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A |
ZED is more than usually
playful in his clue-writing for this competition puzzle, with a number of
devices used that require extra thought from the solver, and a pair of conjoint
twins at 15, 17 across that might leave some bemused for a while before one of
the pennies drops.
15. Young man
forming link between Joseph and Ebenezer, ... EPHEBE (hidden in Joseph
Ebenezer). Despite the intruding ‘and’, this is an
easy enough hidden, but …
17. … Who are
and will be such, it’s said? BOYS (2 mngs.) … what are we to
make of this? Well, one definition (by example), ‘Joseph and Ebenezer’ is
carried across the ellipses from 15, and the other is a reference to the saying
‘boys will be boys’. Altogether something of a departure from Azed’s familiar rigorous clueing style.
19. Public
reader: initials for one accompanying imperial archbishop? PRELECTOR (p r + elector). A second clue that
borrows some of its wordplay, this time from the definition. Azed seems to have been in mischievous mood.
28. Jar, not new
– what you’re aiming to fill
GRID (gri(n)d). ‘You’ in this
case is solvers themselves. A lovely wording and a suitable penny drop.
30. What
landlords do during beer shortage as a basic principle? RATIONALE (i.e. ration ale). Amusing
wordplay that requires the solver to think laterally.
32. I may work
on horse heading for stable, terribly weary SAWYER (s + anag.). The horse here is
a sawhorse, a frame that supports the wood being sawn.
1. One
exercising complete control, universal, in spanners? ARCHEUS (U in arches). Chambers’
definition of a controlling animus that resides principally in the stomach,
according to Paracelsus, is different from the more ethereal description in
Wikipedia.
2. Distorted
sound from bass, Hank (or Terry) BLOOP (b loop). Dr
Watson wasn’t sure which musical Hank or Terry Azed
had in mind, but a hank or a terry can be a loop of marterial.
10. Ancient
letters pronounced as execration in Scotland WYNNS (‘winze’). Both the runes
and their homophonic counterpart, a Scottish curse, take a bit of finding in
Chambers.
18. Basic
Box ‘Browny’? SPARTAN (spar tan). A reference to
the old box ‘Brownie’
camera that helped make Kodak’s fortune in the days before digital.
20. One often seen
in park, beginning to roam? Tut! Tut! (sounds like it) ROE DEER (r + ‘oh dear!’). It depends what
sort of park you’re in as to whether roe deer will be seen often. The
part-homophone is another unusual device for Azed.
23. Team struts,
and tastes being promoted round middle of April SPURS (r in sups, rev., 2 defs.). Hopefully no more
than a few solvers outside the UK will need to know that Spurs are Tottenham Hotspur
FC.
27. Cathouse key CRIB (2 mngs.). The two meanings referenced in the final clue
are a slang term for a brothel and a study aid.
Other solutions:
Across: 1. ABLUSH (AB lush); 6. BASHAW (bash + a + w); 11. SCOUTHERY (anag.); 12. CONTORNO (con torn O); 13. HOCK (3 mngs.); 14. TURION (o I, rev., in turn); 21. SPORIDESM (d in anag.); 23. SANS (sandwiches less anag.); 24. PINENE (comp. anag.); 26. PRE-CUT (rec. in put); 29. CUPULATE (anag.
in cute); 31.
SNEBBE (bb in snee).
Down: 3. LUNCHEONETTE; 4. SCOMBRID (s. comb rid); 5. HORME (r in home); 6. BUNTAL (bunt + (p)al(m)); 7. SHIR (shir(king)); 8. HELIOTHERAPY (anag.); 9. ARROYOS (0 in anag.); 16. VESICULA (sic U in vela); 22. DETUNE (tun in
Dee); 24. PUPAS (pup as); 25. NITRE
(hidden).
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