Enigmatic Variations 1759 (Hints)
CHORUS LINE by GASTON
Hints and tips by Gabriel / Jpeg
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The theme of Gaston’s puzzle makes us think of Broadway, but that is not one of our strong suits. The clues are standard, except for the three wordplay-only ones. That should make for straightforward solving but it means we do not have some kind of message to explain the theme or help with the grid. And there are many unchecked letters in the perimeter…
Preamble: Six thematic names fill the perimeter of the grid; four are second names, one a first name, and one a nickname. Three clues consisting only of wordplay give the same answer, but this is not to be entered in the grid; instead, solvers must enter the CHORUS LINE, enumeration referring to the new entry length. Solvers must highlight 11 contiguous cells, thus revealing the theme. Unchecked letters in the perimeter might give CUT ARCTIC DOCKYARD JOB. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.
I haven’t mentioned Gemini yet. Because it was useless. Obviously, the three wordplay-only clues are going to be significant. Solving one of them correctly will presumably allow us to solve the other two.
Clues
Across
11 Approve dodgy 34 (4)
Solve this with its companion 34d.
21 Leave island town with sign of damp (7, 2 words)
A straightforward charade of three parts – it helps to know British geography (especially of an island in the Channel) for the second item which is then followed by a single-letter abbreviation. I was unfamiliar with the answer and needed to consult our big red friend.
25 Bashir supplies this by-product on cycle (7)
Bashir is a fairly common name in the middle-east and I cycled through a few familiar politicians. Of course, as everyone except me knows, he’s actually a cricketer.
35 Several mistakenly taking it back (7)
You’ll notice nothing underlined. A jumble containing the reversal of the two-letter word yielding a nine-letter answer that isn’t the entry. This answer will be repeated in two other wordplay-only clues.
37 Sharpening of tone when bishop enters school abroad (6)
This musical term can be formed from embedding an abbreviation in a foreign word. Remember that Gaston is partial to French!
Down
1 Score doubled in team game (6)
Yes, cricket (a version thereof) again. As everyone except me knows. Actually Gemini did manage to help me here with its sporting knowledge.
23 Second PM and the French creating unpleasant issue (7)
Straightforward three-part charade again – this time the second element is a four-letter British 18C PM.
30 Chaps skipping Easter once (5)
This basically proves that Passover (Pesah) are one and the same.
32 Understood “secret” group losing heart (4)
Note that the definition is past tense. Remove a letter from a certain band of detectives (that I voraciously read about when I was seven).
34 11’s dodgy reputation (4)
Solve this with its companion 11a.
Definitions are underlined.
As expected, the clues were not bad except for the three wordplay-only ones. Their significance wasn’t apparent until we had cracked the perimeter. This took some time but once the nickname emerged, we discovered the theme.
I was helped by prior knowledge due to my having attended a pretentious anglophile American school that prided itself on annually producing a “musical” by this pair. You’ll need to highlight the name of this particular opus which appears appropriately in the grid. And it turns out the 3rd word in the “unchecked” phrase is a bit of a hint.
Difficulty 2/5
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I gave up on the last 2 EVs. They would have taken too much of my time to finish them, so it was nice to have one that took just a couple of hours. It all fell into place with the unchecked letters hint. Still needed a bit of wiki-ing for the names. Nice logical clueing.
Thx to Gaston and Gabriel/Jpeg
I’m with Steve, but somehow found the time. Thank heavens this didn’t need so much. Nice clues and an endgame which could be found relatively easily using the 3 trick clues. Fortunately Mrs H is an aficionado of this sort of thing and could reel off the perimeter. I guess the shape of the highlighting is part of the theme, which is neat.
Thanks to Gaston and Gabriel.
Enjoyed that! And last week’s too. I’ve finished the endgame and instructions but am bamboozled by 28d and 36a. I can’t make this word crossroad work.
Very many thanks to Gabriel / Jpeg and Gaston. 👌
The devil’s son is from a film and 28 is in BRB. Not a run of the mill word
Based on the previous 2 weeks I think I was overthinking some of the clues. NE corner was horribly blank and then I had a go at the perimeter spotted the long name running along the bottom then the one before her and the rest all fell nicely into place. My mother used to play a cassette of this in a borrowed land rover in the 70s, when we used to make forays into the wadis from a very undeveloped Dubai. So it’s ingrained in my head. Love it. Thanks to all!