Dutch lesson D (Dutch) + READING (lesson) |
| 8 | EAMONN | 2dn | One man could turn out to be Irish (ONE MAN)* |
| 9 | EARD | 16dn | Bury Scots in road by water RD (road) by EA (water) |
| 10 | EGAD | 25ac | Oath for example before a duke EG (for example) + A D (duke) |
| 11 | EGGLER | 21dn | Old dealer, oddly edgy, happier not to do sums E[d]G[y] (edgy, odd letters) + GLADDER (happier) – ADD (to do sums) |
| 12 | ELENCHUS | 12dn | Start from excellent lunches, possibly, is something deceptive E[xcellent] + LUNCHES* |
| 13 | GELATI | 1ac | Unusually ligate ice creams LIGATE* |
| 14 | GERAH | 27ac | Very light weight is part of danger ahead in danGER AHead |
| 15 | GLOSS | 1dn | Superficial appearance of good loamy deposit G (good) + LOSS (loamy deposit) |
| 16 | IPECAC | 4dn | Plant destroyed icecap ICECAP* |
| 17 | IONIAN | 23dn | Elderly Greek reported to have eye on Scot I (sounds like eye) + ON IAN (Scot) |
| 18 | LAPTOP | 9ac | Computer has circuit for beginning of printing LAP (circuit) + TO (for) + P[rinting] |
| 19 | LAVER | 24dn | Lecturer to declare positively seaweed that is edible L (lecturer) + AVER (declare) |
| 20 | LUSTRE | 19ac | Splendour of quinquennial purification 2 meanings |
| 21 | NATION | 1ac | A great number could be born in taking in oxygen NAT (born) IN containing O (oxygen) |
| 22 | NERVE | 8dn | Audacity born in recreational vehicle? On the contrary RV (recreational vehicle) in NEE (born) |
| 23 | NONARY | 5dn | No. Not American system based on nine NO + NARY (not, American) |
| 24 | NORMAN | 31ac | Standard article for William? NORM (standard) + AN (article) |
| 25 | OLEATE | 7dn | Son leaves fish having consumed salt SOLE (fish) – S (son) + ATE (consumed) |
| 26 | OLLAV | 14ac | Norwegian king imprisoning lecturer is wise man OLAV (Norwegian king) containing L (lecturer) |
| 27 | OLOGIST | 1dn | Old record happens to have time for man of science O (old) + LOG (record) + IS (happens) + T (time) |
| 28 | ONIRIC | 17ac | ‘Belonging to dreams’ could be ironic IRONIC* |
| 29 | ORIOLE | 10ac | Bird’s expression of approval about port OLE (expression of approval) about RIO (port) |
| 30 | RACKING | 8dn | Moving excessively to draw off lees by way of gravity RACK (draw off lees) + IN (by way of) + G (gravity) |
| 31 | SHERD | 26dn | Scrap special animals S (special) + HERD (animals) |
| 32 | SOLO | 1dn | Single very blue broadcast SO (very) LO (sounds like low, blue) |
| 33 | SORAS | 13ac | Rails thus going to headland SO (thus) + RAS (headland) |
| 34 | STEEVE | 30ac | Scots still support victory among Southern English TEE (support) + V (victory) in S (southern) E (English) |
| 35 | TAGINE | 22dn | Eat up, consuming spirit in dish EAT* containing GIN (spirit) |
| 36 | THIRD | 32ac | These Scottish pennies found in interval THIR (these, Scottish) + D (pennies) |
| 37 | TINA | 1ac | Indication of singularity for drug 2 meanings; one meaning: There Is No Alternative |
| 38 | TITLE | 6dn | Designate the French to support flier LE (the, French) supporting TIT (flier) |
| 39 | TRICIA | 22ac | Not five but a hundred trifles for woman TRIVIA (trifles) with C (hundred) for V (five) |
| 40 | UNEATH | 20dn | Difficult to disinter (not right) UNEARTH (disinter) – R (right) |
| 41 | VERA | 8dn | Somewhat average woman in aVERAge |
| 42 | YAWNER | 18ac | Unknown agricultural machine making one tired Y (unknown) + AWNER (agricultural machine) |
| 43 | YVELINES | 29ac | Victor in agreement about policy in French department V (victory) in YES (agreement) about LINE (policy) |