Popularity Contest by Tibea

Puzzle explanation

The circled cells contain ESOTERIC, when read by rows, and COTERIES, read by columns. The thematic entries were terms for the common people.

The Listener Crossword series includes a variety of themes, styles and levels of difficulty. In order to maintain this variety, the editors need puzzle submissions of all types. Lately, they have had difficulty filling the quota of puzzles at the more accessible end of the scale, without complicated gimmicks, obscure research or enigmatically described tricks. Hence, they would welcome MORE (puzzle submissions) LIKE THIS one, to balance the more cunning types.

The other sense of MORE LIKE THIS, ie, the editors’ hope that more solvers would enjoy this puzzle, seems to have been borne out by its receiving the highest number of entries so far this year, apart from the numerical puzzle in February.

Clue explanations

Conventions: * = anagram, < = reversal

No Answer Explanation
Across
1 CO(MM)ONALTY COY around (ON + ALT)
7 TATHS TAT + HS
11 H(O)I P(O)LL(O)I HIP + ILL <
12 ANAHEIM (A HE-MAN I) *
14 AMEN-RA ((Lindisf)ARNE MA(nifests)) <
16 NIL LIN(e) <
17 NODULAR AROUND * around L
18 G(R)ASS-(R)OOTS ASS in STOOG(e) <
20 DEEM MEED <
21 DIZEN DI + ZEN
23 TH(E) MASS(E)S (SAM + HT) < + SS
25 RABB(L)E ROUT (BARBER with first half reversed) + OUT
29 OFTENER (TENOR CLEF − (C + L)) *
30 FIXER (REX + IF) <
31 INFO (bullet)IN FO(llows)
33 ADDITIVE ADDI(c)TIVE
35 CANA(I)LLE CANE around ALL
38 RUC(K) CUR <
39 BRAHMS HM’S after BRA
40 A-EFFECT ACT around (FE < + FE)
41 LOUNGE LUNGE around O
42 DYFED F in DYED
43 MULTITUD(E) (U(nusua)L + TIT) in MUD
Down
1 CHENGDU CU around (HEN + G(aole)D)
2 OIDIA (S)OI(l) + AID <
3 OPAL O + PAL
4 ALSOON A + S in LOON
5 LIED 2 meanings
6 TAPU TAP + (r)U(m)
7 TAMARAO OAT < around MARA
8 TENSEST (NET ASSETS − AS) *
9 (T)HIRD ES(T)A(T)E (HER IDEAS) *
10 SMARMS RAMS < + M’ + S
13 UNSEAT (f)U(r)N(i)S(h)E(d) A(p)T
15 (H)ERD RED *
19 THEED THE + ED
22 IRON-GREY I + RONG + RE + Y
24 SUITES homophone of SWEETS
25 R(I)FF-RAFF (R(a)F(a)E(l) with bottom of E removed) around (F + RAF)
26 BENAMED BEND around ÂME
27 ERECTED ELECTED with R for L
28 SINBAD SIN + BAD
30 FILFOT (fac)T OF LIF(e) <
32 OCH O’ + CH
34 VULGU(S) (UG + LUV) <
36 AITU homophone of (I, TOO)
37 LOLL LL after LO
38 RENT (child)REN T(hrow)
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