Doc (who I believe is also the excellent Maskarade in The Guardian) is this week’s setter.
There are 11 unclued lights and the rubric tells us they are “of a kind”. When 16 down looked as if it ended in -stone and 44 across looked as if it ended in -hatch, I began to think in terms of race tracks, and this was confirmed by the crossword’s title. There are 9 in all, made up from 11 solutions, with two tracks each needing two lights to be joined, all being Formula 1 venues from various different countries.
While some clues were relatively gentle, I wouldn’t have been able to complete this crossword without Google or its equivalent. My knowledge of Arran villages and Austrian skiers would certainly have left me floundering. To say nothing of skiing tour companies and Indian bandits ….
Definitions are underlined.
Across
4 Media broadcast about 12 that’s cheap and practically useless (1,4,1,5)
A DIME A DOZEN
anagram (broadcast) of MEDIA + A DOZEN (twelve)
11 Letters being sent to distant branch (7)
OUTPOST
POST (letters) going OUT (being sent)
12 Medium range paintings (6)
MURALS
M (medium) + URALS (range – of mountains)
13 Passing nurse in van (9)
TRANSIENT
EN (nurse) in TRANSIT (a Ford van)
14 Join princess having kiss (5)
ANNEX
ANNE (Princess) + X (kiss)
16. unclued
CARLO
WITH 15D the racetrack in Monaco
19. unclued
ESTORIL
Formula 1 track in Portugal
21 Roman numeral from cross against heads of two icons (4)
XVII
X (cross) + V (against) + II (first letter -twice – of icon)
23 Having abandoned shelter, Loch Ness Monster shocked army personnel (3-4)
NON-COMS
Anagram (shocked) of OC N MONS – Loch Ness Monster without (abandoned) the letters of shelter
24 A new version of Black Beauty? (4)
FOAL
Offspring (a new version) of e g (the question mark) the horse Black Beauty
25 Delight with visit, providing that money, finally (7)
BEATIFY
BE AT (visit) + IF (providing) + Y (last letter – finally – of money)
30 Sportsman’s call angered doctor (2,5)
EN GARDE
Anagram (doctor) of ANGERED
31 Assumed name I omitted, sadly (4)
ALAS
ALIAS (assumed name) minus (omitted) I
32 On the soapbox, receiving no stars? (7)
ORATING
Receiving no stars could be Zero (O-) rating
34 Rattle outside – rattle from inside (4)
RALE
RA + LE – the outside letters of rattle). To rale is to produce a rattling noise when the chest is examined by a stethoscope
35 Cooked a cod. It is for Indian bandits (7)
DACOITS
Anagram (cooked) of A COD ITS
37 unclued
IMOLA
Italian Grand Prix course
40 unclued
MONZA
also an Italian racetrack
41 He painted lines without a permit (9)
CANALETTO
Canto (lines – of verse) outside (without) A + LET (permit)
42 Country fellow’s gossip (6)
GUYANA
GUY (fellow) + ANA (gossip)
43 Female has lived on illicit liquor (7)
SHEBEEN
SHE (female) + BEEN (has lived)
44 unclued
BRANDS HATCH
The (originally) grass track in Kent, where the first motor race ever is said to have been held.
Down
1 Some PC parent on the committee (6,5)
MOTHER BOARD
Mother (parent) + (on the) BOARD (committee). The mother board is the main circuit board of a computer (PC)
2 Show of respect is short on the fringes of society (6)
CURTSY
CURT (short – in behaviour) + SY – the “fringes ” of SOCIETY. I have always spelt the word curtsey but this spelling is an alternative.
3 A frightening beginning (5)
START
Double definition, using the verb in the sense of startle.
5 Some escudos – hush-money (4)
DOSH
hidden (some) in escuDOS Hush
6 River emergency – councillor’s resigned (4)
ISIS
CRISIS without (resigned) CR (councillor)
7 Founder of ski-travel company turning 34 now (4,3)
ERNA LOW
Anagram (turning) of NOW + RALE (solution to clue 34). Not being a skier, I had to Google the company.
8 Believer in good and ill suggests fighter (7)
DUALIST
Homophone (suggests) of DUELLIST (fighter)
9 UNCLUED
ZANDVOORT
Formula 1 circuit in the Netherlands.
10 Mournful key member CIA outed (7)
ELEGIAC
E (key) + LEG (member) + anagram (outed) of CIA
15 unclued
MONTE
with 16a MONTE CARLO, the circuit in Monaco
17 Country from Central Europe. That’s madness! (7)
ROMANIA
RO (central Europe) + MANIA (madness)
18 unclued
SILVERSTONE
track of British Grand Prix
20 Imply there isn’t a conflagration (7)
INFERNO
INFER NO suggests imply there isn’t …
22 unclued
CATALUNYA
Barcelona-Catalunya is a Spanish circuit
26 unclued
LAGOS
with 36d INTER, the Brazilian circuit
27 Austrian skier is heard to cry (7)
CLAMOUR
Franz KLAMMER (homophone) is an Austrian ski racer
28 Stop state instruction (7)
COMMAND
COMMA (a stop) + ND (North Dakota – a state)
29 Village on Arran has mall rebuilt (7)
LAMLASH
Anagram (rebuilt) of HAS MALL
33 Art gallery in opposite directions on New York island (6)
STATEN
TATE (art gallery) in S and N (opposite directions)
36 unclued
INTER
with 26d LAGOS, the Brazilian Grand Prix track
38 Strike secures hard money in Asia (4)
BAHT
BAT (strike) outside (secures) H (hard. The baht is the currency of Thailand.
39 Guinness, say, or another tipple on edge of counter (4)
ALEC
ALE (another tipple) + C (edge of counter). Sir Alec G, one of the greats, best known for portraying George Smiley