A single letter missing from downs spelling out an instruction to fill in the unclued entries – a person to be removed and then another one to be highlighted.
Quite a few unusual words and different meanings of common words in use which slightly slowed the grid filling part. And I must admit to working backwards from the instruction to resolve some of the missing letters as the instruction was guessable after about 2/3 rds of the missing letters were found.
The instruction spelled out:
COMPLETE CHARACTERS NAMES
Not a lot to go on until you see GODOT in the central row. As in the play Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett. So GODOT gets erased leaving real words.
Once spotted it all fell into place fairly quickly ESTRAGON. LUCKY, POZZO and VLADIMIR filled the blank entries and BOY needed to be highlighted in the third row.
I’ve a quibble with 36ac but maybe I have parsed it incorrectly.
Thanks Chalicea.
Key: Underline definition; * anagram; Rev. reverse; DD Double definition; Missing letters bold red capitalised in second version of down clues
Across
7 Digital media file’s endless serious accidents (6)
smash-ups (serious accidents) – ends = MASHUP
11 Device that controls flow as object of interest (6)
so(as) + lion (object of interest) = SOLION
12 Bard’s cudgel obliterates rogue after ignoring wicked lies (7)
(obliterates – lies)* = BATTERO
13 Flirt holding entirely British long-stemmed glass (7)
toy (flirt) around all (entirely) + b (British) = TALLBOY
14 Unit playing zither with no imagination at first (5)
(zither – i)* = HERTZ
15 Danish nuclear physicist backed incorporating mass in magic wheel (5)
Rev. Bohr (Niels – as in Danish Physicist) around m (mass) = RHOMB
16 Restorer concerned with fragment of Nubian jug (7)
re (concerned with) + n (fragment of Nubian) + ewer (jug) = RENEWER
17 Hard wood put in Perth’s hollow below fire (6)
Ash (hard word) + pit (put – scottish) = ASHPIT
19 European Committee for Standardisation with leave to back monetary unit (7)
Cen (European Committee for Standardisation) + Rev. omit (leave) = CENTIMO
20 Hooked a slow learner with introduction of alternative technology (8)
a + dunce (slow learner) around at (alternative technology) = ADUNCATE
23 Fruit trimmed for ape (5)
orange(frunit) – e = ORANG
25 Tremulous sound to roll (5)
DD TRILL
27 Like a theory that’s universal in complex algebra (8)
(algebra)* around u (universal) = ARGUABLE
28 The French deliver Air Efficiency Award for fliers (7)
la (thye French) + rid (deliver) + ae (Air Efficiency Award) = LARIDAE
29 Crowned first rate comeback in early jazz (6)
trad (early jazz) around Rev. Ai (first rate) = TIARAD
30 Passenger vehicle originally arriving carrying the exotic drink (7, two words)
bus (passenger vehicle) + a(originally arriving) around (the)* = BUSH TEA
33 Legislative Assembly recalled militant republican forces units (5)
la (Legislative Assemby) + Rev. IRA (militant republican forces) = LAARI
35 Series of repeated events of achy sculler from time to time (5)
aChY sCuLlEr = CYCLE
36 For a Jew, when to reinterpret his essentially Talmudic RI (7)
(his)* + u (essentially Talmudic) + ri + ??????? = SHIURIM – not sure where the m is supposed to come from
38 Spirit kept principally with our tricky special puzzles (7)
Ka (spirit) + k (kept principally) + (our)* + s (special) = KAKUROS
39 Rings some mail unnaturally returned (6)
Hidden Re. maIL UNNAturally = ANNULI
40 Society in Arab republic for toadies (6)
s (society) in Yemen (Arab Republic) = YESMEN
Down
1 Koran has scrapped biblical raft (8, two words)
1 Koran has scrapped biblical Craft (8, two words)
(Koran has)* NOAH’S ARK
2 Inauspicious fund in bills without limits (3)
2 Inauspicious fOund in bills without limits (3)
bills – bs = ILL
3 Mostly supply bit of microscopic anion, say (4)
3 Mostly supply bit of microscopic anMion, say (4)
fil (supply) – l + m (bit of microscopic) = FILM
4 Making a chum of ancient riding a racing sledge (7)
4 Making a chumP of ancient riding a racing sledge (7)
DD BOBBING
5 Noisily indicate contempt of refection of Lanark’s market places (5)
5 Noisily indicate contempt of refLection of Lanark’s market places (5)
Rev. trons (Lanark’s market places) = SNORT
6 Long ago endure baby – yes, in part (4)
6 Long ago endure baby – Eyes, in part (4)
hidden bABY Eyes = ABYE
7 Dynamo’s no mega tricks (7)
7 Dynamo’s noT mega tricks (7)
(not mega)* = MAGNETO
8 Mythological figure is ahead initially then astern (6)
8 Mythological figure is ahead initially then Eastern (6)
a(ahead initially) + then + e (eastern) =ATHENE
9 Rumbled wets’ state of mental agitation (4)
9 Crumbled wets’ state of mental agitation (4)
(wets)* = STEW
10 Armed Hebridean, not perhaps bad in this place (6)
10 Harmed Hebridean, not perhaps bad in this place (6)
(Hebridean – bad)* = HEREIN
18 Kick type of bot (4)
18 Kick type of boAt (4)
DD PUNT
19 Ask for and get fee deducted primarily in bars (5)
19 Ask for and get fRee deducted primarily in bars (5)
d (deducted primarily) in cage (bars) = CADGE
21 Asian wheels herd in old timer’s herb garden (4)
21 Asian wheels heArd in old timer’s herb garden (4)
Homonym of arbour (heb garden) = ARBA
22 Rushed liberal, Toryish at heart in an unfocused way (8)
22 Crushed liberal, Toryish at heart in an unfocused way (8)
(liberal + BLEARILY
24 Formal speech on air to NUS (7)
24 Formal speech on air to nuTs (7)
(on air to)* = ORATION
25 Removing the end of tar in a poor state;(7)
25 Removing the end of tEar in a poor state;(7)
t(end of tear) + ailing (in a poor state) = TAILING
26 Traffics lories (6)
26 Traffics lorRies (6)
DD TRUCKS
27 Tick publicity in this position (6)
27 Stick publicity in this position (6)
ad (publicity) + here (in this position) = ADHERE
29 Rejecting unwonted scrip money, troubled pharmacists producing S African esters (5)
29 Rejecting unwonted scrip money, troubled pharmacists producing S African Nesters (5)
(pharmacists – scrip-m)* = TAHAS
31 Centres of Muslim alumni are in poor part of city (4)
31 Centres of Muslim alumni areA in poor part of city (4)
muSLim + alUMni = SLUM
32 Aid seductresses’ actual existence (4)
32 AMid seductresses’ actual existence (4)
Hidden seductrESSEs’ = ESSE
34 Elderly gossip’s teas taking time (4)
34 Elderly gossip’s teasE taking time (4)
taunt(tease) – t (time) = AUNT
37 Heavy mat covering Stornoway’s hare (3)
37 Heavy mat covering Stornoway’s Share (3)
DD RUG
In 36 across it’s an anagram of HIS (tal)MU(dic) RI – MU is the exact centre of TALMUDIC.
Elegant puzzle with the emphasis on enjoyment rather than complications, as is usual for this setter (and why I like her puzzles so much).
Thank you Cruciverbophile – that is exactly how I was parsing it. I love to see the word ‘enjoyment’ in bloggers’ and solvers’ comments – that is my aim in compiling as I have so many compiler friends writing the complicated ‘head-scratchers’, though I admit that the message appeared rather too easily in this one and was somewhat spurious. The ‘missing letter’ device is tougher to use and probably to solve, than the ‘extra letter’ one – at least, in my experience. Thank you, as always, to twencelas.
I think 25d should be TarE (T not ‘end of’ but in Chambers for tare)+ ailing. I also really enjoyed this crossword, thank you Chalicea and twencelas.