Much Ado About Nothing by Shackleton

Puzzle explanation

Answers in grid order, Across: basta, interphone, Cody, caravan, spadework, soda, niddle-noddle, well-to-do, fiar, araised, doer, fast-days, yada yada yada, coda, foredated, eddying, done, door-to-door, noddy; Down: bos’n, aspidia, scads, Adella, noonday, taro, raddled, proll, ovolo, nada, enamors, odder, effaced, gradino, esparto, dead-end, dead-on, dayan, saddo, davit, dated, dodo, yo-ho, Addy. Misprints in clues spelt “(S)ummertim(e)”, “(A)utumn Rhyth(m)”, both drip paintings by Jackson Pollock, the outer letters omitted in accordance with a reviewer (The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, under Pollock) saying his pictures had no beginning or end. The unclued entry was “interphone” which, when completed by WY (Wyoming), gave “Winter Phoney” as the forgery’s name. The grid was in the shape of Wyoming, where Pollock was born, his town of birth “Cody” (pollock’s family = cod) needing to be entered correctly in the northwest corner of the state, with “coda” in the other possible position. Cells with A, D, and O had to be shaded in red, green, and blue respectively, following the instructions in the down clues “state to south (of Wyoming: Colorado, a charade for color a d o) red green blue”.

Clue explanations

Conventions: * = anagram, < = reversal

Corrected
Misprint
Answer Explanation
Across
(u)p ARAISED (ART ASIDE – T) *
(m)ore BASTA (AS A BAT – A(pple)) *
Ho(m)e CARAVAN CAN about VARA <
(e)nd CODA C + ODA
(r)oots CODY COD + (sa)Y; pollock is in cod family; JP was born in Cody, WY
ac(t)ing DOER DO + E + R
Fin(i) DONE D + ONE
(m)any DOOR-TO-DOOR ROOD < + TO-DO + O + R
C(u)rling EDDYING DYING about ’D after E(vening)
Len(t) FAST-DAYS FAST + homophone (DAZE)
ho(u)se FIAR FRIAR – R
(M)arked FOREDATED FATED about (ORE + D)
(N)utant NIDDLE-NODDLE LEN in DODDLE after (N + (acc)ID(ent))
inve(r)ted NODDY Two definitions
Jo(h)n SODA SO + DA; reference cocktail named John Collins
(y)acker SPADEWORK OWED < in SPARK; “yacker” is Australian word for physical work
lo(t)s WELL-TO-DO WE’LL + TOD + O; “on your tod” means “on your own”
(h)ave YADA YADA YADA (A DAY, three times — Fri or Mon, Sat, Sun) <
Down
(S)ailor BOS’N BON about S
plan(t)s ASPIDIA (AID + I + PSA) <
he(a)ps SCADS CAD in SS
(t)o ADELLA AD + E + L + LA; meaning of name
(e)ating NOONDAY NO-ON(e) + D + AY
roo(t) TARO T’ + ORA <
Lo(o)king RADDLED DR < about ADDLE
(s)link PROLL PRO’LL; obsolete spelling for PROWL
(o)void OVOLO (pr)OVOLO(ne)
so(u) NADA DAD + A, N for (first) D
do(t)age ENAMORS (S + ROMAN + E) <
fis(h)y ODDER (RED + DO) <
(r)ub EFFACED E + DECAFF <
l(e)dge’s GRADINO (GRAND + (pr)IO(ry)) *
bla(d)es ESPARTO (mad)E + SPAR + TO
(g)o DEAD-END DEADEN + D(rama)
(r)ight DEAD-ON DADO about E(nter) + N
Cas(e) DAYAN (NAY + AD) <
p(e)rson SADDO SO about (A + DD)
O(n)e DAVIT DIT about AV
(b)oy DATED DEAD < about ’T
(L)ost DODO D in DOO(b)
ha(u)ling YO-HO (O + HOY) <
l(e)ss ADDY (D)ADDY
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