While solving this puzzle, I learnt that it was a reprint of Spectator Crossword 2702
The puzzle was new to me, so I solved it anyway. The preamble published with 2765 simply said the unclued lights were of a kind.
I struggled with the unclued lights until I also learnt that the preamble for 2702 said that “Nine unclued lights form three triplets, each related in a different way to the tenth.”
This additional information helped me deduce the unclued lights.
There are three groups of unclued lights, each linked, in a different way, to the tenth one WELLINGTON at 38 across. WELLINGTON can be thought of as a town in New Zealand, a World War 2 bomber and a boot.
The three groups are:
12a DUNEDIN, 1d HAMILTON, 31d NELSON, which are all towns in New Zealand;
4a LANCASTER, 13d HALIFAX and 20d LINCOLN, all World War 2 bombers; and
11a MUKLUK, 27a CHELSEA and 32d DENVER, which are all forms of boot. A DENVER boot is a wheel-clamp.
In the clues, I am not convinced that ‘LIKE‘ used in the wordplay for 4 down is the same as ‘prefer’ I can like A and B, but prefer B. I relate ‘prefer’ to ‘like better’ rather than just ‘like’. However, I note that Bradford’s Crossword Solver’s Dictionary does give ‘prefer’ as a valid synonym for ‘like’
I enjoyed the quirky definitions such as ‘Dancer for one’ referring to a REINDEER, OVICIDE defined as lamb chop, and the ‘army’ part of an arm defining wrists for CAPRI.
| No | Detail |
| Across | |
| 1 | Cartoonist has formerly captivated Spain (5)
HEATH (reference Michael HEATH [born 1935], cartoon editor of the Spectator since 1991) HATH (old [formerly] word for ‘has’) containing (captivated) E (International Vehicle Registration for Spain) H (E) ATH |
| 5 | LANCASTER |
| 10 | Swayed and quit, sick in the stomach (10)
VACILLATED (swayed) VACATED (quit) containing (in the stomach) ILL (sick) VAC (ILL) ATED |
| 11 | MUKLUK |
| 12 | DUNEDIN |
| 14 | Handles fine fish (5)
FEELS (handles) F (fine) + EELS (fish) F EELS |
| 15 | Have a few days at skate park (5)
DRINK (have a few beers, for example) D (days) + RINK (skate park) D RINK |
| 16 | As support, use skinny leg (4,2)
LEAN ON (use as support) LEAN (without fat; skinny) + ON (another name for the leg side in cricket) LEAN ON |
| 20 | Dancer for one popular in scarlet always (8)
REINDEER (Dancer is one of Santa Claus’s REINDEER) (IN [popular] contained in [in] RED [scarlet is a shade of RED]) + E’ER (ever; always) RE (IN) D EER |
| 21 | A lamb chop? (7)
OVICIDE (sheep-killing) OVICIDE (giving a sheep or lamb the chop [killing it]) – overall the whole clue is a cryptic definition. OVICIDE |
| 22 | Former army head smokes (4)
CIGS (CIGaretteS; smokes) CIGS (Chief of the Imperial General Staff; former army head) double definition CIGS |
| 25 | Coal say in chimney left to the end (4)
FUEL (coal is an example of a fuel) FLUE (chimney) with the letter L (left) moved to the end (to the end) to form FUEL FUEL |
| 27 | CHELSEA |
| 29 | Manage what deli may supply (4,4)
DEAL WITH (manage) Anagram of (may supply) WHAT DELI DEAL WITH* |
| 33 | Sea having a unifying motif (6)
THEMED (having a unifying motif) THE MED (The MEDiterranean is a sea) THE MED |
| 34 | Teenager cleaned out in pathetic fiddle (5)
STRAD (Stradivarius violin; fiddle) TR (letters remaining in TeenageR when the central letters eenage are removed [cleaned out]) contained in (in) SAD (pathetic) S (TR) AD |
| 35 | Transport apparently good army sections (5)
CARPI (wrists) CARPI (parts [sections] of the arm; ‘army’ sections) CARPI |
| 36 | May shortly point out a high platform (7)
MAINTOP (a platform on top of the lower mainmast; high platform) MAy excluding the final letter (shortly) + an anagram of (out) POINT MA INTOP* |
| 37 | A case in Finland progressively diminished (6)
ESSIVE (The Finnish ESSIVE case is a grammatical case that expresses a temporary role, a state of being, or a specific time, and is formed by adding the suffix -na or -nä) ESSIVE (hidden word in [diminished {part of}] progrESSIVEly) ESSIVE |
| 38 | WELLINGTON |
| 39 | Symbolic ribbons with shore-bird fancier’s motto? (4-5)
LOVE-KNOTS (intricate KNOTS used as tokens of love; symbolic ribbons) A KNOT is a small shore bird, so a KNOT‘s fancier’s [lover’s] motto could be I LOVE KNOTS LOVE–KNOTS |
| 40 | Inhale drug, setting note in type (5)
SNORT (inhale a powdered drug) SORT (type) containing (setting … in) N (note) S (N) ORT |
| Down | |
| 1 | HAMILTON |
| 2 | Escaped, not at first deceived (6)
ELUDED (escaped in a clever or cunning way) dELUDED (deceived) excluding the initial letter (not at first) D ELUDED |
| 3 | Skill in story books (6)
TALENT (skill) TALE (story) + NT (New Testament of the Bible; books) TALE NT |
| 4 | Having made comparison, prefer Edward (7)
LIKENED (having made a comparison) LIKE (prefer) + NED (one of the short forms of Edward) LIKE NED |
| 5 | One singing about bird on lake? Not so fast! (10)
ALLEGRETTO (somewhat brisk, but not as fast as allegro; not so fast) ALTO (person with a counter-tenor voice; singer) containing (about) (L [lake] + EGRET [bird]) AL (L EGRET) TO |
| 6 | Cutting one cactus into bits (7)
CAUSTIC (of remarks, cutting) Anagram of (into bits) I (Roman numeral for one) and CACTUS CAUSTIC* |
| 7 | Go mad as result of committing serious foul? (3,3)
SEE RED (grow furious; go mad) SEE RED (if you commit a serious foul in some sports, you are likely to SEE a RED card brandished in your direction) double definition SEE RED |
| 8 | Greek goddesses in Ireland? It is so (7)
ERINYES (the Greek Goddesses of vengeance) ERIN (poetic name for Ireland) + YES (a word that affirms it is so) ERIN YES |
| 9 | Resentment heard from private soldier (6)
RANKER (soldier in the ranks; private soldier) RANKER (sounds like [heard] RANCOUR malicious resentment) RANKER |
| 13 | HALIFAX |
| 15 | Man ran out of adrenalin, collapsing (6)
DANIEL (man’s name) Anagram of (collapsing) aDrEnALIN excluding (out of) the letters in RAN DANIEL* |
| 17 | Live by a church, the principal side facing the sea (5-5)
BEACH FRONT (situated overlooking the beach; facing the sea) BE (exist; live) + A + CH + FRONT (the prominent or principal side of a building) BE A CH FRONT |
| 18 | In worst cases a failure to turn up after exercise (7)
PESSIMA (the points at which any conditions are least favourable; in worst cases) PE (Physical education; exercise]) (A + MISS [failure]) reversed (to turn up; down entry) PE (SSIM A)< |
| 19 | Watched short film about sheep (6)
VIEWED (watched) VID (short for of VIDeo [film]; short film]) containing (about) EWE (female sheep) VI (EWE) D |
| 23 | Sharp change of direction for extreme socialist (4,4)
HARD LEFT (the extremes of political thought, allegiance, etc, favouring the left (socialist); extreme socialist) HARD LEFT (a direction to a driver to make a sharp change of direction to the left) double definition HARD LEFT |
| 24 | Beaten up, gets a workover, from them? (7)
GESTAPO (a secret police organisation that might dish out a beating or workover) Anagram of (beaten up) GETS A + OP (OPus; work-) reversed (-over) GESTA* PO< |
| 26 | LINCOLN |
| 28 | A wicket falling, what fixes where bowlers may rest (7)
HATPEGS (a place where bowler hats may be stored) wHAT excluding (falling) W (what) + PEGS (fastens; fixes) HAT PEGS |
| 29 | Gloomy doctrine boy is about to accept (6)
DISMAL (gloomy) LAD (boy) reversed (is about) containing (to accept) ISM (any distinctive doctrine, theory or practice) D (ISM) AL< |
| 30 | Behold a born debtor (6)
LOANEE (someone who has received money that he/she has to pay and is consequently in debt; debtor) LO (behold) + A + NÉE (of a woman [born, used in stating a woman’s maiden name) LO A NEE |
| 31 | NELSON |
| 32 | DENVER |