This is Serpent’s first EV, although I remember his IQ a few months back that was quite tricky. Here we had 12 acrosses that need modification before entry — six each of two types. Down clues contained either one or two consecutive misprints which give part of a phrase indicating the nature of the modifications. Finally, a 7-letter word would need deleting from the grid.
A quick read through some of the clues and I was thinking this was going to be another tricky puzzle from Serpent. Nuckling down and I scanned all the clues in sequence. Not a big haul, but eight acrosses and almost as many downs. The acrosses included ERRAND, LANDE, ELAND and AMANDA, but they were spaced out so I failed to spot anything.
Next came UPLIFT, one letter too short for its entry, then LAAGER and RATIFY… also too short. Meanwhile, the misprints had spelt out IFIF… and the penny dropped. The phrase that would be revealed was If ifs and ands were pots and pans. Only 45 minutes had passed and I thought I was on the home straight.
Unfortunately, it took another two hours to get all the answers neatly slotted into the grid, with POTs replacing IFs and PANs replacing ANDs. The remainder of the phrase — “…there’d be no work for tinkers’ hands” — led to the removal of TINKERS in the first column.
The title contains an anagram of ‘if’ and ‘and’ as Find a.
Good fun from Serpent, thanks.
Legend:
Definition in clue
XX = Misprints
ABC* = anagram
ABC< = reversal
abCDef = hidden
| ACROSS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No | Entry | Entered as | Clue and Explanation |
| 1 | SNIFF | SNPOTF | Start to sense by smell (6) S (start to Sense) + NIFF (smell); &lit. |
| 5 | SANDY | SPANY | Gritty Scottish chap (5) 2 meanings |
| 9 | AUGURAL | Forecasting sunny month except for west of country (7) AUG (sunny month) + [R]URAL (of country – west (left) letter) |
|
| 10 | AGREE | Clip lawn after a match (5) GREE[N] (lawn, clipped) after A |
|
| 11 | TIFT | TPOTT | McDonald’s lunch provided dry sandwiches (5) IF (provided) with TT (dry) sandwiching (surrounding) |
| 14 | ERRAND | ERRPAN | Message bearer earned intermittently (6) alternate letters of bEaReR eArNeD |
| 15 | OREXIS | Appetite for faceless sex I developed (6) [F]OR (for, without first letter) + (SEX I)* |
|
| 16 | NITER | Yank explosive from granite rocks (5) hidden in graNITE Rocks |
|
| 17 | UPLIFT | UPLPOTT | An increase in sales of one-way elevator? (7) 2 meanings, one cryptic |
| 19 | KAOLIN | Clay said to stun Heather having pinched her bottom (6) KAO (sounds like KO, to stun) + LIN[G] (heather with last letter taken) |
|
| 21 | LANDE | LPANE | Clandestinely shelters what is plain to Frenchman (5) in cLANDEstinely |
| 23 | ELAND | ELPAN | Horny creature turned 21 (5) LANDE* (21 across) |
| 24 | LAAGER | Camp domestic god having the time of his life (6) LAR (domestic god) containing AGE (time of life) |
|
| 26 | RATIFY | RATPOTY | Don’t start, please, OK! (7) [G]RATIFY (please, not started) |
| 28 | NARCS | LAPD officers say informer’s sung? (5) sounds like NARK’S (informer’s) |
|
| 31 | ALBEDO | Perhaps measurement of moonbeams is doable with a jar? (6) DOABLE* |
|
| 33 | AMANDA | AMPANA | Girl partial to ham and asparagus (6) in hAM AND Asparagus |
| 34 | SEIF | SEPOT | Sand-dune wind formed into elongated shape initially (5) reverse (wind) first letters of Formed Into Elongated Shape |
| 35 | TENTH | Point one makes for rather small minority (5) 2 meanings; point one = .1 |
|
| 36 | DAFTEST | Least sensible tax on vehicle manufacturer (7) DAF (vehicle manufacturer) + TEST (tax) |
|
| 37 | DANDY | DPANY | Fine day on vacation could be described thus (5) DAY on vacation = DY = D AND Y |
| 38 | FIFES | FPOTES | They are instrumental in no longer having rampant sex in middle-age? (6) FIFTIES (middle-age?) – IT< (sex, reversed) |
| DOWN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No | Entry | Misprints | Clue and Explanation |
| 1 | SATIN | IF | It’s a material offence to take SIN (offence) containing [L]AT[E] |
| 2 | NUPTIAL | I | Pain leads to the loveless, (PAIN + first letters of The Loveless Uncontrovertible)* |
| 3 | OUTRE | F | Bizarre in accOUTREments, ie accoutrements holding) |
| 4 | FAIR | S | Market R (rector) supporting FAI[L] (poor performance) |
| 5 | SLEEPILY | AN | Silly SILLY* containing EE (early English) P (priest) |
| 6 | AGRIPPA | D | Acting A (acting) PA containing GRIP (case, noun) |
| 7 | YEAST | AN | Important part of AS (while) with YET (still) containing (boxing) it |
| 8 | DENOTE | DS | Show DEN (lair) + OTE (on-target earnings, salesman’s possible wages) |
| 12 | OTTO | W | It’s essential [B]OTTO[M] (tail, without first and last letters) |
| 13 | TORINO | ER | Large Italian TOR (fell, noun) + IN + O (duck) |
| 17 | UNSTEADY | E | SUNDAY* containing T (time) & E (energy) |
| 18 | LLANOS | P | Boy fully (SON (boy) ALL (fully)< |
| 20 | LA PLATA | O | South American reversed in cATALPA Leaves |
| 22 | NECROSE | T | Northern city rebelled to kill N (northern) + EC (city, of London) + ROSE (rebelled) |
| 23 | ERSATZ | SA | Fake stargazer STA[RGA]ZER* |
| 25 | GRIP | ND | GR (old king, George R) + IP (Internet Protocol, modern form of address) |
| 27 | ARMED | P | [H]ARMED |
| 29 | AWETO | A | AWE (wonder) + TO (as far as) |
| 30 | SETTS | N | Engineer tests tunnels with TESTS* |
| 32 | DEAF | S | first letters of Dates Eaten Al Fresco |
Excellent puzzle from Serpent but alas too good for me. I got around half the grid sort of filled but got off on the wrong footing with 1d. I twigged it was satin and thought life might be wife, ie mate which “without boundaries” would give at to slot into sin.I then got the i and the f and I was thinking lift for the first word.I had never heard of the phrase (like it though) and was pretty much beaten by laager, orexis, albedo, aweto etc.
Thanks for blog.
Unlike the Genius where I couldnt even get a foothold.
I too enjoyed Serpent’s EV debut. A quotation that doesn’t mean much these days, as tinkers don’t seem to exist any more, but a good quotation nevertheless. I look forward to more Serpents.