Ev 1111

[x_word_fan]

A straightforward grid fill and an interesting endgame - no grid staring for once! Not sure about 1d but otherwise all done if I have understood it correctly!

[jim360]

Yes, towards the easier end of the cluing spectrum but fun nonetheless and a clever twist on the usual "let's celebrate special numbers" theme that occurs a lot in crosswords, so I did enjoy it and, as usual, enjoyed Samuel's cluing style.

[dr b]

Despite the easyish gridfill, and having the 9 'no-def' entries and the 24 letters, I'm unsure of the last step. The word that precedes the 6 is straightforward but I don't yet get the significance of the 3 or their location in the grid. And, on the assumption of one thematic event per week, I don't see anything of significance happening in Dec. 2184. I will continue to ponder.

[DocHH]

Hello All,
dr b, if you have the word that prefixes the 6, look at the clue numbers for the three othe non-defs.
Arts and Literature is a strange place for an EV post, thak goodness for the Search facility. Almost time for a preprandial!

[dr b]

Unless I can't count dates using a spreadsheet (which is possible), the event characterized by the 24 letters will occur in July of 2184, not December. What am I missing here? If someone who has my email can put me out of my misery, I'd appreciate it. Again I am assuming one thematic event per week.

[EV_Solver]

You might want to think carefully about what happens (or rather doesn't happen) on Christmas Day...

[dr b]

Is there an extra thematic event? Or no thematic event? I have no idea. Either way, if there are 51 or 53 events per year that gets me even further from Dec 2184, assuming I'm on the right track. Oh well, enough of thinking about this for a while.

[dr b]

OK, all sorted thanks to some email help. The ease of the gridfill contrasts with the rather arcane bit of knowledge about the thematic sequence needed to confirm the title date!

[Bobbibunny]

I was congratulating myself on getting all the way through this one but also came up with July 2184. Had not considered the Christmas Day implications but I suppose in 170 years there are 24 Christmas days on a Sunday which should take me through to December.

[devadolly]

Stumped as don't have (as usual) all the letters I should have, what's happening in Dec 2184? Hint please, google useless!

[jim360]

As the preamble says something along the lines of "if all goes well", the Dec 2184 event isn't set in stone. So indeed google will be useless. Most of the information needed comes from the undefined entries. Then you are just looking for the next in the sequence that happens to fall (possibly, but not definitely) in December 2184, only in the context of the EV.

[chrisj50]

Got there eventually! It's always so beautifully simple once it clicks. Not sure about the crime writer (28a) - any hints greatly appreciated!

[TheBear69]

chrisj50, re 28a:

I've got a horse right here, his name is Paul Revere...

[devadolly]

Thanks Jim getting there but not a PDM as things don't seem to quite tie up!

[Christiana]

Like me, Devadolly. I got myself totally bogged down in Mathematical Sequences and the like, to no avail as I only understood around one word in three. Have an almost filled grid, but unable to work out the word play for 20a though I've deduced the phrase the extra letters lead to.
I'm still trying to sort out the first letter of16a.

Will pause and then take on board the advice on this thread, which I've not yet considered

[devadolly]

I can't work out the wordplay for 16a either Christina, nor that for 7 & 24d. Are we talking words for under the grid? If so, I am so off-line.

[TheBear69]

16a: 'race' is used for exactly the same thing as in 35d - isn't that frowned upon? The first letter is clued by two consecutive words in the clue'
7d: Banking system is G?RO
24d: Take a word for revolt and swap two letters (another unfortunate redundancy - see 18d)

As the preamble says, the instructions formed by the extra letters tell you what to write underneath. As you can infer from the first sentence, you have to determine the sequence and the missing prefix is quite helpful.

[devadolly]

Thank you Bear, that's what I thought about 16/35 and of course for the banking system, brain def not in good working order! I now see the relevence of the clue numbers to the '3', and also what the prefix word could be.........it's maths, oh no, it's maths!

[Christiana]

We seem to be moving at the same speed Devadolly. Light has dawned, and, yes, it's maths. I think I know what goes beneath the grid, but wouldn't know how to check with a spread sheet, so will just take a chance on it.

[devadolly]

Yes , at last I have got to what is needed (I think) but unfortunately I have no idea of how one goes about converting the prefix to whatever else, my maths ended at square roots!