Wild Goose Chase by Tea Leaves

Puzzle explanation

The extra answers in clue order were nankeen, cedar, crane, pawpaw, carafe, chenar, basset, demoiselle, ewer, écarté, retort, rook, backgammon, wattle, myrtle, euchre, bridge, brown, snipe, swallow, plover, tanghin, yellow, storax, ash-can, egret, haglet, gourd, green, emerald, elanet, mauve, carton, osprey, russet, lotto, vessel, and chess. These formed four groups of seven (colours, containers, games and trees) and one of ten (birds). A message “new answer at thirty-three across” was to be found from the four groups of seven by taking the first, second, third, fourth, fourth, third, second, first repeatedly. The ten birds thus all flew to the positions symmetrically opposite to their numbers, to complete the final grid in which all the entries were real words. In clue order the original answers changed in the grid were ghastly, set up, lashes, door, dory, pentastyle, diglot, Gallic, chant, Sadie, adheres, gealed, tamest, lapses, tonic, planet, hedges, opium, stogie, starch, yachts and egged. The title suggests the shape of a skein of geese in flight and hence the method for concealing the above message.

Clue explanations

Conventions: * = anagram, < = reversal

No First word Answer Explanation
Across
1a   GHASTLY (HASTILY – I) after (escapin)G
1b grandmother NANKEEN NAN + KEEN
5a   CEDAR Hidden
5b television SETUP SET + UP
8a   CRANE C + RAN + E
8b metal ERBIA (S)ERBIA
10a   PAWPAW (PA + W) twice
10b dwarf STROLL TROLL after S
12a   IMPIES IMP(l)IES
12b worry CARAFE CARE about (A + F)
13a   LASHES Hidden
13b plane CHENAR NEAR * after CH
14a   RESIGN SINGER *
14b wild BASSET BEASTS *
15a   LIP SERVICE LIP + SER + VICE
15b show DEMOISELLE DEMO + GISELLE – G(ravity)
16a   EWER Hidden
16b entrance DOUR D + O + OR
17a   PEARST PETRA’S *
17b extended ÉCARTÉ Hidden
19a   HONEST HONES + T’
19b riposte RETORT RE + TORT
24a   DORY (Y + ROD) <
24b shark ROOK Hidden
27a   PENTASTYLE PEN + TASTY + L(etter) + E
27b support BACKGAMMON BACK + GAM + MON
29a   WATTLE WAT + LET *
29b bilingual GIGLOT D + (g)IGLOT
30a   GALLIC GALL + I + C
30b girl’s MYRTLE MY + RE about (bu)TL(er)
31a   EUCHRE First letters
31b ill-bred IGNARO ON A RIG *
32a   BRIDGE (B + E) about GRID *
32b causing EMETIC (CITE + ME (setter)) <
33a   BROWN B + R + OWN
33b sing CHANT Hidden
34a   SNIPE SNIP + E
34b that SADIE IE after SAD; Sadie is a variant of Sarah, Hebrew for “princess”
35a   ADHERES AD + HERES(y)
35b agrees SWALLOW S + WALLOW
Down
1a   GEALED GE + ALED
1b dupe PLOVER P + LOVER (Shakespearean)
2a   TANGHIN TANG + H + IN
2b from ABUSION AB + US + I’ + ON
3a   YELLOW LEY < + LOW
3b most TAMEST MES (see Mass) in TAT
4a   STORAX S(cience) + TO + RAX
4b drops LAPSES LAPS + (pur)E + (bras)S
5a   STEEVE Homophone ((Sir) STEVE (Redgrave))
5b refuse ASHCAN A + SH + CAN
6a   EGRET EG + RET; see aigrette
6b do TONIC NOT < + I’ + C; musical note “do”
7a   HAGLET HAG + LET
7b scheme PLANET PLAN + E(legan)T
9a   REALO RE + A’ + LO
9b fruit GOURD (GROUND – N) *
11a   GREEN Two definitions
11b boxes LOGES LOG + ES (Einsteinium)
18a   EMERALD LED ME * about RA
18b to ROLLBAR ROAR about LLB
19a   ELANET E-LA + NET
19b sits HEDGES H + EDGES
20a   MAUVE First letters
20b drug OPIUM (f)O(r) + PIÙ + M
21a   STOGIE EGOIST *
21b packet CARTON CON about ART
22a   ASGARD AS + DRAG <
22b large OSPREY OS + PREY
23a   STARCH CHARTS *
23b dress RUSSET SET after (RU + S(upremo))
25a   LOTTO L + O’ + T + TO
25b old REIGN FOREIGN – FO
26a   YACHTS CHATS * after Y
26b back VESSEL Hidden reversed
28a   CHESS CHE + SS
28b encouraged EGGED EGG HEAD – HA (separated as H and A)
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