The fascinating thing about this quotation is its remarkable average word length. The average in common use is around 4.5 letters per word, yet this ratchets up 7. And there’s a curious almost-symmetry about it. If you were clueing it in the ordinary way, it would have the length pattern (5,4,12,12,5,4). I doubt there’s anything else like that, though I’d be happy to be proved wrong.
The quotation is QUIET CALM DELIBERATION DISENTANGLES EVERY KNOT from The Gondoliers. (Gilbert actually has EV’RY.) Solving the clues to the thematic entries (using calm deliberation, of course) gave you four knots, which were entered in jumbled form.
ACROSS
10 OVEN; O Ven
11 QUOITS; 0 in quits
12 TROCAR; anag.
13 PAN-PIPES; pip in panes
14 LIRA; Li(B)ra
16 CLOVE HITCH; love in C hitch
17 OSSEOUS; 0 in Sue’s so (rev.)
22 TONDINO; in in ton do
23 SHEEPSHANK; sheep(I)sh an K
28 YBET; hidden
29 RUDIMENT; dime in runt
31 RAIYAT; anag. inc. a,a
32 AGAMID; hidden
34 TALL; tall(y)
DOWN
1 EQUAL; hidden
2 TWONESS; ones in t’ W S
3 PICOT; Co. in pit
4 LISP; L is P
5 MOTELS; mo tel(l)s
6 WINDSOR; anag.
7 EVOLVED; (r)evolved
8 INARCH; hidden
9 OTIC; initial letters & lit.
18 EUSTYLE; EU style
19 OVERALL; over all
20 LINEMEN; me in linen
21 DEBATE; deb ate
22 TAUTOG; taut + go (rev.)
24 PIGS; g in P is
25 SMART; s(o)m(e) art
26 KNIFE; E fink (all rev.)
30 DAWN; anag.
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