Army & Navy by Shackleton

Puzzle explanation

This puzzle was published on the 50th anniversary of the death of Arthur Ransome on 3 June 1967. Row 10 of the grid (IN PART HURRIED) cryptically indicates both ARTHUR (hidden) and RANSOME (ran some). Row 2 (WHITELY INROAD) is an anagram of his book Winter Holiday, part of the Swallows and Amazons series, in which children in the Lake District play out the 1893-1896 polar expedition by Fridtjof Nansen in the ship Fram. Corrections to the clue misprints spelt out “Dot and Dick dash to the Pole; north is west; add eight flags”. The first part, as well as describing the book’s expedition, is a key for converting row 9 (ICED WALKS NORTH) to Morse code: the six distinct letters of AND DICK become dots, the six letters of TO THE POLE become dashes and the rest become blanks; this gives ··–· ·–· ·– ––, which spells Fram. In the pairs of cells at the sides of the grid, the letters VL and LV are transformed respectively into semaphore signals for NP (North Pole, at the far left as it’s shown in the book’s map) and FN (Fridtjof Nansen). The altered title Army & Wavy hints at the waving of arms in semaphore signalling.

Clue explanations

Conventions: * = anagram, < = reversal

No Misprint Answer Explanation
Across
1 (D)uties ASSIZER (REZ + IS + SA) <
7 d(O)sh DOUGH DO + UG + H
11 da(T)ed WHITELY HIT in WELLY − L
12 For(A)y INROAD INRO + (DAD − D)
13 (N)ot FALSE (ALE around S) after F
15 (D)rain SASSE (rigorou)S ASSE(ssor)
16 a(D)dition ELSE ELISE − I; ref Für Elise
21 b(I)king PEDALO (E + DAL) in PO
23 (C)omb VALE (E + LAV) <
24 ta(K)e ALLONS ALL + ON + S
25 pu(D) LICHI LICH + I
27 F(A)cundity FLUENCE ENC in FLUE
30 (S)ong YODEL L after YODE
31 (H)orse CAYUSE CAY + USE
35 (T)ank DERV (V + RED) <
37 f(O)reman’s ON-SITE ONE around SIT
38 (T)ook ICED DICE with letters “cycled”
39 (H)ikes WALKS WAS around (L + K)
40 b(E)aring NORTH (T(eenager) + HORN) *
41 (P)oint IN PART T after (PAIN * + R)
42 Lo(O)ked HURRIED HUED around (R in (t)RI(p))
43 (L)ouse APHIS AP + (IS after H)
44 Devote(E) SECTARY SECRETARY − RE
Down
2 Darke(N) SHADE HADES with S moving to the top
3 imp(O)rted SILPHIUM SUM around ((LP + HI) after I)
4 (R)eference ITSELF STIFLE *
5 close(T) ELSAN S in ÉLAN
6 (H)alf RYALS (SLAY + R) <
7 t(I)es DISOWN (SO + W) in DIN
8 (S)ome ONST ONSET − E
9 (W)aste UREAL UNREAL − N
10 Ge(E) HALLOO (O’ + O) after HALL
14 ma(S)ter EDILE ELIDE <
17 (T)ool’s SANDER SANER around D
18 h(A)ng EXSERT EX + TRÈS <
19 (D)rill T’AI CHI THAI − H + CH + I’
20 (D)o ALCAIC A + LAIC around C
22 f(E)n GLYCERIA G + CLAYIER *
24 Prote(I)n ACTIN ACTIN(g)
26 (G)enus HYAENA AY < in HEN + A
28 (H)olders U-BOLTS U-BOATS with L for A
29 ou(T) EXTORT EX- + OR in TT
32 (F)ield SAWAH HAWS < around A
33 (L)ife ANKHS H in (TANKS − T)
34 M(A)tter ISSUE I’S + SUE
35 (G)oad’s DETER D + TREE *
36 (S)hiny ZARI (SHIRAZ − SH) <
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