Enigmatic Variations No 1098 Find and replace by Poat

[If you’re attending York S&B please see comments 32&33] - here

A new setter for me to blog, but not a new setter. Poat’s puzzles tends to lie at the harder end of the spectrum – all seems so simple 16 clues with words swapped about, 1 unclued entry which is determines the replacement for the clued entry at 1 across.

First of all thanks to mcrapper  for enabling this blog at all. The Telegraph crossword site is still, at the time of typing, a no-go area.

So where to start – start with the clues as always. Some tough ones but all very fair (with Chambers to consult anyway).

Some tough clues as one would expect and quite a lot of head scratching to find the clues with swapped letters, but eventually the grid filled up and the swaps became apparent. The second letters of the moved words, in clue order spelling out “SIXTY THREE VOWELS”.

i.e.

uSed                      1 Possibly paracetamol’s returning to prepare this poultice – or ecstasy (9)

wIth                       13 Drawing leader of daleks inside beam in earlier season (10)

eXcited                 17 Yankee with two fifties must be club winner of literary award (8)

aThens                 19 Loner’s left out of top people embracing head group (7)

hYpothetical      33 Relished particle of cheese originally mentioned in old Norse (8)

sTretch                 35 Announced twist in prison for old maid (4)

CHurch’s              1 Evergreen standard salve (6)

dRawing               3 One with tall building (5)

RElished               6 McCrimmon’s hypothetical wine from the Barossa valley? (5)

rEturning             9 Senior advisor to ignore rule used in setter’s gallimaufry (6)

EVergreen           14 carry out logging in church’s territory (5)

mOniker              16 French user not so masculine (3)

tWist                     23 Poem’s said to stretch between question and answer (6)

hEad                      29 Agitate Athens backing underworld boss racket (6)

cLub                       30 Informal test for excited member; I am no criminal (5)

uSer                       32 Basque code moniker all but succeeded in Foreign Office (5)

So 63 vowels in the completed grid, was my conclusion from this hint.

So to teh unclued 39ac. Checked letters gave TO_CH_OOD, obvious isn’t it – TORCHWOOD and 1 across becomes DOCTOR WHO – that explains all the Doctor Who references dotted amongst the clues.

Well NO. as that uses only 61 vowels. The only other answer for 39 across is TOUCHWOOD or a synonym ABSIT OMEN in 1 across which yields the extra 2 vowels and provides the puzzle’s completion.

A classic piece of misdirection, in my opinion. With Dr Who reaching 50 years – there have been the odd one or two puzzles to commemorate – but not this one.

Many thanks Poat for much head scratching and please excuse any typos in the clues as my usual cut and paste option was not available. Always nice to see a few homonyms cropping up, keeps the grey cells firing.

As to the title Find and Replace is pretty apt – though I suspect I wasn’t the only one to do this twice.

As to my favourite clue – toss up between 31ac for it’s surface and 37ac for its simplicity (once you see it)

Key:

* Anagram, rev. Reverse, Underline = definition

ACROSS

1 Possibly paracetamol’s returning to prepare this poultice – or ecstasy (9)

Possibly paracetamol’s used to prepare this poultice – or ecstasy

(Paracetamol – to)* = CATAPLASM

11 Attention seeker from Brussels maybe giving frenzied cry (4)

EU (from Brussels mabe) + Oi (seek attention) = EUOI

12 Tyke’s to stroll about four feet in medieval France, flanked by Doctor (6)

Dr (doctor) around aune (an old French measure of length) =  DAUNER

13 Drawing leader of daleks inside beam in earlier season (10)

With leader of daleks inside beam in earlier season (10)

W(with) + D (leader of daleks) inside intertie (beam) = WINTERTIDE

15 Incarnation of Ra apparently classified as top totty?

A ten (slang for a pretty woman) = ATEN

17 Yankee with two fifties must be club winner of literary award (8)

Yankee with two fifties must be excited winner of literary award (8)

(yankee + ll (2 fifties)) = KENEALLY

18 howl of anguish, initially being checked by bishop (4)

RR (Bishop) around oa (of anguish initially) = ROAR

19 Loner’s left out of top people embracing head group (7)

Loner’s left out of top people embracing Athens group (7)

Elite(top group) – l (left out) around REM (Rock group from Athens USA) = EREMITE

22 Lacking direction in the end our earlier American may be disorientated here?

(Yankee (earlier American as in clue 17) – e)* = KENYA

23 Section of gym exercise is shifting localised acne (5)

Squat (gym exercise) moving s (is) = QUATS

26 Musical Oliver say retains energy (7)

Orphan(Oliver) around e(energy) = ORPHEAN

31 Flipping idiot! Two of them might get the clap in Glasgow (4)

Rev(Fool (idiot)) = LOOF (Scottish for palm of the hand)

33 Relished particle of cheese originally mentioned in old Norse (8)

Hypothetical particle of cheese originally mentioned in old Norse (8)

Skyr (Cheese) + mion (originally mentioned in old Norse) = SKYRMION

35 Announced twist in prison for old maid (4)

Announced stretch in prison for old maid (4)

Burd homonym of Bird (stretch in prison) = BURD

36 Giving orders at court 4 in Wimbledon season (10)

Ct (court) + iv (four) in In June (Wimbeldon season) = INJUNCTIVE

37 Brief narrative of reincarnation for a small interval?

Dies is (i.e dead then alive) = DIESIS

38 What might sustain Pavarotti, approximately as voiced (4)

Homonym of Or so (approximately) = ORZO (Pasta)

DOWN

1 Evergreen standard salve (6)

Church’s standard salve (6)

CE (Church) + rate (standard) = CERATE

2 Almost severe wind for literati (6)

Austere (severe) – e = AUSTER

3 One with tall building (5)

One drawing tall building (5)

DD = TOWER

4 Put scallops in small ship (4)

DD = PINK (definitions 2 and 4 in Chambers)

5 You might think like this without support before long (5)

Laterally – ally (support) = LATER

6 McCrimmon’s hypothetical wine from the Barossa valley? (5)

McCrimmon’s relished wine from the Barossa valley? (5)

Sa (south australia where the Barossa valley is) + red (wine) = SARED

7 Reform tailless dog – and what it did to the homework (6)

Mutt – t (tailless dog) + ate (what it did to the homework) = MUTATE

8 Rampaging alien in organic compound (7)

(alien in)* = ANILINE

9 Senior advisor to ignore rule used in setter’s gallimaufry (6)

Senior advisor to ignore rule returning in setter’s gallimaufry (6)

Rev(elder – r – senior advisor) in My (setter’s) = MEDLEY

10 EU agreement backs right claimed by eccentric goddess (6)

Fey (eccentric) around r (right) + ja (EU – german – agreement) = FREYJA

14 carry out logging in church’s territory (5)

Carry out logging in Evergreen territory (5)

Hidden evergreEN TERritory = ENTER

16 French user not so masculine (3)

French moniker not so masculine

No (not so) + m (masculine) = NOM

20 Leaving her father, 10d set off using this (7)

(Freyja(10dn – fr(father) + set)* = EASYJET

21 Poison letter (in code) conceals another (5)

Toc (code for t) around xi(greek letter) = TOXIC

23 Poem’s said to stretch between question and answer (6)

Poem’s said to twist between question and answer (6)

(said)* in Q A = QASIDA

24 Detaining natural killer, perhaps brigadier’s men relax (6)

Unit (Brigadier’s men in doctor who) around nk (natural killer) = UNKNIT

25 Push hard with rush cycling in race (6)

TT (race) around hrus (rush cycling) = THRUST

27 Half a biscuit for ferret (3)

Half of hobnob(biscuit) = HOB

28 Capturing Brazil’s heart in a brother’s embrace thereabouts (6)

Az (Brazil’s heart) in a bro (brother) = ABRAZO

29 Agitate Athens backing underworld boss racket (6)

Agitate head backing underworld boss racket (6)

Rev (Don (underworld boss) + din (racket)) = NID-NOD

30 Informal test for excited member; I am no criminal (5)

Informal test for club member; I am no criminal (5)

(iamno)* = AMNIO

31 Auctioneer’s first item caught in running water (5)

Lot 1 (Auctioneer’s first item) + c (caught) = LOTIC

32 Basque code moniker all but succeeded in Foreign Office (5)

Basque code user all but succeeded in Foreign Office (5)

(user –s (succeeded)) in FO (foreign office) = FUERO

34 Poet’s nearly working in the dark to save time (4)

Night(in the dark) – t (time) = NIGH