4011 Conflict Resolution by Kea

Kea was on top form this week with a puzzle which had a remarkable denouement. Corrected letters in clues spelt out the message SUM OF CLASHES AND MISPRINTS, which, we were told, would lead to the method to use to resolve clashes in the grid. Therefore, for each cell where there was a clash, solvers had to add together the letter values (A = 1, B = 2 etc) of the clashing letters and misprinted letters from the clues clashing at that cell. Converting the totals back into the equivalent letters (treating 27 as A, 28 as B, etc) spelt out the message MOVE ALL WORDS.

Clash Across

S

E

E

A

T

R

N

P

U

W

A

X

Clash Down

E

O

R

O

E

P

I

E

A

M

L

E

Misprint Across

R

O

V

I

H

J

W

L

M

L

I

L

Misprint Down

W

F

C

F

T

T

R

P

F

V

H

D

19

5

5

1

20

18

14

16

21

23

1

24

Letter

5

15

18

15

5

16

9

5

1

13

12

5

Values

18

15

22

9

8

10

23

12

13

12

9

12

23

6

3

6

20

20

18

16

6

22

8

4

Total

65

41

48

31

53

64

64

49

41

70

30

45

Letter Equivalent

M

O

V

E

A

L

L

W

O

R

D

S



Starting with the answer ETHYLENE placed at the 1 Across position, the grid could be filled in as a Carte Blanche puzzle, so that the original answers now fitted without any clashes. Gregson was left wondering how on earth Kea managed to do that!

Misprinted words are indicated by [ ].

ACROSS
1 Nellie remains after one-for-one swap, tending to corset [cosset] (8)
NANNYISH NINNY (Nellie, ie a simpleton) + ASH (remains), exchanging I (one) and A (one)
6 Prime piece of ham, fine Virginia ham (4)
HOKE H (first letter of HAM) + OKE (fine)
Virginia indicating that HOKE is an American usage
10 Pens title as broadcast over radios [radius] (8)
TERTIALS Anagram of TITLE AS containing R (radius)
A pen being a flight-feather
11 Endless mire and rime are returning to help in spreading rust (6)
AECIUM MU(D)(ie mire, minus last letter) + ICE (rime) + A (are), all reversed
The fruiting body of a fungus helps to spread (propagate) it
12 Bantu people respecting avid [amid] champion (6)
HERERO RE (concerning ie respecting) inside HEO (champion)
13 Address female huzoor thus, as "bhai" is wrong (6)
SAHIBA Anagram of AS BHAI
15 Sin [Son] of Isaac eroded one's authority (4)
ESAU Hidden in onE’S AUthority
17 Annex power hailing [failing] scene of naval battle (6)
LEAN-TO LEPANTO (scene of naval battle), less P (power)
18 Jut [Cut] pole loose without following standard (8, two words)
ROSE TREE + FREE (loose), less F (following)
21 Grabbing chaplain, tennis player wed [led] captain (8)
HENCHMAN CH (chaplain) inside HENMAN (tennis player)
The definition being “led captain”, which was new to Gregson
24 Slid [Said] one's piece round long diameter (6)
OPINED O (round) + PINE (long) + D (diameter)
25 Lamb's brown, foul muck [suck] in odd places (4)
FUSC First, third, fifth and seventh letters in FoUl SuCk
27 Manly woman with no date in stalls? (6)
ANDREA ND (no date) in AREA (stalls, as in the floor of a theatre)
The name Andrea being the feminine form of Andrew, meaning “manly”
29 Little devil with beard put in lock [hock] once (6)
IMPAWN IMP (Little devil) + AWN (beard)
30 Whicker's following French or Commonwealth leader (6)
OUBAAS BAA’S (Whicker’s) following OU (French word for “or”)
31 Fifty-one pounce after six [sex] appeal rule that stops women succeeding (8, two words)
SALIC LAW LI (Fifty-one) + CLAW (pounce) after SA (sex appeal)
32 City hostilities only a memory (4)
ECHO EC (East Central, ie City of London) + HO (hostilities only)
33 Body-builder with lat [sat] on back being fed without cake (8)
EXPANDOR RODE (sat on) containing X (without) + PAN (cake)

DOWN
1 Presumably a sore part for sannyasin (4)
NYAS Hidden in sanNYASin
2 Cheesy snacks often hefted [heated] in church, in temple (6)
NACHOS CH (church) inside NAOS (temple)
3 South African man breaks once defeated undefiably [undeniably] (6, two words)
YOU BET OU (South African man) inside YBET (old word for past tense of “beat” ie defeated)
4 Gas from the empty London Eye getting curlew [curled] (8)
ETHYLENE Anagram of THE + L(ONDO)N + EYE
5 Coney [Money] for use in hospital with bad blood (4)
HIRE H (hospital) + IRE (bad blood)
6 Weapon concealed in fist, short old peeler (6)
HARMAN ARM (Weapon) inside HAN(D) (ie fist, minus last letter)
7 Fats Domino's latest contact has one gripped (6)
OLEINS O (Last letter of DOMINO) + LENS (contact) containing I (one)
8 Bovine in concert [conceit] with mutation, leaking nitrogen, is bad for the environment (8)
ECOTOXIC OX (Bovine) inside anagram of CONCEIT, less N (nitrogen)
9 Leo pawed [sawed] worms grazed in the country (8)
LEASOWED Anagram of LEO SAWED
14 With uplifting tower [power] for poet perhaps put in category of bard's mother (8)
PEGASEAN PEG AS (put in category of) + EAN (Shakespearian word for “mother”)
15 Source for scouting [scouring] salts putting extreme pressure on body segment (8)
EPSOMITE EP (extreme pressure) + SOMITE (body segment)
16 Catholic cardinal chaps less madden [maiden] Anglican, giving table for Eucharist (8)
CREDENCE C (Catholic) + RED (cardinal) + MEN (chaps) less M (maiden) + CE (Anglican)
M = maiden over = maiden
19 Bet raised fortune, lifting maidservant (6)
ZILPAH LIZ (Bet, ie shortened form of Elizabeth) reversed, + HAP (fortune), reversed
20 Cover by Gloria Estefan, Hasta Luego, only outlined? (6)
ENHALO First and last letters of EstefaN HastA LuegO
22 Lacuna after engineering works for Harrow [narrow] Tube (6)
CANULA Anagram of LACUNA
23 Loof [Loot] slab protects acting rear admiral (6)
MARAUD MUD (slab) containing A (acting) + RA (rear admiral)
26 UV [US] that is exposing French mistress (4)
AMIE AM (American ie US) + IE (that is)
28 Banks like annual return (4)
ASAR AS (like) + AR (annual return)