Enigmatic Variations N0. 1635 - Tom's Problem By Kcit

[Matakari]

Good afternoon, some help would be appreciated for what seems to be an enticing offering for this week. Thanks in advance!

1 Across followed by 31-34 reading anticlockwise ( six words in total ) is a quotation minus its definite article and verb. It outlines TOM’S PROBLEM, with a fictional solution as the unclued entry. Two clues are double clues: separate clues for two words run together. Their associated entries are anagrams of the two answers, offering real solutions to TOM’S PROBLEM ( though one has since been adopted elsewhere). In each of six Down clues, three consecutive letters should be removed, always leaving real words, although the sense of the clue may suffer. In clue order these spell two  more fictional solutions. Chambers Dictionary (2016 ) is recommended.

13a Court action? Origins of that leading to unfinished set ( 4 ) : ?T??

16a Small amount --- a reduced volume in sanctioned channel ( 9 ) : TA?T?R???

18a Largely dim to slip off, being drunk ( 7 )  : E????ED

28a Obscure Conservative restricting Government ( 5 ) : ????Y

4d  Nationalist spots rising Scottish physicist ( 5 )  : ????L

6d Opec output to thwart maintaining rise in European currency ( 7, 2 words ) : ?U?????
                           ( RULE OUT )

[scorpiojo]

28 Fog G y

[Neveracrossword]

Another 'enticing' EV, Matakari? Look what happened the last time you said that...

 

13 Your T is wrong

18 Your first E is wrong

6 D isn't  Rule Out, but the answer is 4,3 - and something that Opec could provide...

16 Remember the preamble mentions certain clues...

[newmodarmy]

13 ca se(t) = CASE?

[Neveracrossword]

Matakari, I forgot to add - this week's Listener is from one of your favoured setters, Chalicea,  and I think you would quite enjoy it (and wouldn't have too much trouble with it).

[newmodarmy]

n icol

 (loci reversed)?

[newmodarmy]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Nicol_(geologist)

[Neveracrossword]

NMA, just to confirm... your 13 A is correct, fitted in etc.

[newmodarmy]

Cheers, Neveracrossword. I know you like to give clues but I find that more difficult as I'm not always sure my suggested answers are right

[Neveracrossword]

NMA, I know you don't have some of these crosswords in front of you, but it's great that you  can (and do) help anyway.

My hints for Matakari ... are seldom useful! 

[Matakari]

Many thanks for the hints, especially for 6d ( Fuel Oil ). I’m bent on making every hint work for the following:

30a Easy thing to install power duct---audibly questions amount of power ( 9 ): ?E??O??WS

33a Kitchen worker making starter of grain last ( 4 ) : ??E?

36a Western Alan Ladd film not featuring source of horse sound ( 4 ) : ??N?

7d Near archaic Magus abandoning soul Goth will lose heart ( 5 ) : ?NI?H

19d Is unable to handle match in regional division? Not any more ( 7 ) : ?AN?R??

22d Motorway diversion keeping one climbing and turning ( 7 ) : ?RO????

[Neveracrossword]

Thanks, Matakari - glad you are still 'enticed'.

33  A. A very common, everday grain - and move the first  letter of that  to the end to give a kitchen worker (someone working in a kitchen, not necessarily a chef).

36 The 'sound' means well-balanced. A famous Western loses H, the source/first letter of Horse.

19. A four letter everyday word for 'is unable' comes before a common three-letter word meaning 'to handle match'. The answer is an old (not any more) regional division.

Have you got the double clues and the six down clues with consecutive letters (to be removed)?

 

[Neveracrossword]

22 Abbreviation for motorway, followed by  a five-letter diversion (activity, hobby etc) which contain  the usual 'one' (keeping one). Climbing (in this Down clue) means you reverse all of this, the definition of the answer is 'turning'.

[JJ109]

30a as easy as ???

Install P(ower)

= ????(duct)

+ 2nd part of clue, homophone of certain types of questions = units of power

Then as this is one of the two special clues - anagram the two parts to get the themed answer. It may be an idea to solve this one and 16a after you have got the theme

[JJ109]

30a PS - your "O" is wrong!

[JJ109]

7d - this clue has annoyed me as I can't parse it completely.

The answer is obvious, an archaic word for "near"

The gh at the end is g(ot)h losing heart, the "GUS" of "magus" are three letters that need to be removed, so how does "Ma abandoning soul" become "ani"? The only thing I can think of is "mania" but I wouldn't say mania is a synonym for soul! Can anyone help please?

[JJ109]

7d Why do I do this to myself?

ANIMA is soul!

[Neveracrossword]

JJ, your Anigh tussle made me laugh - I have done similar things myself in the past, snarling myself up in complicated stuff while overlooking something relatively simple.

PS I didn't offer Matakari any help with the thematic elements - though I reminded him of them several times -as I had quite a few hints to give him. I'd love him to uncover, land upon, the theme himself one week!

[Neveracrossword]

Hope our hints and info on the thematic stuff has helped you race to the finish with this one, Matakari?

[Matakari]

I'm not out of the woods yet! Thanks for the useful exercise from the hints! Hints 22d and 33a are impeccable. I’m still working on 16a and 30a ( 16a TA?TO??L? – TANTOMILE; 30a ?E?T?P?WS – Correct letters?)

A few more hints to work on, thanks:
35a Old film to stop holding water, on reflection ( 6 ) : ?EE?I?

5d Shopper not entirely accepting metre or other metric units ( 5 )  : ??A?S
21d Source of dye in a feeble circle ( 5 ) : ??E?O

[Neveracrossword]

Thanks, Matakari - and glad your third batch is only a small one!

'Yes' to what you have for 16 and 30 A.

In 5 D, the 'shopper' is someone who would tell tales, inform.  'Not entirely' means the word is slightly shortened, and 'accepting metre' indicates a letter to be put inside.

21. The definition is 'source of dye' The answer is comprised of three parts - an article, a word meaning 'feeble' and finally, the usual 'circle.