Ev 1216 Border By Chalicea

[djawhufc]

What a lovely puzzle (as always) from Chalicea. Never heard of the quote before which bought a smile to my lips. Though it may not please all on here. A simple, elegant endgame.

The unusual spelling of the potato dish clue held me up for a while even though I had the answer.

Thanks for the Sunday afternoon entertainment.

[devadolly]

Am enjoying this EV even tho' not quite finished and have not yet sorted out the end-game. NE corner straining the brain but will persevere.
Thanks Chalicea for giving hope to the brain strainers!

[DocHH]

Hello djawhufc and devadolly,
My first pass through the clues looking for gifts started well! Then ground to a halt, but there were sufficient lights from down clues intersecting with 17across for me to make a successful guess at what should be entered there. That helped significantly to achieve a full grid population fairly quickly. I thought that some of the additional letters were skillfully ambiguous, to the extent of making the quotation awkward for me to find in the ODQ "keyword" Index. Grid gazing is not my most favourite occupation, but I did persist and used the normal favourite locations, which proved equally successful! Had never heard of the quote, but I suspect NS and AS would go apoplectic if it was suggested that they would subscribe to that suggestion!
Just enjoying the first of 2 preprandial Famous Grouse, home measures of course.

[DocHH]

Oooops, sorry, but I should have thanked Cruciverbalist for the link to the Azed. It was not as enjoyable as EV, but more or less made up for having a Herculis on a Monday rather than a Toughie which I enjoy Tuesday to Friday. I am absolutely useless on General Knowledge crosswords, Mr Google, other search engines are available, is my saviour with those.

[devadolly]

Typical scientist DocHH, GM has been asking where you are recently! Dear Chalicea.......have Dun it! Thank you, gives me hope senility hasn't finally set in.

[DocHH]

devadolly, please tell GM it is nothing "purr"sonal. I have had to be in London at the flat doing errands for "herself" recently and often quite frequently again next week. Despite all my protestations there is still no internet connection at the flat, but on the other hand despite all the protestation from "herself", there is still not a TV here! Stalemate! Fortunately there is a copy of the albeit dated BRB, Bradford's, an abridged ODQ and Chambers Anagrams there to assist with EVs in the flat. How is GM, and is his apprentice coming up to his expectations??

[Ruthrobin]

Thanks, as always, to the EV gang for the warm reception. djawhufc, I (and other setters too, I know) really appreciate your informed and positive responses. Rather comically, I suppose, we are of the 'geographic origin' of some of those this one's theme might not please - but, of course, we don't agree with the sentiment expressed in the grid - quite the inverse!