A Fitting End by JFD

Puzzle explanation

The corrections to clue misprints spelt out “the stretcher; Theseus, destroyer; reorder all discards”. In Greek legend, Procrustes (from Greek Προκρούστης, Prokroustēs, “the stretcher”) made his guests fit his bed by either stretching them or chopping off the ends of their legs, according to their height. He was eventually killed in the same manner by Theseus. In Procrustean manner, ten answers were truncated or stretched (with a gap) to fit their seven-cell grid entries. The gaps were all in the unclued 25ac, which was filled with PROCRUS (with TES two rows below), to represent his fate at Theseus’s hands. The two clashes were resolved to produce HACK (for the chopping of overlong entries) and RACK (for the stretching). The letters discarded from truncations and clashes formed DAMASTES (Δαμαστής, “subduer”), an alias of Procrustes). His home, ERINEUS, was highlighted in row 4.

Clue explanations

Conventions: * = anagram, < = reversal

No Misprint Answer Explanation
Across
1 fre(T) HAAR AA in H(arbou)R
6 mas(H) REPULP REPULSE with P for SE
11 l(E)dger ARREARAGE (A + RAGE) around REAR
12 (S)eparation NISI (I + SIN) <
13 (T)akes PIGNORATES (INTO EG SPAR) *
15 Pa(R)ts KNUCKLES LE(ft) in KNICKS with U(ndies) for I
18 s(E)nd DETOUR ROUTED *
20 goa(T) ETOURDIE DETOUR with letters cycled + (m)I(l)E(s); ref. 18ac
21 (C)asket BIER BENDIER − END
22 (H)oax JOSH JO + SH
23 b(E)ll DROOL R(ookies) in DOOL
28 (R)ock TRASS TRAS(h) + S
31 (T)urn SHOT S + HOT
33 (H)ills LAWS OUTLAW − OUT + S
34 b(E)st ROSETTED (SET + (even)T(ing)) in RODE *
35 (S)ound STEREO SO around TREE *
38 (E)ager READIEST (A + DIETERS) *
40 co(U)rse TRADE ROUTE TRADER + OUT + E
42 Samo(S) CIST IS in CT
43 co(D)ed SYNGENEIC SYN + GENERIC − R
44 ris(E) EYASES AS in EYES
45 (S)log TREK (TREK + SAM) = MARKETS *
Down
1 coa(T) MACK ((blac)K CAM(brian)) <
2 O(R)der ARANEIDA A(thenian) + ARIADNE *
3 (O)lder ARBUTES A + BUT in RES
4 t(Y)pe HAIKU (HK + U) around A1
5 Dun(E) ERG (Farm)ER G(iles)
6 (R)oyal RANEES (ARE SEEN) * − E
7 (R)evolution PERIOD PER + I + DO <
8 Di(E)t LITE (impo)LITE
9 M(O)ck PSEUDO (UP DOSE) *
10 (R)end FISSILE FILE around (S + SI)
14 sha(D)es ORTHOS OR + THOS(e)
16 po(E)t CORSES SCORES *
17 (R)eeding NURLED (L(ist) + UNDER) *
19 st(A)ff ROSTER RESORT *
24 coo(L)er STRETCH (TR + ETCH) after S
26 (L)atin MARINERA (IN ARM) * + ERA
27 Can(D)y SWEETIE (WEE + TI) in S(con)E
29 (I)an’s ROARIE (R + IE) around OAR
30 refu(S)e STRESS (TR + ES) in S(imilaritie)S
32 prote(C)ted HERONS ON in HERS
36 M(A)sh TATER TATTER − ’T
37 (R)ug JASY JAY around S(hield)
39 (D)istress RACK BARRACK − BAR
41 dete(S)ts UGS (f)U(n)G(u)S
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