Classicist by Gorrag

Puzzle explanation

This puzzle was a memorial to Nibor (Robin Baxter), who set Listener crosswords from 1975 to 2014. The letters missing from clues and added in the grid formed a cross of NIBOR and RTBAXTER, with RIP below. The other missing letters spelt “Death, where is thy sting?” The perimeter answers were words from his puzzle titles, with types of wasp added. The example in the preamble was another, using OUT (from Listeners 2340 and 3898) and the FIG wasp. In many of his Listener puzzles, Nibor used letters that were missing from clues and/or inserted into grid entries, and encodings involving alphabetically adding letters, all of which were reflected by the gimmicks in this puzzle. Robin Baxter was a Greek scholar and his Listener crosswords were often on musical themes, so the wasps were a nod to Aristophanes’ play The Wasps and the incidental music written for it by Vaughan Williams. Robin was also the first winner of the Solver Silver Salver.

Clue explanations

Conventions: * = anagram, < = reversal

No Wasp/omitted letter [in grid] Answer Explanation
Perimeter
10 HORNET REASON (furo)RE AS ON(e)
25 DIGGER ENIGMA GAMINE *
37 CUCKOO FLY FORTY-FIVE 2 meanings
36 RUBY-TAIL SYMPHONY (child’)S (to)Y (dru)M + PHONY
14 MASON TROUT TR + OUT
1 GOLD AWAY A + WAY
4 BEMBEX SAFARI (I + RAF + AS) <
Across
8 go(D) JOVIAL JO(b) + VIAL
9 win(E) JEREZ JEEZ around R(ewards)
11 Le(A)rner HOWL ((L)O(e)W(e) + L) after H(earing)
12 We(T) RAIYAT RAINY − N + AT
13 Go[T] SHADER HAD in SER
14 [B]rest’s GARNI (IN + RAG) <
16 b[O]ard RUNG 3 meanings
18 l[A]unch ELOGIST LOG in (h)EIST
19 Pert(H) WEAN WANE with E moved earlier
21 (W)Ant ITCH (bl)I(gh)T(ed) C(as)H(ew)
22 [T]Angle PISCEAN (ICE PANS) *
26 s(H)ort BROCA BROA(d) around C
28 Ch[E]at SCROW SCREW with O for E
30 b[R]aking SLOW-UP ’S + LOW + UP
32 rag(E)’s OMENTA (g)O MENTA(l)
33 No(R)se NORN NOR + (Roma)N
34 tens(E) TITER TIER around T
35 s[P]lit IN FOR INFOR(m)
Down
1 no(I)se HOO-HAH (O + O + HA’) in HH
2 fu[N]gal MILDEN MILDEW with N for last letter
3 ma[I]nly CAVEL CAVEL(l)
4 co[R]ps ULT CULT − C
5 e[R]g SEIF SEI + F
6 (S)peaking CRY QUITS Spoonerism of (KWAI + CRITS)
7 s(T)ocks WEAK WAKE *
9 t(H)is JAROOL RAJ < + LOO <
15 Commi[X]es BATE ((fe)EB(le) + TA) *
17 touch(Y) MASORETH M’ + A + SORE + TH(e)
20 b[R]eads YEAST YET around AS
21 (S)port INCONNU INC + ON + NU
23 Aslan(T) ASLOPE AS + LOPE
24 o(I)dium KOUROI (ris)K OUR OI(dium)
27 (N)ice CUNEO CO around UNE
29 Amon(G) AMID (pyr)AMID
31 ne[I]ther RAN (p)RAN(k)
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