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1. Set
foot in a palace, right? Wrong - this was the unexpected follow-up. AFTERCLAP (ft in a + anag.
(of ‘place’), inc. r)
This clue may be an error
on Azed’s part in view of the fact that three a’s cannot be squeezed into the solution with the
preferable and more acceptable parsing: ‘ft in anag. inc. r’. As it stands, with the parsing tentatively
suggested above, the solver must first find a synonym (actually, instance) of ‘palace’
before applying the anagram. Azed has often stated
that such a device is unfair. In a certain sense, the clue, both in its surface
and in its uncertain cryptic reading, is most deliciously apposite to the
meaning of the solution. One awaits the afterclap.
8. Wee
shed removed, in ruins. SMA (sma(shed)) A
very rare clue in that no indication of the Scottish origin of the solution is
needed. Both definition and solution are Scots words meaning ‘small’.
11. Left-wing
terrorists break down, admitting crime. GRAPO (rap1
in go) ‘Break down’ is among the
many listed definitions of ‘go’. The
solution stands for Grupos
de Resistencia Antifascista Primero de Octubre (q.v.).
16. Dressing-gown?
You can include me, wearing a stunner. KIMONO (I’m on in k.o.) This clue,
or one very like it, featured in an Azed a few years
ago. Witty, and a delight.
19. This rig may be apparent in an iron
reign. NERONIAN (comp. anag.
& lit.) The solution is
indicated by the emphasised ‘this’ and is presumed to be an adjective qualifying
‘rig’. The solution, when added to ‘rig’, is found to be an anagram of ‘an iron
reign,’ but many solvers may have wondered quite how ‘may be apparent in’ can
be held to indicate this. Of the many listed meanings of ‘rig’, rig1,
as meaning ‘general appearance’, is taken to be the most fitting, and renders
the whole surface capable of being read as a literal definition.
21. Navy
yielding to e.g. Napoleon in Spanish Town, not a real port. GEROPIGA (pig for N in Gerona) Gerona is certainly not a port, being well
inland of the Mediterranean coast. The Navy’s undoing here is at the hands, not
of Bonaparte, but of the pig in Animal
Farm by George Orwell. The solution is a blend of brandy and grape juice
said to resemble port and used as a cheap substitute. Doctor Watson notes that Azed has chosen to use a clue featuring substitution.
29. The
old complain, over the hill, about 80 (very
old) GRONE (R in gone) Doctor Watson attempted something similar a
few years ago, with the intention of disguising a reference to an obsolete
verb, as here, by use of ‘the old’ as meaning ‘elderly people in general’. Despite
its familiarity, he could not find any explicit authority for this use in the
more august dictionaries, but did find a reference in Longmans Dictionary of Contemporary English, 1978 ed.
The S.O.E.D. has an entry under ‘the’ for an obsolete usage with an
adjective to indicate all things capable of being described by it, but Chambers confines its entry to nouns only.
30. With
which authors conclude volume? Put in yes/no as appropriate. ENVOYS (v in anag; envoy2
(q.v.)) There could not be a
more appropriate way of indicating an anagram of ‘yes/no’ than ‘as appropriate.’
Brilliant.
31. Ovine
strays, of no use? Deadly sinful! ENVIOUS (anag. + u/s) Black sheep are brought to mind on
reading this witty clue. Although the solution is only one of seven possible
instances, it is, perhaps, the most appropriate. The entry for ovine is at
oviform1.
33. What
Piaf never felt for Parisian location? RUE (2 meanings) A reference to Édith
Piaf and her famous song Non, je ne regrette rien (q.v.).
34. Inhabitants
of Spain as was, flower of Rome kept in semi-chastity? CELTIBERI (Tiber in celi(bacy)) The
solution is the term used by the Roman administration of the Iberian peninsula
for its Celtic peoples.
DOWN
2. Bean , mostly cooked in a way that keeps SA party
inside. FRIJOLE (jol in frie(d)) Of note
here is the precision of the cryptic part, particularly ‘cooked in a way’ to
indicate ‘fried’.
4.
Beak forgoing rum for traditional Sunday meal?
ROST (rost(rum)) A
fine surface beautifully disguising the indicator (‘traditional’) for an old
spelling of ‘roast’. ‘Rostrum’ is an anatomical term in English for beak.
7. Chaps
on area inside roped off for college dance. PROMENADE ( men + A in anag.) An amusing clue, but
one which may divide British and American solvers in their response. Websters describes ‘chaps’ (meaning ‘men’) as ‘chiefly British’.
8. Wealthy
philanthropist lives for women’s club in the US. SOROSIS (Soros +is; s.v.
sororal) A
reference to George Soros, the investor most famous in the UK for the killing
he made on ‘Black Wednesday’.
11. US
husbandman admits e.g. going round Wellington’s place - did he cross the
wall? GRENZGÄNGER ([NZ in e.g.] in granger; s.v grange) The
cryptic definition in this clue is, of course, a reference to The Berlin Wall.
15. Unaccompanied
harmonica’s part showing fine judgement?
SOLOMONIC (solo
+ (har)monic(a)) A reference to the Judgment of Solomon
in The First Book of Kings, Chapter 3, (q.v.).
20. One
imposing order and a bishop dominates philosopher. ARRAYER (a + RR over Ayer) Dr Watson
found the surface of this clue,
particularly the first phrase and its relationship with the concluding clause,
more elusive than its disguised definition. ‘One imposing order’ is to be
understood as an order (command) in the surface, and as an array maker in the
definition. Sir Alfred (A.
J.) Ayer (q.v.) obliges as our philosopher, though one who was certainly no
pushover in an argument.
23. Absorbed
by gambling, owe stacks, getting snuff out?
GO WEST (hidden) Doctor Watson suspected from intersecting
letters that ‘go west’ might be the solution at an early stage, but did not
notice the hidden indication until much later, finding the surface reading a
little too close to home. ‘Snuff out’ is understood in its intransitive sense
as the definition.
24. Old
hat covering up (only half) part of butter?
CORNU (corn1
+ u(p)) Here, ‘old hat’ does not
refer to some type or abbreviation of tricorn, but,
as the SOED, sixth edition, puts it:- ‘7 Something corny (CORNY adjective1 5),
esp. old-fashioned or sentimental music. colloq. M20’. The
OED 2nd Edition, 1989 also defines it by reference to ‘corny’, adding ‘(orig.
US)’. By contrast, Chambers defines it (s.v. corn1)
without reference to ‘corny’ as ‘something old-fashioned or hackneyed’, hence Azed’s note.
The solution (s.v. corn2) is an anatomical term meaning ‘horn’, etc., hence our definition: ‘part of butter?’
28. In
hearing possibly tender legal compensation.
BOTE (‘boat’; s.v.
tend1) This clue turns on
the meaning of ‘tender’, given in Chambers as ‘a small craft that attends a
larger’, perhaps the solver’s and the reviewer’s place in Azed’s
grand scheme of things. Long may it continue.
Across:
12. REDROOT (anag. in rot)
13. RIBOSE (Ibos in r,e) 14. COROT
(r in coot) 17. NOMOTHETES (mothe(r)2 in notes) 25.
EMBROIDERY (The competition word) 26. NO MORE (rom. in
eon (all rev.)) 32. TOTEM (to (= beside) + tem(plate)). Down: 3. TABI (anag.) 5.
CRÈCHE (rec in Che
(Guevara)) 6. LEAKER (anag. + r) 9. MOONY (moo + NY; s.v. moon) 10. ATTORNEYISM (anag.) 18. PREMOVE (p(age) + remove) 22. IREFUL (anag. (less s) + (morta)l) 27. ANTI
(anti(c)).
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