Listener Crossword 4651: Solution Notes
That’s Your Lot! by Ploy
Puzzle explanation
The extra letters and word (shriek = exclamation mark) in the down clues gave “Yeah, that’s entropy, man!”, from the Flanders & Swann song First and Second Law, which is about thermodynamics. The successive grid changes illustrated its lyrics: “heat is work, and work is heat” (HEAT in the bottom row was exchanged with WORK in column 4); “the hotter body’s heat will pass to the cooler” (HEAT was moved from column 4, beside HOTTER, to column 9, beside COOLER); and “there’ll be no more work, and there’ll be perfect peace” (WORK in the bottom row was replaced by PERFECT PEACE). “Lot” in the title used the initials of Laws of Thermodynamics.
Clue explanations
Conventions: * = anagram, < = reversal
| No | Extra letter/ |
Answer | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Across | |||
| 1 | STEELY | SLY around TEE | |
| 5 | SCALAE | (EA + LAC + ’S) < | |
| 10 | FREDAINE | FAINT-HEARTED * − THAT * | |
| 13 | REHASH | HER < around HAS | |
| 15 | STACTE | homophone of (STACK + TEA) | |
| 17 | DOWS | DO + W(aldorf) S(alad) | |
| 18 | SLOE | SOLE with O moved later | |
| 19 | MAT | M + AT | |
| 20 | OGRESS | PROGRESS − PR | |
| 23 | OPT | OP + T | |
| 24 | ANTRE | ANE around (T’ + R) | |
| 25 | TILER | (LET RI(p)) * | |
| 26 | KASSEL | K + A + LESS < | |
| 27 | BARON | BANGOR * − G | |
| 29 | THRUM | (H + RUM) after (ca)T | |
| 31 | UNEMPLOYABLE | (ELBA + MENU) < around PLOY | |
| 32 | TAMANDUA | (UNDRAMATICALLY − L) * − CYRIL * | |
| 35 | IRONER | NORI < + E(nrich) + R | |
| 37 | COTTAR | COTTA + R | |
| 39 | NERINE | (Garde)NER IN E(psom) | |
| 40 | DREARY | DREAMY with R for M | |
| Down | |||
| 1 | blood(Y) | SERUM ALBUMIN | SEBUM around RUMAL + IN |
| 2 | h(E)ad | THÉ DANSANT | (TENANTS HAD) * |
| 3 | (A)temporal | ERA | 2 meanings; ref. baseball stat |
| 4 | (H)osier | LESS | LOESS − O(sier) |
| 6 | L(T)A | CITS | STIC(k) < |
| 7 | Mars(H) | ANA | (c)ANA(l) |
| 8 | p(A)lace | ANTEPENULT | (LET AUNT PEN) * |
| 9 | go(T) | ELECTROMETRY | (ELECT + TRY) around ROME |
| 11 | ru(S)e | DHARMSALA | D + HARMALA around S |
| 12 | l(E)ast | ASCENSION | (IN CANOES) * around (Pari)S |
| 14 | Lea(N)der | HOTTER | (HERO + T(hrace) + T) * |
| 16 | can(T) | COOLER | (LOO in REC) < |
| 21 | large(R) | GEAN | (lar)GE AN(imals) |
| 22 | (O)bits | STET | (Be)S(ui)T(ed) E(di)T(or) |
| 28 | (P)resident | OMANI | (IN A MO) < |
| 30 | (Y)ear | HAUTE | homophone of OAT |
| 33 | (M)others | MENE | MEN + E |
| 34 | w(A)ry | DORA | ROD < + A |
| 36 | (N)ash | REH | REHASH − ASH; ref. 13ac |
| 38 | shriek | ART | (t)ART(s) |