Enigmatic Variations No.1326 – Fashion by Chalicea

by

‘A speaker and his comment on poor FASHION circle the perimeter. Solvers must make good seven examples within the grid, thus resolving 24 clashes. Definitions and wordplay refer to the poor FASHION, each cell in the completed grid contains just one letter, and Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.’

WELLINGTON: I NEVER SAW SO MANY SHOCKING BAD HATS IN MY LIFE, which was his remark when asked what he thought of the first Reformed Parliament. That said, he called his troops “the scum of the Earth”, so he seems to have been a fairly critical man.

In line with that comment, we are to identify and correct seven ‘shocking bad’ (=anagrams of) hats.

Unfortunately, I can’t parse 38ac. Thanks, Caran! I’ve realised that’s *not* how I parsed it. I couldn’t get away from the idea that it must start ERE. Ah well.

Double oops! Fixed the BRETON/BOATER gaffe. Thanks, Tom Johnson.

Notation

(xxx) = definition
[xxx] = (anagram/homophone/container/etc.) indicator
XXX* = anagram
< = reversal
BLOWER/BOWLER = corrected hat

Please post a comment if the explanations are not clear.

Across
9 OHO Expression of surprise when YO-HO (call for attention) [is originally ignored] (3)
10 DIVIDE DIVI (Informal share) DE (of the French) carve up (6)
11 FILO Pastry, < IF (provided that) [turned over], BALLOONS [essentially] (4)
12 GROTESQUE Hideous [strange-looking] {QUEER TOGS}* (9)
13 ILL FAME Disrepute of [miserable] {FELL AIM}* (7, two words)
14 SERR SE ([Most of] SEE (diocese)) and RR (bishop) close ranks (4)
15 LEAST Smallest amount‘s [awfully] STALE* (5)
17 TEMENOS < [Volte-face of] SON (offspring) [following] TEME (old group) in sacred precinct (7)
19 BLOWER/BOWLER B (Second-class) LOWER (inferior) communication system (6)
21 ARENA AREA (Region) [circling] N (new) sphere of action (5)
23 MNA Distressed man’s weight (3)
25 RAW Naked < WAR (struggle) [rejected] (3)
26 NAUNT NAT (Patriot) [drawing in] UN (one local) old relative (5)
27 REBATO/BOATER Elizabethan collar of < [retrograde] {O (ordinary) [shortened] TABERD (peasant’s overcoat)} (6)
28 IMPAIRS Spoils IMP (naughty child) with AIRS (affected manners) (7)
30 SOKAH/SHAKO SO (Very good) < HAKA (ceremonial dance) [mostly] [reflected] in rhythmic calypso music (5)
33 SOUR SO (In this condition), UR (ancient city)’s unsuccessful (4)
34 AD FINEM D (Dead) [in] [terrible] FAMINE*, towards the end (7, two words)
36 TRADITION Custom of [organised] ADMINISTRATOR* [extracting] [broken] ARMS* (9)
37 LIPA LIP (Rim) [on] A (American) monetary unit (4)
38 EVEN ON EVE (Period before) NOON (midday), [half-hearted] without a break for Scots (6, two words)
39 COL Senior officer‘s depression (3)
Down
1 LOLL LO (See) LL (one lecturer after another) lie lazily about (4)
2 LOOFS < FOOL (Person lacking in judgement) [raised] S (singular) palms (5)
3 NORMALS Usual states of MAL (sickness) [in] N (north) OR S (south) (7)
4 FITTER/TITFER More appropriate R (rule) [supporting] FITTE (antique section of melody) (6)
5 OVERMASTS OVERT (Apparent) MASS (load) [dropping] T (tons) makes craft top heavy (9)
6 NISSE Benevolent spirit when NISEI (second generation) [adopts] S (son) and [loses] I (independence)
7 NEURONAL Concerning cells, [wildly] UNREASONABLE [lacking] [properly presented] BASE* (8)
8 LITE/TILE Local’s a little low in alcohol content (4)
16 TWO-TIMING Adulterous TWO (couple) [endlessly] AT IT [borne by] MING (imperial dynasty) (9)
17 TELOS [After] T ([conclusion of] TEST), < [promoted] SOLE (unique) aim (5)
18 ENAMORED < DANE (Scandinavian) [returning], [going round] MORE (rather) besotted in New York (8)
20 OWN Possess [topless] GOWN (robe) (3)
22 ROE Deer [regularly] < [recalled] in MEMOIR (3)
24 PADDOCK PAD (Helicopter landing place) and DOCK (loading platform) in enclosed field (7)
27 BRONTE/BRETON Novelist‘s BRO (small brother) with ANOTHER [from time to time] (6)
29 ARDEB Measure < BEDRAL (Dunfermline’s grave-digger) [turned over], [short of] L (length) (5)
31 HILLO HILL (Incline) and BOW [without limits] in old form of greeting (5)
32 PIKE/KEPI Fish‘s diving position (4)
35 NIGH NIGHT (Day’s end) [almost] at hand for poets (4)

 

 W  E  L  L  I  N  G  T  O  N  I  N  E
 E  T  O  O  H  O  D  I  V  I  D  E  V
 F  I  L  O  G  R  O  T  E  S  Q  U  E
 I  L  L  F  A  M  E  F  R  S  E  R  R
 L  E  A  S  T  A  T  E  M  E  N  O  S
 Y  E  B  O  W  L  E  R  A  R  E  N  A
 M  N  A  W  O  S  L  P  S  O  R  A  W
 N  A  U  N  T  B  O  A  T  E  R  L  S
 I  M  P  A  I  R  S  D  S  H  A  K  O
 S  O  U  R  M  E  A  D  F  I  N  E  M
 T  R  A  D  I  T  I  O  N  L  I  P  A
 A  E  V  E  N  O  N  C  O  L  G  I  N
 H  D  A  B  G  N  I  K  C  O  H  S  Y

 

4 comments on “Enigmatic Variations No.1326 – Fashion by Chalicea”

  1. Mister Sting, thanks for the blog., For 38 A, I had Even On – a Scots phrase meaning ‘without intermission’. Eve, period before, and Non, midday (noon) half-hearted, minus an ‘o’.

  3. Ha! So it is. That’s how I parsed it, but I convinced myself that nothing showed in Chambers when I searched for EVENON. I must have been adding a space and looking for EVE NON!

Comments are closed.