Listener Crossword 4487: Solution Notes
Doing a Sort by Elgin
Puzzle explanation
The letters in cells marked with * gave “an Ealing comedy” and the + cells gave “do sort the title”. In column order, the letters discarded from down entries spelt out COURTNEY, HARVEY (in the upper half) and LAWSON, ROBINSON (in the lower half), four of the robbers in the 1955 Ealing comedy The Ladykillers. In the film, they are killed off one by one and dropped onto the railway at King’s Cross where they have been renting a room. Finally, the fifth robber, Professor Marcus, is accidentally hit on the head by a railway signal and his body lands in a goods train. This is depicted in the grid by the diagonal letters of SIGNAL coming down to replace MARCUS in the middle row and “knocking” him into the gap between GOODS and TRAIN in the bottom row (GOODS TRAIN being the anagram of the puzzle’s title).
The dubious plural TESTAS at 1dn in the final grid was an oversight for which the editors apologise.
Clue explanations
Conventions: * = anagram, < = reversal
| No | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Across | ||
| 11 | ENTERATE | ENTER + ATE |
| 12 | AUNTIE | A + MOUNT + IE − MO |
| 15 | EDITS | E + DITS |
| 17 | NAME | NAM + E |
| 18 | TANGA | TANG + A |
| 19 | GLOBULES | LOB in GULES |
| 20 | ARSENIATE | (IN SEA) * in ART + mandrak(E) |
| 22 | ONE | (l)O(u)N(g)E |
| 23 | SPARSER | SPARS + ’RE < |
| 24 | ERRANCY | (EMERGENCY − ’EM) with RAN for GEN |
| 27 | SALEM | M after (S(nooker) + ALE) |
| 29 | SIGHT | (G + THIS) * |
| 30 | ALIDADE | A + DIAL * + D(efectiv)E |
| 33 | ACERBIC | ACE + BI in RC |
| 35 | URN | UR- + N |
| 38 | ALCANTARA | AL + CANTAR + A |
| 41 | SAT IT OUT | (AS IT) * + TOUT |
| 42 | DINAR | DIN(e) + AR |
| 44 | ORYX | OR + Y + X |
| 45 | SIEGE | (EG + E + IS) < |
| 46 | RING IN | “R IN GIN” = GRIN or GIRN |
| 47 | OVERHEAT | (OVER + THE + A) with T moved |
| Down | ||
| 1 | CASTES | CAS(h) + SET < |
| 2 | TUNE | (whis)T UNE(xpectedly) |
| 3 | REGREDED | (RED DEER + (escapin)G) * |
| 4 | MARTINS | MART + IN + S |
| 5 | ENTIA | (IN TEA) * |
| 6 | YENTL | (Fann)Y (Bric)E (i)N (hi)T (musica)L |
| 7 | UMBRAE | (A + (n)UMBER) * |
| 8 | VOLANT | VOL + ANT |
| 9 | SEINE | S + EINE |
| 10 | STYE | STYLE − L |
| 13 | RUMEN | RU + MEN |
| 14 | CAPORAL | ORAL after CAP |
| 16 | GREASER | AGREES * around R |
| 21 | HUER | HUMBER − MB |
| 24 | COT CASE | (A SCOT) * in C(oolgardi)E |
| 25 | NIGHT AIR | homophone of KNIGHT + AIR |
| 26 | CO-CHAIR | CO + C + HAIR |
| 28 | NADA | AND * + A |
| 29 | NEREIDS | (IN RED SEA) * − A |
| 31 | WENT IN | ((rac)E + N + T) in WIN |
| 32 | RATION | RATION(al) |
| 34 | CARNOT | CAR + NOT |
| 36 | TIARA | (’AIR + ’AT) * |
| 37 | IGBOS | (b)IG BOS(s) |
| 39 | LUXOR | L + UXOR |
| 40 | ABIDE | A + BID + E(ngage) |
| 41 | LARS | (scho)LARS(hip) |
| 43 | ESNE | (wh)EN SE(rvility) < |