Listener Crossword 4780: Solution Notes
Best Available by Kea
Puzzle explanation
The puzzle celebrated Chaim Topol, the Israeli actor born on 9 September 1935, and his notable role as Tevye the dairyman in the 1960s musical Fiddler on the Roof. The missing letters in clues spelt out the song title If I Were a Rich Man. Changing all occurrences of I to A in the initially misprinted entries made them real words and changed five entries to names or words for rich men: 26ac LARNEY, 34ac ANGEL, 35ac MAGNATE, 39ac SATRAP and 31dn (Bill) GATES. Four of the new As also revealed the hidden staircases: APPLES sloping upwards, ESCALIER sloping downwards and CARACOLE in an upward zigzag (like the side view of a spiral staircase), representing features Tevye imagines in the song:
There would be one long staircase just going up And one even longer coming down And one more leading nowhere, just for show.
The title Fiddler on the Roof is said to have been inspired in part by the Chagall painting GREEN VIOLINIST, highlighted in the top two rows of the grid, where it depicted the fiddler atop the “roof” formed by the first two staircases. The puzzle’s title was a definition of “top of the line”, which could cryptically indicate [TOP + O’ + L] for Topol.
In addition, the puzzle was a follow-up to Tiburon’s puzzle two weeks earlier, similarly marking the 9 September birthday of the Listener marker and statistician J E GREEN, who appeared in the grid’s top row.
Clue explanations
Conventions: * = anagram, < = reversal
| No | Missing letter | Answer (entry) | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Across | |||
| 1 | ne(I)ther | POLJE | POLE around (P)J(s) |
| 5 | GREENOCK | CON < in GREEK | |
| 12 | (F)Easter | RAVIOLI | R + V in AIOLI |
| 13 | STOL | LOTS < | |
| 14 | ERUV | (s)URVE(y) * | |
| 15 | m(I)aulers | SENILE | FELINES < − F |
| 16 | REBECS | BE in RECS | |
| 19 | ADORED | ADO + RED | |
| 20 | do(W)n | DECRYING | EC in DRYING |
| 22 | PHILLY | P + HILLY | |
| 26 | LINNEY (LIRNEY) | LEY around IRON − O | |
| 28 | f(E)athers | PILLOW | LIP < + LOW |
| 29 | LENA | LEAN with A moved back | |
| 31 | d(R)ivers | GPS | 2 meanings |
| 32 | CLOTHING | CLOSE THING − S(tubbl)E | |
| 34 | INTEL (INGEL) | NG in (f)IEL(d) | |
| 35 | LIGNITE (MIGNITE) | M + IGNITE | |
| 37 | Sky(E) | TOURIE | TOUR + IE |
| 38 | REHEAR | EH in REAR | |
| 39 | SITREP (SITRIP) | STRIP around I | |
| 40 | SELLE | SELLE(r) | |
| 41 | blo(A)t | TOSSPOT | TO + S + SPOT |
| Down | |||
| 1 | PRERUPT | PURER < in PT | |
| 2 | (R)owing | OARED | O/A + RED |
| 3 | JIVEY | JY around (IV + (independenc)E) | |
| 4 | de(I)fied | EOS | E + OS |
| 6 | RINSE | RISEN with last letter moved to middle | |
| 7 | neurasthenia(C) | ENIAC | (neurasth)ENIAC |
| 8 | EILD | WILD with E for W | |
| 9 | s(H)ort | OTARINE | ORIENTA(l) * |
| 10 | COZEN | COZE + ’N’ | |
| 11 | KLUDGY | KL + GUY * around D | |
| 17 | BLIPS | (SPI(n) + LB) < | |
| 18 | CELLULITE | (LULL < + I) in CETE | |
| 21 | RIPENESS (RIPTNESS) | RIPS around SENT < | |
| 23 | re(M)edy | HYPNONE | HYP + NONE |
| 24 | LIBERIA (LIBERIL) | LIBEL around RI | |
| 25 | SOLICIT (SOLIHIT) | SOLI + HIT | |
| 27 | ENNEAD | NEA(t) in END | |
| 30 | (A)trophy | AGOROT | AGO + ROT |
| 31 | GÎTES | GI + SET < | |
| 33 | HIYAS (HIHAS) | (s)H(e)I(k)H + AS | |
| 35 | Ca(N)ine | MERC | RE < in (M + C) |
| 36 | TEMP | (transien)T EMP(loyment) | |