Listener Crossword 3981: Solution Notes
Lip Service by Sabre
Puzzle explanation
The five unclued entries are papa, potatoes, poultry, prunes and prism, the selection of words good for the lips as advocated by Mrs General in Dickens’ Little Dorrit. (See The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations.) The letters used in the substitution cipher encode as follows:
| A | E | G | I | L | M | N | O | P | R | S | T | U | Y |
| S | A | O | M | U | R | D | L | H | I | T | E | G | N |
The principal diagonal if encoded produces LITTLE DORRIT. This ensured that the N of PRUNES must encode to D.
Clue explanations
Conventions: * = anagram, < = reversal
| No | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Across | ||
| 1 | OPAHS | (HAP in SO) < |
| 5 | BEHAVE | BE (see worth²) + HAVE |
| 10 | SHEARLING | HEAR in SLING |
| 11 | FASH | (Bil)L from FLASH |
| 12 | ALLNESS | TALLNESS with T removed, vt use of “head” |
| 13 | TUSK | T(rap) + USK |
| 15 | SLOE | Homophone (SLOW) |
| 16 | SOMA | S + (w)OMA(n) |
| 18 | ENS | ENS(ate), plural of EN = “nut” in printing |
| 19 | EEKS | (l)EEKS |
| 20 | HORSETAILS | HORS + (IS LATE)* |
| 22 | SPRINGALDS | RING in SPALDS |
| 24 | IDÉE | Hidden |
| 25 | HUI | Homophone (HOOEY) |
| 27 | THIN | HINT, it = ’T misplaced |
| 28 | GUAR | (A RUG)*, size = paste |
| 29 | EMIT | TIME <, “bird” as in prison sentence |
| 31 | AMOK | A + MOK(i) |
| 32 | ANCESTORS | (TEN ACROSS)* |
| 33 | TEHRAN | T(ham)E H(inde)R A(airma)N |
| 34 | OKRAS | OK + RASH – H, see Jake |
| Down | ||
| 1 | OFFISH | OF + FISH, fish = ferret = get from hidden place |
| 2 | ADSUM | AD (personal ad) + SUM |
| 3 | SHAKO | HAS* + KO, mill = boxing |
| 4 | HELVETIUM | HELIUM (He) about VET (US: Charlotte, NC), giving old name for astatine (At) |
| 6 | ERNES | Hidden |
| 7 | AISLES | AIS (ayus) + LES |
| 8 | EGRESS | SERGE < + ’s |
| 9 | RATOOS | ROOS about (p)A(r)T(y), boomer = kangaroo |
| 14 | INANITION | INANIT(y) + I + ON |
| 17 | ASPERGER | (a l)ARGE PERS(on)* |
| 21 | EDITOR | DIET* + O’ + R |
| 22 | SEALCH | LACE* in SH, silky = seal in Scots |
| 23 | SNAKES | S after SNAKE, racer = snake |
| 25 | HAUSA | USA after HA |
| 26 | GENRO | GO about (fo)E (o)N (lawye)R |
| 30 | MASK | ’s in MAK |