No. 4107, European Revolution by Spud. 2010-10-08

This was a complex and ambitious puzzle from Spud. The theme was indicated by unscrambling the corrected misprints in the Down clues, which gave Rubik’s Cube. Correct letters for Across clues spelled TURN STEEL-BLUE. The letters of steel-blue could be discerned in a 3 x 3 square in the grid. By giving this square a 90° turn the word could be read horizontally. Correct letters for Down clues gave AUBERGINE, which was the only element that was unchanged. Solvers now had to find the other four sides of this cube, looking for colours different from the traditional six. By moving four of the adjacent 3-letter ‘faces’, in a manner similar to manipulating a Rubik’s cube, it was possible to find CARNATION, CHOCOLATE, TANGERINE and NILE GREEN, which were to be highlighted appropriately.

Corrections to misprints are shown in []
 
Across
1 Dances freely among close family relations, senseless, and glows with inner fire (11)
INCANDESCES [tenseless] Anagram DANCES in INCEST less T (tense)
10 Heartless former AN chief goes back for dad’s mum (4)
NANA [UN] AN(n)AN reversed (ref. Kofi Annan)
11 An Italian desire is valiant (7)
UNALIKE [variant] UNA + LIKE
14 Seed derivative with a number over fifty (5)
APIOL A + PI + O (over) + L (50)
15 At one time the Virgil family found at city’s east end (5)
LAKIN [Virgin] LA (city) + KIN
16 Spender’s carriage shell has the middle cut out (4)
COCH [Spenser’s] CO(n)CH
19 Urged beefcakes occasionally to go for syringed instruments (7)
REBECKS [stringed] Even letters uRgEd BeEfCaKeS
21 Ad’s dingy and about too much (4)
COTT [Ed’s] C (about) + OTT (over the top)
26 Set to perceive a president’s residence (6)
ELYSEE [see] ELY + SEE
34 Cease poetically to read to Estonia, taking Eastern European direct route (7)
BEELINE E+ E in BLIN + E (Estonia)
37 Japanese fencing encloses tacking in satellite (5)
IAI-DO [backing] AID in IO
39 Daughter to dive for stew (5)
DAUBE [live] DAU + BE
41 Weapon covers special constable beginning to arrest someone doing a bank (7)
ESCAPEE [bunk] SC + A(rrest) in EPEE
43 Fraternised casually with change of hands developed by long practice (11)
SELF-TRAINED [lone] Anagram FRATERNISED changing R to L
 
Down
1 Errors in ill Northern Catholic clergymen’s offices (12)
INACCURACIES [all] I  + A (all) + N + C (Catholic) + CURACIES
2 Piper turned up for this game (3)
NAP PAN reversed
5 Before audits can be seen of the French jackets ... (6)
DUVETS DU (of the in French) + VETS
6 ... offer to trade with master, perhaps ignoring representative (4)
SALE [muster] SAMPLE less MP
7 Bird, losing time, flies north to roost in Scotland (3)
EIK [boost] KI(t)E reversed
8 Kiss mossy footwear (4)
SKIS [messy] Anagram KISS
9 You might find a nude painted here (very French) in century before advertisement (12, two words)
CENTRE SPREAD [printed] TRÈS in CEN + PRE (before) + AD
12 Napoleon’s good to turn up in France, the antique coin (5)
NOBLE BON reversed + LE (French words)
13 Left hole in one (unknown) of some delicate fabrics (5)
LACEY L + ACE + Y (unknown)
17 Chose leaderless US party over Kennedy, perhaps (5)
OPTED (h)OP + TED (ref. Ted Kennedy)
18 Do without sun: dangerous! (3)
HOT (s)HOT less S (sun)
28 Defra gets lovely woman who means peace (5)
FREDA Anagram DEFRA
29 Arch foe’s heart is set on yielding (5)
OGIVE (f)O(e) + GIVE
30 “This” is missing second letter! (6)
LENDER [thin] (S)LENDER less S (second)
31 Where Tiger starts? (3)
TEE 2 definitions; &lit.
34 Guitar moan is heard (4)
BASS [mean] Homophone BASE
38 Gangster’s to kill grass — it’s not right (3)
ICE RICE less R (right)
 
Scrambled
22 Again enlighten queen about smuggler returning (6)
RELUME MULE in ER all reversed
25 Reproaches coming from theology’s original female sin (6)
TAUNTS [kin] T(heology) + AUNTS (female kin)
27 Hat, keen from the back, embellished, as Stella rode forward (6)
FEDORA [seen]  Hidden reversed
30 Note (tenuto) coming before soprano makes delay (6)
LATENS LA (note) + TEN (tenuto) + S (soprano)
32 Thirty-three is found in AD? Yes! (6)
AGREED GREE (33 across) in AD
33 It doesn’t matter which half of African charm you take for local prize! (4)
GREE GREE-(GREE)
36 Local dutch is found in rare England! (4)
REEN [ditch] Hidden Hidden
42 In the beginnings of another gripe, about shifting sand tanks (4)
AREG [banks] RE in A(nother) G(ripe)
3 Roles for ending changes according to study in diamonds (9)
ACCIDENCE [rules] ACC + DEN in ICE
4 Imprison Capons, for example, in the middle (8)
INTERNAL [Capone] INTERN + AL
20 Winchester and jolt, maybe, makes rung bent (9)
GUNMAKERS [Colt] Anagram MAKES RUNG
23 A wild ox, once old, went first encircled by a clown (8)
LAURELED [crown] LA + URE + LED
24 Poet’s run round each notable neighbour’s establishment initially (5)
RENNE 1st letters Round Each Notable Neighbour Establishment
35 Short sport leads to quiet fiasco! (4)
FLOP [spurt] FLO(w) + P (quiet)
40 Ask for money: million, for example! (3)
BEG [billion] B + EG