Listener Crossword 4682: Solution Notes
Round Table Man by Banjaluka
Puzzle explanation
In clashing cells, the letters added together gave the letters of LARKIN and one blank cell. The extra letters in clues spelt out “ends of four verses; novel title”. The second part of that referred to the puzzle’s title being an anagram of An Arundel Tomb, a poem by Philip Larkin, and the first part indicated the last lines of some of its stanzas. The poem’s first stanza and the relevant last lines are:
Side by side, their faces blurred, The earl1 and countess2 lie in stone, Their proper habits vaguely shown As jointed armour, stiffened pleat, And that faint hint of the absurd — The little dogs3 under their feet. … His hand withdrawn, holding her hand4. … The Latin names5 around the base. … The endless altered people6 came, … What will survive of us is 7love.
The characters of 1THE EARL and 2COUNTESS were in the grid. Other thematic items from the last lines were indicated by extra words in clues as follows: 3“little dogs” = PEKE, PUG; 4“hand, hand” = HAND twice, joined together; 5“Latin names” = TITUS, NERO; “Lester, Fannie, Siegmund, Laetitia”, which were shortened and jumbled to represent 6“endless altered people”. The last letters of the extra-letter clues spelt “shade area bounded by theme red”, meaning the heart shape containing all the thematic material, as a symbol of the poem’s 7last line.
Clue explanations
Conventions: * = anagram, < = reversal
| No | Extra letter/ |
Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Across | |||
| 1 | little | ETCH | (gourm)ET CH(icken) |
| 5 | b(E)low | BOUGHT UP | (U + THUG *) in BOP |
| 10 | TOOMER | MOOT < + E + R | |
| 12 | (N)early | LATHEE | LATE around HE |
| 13 | (D)one | FLUON | FL + UN around O |
| 14 | ANADEM | ANA + (Wizar)D + EM | |
| 16 | dogs | INKED | IN + KED |
| 17 | MOIST | MOST around I | |
| 18 | In(S)ert | NITER | INERT * |
| 19 | R(O)e | NARY | (RE − E) in NAY |
| 20 | (F)east | WEIL | LIE < after W(urst) |
| 21 | PEER | EE in PR | |
| 23 | (F)ill | GRILLAGE | (ILL + AGE) after G(oalkicke)R |
| 25 | BASILICA | (CABAL IS) * around I | |
| 28 | MYNA | MY + N + (Saratog)A | |
| 30 | Ro(O)t | ODSO | O + SOD * |
| 31 | co(U)ld | BRRR | RR after BR(a) |
| 32 | pee(R) | TULIP | (TUI + P) around L(amb) |
| 34 | (V)indication | GROPE | ROPE after G(azebo) |
| 35 | unit(E) | PUGIN | P + I in GNU * |
| 36 | to(R)n | DITTIT | DIT DIT with T for D; ref. Morse code for I |
| 37 | hand | SANKO | SAN + KO |
| 38 | peri(S)cope | TIN MAN | (Defec)T IN MAN(ufacturer) |
| 39 | hand | EREBUS | (ERE + S) around BU |
| 40 | h(E)ard | ASSESSOR | ASSES + SOR(e) |
| 41 | (S)and | EXIT | XI in ET |
| Down | |||
| 1 | ENFANT | ENTRANT with F for TR | |
| 2 | (N)un | COUNT | UN in COT |
| 3 | her(O) | HOOKER | HER around (O + OK) |
| 4 | GONERIL | GONER + I’ + L(ear) | |
| 5 | outli(V)es | BEND | BD around EN |
| 6 | Latin | ULNARIA | U + L + (A + IRAN) < |
| 7 | GAMMY | GRAMMY − R | |
| 8 | THEREAT | THE + REAT(a) | |
| 9 | (E)go | PESTLE | PEE around (L after ST) |
| 11 | Go(L)d | RADAR | (RA + AR) around D |
| 15 | GOWL | (W in LOG) < | |
| 22 | names | ESSOINS | (tom)E + SO in SINS |
| 23 | (T)old | GIRKINS | RISKING * |
| 24 | cad(I)s | LOTUSES | (Judgemen)T in LOUSES |
| 25 | Lester | BOGOTÁ | (BOOT + A) around (Pig)G(ott) |
| 26 | COPT | COP + T | |
| 27 | be(T) | CRETE | CONCRETE − CON |
| 28 | Fannie | MUGABE | MUG + ABE |
| 29 | Siegmund | APPORT | AP + PORT |
| 31 | Laetitia | BETAS | BEAST with T moved up |
| 33 | p(L)c | LINUX | L(ets) + I’ + N + UX |
| 35 | Hum(E) | PURR | P(ooh-pooh) U(tilitarianism) R(ussell) R(esponded) |