4090 Refrain by Dysart

Dysart gave us a fine puzzle based on a familiar theme this week. The first set of extra letters in wordplay spelt out DRINK AND THE DEVIL HAD DONE FOR THE REST. This quotation comes from the fictional sea shanty in Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel TREASURE ISLAND, spelt out by the remaining extra letters. Clashing letters E, T, E, I, R, C, L, and D (from 21, 31, 33, 38 Across and 5, 7, 35, 41 Down) had to give way to the other clashing letters, always making real words in the grid. These letters can be arranged to spell DERELICT, which Wikipedia reveals is a poem written by Young E Allison, expanding on Stevenson’s lines. This alternative title could optionally be written below the grid.

The preceding lines of the song start FIFTEEN MEN ON THE DEAD MAN’S CHEST / YO HO HO AND A, and this was to be traced out in the grid starting with the first F of 45 Across, and moving to adjacent cells orthogonally or diagonally. At the end of this trail we were to highlight LEFT BOOT (possibly of no use to the one-legged LONG JOHN SILVER), and this was a cryptic indication of BOTTLE OF RUM, which completes the opening lines, “rum” indicating the anagram. The appearance of an L-shaped BOOTY at this point seems to have been an extra piece of treasure given to us by Dysart.

Extra letters in wordplay are indicated with [ ].

Across
1 Schnook at the front switching sides, seeing what's being said (10)
LIPREADING [D] [D]RIP + LEADING with L for R, and R for L.
7 Milk products helping to make dough rise (4)
 GH[R]IS Hidden in douGH RISe
10 Very busy hoeing most of top ground (7, three words)
ON THE GO[I]  Anagram of HOEING TO(P)
12 Beginning to develop upward movement (6)
[N]ASCENT Two meanings, one with extra letter
14 Gloomily, quietly accepting prank (8)
DREA[K]RILY DRILY (Quietly) containing REAK (prank)
15 Harness on a horse's head is a weight! (5)
GE[A]RAH GEAR (Harness) + A + H (first letter of HORSE)
17 Continued west leaving town (4)
E[N]TON WENT ON (Continued) less W (west)
18 Touch rare animal from the East? I don't move (7)
TACTION[D] CAT (animal), reversed) + anagram of IDONT
21 Value ultimately put on scrap metal (3)
OR[T]E [Grid entry ORB] (last letter of VALUE) after ORT (scrap)
22 Sun's out, bird's beginning to tweet, cat's not roused (6)
UNS[H]ENT Anagram of SUN + HEN (bird) + T (first letter of TWEET)
25 He's wrong about old-fashioned faith (5)
TROT[E]H HE + TORT (wrong), all reversed
26 Obsessive sly creature breaks in without a key (6)
ATO[D]NAL ANAL (Obsessive) containing TOD (sly creature)
27 Nymph eating piece of oily fish (4)
[E]COHO ECHO (Nymph) containing E (first letter of OILY
28 Two short months spanning king's rule (4)
NOR[V]M NOV (November) + M (month) containing R (king)
30 Property director visits eastern quarter (6)
ESTAT[I]E TATI (film director) inside E (eastern) + SE (south east ie quarter)
A quarter being any point of the compass.
31 Track from early film, one becoming classic finally (5)
SC[L]ENT [Grid entry SCENA] SILENT (early film) with I (one) for C (last letter of CLASSIC)
32 Agenda's not finished, therefore pay attention (6)
LIST[H]EN LIS(T) (agenda, less last letter) + THEN (therefore)
33 Strike without delay - no charge for the axe (3)
[A]TOE [Grid entry TOY] AT ONCE (without delay), less NC (no charge)
36 Those from outside Dodge cattlemen hated lawlessly might be treated so? (7)
LYNCHED[D] Anagram of DE CN HD LY (firat and last letters of DODGE CATTLEMEN HATED LAWLESSLY) & lit
38 An old-fashioned joint said to be in the centre of Fulham (4)
L[D]ITH [Grid entry LATH] DIT (said to be) inside LH (middle letters of FuLHam)
40 Dolt keeps smallest room reserved (5)
[O]ALOOF OAF (dolt) containing LOO (smallest room)
42 American plan involving no gunfire (8, two words)
FIGURE ON[N] Anagram of NO GUNFIRE
43 Woman claimed ex needed regularly to be whipped ... (6)
EILEEN[E] Anagram of LIEENEE (alternate letters of cLaImEd Ex NeEdEd)
44 ... continually in quest of excitement (7)
FOR[F]EVER FOR (in quest of) + FEVER (excitement)
45 Blackguard spoiling for a fight at the outset (4)
RAF[O]F Anagram of FOR A, + F (first letter of FIGHT)
46 Tottering tinker with pony taking time to get timber (10, two words)
KNOTTY PINE[R] Anagram of TINKER PONY, containing T (time)

Down
1 LONG JOHN SILVER (Thematic)
2 Sailor meeting Scandinavian girl gets engaged ... (6, two words)
INGE[T]AR TAR (Sailor) after INGE (Scandanavian girl)
3 ... he's in here, oddly, getting picked up by a bird (4)
 [H]RHEA  HE inside HR (alternate letters of HeRe) + A
4 Asian city accepted chief's falling short (4)
AGR[E]A A (accepted) + GREA(T) (chief, less last letter)
5 Driver gets break arranged some time ago (5)
DR[R]EST [Grid entry DOEST] DR (Driver) + REST (break)
6 Addict close to bed is confined (9)
N[E]ARCOTIST NEAR (close to) + COTT (bed) containing IS
7 Section of Macclesfield's pitch is fixed by this character (5, two words)
 C CLE[S]F [Grid entry G CLEF] Hidden in MaCCLESField
8 Half of 20 to be distributed after this month in fact (7)
 INS[T]OOTH INST (this month) + anagram of HOOT(TOOT)
20 being 20 Down
9 Almost the first one to be disfigured with nasty disease (14, three words)
 ST ANTHONY’S FIRE[T] Anagram of TH(E) FIRST ONE NASTY
11 Swiss composer returning to judge performances (8)
 MA[R]TINEES MARTIN (Swiss composer) + SEE (judge), reversed
13 Abandoned car between yard and wild plant (8, two words)
CRAB[E]TREE CRA (anagram of CAR) + BET (between) + REE (yard)
16 Infatuated, vexed teen, consumed with a touch of envy ... (7)
 ENTÊ[A]TÉE ENTE (Anagram of TEEN) + ATE (consumed) + E (first letter of ENVY)
19 ... strengthens girl's happiness within (7)
 ANN[S]EALS ANN’S (Girl’s) containing SEAL (happiness)
20 Too hot working in the open. Bother! (8)
 HOOT TOO[U]T Anagram of TOO HOT, + OUT (in the open)
23 Meeting with Liberal in warm saloon, finally getting something to eat (9, two words)
S[R]ALLY LUNN RALLY (meeting) + L (Liberal) inside SUN (warm), + N (last letter of SALOON)
 [24 Slippery customer with wrong money in Danish town (8)
 [E]ELSINORE EEL (slippery customer) + SIN (wrong) + ÖRE or ØRE (money)
29 Roman matriarch having her way after dubious action (removing Nero's crown) (7)
OCTA[I]VIA VIA (Roman word for “way”) after anagram of ACTION, less N (first letter of NERO)
34 Scene of folded rock bands: Who's ending before Queen and thereafter Genesis (6)
OR[S]OGEN O (last letter of WHO) + R (Queen) + SO (thereafter) + GEN (Genesis)
35 Dysart's lad caught by one entering gambling house (5)
CHIEL[L] [Grid entry CHIEF] C (caught by) + I (one) inside HELL (gambling house)
Dysart here is indicating Scottish, from the town in Fife
37 Separated a couple of pages in court (5)
CLE[A]FT LEAF (two pages) inside CT (court)
39 Profit less than a shilling with reversal in fashion (4)
 BO[N]OT BO(B) (shilling, less last letter) + TON (fashion), reversed)
41 Setting up launch of Parliament Act is very involved (4)
 DEE[D]P [Grid entry LEEP] P (first letter of PARLIAMENT) + DEED (act), all reversed