Listener Crossword 4565: Solution Notes
Folio by Nebuchadnezzar
Puzzle explanation
The poem by E. E. Cummings (often styled as “e e cummings”) was:
l(a le af fa ll s) one l iness
In the first column, changing DUET to TUDE produced SOLITUDE, including the first letters of the poem’s last four lines. Incorporating the brackets, as the poem does, the letters omitted from wordplay could be read as “l(case)ower”, ie, an arrangement of “lower case”, in the style of much of Cummings’s work. The connected letters depicted a falling leaf, for which various forms were accepted, such as:
Clue explanations
Conventions: * = anagram, < = reversal
| No | Answer (unclued letter) | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | (L)LAFRANC | RAN in (LA + FC) |
| 2 | BRACKETED | BRACKE(n) + TED |
| 3 | ACCITE | ACE around (I in CT) |
| 3 | ADELA | LED * in A(meric)A |
| 4 | AS LEVEL | LEVEL after AS |
| 5 | SACCADE | SAC(k) + CADE |
| 6 | PELLET | (TELL + EP) < |
| 6 | PELMA | (a)PEMA(n) around L(emon) |
| 7 | ALE | ALEC − C |
| 8 | AMANIT(A)S | AM + A + NIT + S |
| 9 | RANSOM | SON(g) * in MAR(ley) < |
| 10 | COSING | CO-SING |
| 11 | SILENI | ((w)INE LIS(t)) < |
| 12 | IT(A)LIC | LICIT with letters cycled |
| 13 | FAR(C)E | FARE |
| 14 | ALOE | (t)A(l)L (w)O(m)E(n) |
| 15 | ROLLS | 2 meanings |
| 16 | (S)C(E)NA | CAN * or ANC * or NCA * |
| 17 | S(E)CT | SCRIPT − RIP |
| 18 | AS(S)ET | A + SET |
| 19 | EUGENOL | EUGE + NO + L(eak) |
| 20 | TROUSER | T(oaste)R around ROUSE |
| 21 | SONG | STING with ON for TIN |
| 22 | BRACKET FUNGUS | B + RACKET + FUNG + US |
| 23 | LAGGEN | LAG + GEN |
| 24 | ODIOUS | (incomm)ODIOUS |
| 25 | BURNING | URN in BING(e) |
| 26 | AESC | (C + SEA) < |
| 27 | AGGR(O) | A + G + GR |
| 28 | DIOTA | portmanteau of DELTA and IOTA |
| 29 | GLID | (gettin)G + LID |
| 30 | POUL(E)NC | (C(al)L + UPON) * |
| 30 | PURSE | ((accessori)ES RUP(aul)) < |
| 31 | INTAL | IN + TAL(l) |
| 31 | INTERIM | MINISTER * − S |
| 32 | CROC | (s)CORC(h) < |
| 33 | IN ESSE | IN ESSE(x) |
| 34 | NORTHING | R in NOTHING |
| 35 | FO(R)HOOIE | FO + HOODIE − D |
| 36 | OFLAGS | OF + LAGS |
| 37 | DOUCHE | (D + BOUCHE) − B |
| 38 | ORCH(E)L | (t)ORCH-L(ily) |
| 39 | (W)HIN | H + IN |
| 40 | EULER | RULE * around E |
| 41 | STEL(E) | STELLATE − LATE |
| 42 | EUOI | (IOU + E) < |
| 43 | O(R)DURE | UR in ODE |
| 44 | CORDON | DON after COR |
| 45 | RUE | EUR < |
| 46 | CRUET | CRU + ET |
| 47 | D(R)ESS | DESS(erts) |
| 48 | (R)ES | S(iouxsi)E < |
| 49 | GUM | 2 meanings |
| 50 | EMU | EMULATE − LATE |