Listener Crossword 3975: Solution Notes
The Cause of Much Pain by Samuel
Puzzle explanation
Original solutions in clue order, where changed, were Across: 1 épris 5 icepacks 10 proball 12 rig out 13 lagnappe 15 ankle 17 fire 19 stellar, 21 polled 22 Toto 23 Elaps 26 andouillettes 29 valet 32 inns 34 burden 36 ivoried 38 yerk 40 Orczy 41 steatite 44 mildew 45 terrace 46 Silurian 47 tired; Down: 27 Durrell, 33 nickar 39 peen, 42 iwi.
The letters that had moved up belonged to clues 5, 12, 17, 21, 23, 32, 36, 40, 44, 46 across, 2, 4, 6, 8, 11, 16, 24, 27, 30, 33, 37 and 43 down; they gave the phrase “What goes up must come down”. Five answers, all capable of going up, rocket, balloon, liana, lift and co-pilot thus had to fall to the bottom of the grid; a sixth (apple) landed on the letter N (Newton’s head), a supposed, but probably apocryphal, re-enactment of the discovery of GRAVITATION, which had to be highlighted in the grid. Entries in which the falls were enacted continuously, rather than discretely, thereby moving all of DURRELL to the top of the column (not just URRELL), were also accepted.
Clue explanations
Conventions: * = anagram, < = reversal
| No | Letter Movement |
Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Across | |||
| 1 | s(w)eep | ÉPRIS | SIPE < about (nu)R(se) |
| 5 | s(w)elling | ICEPACKS | Composite anagram of SECONDARY PICKET using RED TONY |
| 10 | Rut(h) | PROBALL | LL after PROBATE – (Aunti)E – (Ru)T |
| 12 | (h)eight | RIGOUT | RIGHT + OUT – HT (height) |
| 13 | — | LAGNAPPE | LAG + NAPPE |
| 15 | (A)head | ANKLE | (N(oon) + K) in ALE |
| 17 | l(a)unch | FIRE | I in FRE(e) |
| 19 | Def(t) | STELLAR | SAR about TELL |
| 21 | (t)op | POLLED | PO + DELL(a) < |
| 22 | (g)old | TOTO | TOT + O; reference Wizard of Oz |
| 23 | win(g) | ELAPS | ASP* after EL |
| 26 | — | ANDOUILLETTES | LORD LIEUTENANTS* – (N + R) |
| 29 | M(o)an | VALET | VALE + T’ |
| 32 | h(o)uffs | INNS | (OC + TEN*) omitted from INNOCENTS |
| 34 | bas(e)s | BURDEN | BUR + DEN; musical bass line |
| 36 | (e)Go | IVORIED | I + VOR + ED about I; the meaning for “vor” is uncertain |
| 38 | (s)lowest | YERK | Y + ERK |
| 40 | (s)He | ORCZY | Hidden; author of The Scarlet Pimpernel |
| 41 | (u)sed | STEATITE | S(ed) + (AT IT in TEE) |
| 44 | (u)nit | MILDEW | (M(elon) + WE’D) < about (I + L) |
| 45 | s(p)in | TERRACE | TACE about ERR |
| 46 | (p)ale | SILURIAN | SIAN about LURI(d) |
| 47 | — | TIRED | T + I’ + RED |
| Down | |||
| 1 | he(m)p | EPHAS | Hidden; author of The Scarlet Pimpernel |
| 2 | tra(m)p | PRO | Alternate letters |
| 3 | D(u)ress | ROCKET | (unde)R + OCKE(r) + TROUBLE – ROUBLE |
| 4 | s(u)ites | SAPELE | AS < + PELE |
| 5 | (s)ay | ILLS | I’LL SAY – AY |
| 6 | (s)and | ERG | ER + G(o) |
| 7 | (t)out | PINKO | PIN + KO |
| 8 | (t)urn | CO-PILOT | COP + I + LOT |
| 9 | (C)ox | STEEDS | STEE(r) + D(rown)S |
| 11 | Dan(c)e | BALLOON | BALL + OO + N |
| 14 | go(o)d | AURA | A + U + RA |
| 16 | tr(o)y | APPLE | APPLET – T |
| 18 | — | RETENE | NET < in REE |
| 20 | (M)utter | TONGUE | (NO + T’) < + GUE |
| 24 | For(m) | LIANA | LIAISE – I(celandic) – S(ledge) – E(xpedition) + NAB – B |
| 25 | strip(e) | STIRRER | S(pray) + TIRR + ER |
| 27 | D(e)ad | DURRELL | DULL about ((R + R) + E(ase)) |
| 28 | gorge(d) | ABYSMS | ABY + SMS (text messaging on mobile phones) |
| 30 | (d)off | LIFT | (I + FT) under L |
| 31 | h(o)ard | TOOART | TOO + ART |
| 33 | An(o)n | NICKAR | NICK + A + R |
| 35 | (w)ere | ESTER | Hidden |
| 37 | (w)ales | DYFED | DYED about F |
| 39 | — | PEEN | PEE + N(ail) |
| 42 | Ami(n) | IWI | (W + I) after (Am)I |
| 43 | electro(n) | ACE | A + C(ars) + E |