Way Out by Verbascum

Puzzle explanation

The corrections to misprints (in half of the clues) spelt out “Schwarzschild radius”, the radius at which an object becomes a black hole. That is, if a certain amount of mass is concentrated within a sphere of that radius, its gravitational pull is too strong for matter or light to escape. The Schwarzschild radius is the distance from the centre of a black hole to its EVENT HORIZON (highlighted in the grid). The correct choices from eight symmetrically placed letter clashes revealed HAWKING RADIATION (in a ring outside the grid’s event horizon), which is predicted to emerge from black holes.

Clue explanations

Conventions: * = anagram, < = reversal

No Misprint Answer Explanation
Across
5 li(S)t ARGESTES (SET + SEA around GR) <; ref. Paradise Lost book 10
11 S(C)ouse’s LIVER I’VE in (L + R)
12   ALAMORT ALAMO + R(espect) T(hough)
13   DEPTH (THE + PD) *
14 (H)aving AMELIA A + (I’M + ALE) *
16 (W)ish YEARN (YR + N(eighbour)) around EA
17   TWEENY (NEW + YET) *
18   DOGTEETH DO + (GET THE) *
20   OGIVES OS around GIVE
22 f(A)te MOIRA (Paler)MO I RA(ffled)
24 (R)uff WADER WAR around DE
26   CARNAL ARNA in CL
28 pri(Z)e NOMINATE (MIN + A) in (NO + TE(n))
30   TERCIO TER- + CO around I
31 (S)oyle RAVIN RAVINE − (detectiv)E
33   OSMUND O(n) S(trictly) M(ade) U(p) N(ew) D(ance)
34   APNEA AP + NE + A
35 (C)airn’s SCOTTIE S + COT + TIE
36 S(H)irt KURTA TRUCK < − C + A
37 Conv(I)ction SURENESS SUR + E + NESS
Down
1 (L)ight PLAY DOWN (LAND POWYS − S) *
2 Arca(D)e VIDEO GAMES (MADE + OGIVES) *; ref. 20ac
3   UVEA (n)AEVU(s) <
4 (R)ouse REPROVE PROVE after ER <
6   RAYNE ((o)N(e) + YEAR) *
7   GLOTTIC GLC around (OTT + I)
8   SMEEK SEEK around M(arijuana)
9   TOLEDO TO-DO around LE
10 T(A)rry STAY (ju)ST A Y(ob)
15 commen(D) INGRATIATE (EATING + RAIT(a)) *
19 l(I)st CALENDAR (DAN + CLARE) *
21 Sno(U)t STOOLIE TOOL in SIE(nna)
23   ORGANUM (U(nion) M(istrustful)) after ORGAN
25   TERMOR (MORE TRAPS − (A + PS)) *
27   ACUTE CUT in (A + E)
29   MZEES SEEM < around Z
30 te(S)t TOSS T(hat) O(f) S(oaraway) S(un)
32   VERA RAVE *
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