Much
Ado About Nothing by Shackleton
Shackleton gave us an
imaginative and original idea and,
in Gregson’s opinion, this was the Listener Crossword at its
best. There were
some tough clues that had to be solved before the solver saw that the
corrected
letters in across clues gave UMMERTIM UTUMN RHYTH. This referred to of
Jackson
Pollock’s best known paintings, Summertime and Autumn Rhythm,
affected by his
quotation, “......” The
correct entries
in down clues gave firstly – STATE TO SOUTH. At this point the
clue to CODY was
a help. If the grid is interpreted as a map of WYOMING it is clear that
CODY
should appear in the north-west corner and CODA in the other space. The
state
to the south of Wyomiing is COLORADO. This was the charade in the
language of
the artist (American!) and the solver had to colour the letters A, D, O
according to the rest of the message RED, GREEN, BLUE. This gave a
strange
painting with 77 coloured cells and 88 white background cells. The
unclued
entry was INTERPHONE and with the addition of the abbreviation for
Wyoming (Wy)
the title of the forgery was WINTER PHONEY by JACKSON POLLOCK.
Misprints in clues and correct
letters
are shown in bold type.
Across
Old-timer's put op art aside with no time for revision (7)
ARAISED [put up] Anagram ART ASIDE less T
Blind as a bat, discarding a slice of apple, not core! (5)
BASTA [not more) Anagram AS A BAT less A (slice of Apple)
Hope for traveller - lavatory's around 1m (give or take)
westward (7)
CARAVAN [home for traveller] VARA reversed in CAN
Conservative women's chamber and passage (4)
CODA [end passage] C (conservative) + ODA
Our artist's family finally say where his boots were (4)
CODY [where his roots were] COD (family of the POLLOCK) +
(famil)Y
(Jackson Pollock was born in Cody, Wyoming)
Person aching to cook Eastern recipe (4)
DOER [person acting] DO + E + R
Find dead person (4)
DONE [fini] D + ONE
Cross about commotion, old rector visiting zany houses in
succession
(10)
DOOR-TO-DOOR [visiting many houses] ROOD reversed + TO-DO + O
(old) + R
(rector)
Carling - last round had by start of evening (7)
EDDYING [curling] E(vening) +
‘D
(had) in DYING
Lens fixed over a sound system to dazzle? (8)
FASTDAYS [Lent] FAST (fixed) + DAYS Homophone DAZE
Member of order runs away - he might have inherited horse
unconditionally
(4)
FIAR [he may have inherited house unconditionally] FRIAR less R
(runs)
Parked prematurely? Destined to involve tangle with copper (9)
FOREDATED [marked prematurely] ORE (tangle) + D (penny=copper)
in FATED
Mutant man caught in breeze after nuclear core in accident (12)
NIDDLE-NODDLE [nutant = nodding] N (nuclear) + (acc)ID(ent) +
LEN (a
man) in DODDLE (a breeze!)
Simpleton invented pendulum (5)
NODDY [inverted pendulum] 2 definitions
Very good attorney's a necessity for Joan Collins (4)
SODA [necessity for John Collins]
Preliminary backer (Australian) - was in debt, got back in
touch ... (9)
SPADEWORK [preliminary yacker] OWED (reversed) in SPARK
... the two of us will own nothing with loss of money (8)
WELL-TO-DO [with lots of money] WE’LL TOD + O
And what gave you a long weekend on retirement? (12, three
words)
YADA YADA YADA [what have you] A DAY A DAY A DAY (reversed)
(ref. 3 days
in a long weekend!)
Down
Tailor supervising good clothing section (4)
BOS’N [sailor supervising] S (section) in BON (good)
Helper, one pleasant Sunday afternoon, going over planks ... (7)
ASPIDIA [plants] AID +I PSA (pleasant Sunday afternoon) all
reversed
... helps person who used to run errands on board (5)
SCADS [heaps] CAD in SS
Noble name given so women notice English lecturer - indeed! (6)
ADELLA [Noble name given to women] AD + E + L + LA!
Time for dating? Almost nobody with date, alas (7)
NOONDAY [time for eating] NO ON(e) + D + AY!
This rook gives sustenance to upturned mouths (4)
TARO [this root ...] T’ + ORA (reversed)
Locking ruddy drawer, turned upside down, empty inside (7)
RADDLED [looking ruddy] DR (reversed) containing ADDLE
Expert will blink (though not for a while) (5)
PROLL [slink] PRO’LL
Partly avoid moulding provolone - cut around the edges (5)
OVOLO [partly ovoid moulding] (pr)OVOLO(ne)
Father advanced name for daughter, not a son (4)
NADA [not a sou] DAD + A (advanced) changing D (daughter) to N
(name)
American causes dosage to rise - special Italian drug (7)
ENAMORS [American causes dotage] S (special) + ROMAN + E (all
reversed)
Revolutionary party uprising is comparatively fisty (5)
ODDER [comparatively fishy] RED DO reversed
Did pub out east, knocking back coffee (7)
EFFACED [did rub out] E + DECAFF (reversed)
Grand priory essentially ordered lodge's decoration (7)
GRADINO [ledge’s decoration] Anagram GRAND (pr)IO(ry)
Finally made box - to blazes with basket-making potential (7)
ESPARTO [blades with ... ] (mad)E + SPAR + TO
Having nowhere to do dull bit of drama (7)
DEAD-END [nowhere to go] DEADEN (to dull) + D(rama)
Exactly eight border guards beginning to enter Norway (6)
DEAD-ON [exactly right] E(nter) in DADO (border) + N (Norway)
Cash might be presented to this rabbi - take no notice and
return it (5)
DAYAN [Case might br ... ] NAY AD (reversed)
Dull parson provided with a divine heart (5)
SADDO [Dull person]
Ode of a quayside couple, old poem about April in Paris (5)
DAVIT [one of quayside couple] AV (avril) in DIT
Went with toy? Gone up to wrap it (5)
DATED [went with boy] ‘T in DEAD (reversed)
Most bird nests deserted in short grass (4)
DODO [Lost bird] D (deserted) in DOO(b)
Chant by sailors hailing return of old boat (4)
YO-HO [chant by sailors hauling] O (old) HOY (reversed)
Adelaide lass formally topping pops (4)
ADDY [Adelaide less formally] (d)ADDY