Listener Crossword 4884: Solution Notes
Spyder by Sabre
Puzzle explanation
The four clue groups were named after different types of spider. The extra letters in wordplay spelt out “perform a Caesar shift to initial letters of all clues”. Shifting the letter by 12 positions in a cyclic alphabet gave “Morse grid; A to M dit, N to Z dah; make breaks at broken bars”. This converted the grid letters to [·−· · −−· ·− ·−· −·· ·−·· · − − · ·−· ··· ·· −· ·−− −−− ·−·· ··−· ··· ·−−· ·· −·· · ·−· ·− ··· ·−· ·− ·· ··· · −·· −·· −−− − ··· ·−· · ··· − −··· ·−·· ·− −· −·− ·−· · ·− −·· −··· ·−· ·− ·· ·−·· ·−·· ·], which is Morse code for REGARD LETTERS IN WOLF SPIDER AS RAISED DOTS, REST BLANK, READ BRAILLE. The grid letters were then reinterpreted in 2×3 rectangles (guided by the grid’s external projections) as the Braille symbols shown here, which read “shade name of Tolkien spider”. So SHELOB, a giant spider in J R R Tolkien’s The Two Towers, was highlighted in column 11.
Clue explanations
Conventions: * = anagram, < = reversal
| No | Answer | Explanation [extra letter] |
|---|---|---|
| Common | ||
| 1ac | CRIBS | (CA[P]RI + BS) − A |
| 5ac | EDWARD | (al)E + D[E]WAR + (foile)D |
| 11ac | RAGBAG | RAG + B[R]A + G |
| 12ac | SUPERBIKES | SUPERB + I[F] + KES |
| 24ac | BEAD | BE + A + D[O] |
| 28ac | COSTUME | CUSTOME[R] * |
| 30ac | BARBE | BARE around [M]B |
| 35ac | WRITER | W + RI + TE[A]R |
| 41ac | MAYHEM | [C]HE after MAY + M |
| 1dn | CORSACS | (O + SCARS *) after [A](rcti)C |
| 6dn | AWASH | (H[E] SAW A) < |
| 8dn | DITED | DD around [S]ITE |
| 14dn | KEBOB | KE[A] around BOB |
| 17dn | DÉSIRÉE | DESIRE + [R]E |
| 22dn | BEE BALM | BE[S](t) + ELM around (B + A) |
| 25dn | ATTICA | (TIC[H] + A) after AT |
| 28dn | CLASS | C(ut) + L + AS [I]S |
| 34dn | IDÉE | ID [F]EE |
| Trapdoor | ||
| 4 | ZABETA | (A[T] + BET) in ZA |
| 13 | PAHOEHOE | PA[T]H + O + E + HOE |
| 27 | HEARTH RUG | R[O]UGH * around EARTH |
| 29 | MAWTHER | MA + W[I]THER |
| 31 | LAITANCE | (CAN E[N]TAIL) * |
| 32 | STREAM-ICE | TR[I]ES * + AMICE |
| 33 | GLIADIN | DILA[T]ING * |
| 39 | AGHAST | A + (Eig)G + HAS + [I]T |
| 40 | SHEATHED | S + HATE * + HE[A]D |
| Spinning | ||
| 9ac | WAIT-A-BIT | (TAB + IT) after WAI[L] |
| 15ac | CETACEAN | (EE[L] CAN ACT) * |
| 32ac | GAMBUSIA | (GAM[E] + I in USA) around B |
| 36ac | GAWD | (usin)G [T]AWD(ry) |
| 38ac | RICHTER SCALE | (ARCTIC SHEL[T]ER) * |
| 3dn | DUNNARTS | DU[E]NNA + R(eacts) T(o) S(cary) |
| 7dn | HOBBLERS | HORS around (BBL + [R]E) |
| 16dn | WATCHBOX | TCH in (WA[S] + BOX) |
| 20dn | WYKEHAM | Y[O]KE in (W + HAM) |
| Jumping | ||
| 2 | BABACO | CO after (AB [F]AB) < |
| 10 | WET BAR | ([A]T + (pu)B) in WEAR |
| 18 | NED | (i)N [L]ED(erhosen) |
| 19 | BANGER | (tu)B(by) + ANG[L]ER |
| 21 | LEGGY | [C]LEG + GY |
| 23 | SATANIC | S + AT[L]AN(t)IC |
| 26 | DART-MOTH | DARTMO[U]TH |
| 29 | MASSACRES | (SCR[E]AM AS) * + E + S |
| 37 | GATECRASH | GAT[S] + SEARCH * |