Good stuff from Schadenfreude. Educational too! I spotted BARTHOLOMEW and hence the theme for the “complete set” early which made it fairly simple to fill in the most of the lights. The exception was 19D which I didn’t solve until I found out who the “loser” was. The rest of the puzzle was pretty tricky. It made me read the Bible carefully, and not many things cause that nowadays!
The eleven unclued answers were the twelve Apostles as listed in ACTS CHAPTER ONE which was the phrase spelled out by the misprinted letters in the across answers. JAMES does “double duty”, standing for both James the son of Zebidee (brother of John) and James the son of Alphaeus (the Less or the Just). Judas Iscariot is only referred to as Judas in Acts 1, but as Iscariot (“an alternative name”) in the crossword.
Across, L to R, Top to Bottom:
JAMES, ISCARIOT, PHILIP, THOMAS, MATTHEW, PETER, ANDREW, THADDEUS and SIMON
Down:
JOHN and BARTHOLOMEW
In Acts, Chapter 1, Verses 23-26, there is a LOTTERY between two men, MATTHIAS and Joseph, aka BARSABAS, to see who should take the place of Judas. MATTHIAS is the winner, so replaces ISCARIOT as the top right unclued light, and BARSABAS, the loser, is to be highlighted starting at square 19 and reading down.
Finally, after the substitution, the down clues are all real words, indicated in italics in the explanations below.
Fiendishly clever!!
In the Across explanations below the grid entry is given, with the “correct” letter in square brackets.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 9 | BC[A]OBAB = gigantic tree, BOA in B(lack) AB all reversed. |
| 11 | HIT[C]K – double meaning |
| 12 | NACARAR[T] = orangey red, [A CART AN]* |
| 13 | SLEDE[S] = vehicles without wheels, LED in SS |
| 14 | ETHNIM[C] = concerning races, [IN THE]* (Irish is the anagram indicator!!) + C(ollege) |
| 16 | TR[H]READS = informal clothes, [RED HATS]* |
| 17 | MO[A]FIA = criminal gang, letter by letter: M(oney) A(ccepted) F(ellow) I(n) A |
| 19 | B[P]URPLE = cardinal’s robe, PUR (the jack in “post and pair”) + L(eft) in PE(ru) |
| 21 | S[T]HROATS = voices, [THAT ROSE – E(cho)]* |
| 24 | STRU[E]TTO = part of a fugue, [OPERETTIST – PIE]* |
| 26 | SARTN[R]E = French philosopher, (i)S + A(bsolute) +RT + RE (on) |
| 28 | MI[O]IRA Shearer, MO + I(nternational) + RA |
| 32 | UR[N]CO = strange, U(niform) + NCO |
| 33 | DS[E]WANI = prime minister, [EDWINA]* |
| Down | |
| 1 | AVIATOR = P(ilot) O(fficer), A(ccepted) + VIATOR (traveller) |
| 2 | MATCH – double meaning |
| 3 | SCORIA = piece of lava, C + OR + I in S(ex) A(ppeal) (“it”) |
| 4 | IOWA = state, I(sle) O(f) W(ight) + A(ustralia) – MOWA |
| 5 | CAPER = crime, C(aught) + A(nte – before) + PER (a) – TAPER |
| 7 | RAILERS = they make fun of, MAILERS are cottars – R(un) for M(iles) – HAILERS |
| 8 | OVID = classic poet, DIV (spirit) + O(f) reversed – AVID |
| 10 | TYPES = marks, T(ime) + P(ositive) in YES – SYPES |
| 14 | FLEAPIT = shabby bulding, LEAP (sa[u]lt) in FIT |
| 15 | EMIT = issue, TIME magazine reversed |
| 18 | FLORIDA = state, F(euda)L + OR + IDA (sacred mountain) |
| 19 | BARS – double meaning |
| 20 | EIRE = republic, IE reversed + RE(d) |
| 21 | SMURRED = did drizzle, S(top) + [RED RUM]* |
| 22 | SENECIO = plant, S(un) + [ONE ICE]* |
| 23 | PATENS = communion plates, PA + TENS (honours in some card games) |
| 24 | SMART = technologically advanced, TRAMS reversed |
| 25 | TAWSE = a punishment, TA + W(ife’)S + E(xperience) |
| 27 | THRUM = hum monotonously, THRU (a ghastly commercial spelling of through) + M(ass) |
| 29 | INCH = an island, IN + CH (Switzerland) |
| 30 | ABAS = striped garments, French À BAS means down |
| 31 | WORN = displayed, W(ith) + OR (yellow) + N(umber) |
Great fun — nice to see someone other than myself tackling a biblical theme (hey, keep off ….!).
In the Bible I checked, Acts 1.13 lists “Peter, James, John, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James, Simon, and Judas” – where’s Thaddeus?
Not many will argue with the Holy Ghost about the Bible…