Round Table Man by Banjaluka

Puzzle explanation

In clashing cells, the letters added together gave the letters of LARKIN and one blank cell. The extra letters in clues spelt out “ends of four verses; novel title”. The second part of that referred to the puzzle’s title being an anagram of An Arundel Tomb, a poem by Philip Larkin, and the first part indicated the last lines of some of its stanzas. The poem’s first stanza and the relevant last lines are:

Side by side, their faces blurred, The earl1 and countess2 lie in stone, Their proper habits vaguely shown As jointed armour, stiffened pleat, And that faint hint of the absurd — The little dogs3 under their feet. … His hand withdrawn, holding her hand4. … The Latin names5 around the base. … The endless altered people6 came, … What will survive of us is 7love.

The characters of 1THE EARL and 2COUNTESS were in the grid. Other thematic items from the last lines were indicated by extra words in clues as follows: 3“little dogs” = PEKE, PUG; 4“hand, hand” = HAND twice, joined together; 5“Latin names” = TITUS, NERO; “Lester, Fannie, Siegmund, Laetitia”, which were shortened and jumbled to represent 6“endless altered people”. The last letters of the extra-letter clues spelt “shade area bounded by theme red”, meaning the heart shape containing all the thematic material, as a symbol of the poem’s 7last line.

Clue explanations

Conventions: * = anagram, < = reversal

No Extra letter/word Answer Explanation
Across
1 little ETCH (gourm)ET CH(icken)
5 b(E)low BOUGHT UP (U + THUG *) in BOP
10   TOOMER MOOT < + E + R
12 (N)early LATHEE LATE around HE
13 (D)one FLUON FL + UN around O
14   ANADEM ANA + (Wizar)D + EM
16 dogs INKED IN + KED
17   MOIST MOST around I
18 In(S)ert NITER INERT *
19 R(O)e NARY (RE − E) in NAY
20 (F)east WEIL LIE < after W(urst)
21   PEER EE in PR
23 (F)ill GRILLAGE (ILL + AGE) after G(oalkicke)R
25   BASILICA (CABAL IS) * around I
28   MYNA MY + N + (Saratog)A
30 Ro(O)t ODSO O + SOD *
31 co(U)ld BRRR RR after BR(a)
32 pee(R) TULIP (TUI + P) around L(amb)
34 (V)indication GROPE ROPE after G(azebo)
35 unit(E) PUGIN P + I in GNU *
36 to(R)n DITTIT DIT DIT with T for D; ref. Morse code for I
37 hand SANKO SAN + KO
38 peri(S)cope TIN MAN (Defec)T IN MAN(ufacturer)
39 hand EREBUS (ERE + S) around BU
40 h(E)ard ASSESSOR ASSES + SOR(e)
41 (S)and EXIT XI in ET
Down
1   ENFANT ENTRANT with F for TR
2 (N)un COUNT UN in COT
3 her(O) HOOKER HER around (O + OK)
4   GONERIL GONER + I’ + L(ear)
5 outli(V)es BEND BD around EN
6 Latin ULNARIA U + L + (A + IRAN) <
7   GAMMY GRAMMY − R
8   THEREAT THE + REAT(a)
9 (E)go PESTLE PEE around (L after ST)
11 Go(L)d RADAR (RA + AR) around D
15   GOWL (W in LOG) <
22 names ESSOINS (tom)E + SO in SINS
23 (T)old GIRKINS RISKING *
24 cad(I)s LOTUSES (Judgemen)T in LOUSES
25 Lester BOGOTÁ (BOOT + A) around (Pig)G(ott)
26   COPT COP + T
27 be(T) CRETE CONCRETE − CON
28 Fannie MUGABE MUG + ABE
29 Siegmund APPORT AP + PORT
31 Laetitia BETAS BEAST with T moved up
33 p(L)c LINUX L(ets) + I’ + N + UX
35 Hum(E) PURR P(ooh-pooh) U(tilitarianism) R(ussell) R(esponded)
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