Spectator 2002

[djawhufc]

Hi

Completed I think:

In terms of the 7 letters omitted in the clues

I have 2 I am unsure about are they

The n in ngana

The n in spun


Thanks in advance

Dja

[bellabee]

yes

[djawhufc]

Thanks

I wasn't sure particularly on ngana with the wordplay nag a- is that moan about?

I assume sp is odds and u is for all to see leaving the n to add?

Thanks again for an explanation

[bellabee]

i think the 'a' is equal to 'some' [indefinite article] with nag both reversed [ie about] which gives gana [the leading 'n' being omitted. spun is as you have it. cheers

[bellabee]

....if you check the entry for 'some' in chambers note - 'one, one or other (obs)'

[ixion]

Some mo(an a)bout disease of horses?

missing "n" - missing "G" accounted for in 19D?

[turast]

Ixion has the right wordplay, in my view. 36 Ac being the only word which has 2 of the missing letters. Very kind of Columba to have them all together and actually spelling out the required word in the correct order. Once you'd sussed the theme from the first 5 letters and the title, the first 2 letters of 36ac had to be N&G, leaving you with ANA from the wordplay as explained by Ixion.

[djawhufc]

Sounds sensible but where does the n come from in the clue for spun?

[djawhufc]

Looking at it again I'm not sure that bellabee is right. The preamble states seven clues must be used if we take two letters from one clue surely only six are used?

[djawhufc]

Doh- I can see it now thanks ixion and turast.

When i actually shaded the squares on the grid it was obvious

[bellabee]

yes - i see ixion is right -the 'g' needs to be missing in both 36a and 19dn.