Misprints

a cryptic puzzle by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon

Thirteen errant clues contain a misprint of one letter each. We’ve done you the favor of separating those clues, while mixing their order and omitting their answer lengths. Shaded letters in the grid, from top to bottom, spell a category to which those answers belong, which is itself a misprinted description of all the errors. (If it helps to know, the 13 wrong letters can spell the otherwise pointless phrase NEXT-DOOR CUPID and the 13 right letters can spell BAMBI’S AUCTION.)

Misprints

  • a.
    Reach top ring (4)
  • b.
    Idle talker’s blank (5)
  • c.
    A room for studying golf (4)
  • d.
    Read to regressive taxi company (7)
  • e.
    Pastry capturing the heart of Barnaby Rudge (4)
  • f.
    Girl at bar developed strain (9)
  • g.
    Private eyes pocketing grand pay (4)
  • h.
    Plaid green ties in a tangle (9)
  • i.
    Tape tea party member, for example (8)
  • j.
    Post-office-to-computer rover (7)
  • k.
    Like haunting vocal (4)
  • l.
    Count the night before and others (7)
  • m.
    “Sex”: an Agee novel (6)

Across

  • 6.
    Sony rival attained a vital energy (7)
  • 8.
    Hammer provided pound (5)
  • 9.
    Beantown is embracing Republican pride (6)
  • 10.
    Board game also within (5)
  • 11.
    Keyboards join together in series of songs (7)
  • 13.
    Claim part of a table with beer outside (6)
  • 19.
    We are right around Delhi’s terminal, relatively pooped (7)
  • 20.
    Belgian tennis great, when losing the lead at home (5)
  • 21.
    Rhode Island chief of police observed cutter (6)
  • 22.
    Green-bottom crab (5)
  • 23.
    The man is wrapping finger skin (4)
  • 24.
    Off stream through Devon, turn sharply east (7)
  • 25.
    Writer of poems changed sale date (8)

Down

  • 1.
    Fix broken plates (6)
  • 2.
    Charged a 100-cent hand-me-down (7)
  • 3.
    Breaking stalemate, smile like a big cat (7)
  • 4.
    Classic sitcom character rested between errors (6)
  • 5.
    Sounds of lute or sitar’s leads? (5)
  • 7.
    Ultimatum partly for El Segundo (2,4)
  • 12.
    Liberal arts in schools (6)
  • 14.
    Girl’s head buff was clinging (7)
  • 15.
    Do sculpting on the outside of a large sailing ship (7)
  • 16.
    Ms. Bening, after deductions in payment for gambling (7)
  • 17.
    Numbers Bond’s boss among snoops (6)
  • 18.
    Equip Prague with new engineering (4,2)