“NAME THAT TUNE to be highlighted in the grid, behaving in a manner befitting its title. The unclued entries making up the top row composed the song. The album from which the song is taken is the other unclued entry. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.”
This was a breeze – almost certainly the easiest one that I’ve encountered! Just to be clear, because some people seem to equate difficulty and quality, I enjoyed it. Indeed, I’ll be passing it to someone who considers thematic crosswords too difficult.
Anyway, the composers (LENNON and MCCARTNEY, pleasingly in that order in the grid) are the most famous song-writing duo ever (sorry Gilbert and Sullivan, but you aren’t even close) and, although the album (BEATLES FOR SALE) isn’t their best known, they don’t have any obscure albums.
The tune is I’LL FOLLOW THE SUN, and the letters S-U-N-I are which is to be highlighted.
(Thanks ub! I’m glad I was wrong about that, because S-U-N-I seemed a bit weak. And sorry to X-Type for not having more faith – although well done for hiding it from me!)
Please post a comment if the explanations are not clear.
| Notation | |
|---|---|
| Definition | word |
| Indicator | [word] |
| Anagram | WORD* |
| Reversal | <WORD |
| Homophone | “WORD” |
| Across | ||
|---|---|---|
| 11 | TyNE APparently [encompasses] least tidal range (4) | NEAP |
| 13 | Conclusion: introduction of healthful oil in one’s diet, perhaps? (5) | OMEGA |
| 17 | Snow vehicle? S ([Leader of] SAAMI) LED (was in the van!) (4) | SLED |
| 18 | H (Hotel) R (BEER[‘s close]) [in] TALL (very high) barrel stand (6) | THRALL |
| 19 | This used to be a measure of Russia’s [dire], {H (hard) RAINS}* (6) | ARSHIN |
| 20 | Bones [discovered in] PlatO’S SArcophagus (4) | OSSA |
| 21 | MU (Greek letter) [lost by] |
SLIM |
| 23 | [Cobbled] SHOE* – or what goes into one? (4) | HOSE |
| 25 | Paint B (second-rate) ICE (gemstones) (4) | BICE |
| 27 | Make tea perhaps in this way: IN FUSE (blend)? (6) | INFUSE |
| 29 | Native American APACE (rapidly) [getting H (hot) inside] (6) | APACHE |
| 32 | Plan place to be buried? (4) | PLOT |
| 34 | One who constantly finds fault: being S (southern) and COLD (unfriendly) (5) | SCOLD |
| 35 | [Drunkenly] SAT* [with] I (one)’s bubbly (4) | ASTI |
| 36 | Someone who could get a pain in the neck if they’re not careful! (14) | SWORD-SWALLOWER |
| 37 | Large mussel in Shetland – that’s {COOL –BY DAB}*, [swimming] (9) | CLABBY-DOO |
| 38 | SHE [is holding] NAT (little Nathaniel) and handle of manual mower (6) | SNATHE |
| Down | ||
| 1 | {A SHANG |
LANGAHAS |
| 2 | Gets close to NS (poles) [retaining] EAR (part of grain store)? (5) | NEARS |
| 3 | Guaranteed tips, in <SPAN (bridge), [raised] (4) | NAPS |
| 4 | {THIS TOOL}* [repaired] bones in the ear (8) | OTOLITHS |
| 5 | Portion of “MEAD” (drink), [it’s said] (4) | MEED |
| 6 | C (Clubs), S (spades), GAS (petrol in LA): something used to control riots? (5, two words) | CS GAS |
| 7 | [Served up] < meAT ROAsted, [having this bit of heart in it] (5) | AORTA |
| 8 | Old ruler getting T (temperature) with SAR |
TSAR |
| 9 | L (Liberal) [going after] NASA (space agency) getting up one’s nose? (5) | NASAL |
| 10 | EL (American railroad) taking AL (Alan)? It’s an airline! (4, two words) | EL AL |
| 12 | [Leaders of] Engineering Union Rejecting Offer in this currency (4) | EURO |
| 14 | It’s found in church: A PS (final note) to E (EVANGELISTS’ [leader]) (4) | APSE |
| 15 | DON (Fellow) [after] RHINO (money, in the past), for old sorts of fish (8) | RHINODON |
| 16 | Mineral obtained from [processed] {LIME and TIN}*, [with E (energy) input] (8) | ILMENITE |
| 20 | Lubricants used in [new] SILO* (4) | OILS |
| 22 | IS (Iceland) NT (National Trust)? Cannot be! (4) | ISN’T |
| 24 | S (Son) [out of] SAMO |
SAMOA |
| 25 | [Awful] {SET BY}* this lady? (5) | BETSY |
| 26 | Tree from CA (California): O ([first of] OAKS) [containing] CA (calcium) (5) | CACAO |
| 28 | UNSET | |
| 30 | Catch “PAUL” (one of thematic pair), [by the sound of it] (4) | PAWL |
| 31 | Restrain CUR (scoundrel) with B ([end of] CLUB) (4) | CURB |
| 32 | [50% of] POL |
POLO |
| 33 | Timber, [up in] < A WATchtower (4) | TAWA |
| L | E | N | N | O | N | M | C | C | A | R | T | N | E | Y |
| A | B | E | A | T | L | E | S | F | O | R | S | A | L | E |
| N | E | A | P | O | M | E | G | A | R | R | A | S | A | I |
| G | U | R | S | L | E | D | A | P | T | H | R | A | L | L |
| A | R | S | H | I | N | O | S | S | A | I | S | L | I | M |
| H | O | S | E | T | B | I | C | E | I | N | F | U | S | E |
| A | P | A | C | H | E | L | A | P | L | O | T | N | N | N |
| S | A | M | U | S | T | S | C | O | L | D | A | S | T | I |
| S | W | O | R | D | S | W | A | L | L | O | W | E | R | T |
| C | L | A | B | B | Y | D | O | O | S | N | A | T | H | E |
Hmm. I found the entire song title in the grid in a broad-V shape starting with the third-row I in the final column and ending with the first-column N. I admit I did not understand the significance of the shape and I can see why “I SUN” would be acceptable.
Ahh! No, the full song makes a lot more sense! I will edit the post.
Thanks, X-type, and Mister Sting…as described, relatively gentle, but no less enjoyable for that.
ub at #1 – I guessed that the song title was following the sun, from East to West, on one of those elliptical paths used to show e.g. where an eclipse will be best seen?
Indeed! The SUN was following a path East-West, via the South (which would be its normal daytime path, in the skies of the Northern Hemisphere – eg Liverpool…). Hopefully, it was well enough hidden to fool a few more of you! (BTW: many thanks for the comments about “Quality” versus “Difficulty”…it’s really about “Enjoyment”!) Yours, X-Type