4041 Motley Collection by Merlin
 
Former Ascot Gold Cup winner Merlin returned to the Listener series this week following a three year gap, with a pleasant and not too difficult offering. In this puzzle, half of the answers had to have all occurrences of one letter removed before entry. The letters thus removed spelt out PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN, a name familiar to young and old alike. This explained the thematic treatment for the remaining answers. In the affected Across answers, RAT had to be eliminated, and in the affected Down answers the name of a boy or girl had to disappear. They were: TED, TRIX, HAL, MO, DEL, CHIC, IAN, DI, and HANS. In the title, “Motley” means “variegated”, or “pied”.

Grid entries are indicated by [].

Across
1 Particular Scots kid, sort to take in hint and try out (16)
NIPPERTY-TIPPERTY [NIERTYTIERTY] NIPPER (kid) + TYPE (sort) containing TIP (hint) + RTY (anagram of TRY)
10 Officer engaged in passing on according to seniority (7)
MAJORAT [MAJO] MAJOR (Officer) + AT (engaged in)
11 Queen and King Alfred's head on old coin appearing all over the place (9)
ERRATICAL [ERICAL] ER (Queen) + R (King) + A (first letter of Alfred) + TICAL (old coin)
12 One is mental, losing head - I'll sort that out (8)
ALIENIST [ALENST]Anagram of I (One) + IS + [M]ENTAL, &lit
13 Salt from one Italian restaurant in northeast (7)
NITRATE [NITE] I (one) + TRAT (Italian restaurant), all inside NE (northeast)
15 King, queen and royal mistress, last of line, trapped by fate set in stone (11)
ENKERNELLED [NKRNLLD] K (King) + ER (Queen) + NELL (royal mistress) + E (last letter of LINE, all inside END (fate)
The royal mistress of course being Nell Gwyn, mistress of King Charles II
16 Idols once representing a deity in action (7)
PAGODAS [PAGOAS] A GOD (deity), all inside PAS (action)
17 One not drinking in bar, a grenadier (7)
RAT-TAIL [TAIL] A (One) + TT (teetotal ie not drinking), all inside RAIL (bar)
19 Artists' equipment deployed to cleanse pics (11)
PENCIL-CASES [ENCILCASES] Anagram of CLEANSE PICS
21 Musical feature with motley type garment placed (12, two words)
PICARDY THIRD [PCARDYTHRD] PI (Motley type, ie pi(3) in Chambers) + CARDY (garment) + THIRD (placed)
23 Compound to limit local tax (7)
CAPRATE [CAPE] CAP (to limit) + RATE (local tax)
24 Cleopatra's god will be worse for Napoleon (7)
SERAPIS [SERAIS] SERA PIS (French for “will be worse”)
26 Very large island captured, Spain driven out (8)
MAN-SIZED [MANSIZD] MAN (Island) + SIEZED (captured), less E (Spain)
29 Start of ride in boat cheers relative (7, two words)
PRO RATA [PROA] R (First letter of RIDE) inside PROA (boat) + TA (cheers)
30 A chariot's crashed in banking, it provides a measure of security (9, two words)
CASH RATIO [CASHIO] Anagram of A CHARIOT’S
31 A baseball legend receiving set back is unusual (9)
ABERRATES [ABERES] A + BERRA (baseball legend) + TES (SET reversed)
The baseball legend being Yogi Berra
32 Entreat comic to deliver coarse material (7)
RATTEEN [TEEN] Anagram of ENTREAT
33 Dog bred by Val - a border terrier (17, two words)
LABRADOR RETRIEVER [LABADOETIEVE] Anagram of VAL A BORDER TERRIER
 
Down
1 Called for sound of a language raised subject about Old English (12)
ONOMATOPOEIC [NMATPEIC] O’ (on) + A MON (language) reversed + TOPIC (subject) containing OE (Old English)
2 Thrown out, top down (7)
EJECTED [EJEC] DEJECTED (down), less first letter
3 Posh chap in France kept back administrators (11, two words)
FRONT OFFICE [RONTOICE] TOFF (Posh chap) inside FR (France) + ON ICE (kept back)
4 Try out bed without first woman leaving (9)
TESTATRIX [TESTA] TEST (try out) + MATRIX (bed), less first letter
5 Stupid countryman in The Bill (9)
THICKHEAD [TICKEAD] HICK (countryman) inside THE AD (bill)
6 Cholera is ravaging these sea-creatures (9)
HALICORES [ICORES] Anagram of CHOLERA IS
7 Variant on name for Edmund (6)
EAMONN [EANN] Anagram of ON NAME
8 Dictator, member of religious minority, after getting shot stepped down (12)
TOTALITARIAN [TOTLITRIN]  ARIAN (member of religious minority) after TOT (shot) + ALIT (stepped down)
9 Unknown lyric was No 1 in America, sung in a special way (7)
YODELED [YOED] Y (Unknown) + ODE (lyric) + LED (was No 1)
The American spelling, having one L rather than two, appeared for the first time in the 11th edition of Chambers
14 An early crosser of the Atlantic, bringer of gifts over seas (10, two words)
SANTA MARIA [SANTAARIA] SANTA (bringer of gifts) + MARIA (seas)
The Santa Maria being one of Christopher Columbus’s ships
17 Architect's frantic about note concerning certain sets of lines (12)
TETRASTICHIC [TETRASTI] Anagram of ARCHITECT’S containing TI (note)
18 A decisive test confounded Tony's denial (11, two words)
LIDIAN STONE [LYDSTONE] Anagram of TONY’S DENIAL
20 Predecessor of real vintage - something worthless about one (8)
CRUZEIRO [CRUZIRO] CRU (vintage) + ZERO (something worthess), containing I (one)
A real being a Brazilian coin
22 The Underworld's left none in a job, apparently (8)
ALL-FIRED [AFIRED] ALL FIRED (left none in a job, apparently)
25 Mould to form in long shed (7)
DIE-CAST [ECAST] DIE (long) + CAST (shed)
26 Urge forward's claim to be great footballer (not the last) (5)
IMPEL [MPEL] I’M PELE (claim to be great footballer) less last letter
27 Without holding back captain brings people from North Borneo (8)
SABAHANS [SABA] SANS (Without) containing AHAB (captain) reversed
28 Slick actor (5)
SHEEN [SHEE] Two meanings, one being actor (Michael) Sheen