Entry by Samuel

At times, entry is unreliable. This is reflected in the fact that answers to down clues must be jumbled before entry, and that one across answer requires a single character to be entered in an unchecked cell in place of three letters.
All clues are unreliable in that they give the answer plus an extra letter that is not to be entered into the grid. In clue order, these letters explain why entry is so troublesome. Three distinct strings of cells must be highlighted in the completed grid. Each string gives examples of what solvers may have failed to find: (3,5,7) – one example, (8,8) – two examples, and (3,5,1,7) – one example. These must be highlighted, thus revealing a number with which such solvers will be only too familiar. In one example, a letter does double duty; in another, a letter does triple duty. Chambers Dictionary (2003) is the primary reference.


ACROSS
  1 Master builder, at first gloomy, volunteers (5)
  5 Snake remains positive (3)
10 Doctor persecutes tramps (8)
16 Get rid of a favourite sofa (6)
18 Governors bemoan information systems (5)
20 Murderous man hiding in passage (6)
21 Plates, slippery, are holding turkey (6)
23 Must goddess change? (6)
26 Snide actor ruined the last of his ability (10)
27 Ruin square settlement (9)
30 Catch crabs to send downstream (8)
31 Assault Warrant Officer – hit with the left, then with the right (6)
32 Pussyfoot around removing poo that’s stale (5)
33 Glimpse small women - a pleasurable experience (5)
34 “Good sense of humour no good!” we call from afar (4)       
35 Public ruler returns after five o’clock? (8)
37 Revelatory, distressing and hip epic (9)
39 Stop rebellious hippie ditching ‘tec wearing Irishman’s crusty headwear? (10, two words)
41 Kea’s baffled solver missing very novel theme at first (6)
43 Look cunning having abandoned lake place (6)
44 Teach, perhaps, to burn club (6)
45 Judges call for attention acting inside ancient kingdom (5)
46 Travel books note backwards and uneven place (6)
47 East Anglian town probes protests (8)
48 Shoot daughter, like 21? (3)
49 Bloodier lion? (5)

 DOWN
  1 Experts tax gathering (7)
  2 I’m eaten by dog in a pound – deplorable! (8)
  3 Inadequate patent His Excellency nearly hired (8)
  4 With daughter gone, the heartless Mr Harrison gets Russian bird (5)
  6 Penis shame can result in stress (9)
  7 Shrub opposite rubber tree as above (6)
  8 More than one spin outwits peer in trouble (10)
  9 Proclaim prince king (3)
11 Look at fossil inside salty ground (8, two words)
12 Conservative – grimace a little (4)   
13 Overshadow fetish with drumbeats, naked and frenzied (9)
14 Cheers and cheers turn over for Saints? (6)
15 Hold out over part of crust (3)
17 Royal romps ruined great places for children (9)
19 Barrister waits an age, lacking special porter server? (9)
22 Anoint with sulphur and tin mixture – not I, it destroys worms (8)
24 Pacino leaves testing international dilemma for religious figure (8)
25 Men entering malicious women shortened trousers (8)   
28 Going in again, renter’s confused by natty coverings (7)
29 Derived from carbohydrates - muscles twitch (6)
31 See young people following lost dove – it’s witchcraft (6)
36 A drop of sherry carries trifle (5)
38 Lively sack race (4)
40 Unhappy letter (3)
42 Very large chap ignored society law (3)

To enter this competition send your entry in list format, plus the highlighted words with explanation, to derekharrison@yahoo.com before the 8th June 2008. The first correct solution picked will receive a copy of the latest paperback edition of Don Manley’s Crossword Manual which has been donated by Chambers.
www.chambers.co.uk