EV 956 Ego Problem by Ifor

[dr b]

Very nice puzzle this week - some hard clues and a lot of thematic material crammed into this one. Lots of cold solving for starters, given that more than half the answers are altered in some way. Things pick up once you get the method of altering the down clues. It's also probably easier to Google the "statement" than to find it in Chambers. I felt that the last bit of highlighting to "illustrate cryptically the first part of the statement" was a slight letdown, but all in all a fun puzzle.

65 degrees in St Louis today, so I'm out to do some much needed yard cleanup.

[DocHH]

Haggis58, shackles=around

[Christiana]

Hello all - phew, finding this one tough, but have discovered the statement, and just a bit of a slog left for the final few clues now. Plus the highlighting, of course, but we'll worry about that later.

[trux]

A very good EV IMHO ... which takes quite some solving, but never unfairly. Thanks, Ifor.

[haggis58]

Thanks DocHH - it's easy when you know! If I can help anyone finish it let me know. Have been completing this crossword (usually about 50% of the time) for nearly 20 years and sending it to the Telegraph, but have never won it!

[kayakamina]

I agree with trux that it was a good EV with some stiff clueing.

It was only when I had finished that I realised what a giveaway the title was regarding the letter which had to go in the down clues!

[novalis]

Have at last been able to tackle this amid the upheaval of building work going on around me and the necessity of writing a few more quizzes on behalf of a friend while he recuperates from a heart attack.
I've everything filled in and highlighted with one exception which is 16 across. I know it needs adjustment, know how it needs to be adjusted but I cannot justify the only thing I can think of/find from the clue. Any hints would be welcome.
Totally agree with the comments made about the puzzle.

[kayakamina]

Hi novalis

First 3 letters = partner , then old word for labour and it all means a bribe.
Remove the thematic 5,6&7 th letters.

[kayakamina]

Sorry the 4th 5th & 6th letters.

[novalis]

Hi Kayakamina!

Many thanks for your help and prompt response.

[Shoni70]

Hello dr B and Haggis,
I don't know how you do it so quickly. I have now the quote and have filled in the grid fully except I cannot see the clue connections to 12 and 20 down although I am certain I have the correct amswers. I would very much appreciate strong hints about the highlighting. I take it that one of the english words in the quote sould probably be highlighted but cannot see `where' the other four letters come from. Help please.

[dr b]

shoni, consider the second word of the "statement", and consider who has the 'ego problem' of the puzzle's title.

[Shoni70]

Thank you so much Dr B . So simple but I could not see it for toffee.

[Christiana]

Finished at last. A struggle but I enjoyed it (I think).

For those of you who don't know Lincolnshire, it is a land of snowdrops; great swathes line the verges and meander through the woodlands. How lovely - I had no idea when I moved here last summer. It almost compensates for the grey days and the cold - It seems very cold here today, but perhaps that's just reaction after three weeks in the sunny Algarve.