This was a pleasing puzzle with an entertaining theme. In the perimeter
we found SOPRANO, ALTO, TENOR, BARITONE and BASS, as well as the name THOMAS
TALLIS. In the third ring were anagrams of famous singers, each representing
a voice in the perimeter. These were, Adeline Patti, Ferrier, Caruso, Terfel
and Chaliapin. The letters of the innermost ring could be arranged to spell
one of Tallis's most famous compositions, SPEM IN ALIUM, with the
missing I to be entered in the centre. The fact that Spem in Alium is a
forty-part piece, usually performed with eight five-part choirs, neatly matched
the grid.
Extra letters in wordplay were S, extra letters in DLM clues A,
misprinted letters T, and extra letters in definitions B, while extra words
were all synonyms of BAR (Bar(itone). Nevertheless, understanding this was
not actually necessary to complete the grid.
Radial clues were divided into eight groups, each containing five
different clue types representing the resources required: (1) the wordplay
indicates the answer with an extra letter that is not entered in the grid;
(2) clues contain a definition of the answer and a consecutive mixture of
its letters incorporating one extra letter; (3) clues contain a misprint
of one letter in the definition; (4) clues contain an extra word; (5) definitions
contain an extra letter.
Clue types in Radial clues are numbered in the explanations of
clues. Misprinted letters in clues are shown in bold and extra letters or
words in brackets.
RADIAL (all 6 letters)
1 Consumers of cricket in Pakistan etc supporting reverse drive?
TUPAIA 1 PUT (rev.) + A(S)IA
2 Latin nursemaid after a good sitter for Thalia
AGLAI 3 (sister of Thalia) L + AIA after A G (good)
3 Individual launch orbits moonlike object
LUNULA 2 anag. ual laun less A
4 (B)urn for sublimation, due to be renewed in totality
ALUDEL 5 anag. DUE in ALL
5 Hogwarts alumni are (secure) with such creatures
IZARDS 4 WIZARDS less W (with)
6 Greets guard on board
SWARDS 3 (greens) WARD in SS (on board, strangely, means in SS or
steamship)
7 You've old (b)rooms upstairs should a brush fail intermittently
SOLARS 5 odd letters of ShOuLd A bRuSh
8 One musician has transposed fourth for a finale, as usual
SOLITO 1 SOLOI(S)T with fourth letter moved to the end
9 Part of a shoe (rack) conforming with others
INSTEP ref IN STEP
10 Asian art form (worth all the rest, in conjunction with 37)
INSTAR 2 anag. sian art less a. Ref. Cicero’s description of Plato - Instar omnium
11 Sometimes, car(b)uncles are brilliant, but lacking surface strength
locally
ARILLI 5 A (are) + RILLI (brilliant less bant (strength in dialect))
12 Pieces of metal with enamel inlaid? Yes
NIELLI 2 anag. el inlai less a
13 (Sovereign) managed disordered Tokyo some time ago (two words)
MADE DO 4 MAD + EDO Old name for Tokyo
14 Front spoiler to help pistons with driver in reverse (two
words)
AIR DAM 1 AID + RAM(S) with DR (driver reversed
15 Quantity of toffee, say, making mouth not quite rounded
MUGFUL Quantity of coffee MUG + FUL(L)
16 Nothing makes gourmet sick with this arthropod's (buttery) back
TERGUM 4 Compound anagram TERGUM + O (nothing) = GOURMET
17 Playwright eager to restore piano
PINERO 2 anagram RE PIANO less A
18 Ro(b)ot demonstrating how to get well-known ratio
TURNIP Nice joke here, to get pi you could TURN IP!
19 Mass made softly alight by stub of candle lit on antique chalice
PATINE lid of chalice PAT (as of butter) + IN + E (end of candle)
20 Guardian saint's gone, and not coming back
PATRON PA(S)T + NOR (reversed)
21 Notes a doctor (advocates) in retrospect about stomach
OMASAL 4 A MO (rev.) in LAS (notes)
22 Oriental tailor's a rogue, switching hands
LASCAR 3 Oriental sailor RASCAL exchanging L and R (hands)
23 Coarse, dry salt
BRUTAL 1 BRUT + (S)AL
24 Diana's mam(b)a without a scale, tail-end to the fore
LATONA 5 Mother of Diana. ATONAL with last letter first
25 Overturn a result? Tell someone who cares
NURSER 2 anag. urn a res less A
26 Luger might exploit this, making kills with discharge (two
words)
ICE RUN 1 ICE(S) (kills) + RUN
27 Rat's lunch canned: I made it
TIFFIN 3 (Raj's lunch) I + FF (fecit) contained in TIN (canned!)
28 Hydrocarbon of alien origins
OLEFIN 2 anag. of alien less A
29 This precision instrument's to (measure) absolute luminance within a lengthy
period
ETALON 4 T’ + A + L in EON
30 Car(b)? Recurrent feature of diet at seaside
ESTATE 5 Hidden reversed
31 Herb to bear a gold flower? No
BORAGE 2 anag. less A
32 Each page blank initially - source of this to nob(b)le poet?
ACHAGE 5 (E)ACH (P)AGE
33 Remove tarp from Anubis bust
UNBIAS (Remove warp) anag. Anubis
34 Releases (hound) I don't lay claim
to?
UNBAGS 4 BAGS = I lay claim to, so the negative must be UNBAGS!
35 One local girl gets it undone for Edmund
UNLAST 1 UN (one in dialect) + LAS(S) + T
36 Liquid lunch is not the same as it once was
UNLICH 1 anag. LUNCH I(S)
37 (Bank) to remain upset with this funding value? More ammunition could
be provided
OMNIUM 4 compound anag. MORE AMMUNITION minus
anag. TO REMAIN
38 Indication one's acted in both ends of Cardiff stadium
MILIUM 3 MIL(len)IUM Stadium in Cardiff. Indication one's acned; a MILIUM is a pimple!
39 Member of little band, leader of artillery organised demo(b)
MORCHA 5 a demo M (member) ORCH (orchestra) + A
40 Changes from a sphere into a cube, say
MORPHS 2 anag. rom a sph less A
ROTARY
A little shop having no bread without tea (12, two words)
ADELINA PATTI a DELI + NA (no) + CHAPATTI less CHA (tea)
One who might treat scratches with drug for abrasion at first (7)
FERRIER FARRIER changing A (1st letter of ABRASION) for E (drug)
Early flier sacrificing his independence to win love (6)
CARUSO ICARUS less I (independence) + O (love)
Blind poet's patch remained fixed in the middle (6)
TERFEL TERF (Milton is the blind poet and this is his spelling of turf) +
(H)EL(D)
Series about cycling round Dixie? (9)
CHALIAPIN PAIL (reversed) in CHAIN