Novel by Phi
Clues are of six types: 1) Definition and Letter Mixture: each clue contains a definition of the answer and a mixture of its component letters beginning at the beginning or ending at the end of a word in the clue; answer and mixture do not overlap and either may come first; 2) Letters Latent: the clue contains a definition of the full answer and wordplay for a version of that answer with one letter omitted wherever it occurs, which is what is entered in the grid; 3) Misprints: each clue contains a misprint of one letter in the definition; 4) Normal cryptic; 5) Printer’s Devilry: each clue consists of a sentence from which the printer has omitted the grid entry and closed up the gap, often making adjustments to spacing or punctuation – each sentence originally makes sense: example: Do you mean Oxford ill, Ian, or some other fossilised zone? leads to ANCORA (…OxfordiAN, CORAllian or…); 6) Spoonerisms: the definition in each clue has been transformed by a Spoonerism.
Clue types are not identified (numbers in brackets are those of entered versions), but solvers should find a pattern emerging, a structure taken from a recent novel (the title of which is given by two symmetrically placed answers). One answer is a possibly dubious plural. The word to be clued (which is the title of another novel by the same author) is given by the latent letters and correct versions of misprints in clue order.
Across
1 A recording of Botham’s Test was judged the bat by cricket fans (7)
7 Lyon Herald would describe some features of arm sae (4)
11 An old British car was the M or Riley (4)
12 Gambler’s haul daughter lost (6)
13 Resort not fashionable, having to close in busy season (12)
14 Boat hull: Merchant Navy prompt to bring in question (6)
16 Dead rats? Terrifying (5)
17 An example is curiously bad? Very (6)
19 As green as a wine punch (8)
20 Long story involves endless walk, proudly in the Russian snow (8)
23 Nothing replaced Pears in some of Britten’s output (6)
25 Chilly, say, having turned over hat (5)
27 Brands in line at old shops finally carrying lines (6)
29 Surely mistaken about ‘Summons for servants I love’ in maid’s code? (12)
30 Mount key in it, blocking crook rarely (6, 2 words)
31 Four reasons you are right (4)
32 Pinch marker, chapter remaining unfinished (4)
33 Jangling leads almost out – joyous cry from pets? (7, 2 words)
Down
1 Extract from Morse’s seminal central code (4)
2 Removes dart from last of bodies – habitual process incomplete (6)
3 Cash, in general, withdrawn in smallish units – symbolic gesture, mostly (12, 2 words)
4 Fakes minor printing unit and stops (6)
5 Dead rise dubiously once, with a lot of hesitation about (8)
6 Dutch must follow main idea, Dutch must (5)
8 Used in Lister’s treatment? Yes and no (12)
9 Description of knot that’s untied, first to last (4)
10 Old slut taking chance in coarse linen (7)
14 Piece of mystical music ran tamely (6)
15 Eve’s admirer rarely slips away (6)
17 Article again revealing source of cake decoration (8)
18 Cryptic clue’s completion accordingly linked to Apex? (7)
21 Good tree trunk bathed in gold in pastoral poem (6)
22 Flyer to occupy position in space around one rising mountain (6)
24 When dressing a child, you’ll get him into his cot (5)
26 “Is this your doing?” asked the woodwork master (4)
28 Changing cha riles – may involve promotion of tea from native growers (4)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
