Listener Crossword 4499: Solution Notes
Silent Movie by Elfman
Puzzle explanation
The quotation was the joke “Strip away the phony tinsel of Hollywood and you’ll find the real tinsel underneath”. The extra words in down clues were “like title actors”, meaning “like Silent Movie actors”, so letters for the quotation were ones that were not pronounced in across clues (not always agreeing with Chambers).
The quotation is often attributed to Oscar Levant (1906-1972), an American pianist and TV and radio personality. However, a column by Hedda Hopper in the Los Angeles Times of 27 November 1947 credits it to Ed Gardner (1901-1963), a comic actor and writer. And from 1949 there are attributions to Henry Morgan (1915-1994), another American humorist.
Clue explanations
Conventions: * = anagram, < = reversal
| No | Silent letter/ extra word | Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Across | |||
| 1 | i(S)land | CROSSE | ROSS in (ICE − I) |
| 5 | lis(T)ening | PESHWA | homophone of PAY + SH + W + A |
| 12 | utte(R) | URAEUS | (U(tter) + USE *) around RA |
| 13 | Parl(I)ament | OOMPH | OOH around MP |
| 14 | cor(P)s | DEMERIT | DIT around REME < |
| 16 | enigmatic(A)lly | UTILE | UT + LIE * |
| 17 | t(W)o | LEBRUN | LE(g) + BRUN(t) |
| 21 | cle(A)ning | MOOP | MOP around O |
| 22 | Ke(Y) | EYNE | (K)EY NE(xt) |
| 23 | Chris(T)mas | MENU | (ha)M (goos)E (chicke)N (yo)U |
| 25 | ex(H)ibits | ERNO | (Sett)ER NO(w) |
| 28 | form(E)d | SCLERE | SERE around CL |
| 30 | recei(P)t | TOAST | TOT around AS |
| 31 | (H)eir | DUKEDOM | DUCK − C + MODE < |
| 32 | Cr(O)esus’ | ESTOP | E + POTS < |
| 33 | Condem(N)ed | SELLING POINT | (OPENING STILL) * |
| 34 | ma(Y) | LITTLE MAGAZINES | (ALL MINI GAZETTES) * |
| 35 | pe(O)ple | SERENE | (SEEN + (peopl)E) around R |
| 36 | hal(F)penny | RENEGE | ((gr)E(en) + ENERGY − (halfpenn)Y) * |
| Down | |||
| 1 | CAUDLE | CUD(d)LE around A | |
| 2 | OVAMBO | OBO around (V + AM) | |
| 3 | SHEER | SHELTER − LT | |
| 4 | ELSINORE | SIN in (E + LORE) | |
| 5 | like | PLAT | (ma)P LAT(tice) |
| 6 | LINE YOUR POCKETS | LINE + YOU + ROCKET around P + S | |
| 7 | SWOTTED | S + W + OTT + ED | |
| 8 | title | HOMILY | MI in HOLY |
| 9 | ADHERE | AD + HERE | |
| 10 | FREEZER | FREE + ZERO − O | |
| 15 | INSTRUMENT PANEL | IN + STRUM + WENT − W(aiting) + PLANE * | |
| 18 | CONSULAR | CONSUL(t) + AR | |
| 19 | actors | ENTROPY | (PORN + YET) * |
| 20 | FULSOME | FUME around LSO | |
| 23 | MOTETS | MOTS around ET | |
| 24 | NEATER | NEAT + ER | |
| 26 | WEDGIE | W(aterproof) + EDGE around I | |
| 27 | REMOVE | (EM + OVER) with R moved up | |
| 29 | LENIN | LINEN with E and I switched | |
| 31 | DOGE | DO + GE(n) | |