The story so far…

In Thirteen Across (Part 4 – the NOCAYCHSGYFHC crossword …attempted) our intrepid correspondent Dr Desperate attempted to solve the No-one Cares About Your Creative Hub So Get Your Fuckin’ Hedge Cut album sleeve crossword. Finally, more than three years after the release of NOCAYCHSGYFHC, we get the correct solution from the setter himself, a Mr Nigel Blackwell of Birkenhead.

Yes, really.

Dr Desperate writes:

When, after a six-month struggle, I posted my own attempt at a solution, I admitted that my answers were largely conjectural, and I’m pleased to say that only a third of them were incorrect. I make no apologies for not guessing the made-up word IRAN-ABLE or the made-up racehorse SPLEENWORT, though as Nigel pointed out, I should really have got the PNE goalie ROY TUNKS. Perhaps I’d have had more success if I’d answered 6 down (“Dreadful”) with MRS BROWN’S BOYS rather than HAWAIIAN SHIRT.

Nigel freely admits that he didn’t get it quite right, especially 12 down (where was the clue?), and concludes “Should’ve just done a Wordsearch”…

Down
1MARainey, ‘Mother of the Blues’, real name Gertrude Pritchett.
2GOWERAn actual cryptic clue! Cricketer David, Welsh peninsula.
3WOODA Malagasy hardwood, scientific name Dalbergia maritima
4TIERSynonym for ‘echelon’.
5CORABELLEA British thoroughbred. Never ran in the Melbourne Cup.
6MRS BROWN’S BOYSDefinition of ‘dreadful’.
8FUCKING (WRETCH)See 3 across. Black Yaris abuser.
9SHEAIconic New York stadium, demolished 2009.
*ILL(Unclued, un-numbered entry)
12MYE(Unclued entry, Norwegian for ‘a lot’)
14PILLOCKDescription of Len Goodman (see note above).
17RANKSynonym for ‘position’.
19SPASee 22 down (not across).
21SUPERIOR“Mother Superior jumped the gun” from ‘Happiness Is A Warm Gun’ (The Beatles).
22(SPA) TOWNResort such as Bath, in Avon (not Birkenhead).
24ALLO ALLOA personal opinion of the sitcom (see 11 across).
27INRI“Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum” – inscription on the (non-MDF) crucifix.
29RHIENI‘Parents’ in Welsh.
31SHITEDescription of Chessington theme park.
32BRYNWem over-drinker, best steered clear of.
34DROYMassive Chelsea defender, Player of the Year 1978.
36DAFTNickname of Forfar Athletic fans (see 26 across).
38DODCharlotte Dod, 5-time Ladies’ Wimbledon champion.
Across
3WRETCHSee 8 down.
7AFIOSOAn invented Italian name.
10I-OOld MacDonald had a farm…
11GRIMSee 24 down
13WHOPPERLen Goodman, celebrity nonentity.
15SLYBritish 3000-metre runner. Silver medallist at 1984 Olympics.
16CREEDReligious belief.
18IRANABLEMade-up word. (Ahvaz is the capital of the Iranian province of Khuzestan.)
19SKARASkara Brae, Neolithic settlement on Mainland, Orkney.
20PINPin press, bike tool used to remove cottered cranks.
21SPLEENWORTSee 5 down. (CORABELLE’s sire was really called Coronach.)
23ANKASinger Paul: first 4 letters of Turkish capital Ankara.
25LUPICAn ingenious invention. Wolves play at Molineux; Serbian names usually end in -ić. (The real word for ‘Wolf-like’ is lupine.)
26LOONSee 36 down.
27ILAbbreviation for Illinois.
28SGNLiterally, initials of Stuart Grainger’s Nan. (The star of ‘King Solomon’s Mines’ was spelt Stewart Granger.)
30NOLet’s not.
33RAPIDSportklub Rapid Wien, Viennese football team; Rapid Discount Outlet, collapsed Liverpool hardware store.
35HARWOODActing Petty Officer George Albert. The Cammell Laird-built submarine Thetis sank in 1939, with the loss of 99 lives.
37EDILRandom letters (or the name of a Finnish wrestler).
39OR‘Alone Again Or’, song by Love.
40NOI’m not.
41ROY TUNKSWuppertal-born keeper who played over 300 games for Preston North End. “The boy with the golden gloves.”
42IDIOTUnneighbourly description.