A circular grid this week, as befits the theme.
Last week Milton’s Paradise Lost, this week Dante’s Inferno – a feast of religious epics … or just plain hell? Actually, both tuned out to be relatively straightforward and enjoyable solves, so thanks to Eumolpus (founder, I’m told, of the Eleusinian mysteries) and Fieldfare.
The rubric tells us: Seven circles appear in the circuit next to the outer one. Their place is shown in the innermost one (6,4). Radial lights, all (6) except where indicated, read from rim to centre or vice versa, 20 of each.
The seven circles are seven of the nine circles described in DANTE’S HELL, shown in the innermost circle. They are, starting from 40: LIMBO, LUST, AVARICE, HERESY, FRAUD, ANGER and VIOLENCE.
Solving was greatly helped by the build-up of joint letters, once one worked out whether one was dealing with the beginning or end of the adjacent word. The completed grid looks like this:
Radial clues (outwards in red, inwards in blue)
1 Split sounded improvised
RIFFED
Homonym (sounded) of RIFT (split)
2 Slag off brilliant soul
DEFAME
DEF (short for definitely – or “brilliant!”) + AME (soul)
3 Half-hearted singing group: they’d regularly subsided
ABATED
ABA (Abba -singing group – half-hearted) + alternate letters (regularly) of ThEy’D
4 Carried back once in the way (2,4)
DE TROP
PORTED (carried) reversed (back)
5 In old bits of India, Latin records
ANNALS
L (Latin) in ANNAS (former coinage of India, remembered from stamp collecting as a boy …
6 Proper names given by a Guardian woman
DUENNA
DUE (proper) + NN (names) + A
7 With extraordinary perception, notice a matador
ESPADA
ESP (extraordinary perception) + AD (notice) + A
8 A detective accepts suitable changes
ADAPTS
A DS (detective sergeant) outside (accepts) APT (suitable)
9 Managed to keep a completely dry palm
RATTAN
RAN (managed) outside (to keep) A TT (teetotaller – completely dry)
10 Time to open immature oyster
NATIVE
T (time) inside (to open) NAIVE (immature). A native is a word for oyster, according to Chambers
11 Keep desiring to be lascivious
WANTON
WANT ON (keep desiring)
12 I certify contracts using new seal
NOTARY
N (new) + OTARY – a seal
13 Connected match with loud noise (4,2)
TIED IN
TIE (match) + DIN (loud noise)
14 Wrongly recite a monastic service
TIERCE
Anagram (wrongly) of RECITE
15 Counter, and one working at it?
TELLER
Double definition: one who tells (recounts) and one who gives out money over a counter
16 Fit into court house
CHALET
HALE (fit) inside CT (court)
17 Not agree to fix blown circuit?
REFUSE
RE-FUSE (fix blown circuit)
18 A number of arguments heard to get excited
AROUSE
A + ROUSE – homonym (heard) of ROWS (arguments)
19 Ply rector, say, with beer
REGALE
R (rector) + EG (say) + ALE (beer)
20 Snake at end of the pass
ELAPSE
LAPSE – Chambers has this as an archaic word for gliding (or snake) after E (end of thE)
21 Local rules close city walls: everybody out!
BYLAWS
BY (close) + LA (city) + WS (walls without all). Def: more usually spelt bye-laws
22 Son battles round France and faints
SWARFS
S (son) + WARS (battles) around F (France). Def: Scottish word for fainting
23 Summary not quite accurate
PRECIS
PRECISE without last letter (not quite)
24 Almost car-sick travelling? Once, certainly
SICCAR
Anagram or reversal (travelling) of CARSIC (car-sick, almost). Def: old word for sicker
25 Play on words is hard to beat perhaps
PUNISH
PUN (play on words + IS + H (hard)
26 Left out of ancient vessel, rather strange
ODDISH
OLD DISH (ancient vessel) without L (left)
27 Indian worker and wife meeting God
WALLAH
W (wife) + (meeting) ALLAH (God)
28 Pulling hard and stopping taxi, say
HALING
Homonym (say) of HAILING (stopping taxi)
29 Pass over cultivated region
IGNORE
Anagram (cultivated) of REGION
30 Worn down having travelled through the heart of Sweden
ERODED
RODE (travelled) inside (through) ED (the heart of Sweden)
31 Call for more dash and heart
ENCORE
EN (dash, in printing) + CORE (heart)
32 Hide in enclosure and be well
ENCAVE
ENC (enclosure) + AVE (Latin greeting = be well)
33 Greek character breaking light turning to melt away
DISPEL
PSI (Greek character) inside (breaking) LED (light) all reversed (turning)
34 Tiny thing kept snoozing, dropping head
LEPTON
sLEPT ON (kept snoozing) without S (dropping head)
35 Article well-balanced in several papers (1-5)
A-LEVEL
A (article) + LEVEL (well-balanced)
36 Imposed feud occasionally on Biblical tribe
LEVIED
E + D (alternate letters – occasionally – of feud) after (on) LEVI (Biblical tribe)
37 Concealed the Anglo French camp?
LATENT
LA TENT – how one might say “the camp” in Anglo French
38 Partially replace talc with this compound
ACETAL
Hidden (partially) in replACE TALc
39 Stock of food here might be bigger, if good for daughter
LARDER
Would be LARGER if G (good) replaced D (daughter)
40 All for changing such a tribute
FLORAL
Anagram (changing) of ALL FOR