Listener Crossword 4715: Solution Notes
Singles Only by Twin
Puzzle explanation
The cells containing two letters were at all the crossings of rows and columns 1, 5, 9 and 13 (as shown in the initial grid fill here), and spelt “clear and shade these columns and rows”. In normal order of grid entries, the extra letters in wordplay spelt out “letter’s first position in its clue’s letters”, detailing how to replace the remaining letters with numbers (for all of the checked letters, the position was the same in both the across and the down clue), and “erase ten plus”, so the numbers greater than 9 were also cleared. Letters that weren’t convertible to numbers because they didn’t occur in their clues (shown in blue here) spelt out “complete sudoku”; erasing them left a sudoku puzzle to be solved.
Clue explanations
Conventions: * = anagram, < = reversal
| Answer | Explanation [extra letter] |
|---|---|
| ACUSHLA | (BUSH − B + LA) after AC[T] |
| AD HOC | (D + HO[T]) in AC |
| ALIDADE | (I’D [R]EAD) * after (A + L) |
| AMAIN | MA < + [P]AIN |
| AMIS | A + MIS[E] |
| ANTHER | [T]AN + THE + R |
| ARABIN | [O]AR + A + BIN |
| ASPIRE | A[S] around SPIRE |
| BLUER | (c)LUE(s) in (m)[E](m)B(e)R |
| BRANE | B[O]RANE |
| BRETASCHE | (HE ACTS) * in BR[I]E |
| BUS | BUS[S] |
| CLOTH-EARS | CLOT + H + [L]EARS |
| COLIN | COL + [R]IN |
| CO-OPTS | OP[E](n) in COST * |
| COTES | COT[T]AGES − AG |
| DEO | [L]EO around D |
| DRONGO | DIR[T] − I + GOON * |
| ESTRAY | [R]EST DAY with R for (an)D |
| GIUST | GUST around I[I] |
| GOVERN | NOG < around VE[E]R |
| GRADUAND | ARGU[E]D + AND |
| HERONSEWS | HERO[I]N + SEWS |
| HOP IT | [C]HIT around OP |
| LISLE | L + S in [R]ILE |
| MAN-EATER | ANE in MA[S]TER |
| NEIGH | NEI[N] + G + H |
| ODONTIC | (TIN + C(an)) * after [T]O-DO |
| OEDEMATA | (MADE TO EA[T]) * |
| OPAL | O + AL[L] after P(ickling) |
| PERSUADER | (RED + AU + (vest)S (wa)R (pain)[T] (whit)E (ca)P) < |
| RATCHETED | TAR < + CHE[S]TED |
| RECOMMEND | RE + COM[E] + MEND |
| REMNANT | (TRAN[S] MEN) * |
| RESTEMS | (M + [L]ESTER + S) * |
| SALTANDO | SALO[N] around (s)TAND |
| SCRUB | S + U in C[U]RB |
| SERRICORN | (SINC(e) + ERROR[S]) * |
| SKA | SK[U]A |
| SKEGG | SA[N]K − A + EGG |
| SPASM | M[I]SHAPS < − H(ousehold) |
| TEST | TE[F] + ST |
| THO’ | HO[S]T * |
| TOED | (D[I]E + OT) < |
| TRADE | (bar)T[E]R A DE(al) |
| TRIPEDAL | RIP[P]ED in LAT < |
| TSETSE | TE[E] around TESS * |
| UNITISE | (SIT IN) < in U[A]E |
| UNVIRTUE | (E + VIRU[S] NUT) * |