The Demon is a devilish chap and took you back to the school science room with clue 136ac ‘Laboratory measuring tube’. “PIPETTE!” went up the collective cry and pencils and pens happily filled in this answer.
Trouble later arose when tackling 124dn ‘Unfertilised plant seed’. Some thought they knew this, while others hunted it down and OVULE appeared to be correct, but did not fit.
Hair-pulling and cursing followed across the land until, after much thumbing through dictionaries and other reference books, most of you saw the light and changed your PIPETTE to a BURETTE.
With so many tricky clues each month The Demon could be described as wordy or maybe ‘Garrulous’ but he caught out some at 139ac when VOCALLY and VOLUBLY were entered instead of the correct VOLUBLE.
A place we accepted two answers was 62dn for ‘Strip (skin) from’. Both EXCORIATE and EXFOLIATE fitted here. Thanks to those who added notes to their entries pointing this out to us.
Dorothy Parker was an American writer known in the 30s and 40s for her quick wit and wisecracks. She distinguishes the two as, “Wit has truth in it; wisecracking is simply calisthenics with words”. For a time she was part of a group of actors, writers and critics that met at New York’s Algonquin Hotel, which can still be visited at its location near Times Square. They were known as the Algonquin Round Table, The Vicious Circle or the ALGONQUIN Club – our answer at 59dn. This one was hard to track down and some wild guesses appeared. The name comes from the Algonquin language group of Canada.
At 34dn ‘Ointment’ needed UNGUENT, a word difficult to say and to spell. UNGLENT was one of the incorrect spellings.
One of the best known examples of a traditional Chinese ‘Therapeutic root’ (82dn) is GINSENG (not GINSING). It is believed to promote a long, healthy life.
If you made it down to the bottom of the crossword you were probably feeling ‘Cheerful’ and the answer to 145ac was sure to make you happy. RIANT is such a lovely word. It comes from the French word to laugh and you have to smile as you say it. Unfortunately for some, RAINT doesn’t have the same effect!
A couple of queries from reader Julie Norman, who firstly said she only found PHILTER and not PHILTRE, as was needed at 45dn. According to my Collins dictionary the spelling you have is the US version, Julie. Julie read that the Jabiru was Australia’s only true crane but Collins lists brolga as ‘also Australian crane’.
Finally for all you bright sparks who again defeated The Demon, 80ac ‘Ignite, … off’ was SPARK and not SPURT or SPORT.
Over in the Goliathon I think the following errors may just have been slips of the pen.
ORCHESTRA and not ORCHESRTA was ‘Symphony ensemble’ at 6ac, CUTLERY and not CUTRELY was ‘Dining utensils’ at 66dn and NAVAL and not NATAL was ‘Maritime’
at 94dn.
PROFESSOR (154ac) and NARRATOR (39dn) both needed OR endings not ER and 114dn ‘Extended’ needed to be LENGTHY and not LENGTHS to be correct.
The Bigcash saw a few DEVEATE at 16dn when you needed to DEVIATE.
Clue 44dn was ENFORCE not INFORCE and INSISTENT (56dn) and REPELLENT (59dn) both were wrong if you put ANT endings.
Now March on with more BIG fun!