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Crossword Day is coming! (Maybe a better name for this regional holiday is "cryptic crossword day".)
Here is a themed crossword. Nine of the clues contain an extra word each.
Can you figure out the theme?


Crossword Grid (Not confirmed yet)
enter image description here

# # # # # # # # # # # # # . # # # # # # # # # # #
# # # # # # # # # # # # # . # . # # # # # # # # #
# # # # # # # # # # # # # . # . . . . . # # # # #
# # # # # # # # . # . # . . . . # # # # # # # # #
# # # # . # . . . . . # # . # . # # # # # # # # #
# # # # . # # # . # . . . . . . # # # # # # # # #
. . . . . # . # . # . # . # # . # # # # # # # # #
# # # # . . . . . . . # . # # # . # # . . . . . .
# # # # # # . # # # . # . . . . . # # # # . # # #
# # # # # . . . . . . # . # # # . # # # # . # # #
# # # # # # # # . # . # . # # # . . . . . . . # #
# # # # # # # # . # # . . . . . # # . # # # # # #
# # # # # # # # . # # # # # # # # # . . . . . # #
# # # # # # # # # # # # . . . . . . . # . # # # #
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # . # # # #
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # . . . . . # # #

Sorry, the image version got deleted, so the plaintext has to be uploaded.

Clues

  • Testing edition, mixing the asphalt (removed - ST)
  • An exotic way of saying "Good! Very Outstanding, first place"
  • 8-bit integer is located as non-intelligent
  • Brown triangle appears with the dot, top of the asymptote
  • God started expanding first signs of cholera
  • Broadcasting company (FOX) starts to encode music
  • Game of Jumps Letters for Beginners: Make it as short as possible
  • Hostel without top over-service?
  • Number origin obscured within diacritics
  • A hook you lay at present, with shirt for the lady
  • Some book I love: "Lazy Grand"
  • Return a million secretly for dog bean
  • Hardware idle
  • Unfinished story Mission begun, Element 4 (first reduplicated this month)
  • Heavy metal vehicle statuette
  • Illegally shoot a senior member
  • Born from London district, before that French city in Canada
  • Capital "O" in "Partner Of 10"?
  • "Quick range" is wrongly a wrongdoing inserted
  • Japanese word for music
  • You note the setter shape at a fixed speed
  • Winner from Victoria's Secrets
  • How his key sunk from the liquid
  • A type of fish discovered by Roentgen
  • "American pull" with two points
  • Black donkey's home and place to defecate, I heard?

Task:

Solve the crossword and find the theme.

Optional task:

Improve the wording of the clues.

Hints are currently not available.

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  • $\begingroup$ Sorry for the bad wording of the clues. I'm still not really good at using indicators. $\endgroup$ Nov 13, 2021 at 11:34
  • $\begingroup$ I'm sorry to tell you that I can't access Imgur images. $\endgroup$ Nov 13, 2021 at 11:36

1 Answer 1

5
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The completed grid (in text form since OP cannot get at imgur images):

. . . . . . . . . . . . . J . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . U . S . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . L . I N D I A . . . . .
. . . . . . . . T . N . M I K E . . . . . . . . .
. . . . Z . B R A V O . . E . R . . . . . . . . .
. . . . U . . . N . V I C T O R . . . . . . . . .
H O T E L . L . G . E . H . . A . . . . . . . . .
. . . . U N I F O R M . A . . . G . . Q U E B E C
. . . . . . M . . . B . R O M E O . . . . C . . .
. . . . . Y A N K E E . L . . . L . . . . H . . .
. . . . . . . . I . R . I . . . F O X T R O T . .
. . . . . . . . L . . D E L T A . . R . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . A L P H A . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . W H I S K E Y . A . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O S C A R . . .

Order of insertion into the grid:

november uniform yankee victor charlie kilo zulu hotel romeo juliet golf foxtrot xray alpha papa whiskey lima delta sierra india mike oscar tango bravo echo quebec

Theme:

Letters of the alphabet. The 26 answers are the 26 letters of the usual phonetic alphabet (though I think officially those are meant to have some unorthodox spellings like ALFA and JULIETT), in alphabetical order. The extra words are THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER A LAZY DOG. Oddly, they mostly appear in order in the clues, but not quite.

Brief explanations:

ALPHA = (ASPHALT - ST)*.
BRAVO: I am not actually sure where the BRA comes from. VO are V(ery) O(utstanding).
CHARLIE = CHAR + LIE (though it seems like the clue implies LIES).
DELTA = DEL + T(he) A(symptote); DEL "appears with the dot" on the numeric keypad of a computer keyboard. (Thanks to MOehm, in comments, for explaining DEL; I don't think I would ever have thought of that.)
ECHO = E(xpanding) + CHO(lera). Strictly speaking Echo was an Oread, not a god.
FOXTROT = FOX + T(O) + ROT (the last as in ROT13).
GOLF = G(ame) O(f) L(etters) F(or).
HOTEL = HOSTEL without S(ervice).
INDIA = substring.
JULIET = J + U + LIE + T (the last as in tee-shirt).
KILO = substring.
LIMA = reversed substring.
MIKE: I confess that I don't understand this clue at all. Perhaps "hardware" is the def. Is there someone called Mike Idle? (Eric Idle I know of.)
NOVEMBER = NOVE(l) + M(ission) + BE(ryllium) + R(eduplicated).
OSCAR = OS + CAR.
PAPA = PAP (as in paparazzi) + A.
QUEBEC = QUE before B + EC.
ROMEO = ROME + O.
SIERRA = SI* + A with ERR inserted.
TANGO: I think the "wordplay" is just that "tango" is a Japanese word? EDIT by Scratch---Cat: "Tango" is a Japanese word that means "word".
UNIFORM: U + N + I + FORM.
VICTOR: substring.
WHISKEY: substring.
XRAY: X + RAY. Perhaps type->X is a reference to Jaguar cars?
YANKEE: YANK + 2xE.
ZULU: homophone of "zoo loo".

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  • $\begingroup$ (The first part of clue 4 comes from what "appears with the dot" on the numeric keypad.) $\endgroup$
    – M Oehm
    Nov 13, 2021 at 16:34
  • $\begingroup$ @MOehm You are obviously right. I am pretty sure I would not have thought of that in ten years. $\endgroup$
    – Gareth McCaughan
    Nov 13, 2021 at 20:13

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