Two unclued entries to deduce. Extra words to remove and two messages to find from the second and second last letters in extra words with no clashes in the entries. Something else to deduce from these messages. An author to find and the name of the ACT I creation to write below the grid. Pass me a ventilator.
The clues were reasonably straight forward which led into what I enjoy the most about these puzzles, the discovery phase.
The two unclued entries were quite easy to deduce – SWALLOWS (2ac) and AMAZONS (between 3 and 4 down) – it did help either consciously or sub-consciously that RANSOME, the author, is visible in Row 3 from column 3.
The first of the twin messages being: FROM J TRACE SIX NAMES COLOUR LAKE BLUE. The J being the 7th cell down in column 1. The result being a rough island shape. The names traced out are JOHN, SUSAN, TITTY, ROGER, NANCY and PEGGY (characters in the book).
The 81 cellsoutside are to be shaded blue (lake colour) leaving the shape of WILD CAT ISLAND (to be written below the grid)
The second being:
CLASH EXTRA PAIRS REVEAL MAP FEATURES
The clashes are at various points on the island (made up from the extra words in the clues that generated clashes). A little help from Google or a copy of the book if you happen to have one:
LIGHTHOUSE TREE (LT) Row 4 Column 13)
LANDING PLACE (LP) (Row 9 Column 10)
CAMP SITE (CS) (Row 6 Column 11)
LEADING MARKS (LM) (Row 8 Column 5)
HIDDEN HARBOUR (HH) (Row 9 Column 3)
to replace the clashes at their relevant locations – modelled on Peel island in Coniston water:
Thanks Hedge-sparrow for a multi-faceted puzzle harking back to a different age, which I suspect did not really exist, but was a source of some optimism when growing up.
Key: * anagram; DD double definition; Rev. reverse; Bold – extra word; Underline definition
ACROSS
| F | C | 8 Mobile user’s one applying for office (4) |
| (user)* = SUER | ||
| R | L | 12 Sequence of notes once drowned by pneumatic drill (4) |
| Hidden pNEUMatic = NEUM | ||
| O | A | 13 Forbids use of rigged boats to catch Bombay duck (6) |
| (boats)* around o (duck) = TABOOS | ||
| M | S | 15 Scots intend removing front of smokehouse boiler (5) |
| Kettle(boiler) – k (front) = ETTLE | ||
| J | H | 16 Arabian djellabahs are protected by special new thermoplastic resin (5) |
| Ar (arabian) + a (are) in s (special) + n (new) = SARAN | ||
| T | E | 17 Late starter I’m beginning to encourage with up front ‘Well met!’ (8) |
| Im + e (beginning to encourage) after So (well) + met = SOMETIME | ||
| R | X | 18 Egyptian city on the Nile was a false pretext to head north (5) |
| (was a)* + n (north) = ASWAN | ||
| 20 Original Roman lighthouse forms base of operation (5) | ||
| (Roman)* = MANOR | ||
| A | E | 22 Watergate protests: looking back, not many died (5) |
| Rev. some (not many) + d (died) = DEMOS | ||
| C | R | 24 Scorn optional alternative – edible cactus branch (8) |
| (optional)* = NOPALITO | ||
| E | A | 25 Foreign name assumed by moral gentleman (8) |
| Ethical (moral) around n (name) = ETHNICAL | ||
| 30 Banners flap feebly at opening of summer camp (5) | ||
| Flag (flap feebly) + s (opening of summer) = FLAGS | ||
| S | P | 32 Jack is to escape off beam (5) |
| J (jack) + (is to)* = JOIST | ||
| I | A | 33 Highly emotional historical film I and others watch without the least bit of snivelling (5) |
| We (I and others) + espy (watch) – s (least bit of snivelling) = WEEPY | ||
| 36 Leading great staggers round poet’s flat for a drink (8, two words) | ||
| (great)* around e’en (poet’s flat) = GREEN TEA | ||
| X | I | 37 British expedition initially concealing exhibit in the sea (5) |
| Br (British) + e (expedition initially) around in = BRINE | ||
| 38 Yellowish-brown roll hidden after end’s bitten off (5) | ||
| Beigel (roll) – l = BEIGE | ||
| 39 Mediaeval semitone landing outside limits of present-day cittern and orpharion (6) | ||
| Limits of Present-daY + CitterN + OrpharioN = PYCNON | ||
| N | R | 40 Fine ancient heath suffering loss of entire area (4) |
| Erica (heath) – a (area) = ERIC | ||
| A | S | 41 Nationalise Malaysian food glut (4) |
| DD SATE | ||
| M | R | 42 See other ambassadors rousing support for Oxford? (8) |
| (see other)* = SHOETREE |
DOWN
| E | E | 1 Laundering could be one of these crimes committed with help of associate member (10, two words) |
| DD INSIDE JOBS | ||
| S | V | 2 Consider smothering assertive amateur in theatrical grease (5) |
| See (consider) around am (amateur) N= SEAME | ||
| C | E | 3 With rum refreshed ice-skater in period of Alpine glaciation (4) |
| W(with) + (rum)* = WURM | ||
| O | A | 4 Unwilling at first to accompany girl in popular Hungarian dance movement (5) |
| Lass (girl) + u (unwilling at first) = LASSU | ||
| L | L | 5 Old-world wife of bishop? (5) |
| W(wife) + o (of) + man (bishop) = WOMAN | ||
| O | M | 6 Coxcomb drinks heavily cycling past bar (5) |
| Topes (drinks heavily) cycling = ESTOP | ||
| 7 German city: rebuilt wartime site (though not the centre) (6) | ||
| (wartime – t(centre))* = WEIMAR | ||
| R | E | 9 Minute tree ring protects places harbouring new life (5) |
| Hidden minUTE RIng = UTERI | ||
| V | A | 10 Cathedral city’s a delightful place with vulgar water parsnips eradicated (3) |
| Elysium – sium (water parsnips) = ELY | ||
| R | P | 11 Trump’s reference to sceptre upset Queen to begin with (10) |
| (to sceptre)* + r (Queen) = RETROSPECT | ||
| L | F | 14 Log cutter from East End district was climbing flagstaff (6) |
| Bow (East end district) + Rev. (was) = BOWSAW | ||
| A | E | 19 Irish girl’s not fazed guarding MacDonald’s enclosure (6) |
| Non (not) around Ree (enclosure) = NOREEN | ||
| K | A | 21 One enticing skinhead in France to go around ancient city (7) |
| Aller (in France to go) around Ur (ancient city) = ALLURER | ||
| 23 Marks places thwarted by hard times (6) | ||
| Sites (places) around h (hard) = SITHES | ||
| 26 Name of old harbour, slightly tainted over time (5) | ||
| High (slightly tainted) + t (time) = HIGHT | ||
| E | T | 27 Fawn with raised tail rolled meaty pancake (5) |
| Creep (fawn) raising p above e = CREPE | ||
| B | U | 28 Rake about church following cancelled service (5) |
| Ch (church) after let (cancelled service) = LETCH | ||
| 29 Avoid second place finish in race, maintaining average (5) | ||
| S (second) + e (finish in race) around par (average) = SPARE | ||
| L | R | 31 Nancy’s embarrassment, taking pleasure in island spirit (5) |
| Gene (embarrassment) around I (island) = GENIE | ||
| U | E | 34 Ireland’s quiet lake rising (4) |
| Rev Erie (lake) = EIRE | ||
| E | S | 35 Ships leaving long seacoast? Indeed (3) |
| Yearn (long) – Rn (ships) = YEA |
Wonderful puzzle…almost Harribob-esque?! Great blog too…
This was quite a marathon. I gave up at one point with a third of the grid still to complete. However, when I picked this up again yesterday I saw chinks of light in a couple of clues in the left of the grid, amd I managed to solve the remaining clues, fill in the unclued lights and consolidate all the clashes and pairs of letters.
The first of the two messages was clear, and I duly carried out the two instructions, but I failed to work out what to do with the instructions in the second message, even after re-reading the relevant part of the preamble. But I did find the author, and I worked out what name to write below the grid.
This ended up being one of a minority of puzzles that I appreciate more on seeing the final resolution of the theme than in the process of getting there. The whole design was brilliant, and to form a symmetrical gridful of words around the thematic elements in that way was admirable.
While tackling the clues, and especially the least tractable ones in the left of the grid, I made it difficult for myself by assuming that a solution might produce more than one clash (the third sentence just says that ten entries ‘produce clashes’). In retrospect, I should have inferred from the sentence in the middle of the preamble (‘ … five features … the clues …’) that there were only five clashes in total.
Thanks to Hedge-sparrow and twencelas.
I agree that this was a most impressive construction. Extra words in clues must be carefully handled if they’re not to jump out at you after being shoehorned in; I was very struck by the unobtrusive concealment employed, especially where the choice was restricted by the need to indicate the map locations. Thoroughly enjoyable.
This puzzle was a lot of fun to solve. I enjoyed all the references to the theme. The last reference I worked out was the Title of the crossword. As I was not sending it in I have coloured SWALLOWS, AMAZONS and ARANSOM in red which looks impressive.
Pentomino @4
Actually, it’s ARANSOME (note the final E). His name was Arthur Ransome. I’m posting this also to admit I didn’t see the initial A (in plain sight!).
Really enjoyed this one. It took a while after solving the puzzle to notice that the puzzle’s title, Act I, was a clue to Wild Cat Island.
Lovely puzzle, as we have come to expect from Hedge-sparrow. First class in every respect.