That title, a grid with a big ‘X’ in the middle, and a preamble indicating that there were eight clashing cells, extra letters in word play would lead to instructions, and a ‘route’ to be highlighted – it all points to a treasure hunt, surely…’X’ marks the spot?
As always, with potentially clashing letters, one can never be sure that a checking letter can be trusted, so I resorted to my tried&tested approach of writing across answers in small letters in the top right corners of cells, downs in the bottom left, and circling the clashes as they became apparent. (As a Telegraph website subscriber, I then just print off an extra copy to fill neatly for submission – in the ‘olden days’ I would usually take an enlarged photocopy of the grid, at work, to use as the rough copy…)
Good and firm-but-fair clueing, with a few obscure words needing some eChambers checking, but most of the extra letters showed themselves without too much of a fight, and the grid filled up steadily – with not too many misleads from the clashes.
Extra letters in word-play led to the instruction: ‘DOWN FROM FIRST CELL, THEN TURN NINETY AT EACH CLASH’. Thus followed a lot of pencil line drawing and rubbing out, trying to find my way to the ‘X’ – which turned out not to be possible with only 90-degree turns.
In the end – with a laugh-out-loud ‘Ulrika!’ moment – the penny dropped, and I realised we were being sent on a fool’s errand, more specifically an April Fool’s errand. The route just loops back to the first clash, and the clashing letters – using the first/last twice, combine to give two lots of ‘APRIL FOOL’, which I took to be the phrase to write under the grid.
Solving time maybe 1 to 1.5 hours, spread over a few days/train trips to work, and then a few more sessions working on the ‘route’, to get to that final realisation…Grrr!…
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Clue No | Extra Letters | Entry – clashes in () | Clue / Logic – extra letters in BOLD/UL |
| 1A | D | ADJUDICATIONS | Extras to include Passion Sunday for one – more than singular diligence required (13) / ADDiTIONS (extras) replacing ‘i’ (one) with JUDICA (Passion Sunday – from the opening words of the introit, `Judica me, Deus’ (43rd Psalm)) |
| 10A | O | PRO(P)HET | Support’s enthusiastic around Spain for Mohammed say? (7) / PROP (support) + HOT (enthusiastic) around E (Spain, or España) |
| 12A | W | ENT(I)A | Independent individuals travelled on road out of London in reverse (5) / WENT (travelled) on IA (reverse of A1, route out of London) |
| 14A | N | BEARDS | Facial hair and necklaces perhaps worn by sailors (6) / BEADS (necklaces) around RN (Royal Navy, sailors) |
| 15A | F | ARTERY | Vessel’s worried, catching last of lobster – there’s little fish around (6) / ATE (worried) around R (last of lobsteR) + FRY (little fish) |
| 16A | R | OLID | Rank of soldiers provided with cover (4) / OR (Other Ranks, or soldiers) + LID (cover) |
| 17A | O | (O)UTER | We Scots truck and barter at end of the Fringe (5) / OO (Scots for ‘we’) + UTE (truck) + R (end of barteR) |
| 19A | M | ETERN(A)L | Endless lament playing absorbs the queen (7) / anag (i.e. playing) of LAMENT, including ER (queen) |
| 21A | F | ELAPSED | Coral snake given food glided away (7) / ELAPS (coral snake) + FED (given food) |
| 23A | I | ORNERY | Mean for the States Oregon and Nebraska to meet fairy, but not Florida (6) / OR (Oregon) + NE (Nebraska) + IRY (fairy, without Fa – Florida) |
| 25A | R | RUEING | Changing one’s mind, plant in a circle (6) / RING (circle) around RUE (shrubby plant) |
| 27A | S | ORBITAL | Artificial sweetener has nothing for adult in a regular course (7) / ORBITAL = SORBITOL (sugar substitute) with second O (nothing) changed to A (adult) |
| 31A | T | (L)IGHTE(R) | Boat for loading left relatively close (7) / L (left) + TIGHTER (relatively close) |
| 33A | C | IGLOO | A little smoke by toilet in freezing accommodation (5) / CIG (abbrev. of cigarette, or smoke) + LOO (toilet) |
| 34A | E | AREA | A yard for Scots livestock and a piece of ground (4) / A + REE (Scottish livestock yard) + A |
| 35A | L | WEDELN | Skiing manoeuvres and novel reverses seen around small valley (6) / WEN (new, or novel, reversing) around DELL (small valley) |
| 37A | L | INLIER | Old rocky outcrop line including third of a mile to East at bottom of tor (6) / LINE including LI (Chinese, or Eastern, unit of distance, approx. 1/3 of a mile) + R (last letter of toR) |
| 38A | T | NAA(F)I | Stewed fat in a canteen (5) / anag (i.e. stewed) of FAT IN A |
| 39A | H | (L)EARNER | Try stopping obsolete rail company’s inexperienced driver (7) / LNER (obsolete rail company) around HEAR (try, as in legal term) |
| 40A | E | THALASSOCRACY | Does it order sea coral and yachts about? (13) / &lit & anag (i.e. order about) of SEA CORAL YACHTS |
| Down | |||
| Clue No | Extra Letters | Entry – clashes in () | Clue / Logic – extra letters in BOLD/UL |
| 1D | N | APPA(L)OOS(A) | Sort of horse to cause alarm before long rearing over adult (9) / APPAL (cause alarm) + NOOS (SOON, rearing) + A (adult) |
| 2D | T | DRY RUN | Drury and National Theatre in play rehearsal (6, 2 words) / anag (i.e. in play) of DRURY + NT (National Theatre) |
| 3D | U | U(R)GE | Egg on your guesthouse sandwiches (4) / hidden word ‘sandwiched’ in ‘yoUR GUEsthouse’ |
| 4D | R | DHURRA | Millet’s ‘Heads of Drovers Resting’ – an expression of joy (6) / DR (heads, or first letters of Drovers Resting) + HURRA (expression of joy) |
| 5D | N | CTENES | Organs in slow movement caught fanfare up (6) / C (caught) + TENNES (SENNET = fanfare, up) |
| 6D | N | TERSE | Brief runs into the past perhaps? (5) / TENSE (as in past tense) including R (runs) |
| 7D | I | INDORSE | Fancy derision being back in the advertising world (7) / anag (i.e. fancy) of DERISION – INDORSE being a variation on the more usual ENDORSE |
| 8D | N | N(O)TI(F)Y | Give information to Number Ten initially provided by city? (6) / NO (number) + T (ten, initially) + IF (provided that) + NY (city, New York) |
| 9D | E | SAND | Sensible director shows grit (4) / SANE (sensible) + D (director) |
| 11D | T | BACTERIA | Nothing removed from abattoir, E Coli’s beginning to spread, for instance? (8) / &lit & anag (i.e. to spread) of ABATToIR (less O, nothing, plus E, plus C – Coli’s beginning) |
| 13D | Y | ATTEND | Listen when news might be on at both ends of day (6) / AT TEN (when ‘News at 10’ might be on!) + DY (both ends of DaY) |
| 18D | A | APYRETIC | Suspect apiary etc is not unduly hot (8) / anag (i.e. suspect) of APIARY ETC – apyretic being the opposite of feverish/hot |
| 20D | T | LEGIONARY | I lent a gory novel to member of the BL (9) / anag (i.e. novel) of I LENT A GORY. N.B. BL = British Legion |
| 22D | E | KILLER | Harmful vapour rising around – neutralizing agent’s required (6) / KEER (reek, or vapour, rising) around ILL (harmful) – KILLER = neutralising agent |
| 24D | A | ETHAN(O)L | Solitary passes round a hat getting up for alcohol (7) / LONE, or solitary, passing round A HAT – then all going upwards |
| 26D | C | SIRRAH | Right, his car crashed outside old address [that wasn’t nice] (6) / anag (i.e. crashed) of R (right) + HIS CAR |
| 28D | H | B(I)CE(P)S | Brake horsepower’s held in reserve? On the contrary, there’s muscle (6) / BHPS (Brake Horsepower’s) holding ICE (coolness, or reserve) |
| 29D | C | TIETAC | A clip of bookies’ signals spread round YouTube at last (6) / TICTAC (bookies’ sign language) around E (last letter of YouTubE) |
| 30D | L | TOLTEC | Ancient Mexican form of taxation etc reformed (6) / TOLL (form of taxation) + TEC (anag, i.e. reformed, of ETC) |
| 32A | A | TILIA | Limes and sesame added to fajitas oddly ignored (5) / TIL (sesame) + even letters (oddly ignored) of fAjItAs |
| 34A | S | AUNT | Relation of Scottish holy man (4) / double defn SAUNT= Scottish form of saint, or holy man, AUNT = relation |
| 36A | H | DORR | I’ll leave horrid blundering may bug (4) / anag (i.e. blundering) of HORRiD (i.e. ‘I’ leaving) |
Thanks, mc. I can take a joke but I felt let down by this. Perhaps it’s because it made me feel that all crosswords are ultimately futile pursuits.
Hi Tony – I guess this was a bit frustrating and maybe, if I hadn’t been keen to finish it for the blog, I might have given up earlier…perhaps it could have been held until next April 1 – which is actually a Sunday?!
As for futility of ALL crosswords? There is the argument for exercising the brain…and the lure of a dictionary/pen/book token/bottle of champagne plus the kudos of having your name in the paper/magazine in the case of prize puzzles…