Listener Crossword 4639: Solution Notes
Hotfoot by Vismut
Puzzle explanation
The answer letters indicated by positions of extra words in across clues spelt out “planets”. The extra words were the astrological characters assigned by Gustav Holst to five movements of his suite The Planets. The missing two were Mars and Venus, which were changed in the grid to Holst’s descriptions “war” and “peace”. The corrections to misprints in down clues spelt out “title oddly”, indicating “H to T” from the puzzle’s title. In the grid the H of HOLST in the main diagonal was changed to T to reveal TOLSTOY, the author of War and Peace.
Clue explanations
Conventions: * = anagram, < = reversal
| No | Extra word/ |
Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Across | |||
| 1 | winged | ECTYPE | C(ar) in E-TYPE |
| 5 | SNASHES | SMASHES with N for M | |
| 10 | PROVINCIALISE | (APRIL INVOICES) * | |
| 11 | ISSUE | (K)I(o)S(k’)S (q)U(i)E(t) | |
| 13 | messenger | SINFUL | S(k)INFUL |
| 15 | LASH | LA(test) SH(oes) | |
| 16 | PROMO | (OP around MOR(e)) < | |
| 17 | jollity | MOUTH ORGAN | (Ply)MOUTH ORGAN(isation) |
| 18 | GO PUBLIC | (GO + PUBLICAN) − AN | |
| 21 | STORK | SK(i) around TOR | |
| 24 | VENUS | V(illag)E + SUN < | |
| 26 | ECTOSARC | A in SECTOR * + C | |
| 29 | EXPURGATOR | EX- + (ROT + A + GR(o)UP) < | |
| 32 | LEILA | (LE + LA) around I | |
| 33 | YETT | YETT with I for T = YETI | |
| 35 | old | NINONS | (o)NIONS around N |
| 36 | age | HORSE | HOUSE with R for the middle letter |
| 37 | magician | ECONOMETRISTS | (SENIOR COST MET) * |
| 38 | DEMETER | (DE(ad) + METEOR) − O | |
| 39 | Mystic | SELECT | LE(t) in SECT |
| Down | |||
| 1 | (T)heater | EPILOG | I in (EP + LOG) |
| 2 | TOSS UP | SPROUTS * − R | |
| 3 | M(I)c | PIEZO | PIE + ZO |
| 4 | ENSOULS | ((sh)O(rt) + UNLESS) * | |
| 5 | (T)est | SCINTISCANNER | (CHRIST IN CANNES − H) * |
| 6 | NINTH | (Beethove)N IN TH(e) | |
| 7 | Coa(L) | SLURRIES | SLUR + TRIES − T |
| 8 | EST | (b)E(d)S(i)T(s) | |
| 9 | du(E)l | SECONDS | CO(ntrol) in SENDS |
| 12 | SAPOTA | (A + TOP + AS) < | |
| 14 | LOG IN | ((whe)N I GO L(ooking)) < | |
| 16 | POT | TINPOT − TIN | |
| 19 | (O)f | URSULINE | (p)URSU(e) + LINE |
| 20 | SURATS | (STAR + US) < | |
| 21 | lea(D) | SMELTED | ELM’S * + TED |
| 22 | ORPIN | NIP < after OR | |
| 23 | (D)eposes | ATTESTS | ARRESTS with T(rus)T for RR |
| 25 | BRA | (B)ARB(arian) < | |
| 27 | (L)oth | AVERSE | (ER + S) in AVE |
| 28 | CUTEST | CU(b) + TEST | |
| 30 | GNOME | GNOMON − ON + (stat)E(ment) | |
| 31 | cla(Y) | OCHRE | OCH + RE |
| 34 | ICE | (pol)ICE | |