4098 Language Balancing by Schadenfreude

Schadenfreude gave us a beautiful finish this week with a perfectly formed thematic image in the grid. Extra letters and words in clues spelt out MECHANISM PROVIDING INTERMITTENT FRAME-BY-FRAME MOVEMENT IN A MOTION PICTURE FILM PROJECTOR, a definition of MALTESE CROSS taken directly from The Chambers Dictionary. The letters of MALTESE CROSS were to be inserted in the cells left empty by those answers which did not fill their allotted spaces, always making real words. A series of lines drawn through the centres of these cells, and the corners of the cell marked X in the grid, produced an outline of a Maltese Cross. In the title, Language and Balancing were definitions of Maltese and Cross.

Across

1 Transmitter escape pressure on dial’s baffled [me] (9, two words)

ALDIS LAMP LAM (escape) + P (pressure) on ALDIS (anagram of DIALS)

7 [C]live turned right over river (4)

EBRO BE (live), reversed) + R (right) + O (over, as in cricket)

10 Quiet American to s[h]un those who show up (8)

SHAMERS [SHAMMERS] SH (Quiet, interjection) + AMER (American) + S (sun)

12 Point is attached to a go[a]d (6)

ANUBIS A + NUB (POINT) + IS

13 Diamonds and gold sho[n]e for an American darling (6)

DAUTIE D (Diamonds) + AU (gold) + TIE (shoe, American)

14 Foreign language new year number [is] “gold”, extremely slick (7)

NYNORSK N (new) + Y (year) + N (number) + OR (gold) + SK (first and last letters of SLICK)

16 Southern [m]asters moved to drop absolute force (6)

STRESS S + TRESS (anagram of ASTERS), less A (absolute)

18 Priest inside without us [p]rays (7)

SPINES [SPINETS] P (Priest) in SINE (without) + ‘S (us)

19 A good sho[r]t riot is seen in street (8)

SHOOTIST HOOT (riot) + IS, all inside ST (street)

22 B[o]unty perhaps I see in pursuit of commerce (6)

COMIC [COSMIC] COM (commerce) + I + C (see)

The girl’s comic Bunty was produced by DC Thomson but is no longer published

25 Free sla[v]e married somewhere in Oregon (6)

SALEM [SALEEM] SALE (anagram of SLA) + M (married)

29 Maybe beach wa[i]ter bitten by a Scot’s mongrel (8)

SEACOAST EA (water) inside SCOAST (anagram of A SCOTS)

31 [D]evils, scoundrels and base society (7)

CURSES [COURSES] CURS (scoundrels) + E (base) + S (society)

35 Morag’s act of postponing love [in] very loud place (6)

OFFPUT O _love) + FF (very loud) + PUT (place)

Morag indicating a Scottish word

36 Introduction sun[g] after independent melodic sequence (7)

ISAGOGE S (sun) after I (independent) + AGOGE (melodic sequence)

37 Drink shops belonging to eccentric [in] Sweden (6)

OFFIES OF (belonging to) + FIE (eccentric) + S (Sweden)

38 Mild oath precedes one South African man’s offensive [term] (6)

ODIOUS OD (Mild oath) + I (one) + OU’S (South African man’s)

39 Sickness? [It] worried the ultimate in fearless salts (8)

MALATES [MALEATES] MAL (Sickness) + ATE (worried) + S (last letter of FEARLESS)

40 Skin [tent] cover (4)

HIDE Two meanings

41 Lens [frame] is repaired by local expert in a faultless manner (9)

 SINLESSLY SINLES (anagram of LENS IS) + SLY (dialect word for “expert”)

Down

1 A second [b]an on air staff positions (6)

ASANAS A + S (second) + AN + AS (air staff)

2 Subdue American found in hill[y] Thailand (5)

DAUNT A (American) inside DUN (hill) + T (Thailand)

3 Shelter i[f] mobile explosive booms (7)

IMBOSOM I + M (mobile) + BOSOM (anagram of BOOMS)

4 Is returning rule[r] meeting the last of his knights? (5)

SIRS [SMIRS] SI (IS reversed) + R (rule) + S (last letter of HIS)

5 Million is stolen from Norm[a]’s coffers (5)

ARKS [ARAKS] M (Million) removed from MARK’S (norm’s)

6 Irishman and [me] involved with amateur film (7)

PATINA [PLATINA] PAT (Irishman) + IN (involved with) + A (amateur)

7 Nurse worried about new places in a repository [move] (6)

ENURNS ENURS (Anagram of NURSE) containing N (new)

8 Allow old [men] to remain formally qualified after retirement (7)

BETEEM [BETEEME] BE (to remain) + MEET (formal word for “qualified”), reversed

9 Port melting [tin] does scan regularly (6)

ODESSA ODES (Anagram of DOES) + SA (alternate letters of ScAn)

11 Threads line se[a]ts in Skye perhaps (8)

LISLES [LISTLESS] L (line) + ISLES (sets in an isle, such as Skye)

15 Vessels Sa[m] is keeping cold (5)

SAICS SA + IS containing C (cold)

17 Welsh fellow in court so[o]n frequents a place in Glasgow (8)

HOWFFS [SHOW-OFFS] W (Welsh) + F (fellow) inside HOF (court) + S (son)

20 Daughter abandons first principle learn[t] (3)

SEE D (daughter) removed from SEED (first principle)

21 Kings beginning to thank Scotland’s sav[i]ours (5)

TSARS T (First letter of THANK) + SARS (Scottish word for “savours”)

23 Copper following r[o]ad returned beaten (7)

CUFFED [SCUFFED] CU (Copper) + FF (following) + DEF (excellent, see rad[3]), reversed

24 Girls short of money pocketing the first of [n]umbered handouts (7)

ISSUES [ISSUERS] MISSES (irls) less M (money) containing U (first letter of UBERED)

26 One in German bank supporting fine [picture] galleries (7)

LOGGIAS I (one) inside G (German) + ÅS (bank) under LOG (fine)

27 Pop of[f] during special function (6)

SCOOSH O’ (of) inside S (special) + COSH (function)

28 Pl[i]ant yellow wood (6)

ORPINE OR (yellow) + PINE (wood)

30 Character, s[l]eek on the outside, having long locks (6)

TRESSY ESS (character) inside TRY (seek)

32 Female sloth perhaps, eating [m]ace (5)

SIAN [SICAN] SIN (sloth perhaps) containing A (ace)

33 Barrel chested [project] accountant partially backward (5)

CADE [CADEE] Hidden in chestED ACcountant, reversed

34 Old [or] obstinate climbing plants (5)

ROOTS STOOR (Old word for “obstinate”), reversed