Listener Crossword 4896: Solution Notes
Pull! by Eclogue
Puzzle explanation
In affected clues, a letter was moved from the interior of a word to its beginning or end; the letters spelt The Outward Urge, a collation of short stories by John Wyndham, whose full name appeared in the grid’s perimeter (ignoring gaps where there were no letters because of the unclued entries that were entered in full). The grid’s unclued entries were from the book’s chapter headings: The Space Station, The Moon, Mars, Venus and The Emptiness of Space: The Asteroids.
Clue explanations
Conventions: * = anagram, < = reversal
| Moved letter | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| s(T)ain → saint | ADJUSTS | AD + JUST + S |
| AESOP | AE + SOP | |
| APTLY | PLAY * around T | |
| s(H)out → south | ASSAI | A + SAI around S |
| ATMOLOGY | O after ATM + LOGY | |
| BIN | (ca)BIN(et) | |
| V(E)il → Vile | DEISTS | DIETS * + S |
| DESKTOP | (DOS KEPT) * | |
| l(O)ud → ludo | DISPLAY | D + S in (I PLAY) |
| ESTATE | EST + ATE | |
| s(U)ing → using | HAPLY | HAPPY with L for P |
| HISS | HIS + S | |
| qui(T)e → quiet | INSANITY | IN + SAN + PITY − P |
| ISLAY | I + SLAY | |
| e(W)e → wee | MALATE | MAL + AT + (w)E(e) |
| W(A)ry → awry | MEADOWS | DAMES * around OW |
| NEEDY | NÉE + DY | |
| A(R)mies → ramies | NETTLES | ETTLE in NS |
| bur(D)ie → buried | OUST | S in OUT |
| RIOTING | (TRIO IN + G) * | |
| n(U)der → under | ROADIE | OAR * + DIE |
| ac(R)e → race | RUSSET | SET after RUS(h) |
| SAGO | (fitnes)S A GO(od) | |
| SHAMISEN | SHAM + I + SEN | |
| SIC | 3 meanings | |
| si(G)n → sing | STAMNOS | (SON(g) + MATS) < |
| STENCH | TEN in SCH | |
| TESSA | ASSET < | |
| TESTANA | TEST + ANA | |
| r(E)ar → rare | TORSI | TOR + IS < |
| TRUTH | T + RUTH | |
| UTOPIAN | OPUNTIA * | |
| VEGAS | ’VE + GAS | |
| YETI | YET + I |