Listener Crossword 4779: Solution Notes
Keen by Ifor
Puzzle explanation
In each clue to an entry of 7 or 8 cells the extra material was a pair of adjacent words of equal length between which a letter could be inserted to make a new word. The inserted letters spelt WOUNDED KNEE, from the line “Bury my heart at Wounded Knee” that ends Stephen Vincent Benét’s poem American Names. The highlighted names in the grid (ironically, none of them American) had the central letter(s) omitted and used to fill the blank cells elsewhere in the same row. They were people whose hearts were buried apart from their bodies: Percy Bysshe SHELLEY, Anne BOLEYN, Robert the BRUCE, Thomas HARDY and Frédéric CHOPIN. The puzzle’s title cryptically represented “wounded” KNEE.
Clue explanations
Conventions: * = anagram, < = reversal
| No | Extra words | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Across | |||
| 1 | wit[W]all | STUPRATE | UP in TREATS * |
| 6 | GRATE | GREAT with E moved to the end | |
| 10 | ASH | HAS with last two letters moved to the start | |
| 11 | Dish[O]used | LEY LINES | L + EYES around NIL < |
| 14 | PINEAL | PINE + (h)A(u)L | |
| 15 | TARBOY | TARBOX with Y for X | |
| 16 | CAT | (T + AC) < | |
| 17 | OSSI | (IS + SO) < | |
| 19 | caps[U]late | MEDEVAC | (CAVE + DEM) < |
| 22 | COARB | COBRA with BRA < | |
| 24 | CELLAR | (ALL in REC) < | |
| 26 | tour[N]eyed | PORPESSE | ESSE after PROP < |
| 29 | ONLY | LONELY − (LE separately) | |
| 30 | ECCE | E(a)C(h) + CE | |
| 32 | DYABLE | BADLY * + E | |
| 36 | SCRUTO | COURTS * | |
| 37 | in[D]us | TEACHING | T(h)E + ACHING |
| 38 | HE | EH < | |
| 39 | ESTRO | (d)ESTRO(ying) | |
| 40 | adult[E]rates | GATEPOST | (GET PAST) * around O |
| Down | |||
| 1 | SOT | (open)S OT(her) | |
| 2 | on-[D]it | TABASCO | TAB + AS + CO |
| 3 | USERS | US around RES < | |
| 4 | REPO | OPERA < − A | |
| 5 | TENNER | RENNET < | |
| 6 | top[K]not | GLACÉED | (CONGEALED − ON) * |
| 7 | ANNAL | AN + AN < + L | |
| 8 | TELA | LET < + A | |
| 9 | Wage[N]boom | ESOTERY | (SO + T) in EERY |
| 12 | YEAD | (READY − R) * | |
| 13 | OBIA | O(f) B(oss) I(n) A(pparently) | |
| 18 | not[E]let | PRE-ECHO | CHAPERONED * − AND * |
| 20 | must[E]ring | CALLUS | CALLOUS − O |
| 21 | PATE | PATENT − N(u)T | |
| 23 | ORCHAT | ROTA * around CH | |
| 25 | LOAF | 2 meanings | |
| 27 | SHRI | SHRIMP − MP | |
| 28 | SAUNA | (SAUCEPAN − CEP) * | |
| 31 | EYES | (Surv)EY ES(sential) | |
| 33 | YOKE | OK in YE | |
| 34 | BRO | ORB < | |
| 35 | EVET | EVENT − N | |