Arthurian Legend by Corvettes

Puzzle explanation

This puzzle was dedicated to Derek Arthur, co-editor of the Listener Crossword, who passed away in 2010, by his former “co-vetters” of the Listener Crossword: Dimitry, Arcturus and Kea. The misprints in wordplay spelt his crossword-setting pseudonym, Viking. Lining up the corresponding cells produced GRAYLE (an archaic form of “grail”) at the top of the grid and, in every fourth radial, the modified quotation “thou wert the kindest man that ever struck with crossword”, from Le Morte D’Arthur by Thomas Malory.

The clues contained the titles of all of Derek’s Listener puzzles: Bumps (arc 45), The Rest? (radial 15), Easy? (radial 9), Isle (arc 32), Home Run (radial 23), Crackers (arc 6), Two for the Price of One (radial 5), Factory (radial 8), Lots (radial 41), Masterworks (arc 27), Vive la Différence (arc 36; a collaboration with Kea) and Primordial (radial 14).

Clue explanations

Conventions: * = anagram, < = reversal

No Answer Explanation (misprint in red)
Arcs
1 GENETS EN in VETS
6 GERMS R in GEMS
12 AMPLY A + PLY after M
16 SETTER TESTER *
21 TOPSIDES TIDES around OP’S
27 MOPS M + OP + S
32 TOKOS TO + KOS
33 KERRY KY around IRE <
34 HOLOTYPE HYPE around (O + LOT)
36 EAU (EAU + V(ive) L(a) D(ifférence) * = VALUED
38 TEENY TEE + N + Y
39 PHUT P + HUT
42 ORANT O(ne) + RANT
44 JEAN 2 meanings
45 VIA VIVA − V
Radials
2 EQUATE (mistak)E + QUA + TE
3 ELEVON NOVEL < after (night-tim)E
4 EKUELE (EKE + UK + E(cosystem)) <
5 TOWHEE (TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE) * − (ONCE FOR PROFIT) *
6 SQUAWK SAW around QU + K
7 MOHAWK MAWK around OH
8 RYPECK (facto)RY + PECK
9 GROMET GREASY − EASY + (TO ME) *
10 FEWMET FEW + MET
11 TITOKI OK in (TI + TI)
12 TITCHY TIT + CH + Y
13 LOUISA LO + I in USA; ref. Louisa May Alcott
14 MODENA E in (r)ANDOM <
15 ATHENA THE in ANA
16 SYNCHS homophone of SINKS
17 EPOCHS CHEOPS *
18 SECRET SEC + RET
19 SECANT SET around CAN
20 WRITER WAITER with R for A
21 WICKET WICK + (secr)ET
22 PUKEKO PUKE + KO
23 IN TOTO IN + TO(r)T + O
24 DE SOTO (DOES * + O) around (interne)T
25 DRAGEE DR + A + GEE
26 DRANTS R in DANTS
27 SWAYED IE in SWAD
28 PREYED PR + EYED
29 OBJURE URE after JOB *
30 ERUVIM ER + U + VIM
31 EQUID QU in NID
35 WRING homophone of RING
37 WICCA (ACC + I +W) <
39 THEE ETHE with letters “cycled”
40 DECK DEREK with C for RE + 2 meanings
41 ASIA G(r)I(m)S(h)A(w) <
43 OKED K in OED
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