AZED CROSSWORD 1021

BEARD

1.  F. P. N. Lake: Some seamen may wear one in the style of Shaw (i.e. Be(RN)ard, & lit.; ref. GBS).

2.  M. A. Barley: Damaging this thing could make breathing start to deteriorate – oyster’s end in sight? (comp. anag., r in bead (= rifle sight), & lit.).

3.  J. F. Grimshaw: What plunging walrus could meet oysters without a hint of remorse? (a r in bed; ref. ‘The W. and the Carpenter’ and moustache).

VHC

Mrs F. A. Blanchard: Face down? (double mng., n and v).

C. J. Brougham: Apply edge of blade to it in a lather to get barbed (anag. less b, & lit.).

P. A. Carr: Face down (double mng.).

E. Chalkley: A bird’s nest, in the last bit of nonsense penned by a poet (e in bard; ref. last line of Lear limerick: “… a nest in my b.”).

D. B. Cross: Bush to come down heavily on Duke? (bear D; ref. US politicians).

D. J. Dare-Plumpton: Stubble is bound to restrict plough (ear in bd).

V. Dixon: Face down? (double mng.).

B. Franco: What might be drawn offensively, concealing Raquel’s face? (R in bead (= rifle sight), & lit; ref. disfiguring of posters).

S. Goldie: Full ——s may go with manes to carry Charon’s fee (bear d(enarius); manes = spirits of the dead).

R. J. Hooper: Face down? (double mng.).

R. E. Kimmons: Tackle mental development that’s retarded every day (2 mngs.; mental = of the chin).

J. C. Leyland: Dig this art, man – a Rembrandt, a Vandyke? (comp. anag.).

R. K. Lumsdon: What’s de rigueur for one Christmas party bound – are false noses in? (anag. in bd; ref. Santa Claus).

Mrs J. Mackie: For instance, imperial loon turning up without a bit of enwrapment (e in drab (rev. ); loon = harlot; ref. ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’).

C. G. Millin: False one and cap of bright red form part of seasonal costume (anag. incl. a, b).

C. J. Morse: In a brush one has to confront and overthrow, not concede (bear d(own)).

S. J. O’Boyle: Legless Bader’s manly display? (anag.; ref. Douglas B.).

R. J. Palmer: A feature of the fourth part in life in Shakespeare? (e in Bard; ref. ‘bearded like the pard’ in The Seven Ages of Man).

R. Phillips: Take Daniel’s lead, brave as the lion in his den (bear D; brave vt.).

D. Price Jones: ‘Bacon should receive the ultimate in praise.’ The Bard referred to this as ‘excrement’! (e in bard²; excrement²).

W. J. M. Scotland: Leader of the band, Queen, died – infected by onset of AIDS (a growth in some men…) (A in b ER d; ref. Freddie Mercury).

D. J. Short: It’s bound to cover part of the head (ear in bd, & lit.).

R. C. Teuton: What’s barber shaved off with some dexterous manipulation of blade – left to right? (anag. of (b)arbe(r) + d, anag. with r for l, & lit.).

Ms J. Ward: Bits of bristle emerging (and removed?) daily (first letters & lit.).

HC

J. Abernethy, W. G. Arnott, M. J. Balfour, Mrs G. M. Barker, M. J. Barker, J. R. Beresford, C. Blackburn, Mrs A. Boyes, B. W. Brook, Rev Canon C. M. Broun, E. J. Burge, B. Burton, Mrs M. J. Cansfield, T. Clement, M. Earle, C. M. Edmunds, R. A. England, P. D. Gaffey, F. D. Gardiner, N. C. Goddard, M. Goodyear, G. I. L. Grafton, D. V. Harry, P. F. Henderson, V. G. Henderson, A. W. Hill, A. Hodgson, J. G. Hull, G. Johnstone, A. Lawrie, J. P. Lester, C. J. Lowe, H. S. Mason, H. W. Massingham, J. R. C. Michie, T. J. Moorey, R. S. Morse, F. R. Palmer, K. Pearce, H. L. Rhodes, D. R. Robinson, W. Rodgers, G. Rogers, N. Roper, H. R. Sanders, T. E. Sanders, A. D. Scott, J. R. Stagles, P. A. Stephenson, F. W. R. Stocks, Ms M. Stokes, J. G. Stubbs, J. B. Sweeting, K. Thomas, Dr I. Torbe, E. Vaughan, A. P. Vincent, V. C. D. Vowles, A. J. Wardrop, E. W. Webb, J. F. N. Wedge, R. A. Wells, J. West, R. J. Whale.
 

COMMENTS
362 entries, no mistakes and no real problems, to judge from your comment My PIPERIC clue was favourably commented on by a couple of solvers, but criticized by another who pointed out that Bill Sikes is spelt thus, unlike Eric, who is Sykes. This didn’t invalidate the clue, as it happens, merely rendered it pointless. Had I realized BS’s true spelling I’d have abandoned the whole idea and dreamt up a different approach.
 
I’m not sure BEARD was a terribly good word to give you, despite its range of meanings. Most of you opted for the facial hair sense but found it hard to come up with anything that wasn’t at the same time rather obvious. The ‘Face down’ idea (preferably with the question mark) was certainly the neatest but occurred to just too many to qualify for prize status. (Have I see it used before? It has a dimly familiar ring.) I hope the clues quoted above show what can be done to enliven an ostensibly rather drab word. Incidentally the occurrence of BAREFACED in the same puzzle was purely coincidental. I’m asked how I feel about competition dues which make reference to other words in the grid. Generally, I don’t favour such a device. When judging I see the clue-word in isolation and find references to another word (by now invisible and usually signalled by a number from the original diagram) mildly irritating I actually use such cross-references very sparingly myself but regard it as legitimate to do so since you have the grid in front of you and can perceive the connections more easily.
 
No more this month (I’m expecting a delivery of Christmas parcels imminently!), except the following beautifully lucid explanation of my difficulty with the number of letters in the quotation I used in Axed No. 1,000 (see the appropriate slip), received from a competitor: ‘Imagine the grid coloured like a chessboard with the start square white. Since every adjacent step must invoke a change of colour, all odd letters will be in white squares, and all even ones in black squares. The final square was chosen from the white squares, hence the phrase had to be of odd length.’
 
Warmest seasonal greetings to you all, and happy solving in 1992.