AZED CROSSWORD 1264

TREDRILLE / FERVOROUS

1.  J. R. Tozer: A good game when you’re three, wooden blocks bore energetic over-fours at play (drill in tree; anag.).

2.  R. J. Hooper: Eager over-fours replaced game for under-fours with train set in box, perhaps (anag.; drill in tree).

3.  Mrs B. E. Henderson: Practice needed in family table game with three very keen over-fours playing (drill in tree; anag.).

VHC

D. Ashcroft: Getting cross earlier about regular practice results in cards for three over fours, wildly excited! (drill in tree; anag.; ref. golf).

H. J. Bradbury: ‘Appassionata’ arranged for us over fifties (retired, arthritic): it’s played with three hands (anag.; anag. incl. LL).

P. Cargill: Navigating erred till it has part of deck split in three or four – vessel not half foundering: urgent! (anag.; anag. incl. ves(sel)).

C. A. Clarke: Old wood broken by repeated practice, game played with 3 iron taking 5 with short exclamation that’s vehement! (drill in tree; V O! in ferrous).

N. C. Dexter: What may produce deal around school? Game with three only – so game with four and over’s Out (drill in tree; anag.; so game = very spirited).

Dr I. S. Fletcher: Orrell, after losing first, tied cracking game with pack enthusiastic over four converted tries finally (anag. less O; anag. + s; ref. RU side).

F. P. N. Lake: Primate’s in his element specifying activity for Trinity Sunday – four masses with old Rev, unusually full of zeal (drill³ in tree; anag. incl. S. o).

J. C. Leyland: It’s over for us playing as fans rile ref endlessly till red cards for three (anag.; anag. less f).

R. K. Lumsdon: Method actor pens play for three devout Revs., or four if right cast free (drill in Tree; anag. incl. fou(r); ref. Sir Beerbohm T.).

M. A. Macdonald-Cooper: Use for devil’s books as material in service? Typically zealous, Bible or nothing’s featured in tracts Scots hold (drill² in tree; RV or 0 in feus; service² tree).

T. J. Moorey: Devoted following’s ‘mucked about’ over reduced square, our indoor pastime’s well-tried recipe changed without a bit of warning (f + anag. incl. s; anag. less w; ref. AZ diagram size).

C. J. Morse: Let Rugby League’s beginners ride rough in game played with pack of 30 ardent milling over-fours (anag. incl. RL; anag.; t. played with 30 cards).

C. Pearson: In four overs bowled, ‘Fiery’ routine splits timber. I’m game for three (anag.; drill in tree; ref. ‘Fiery’ Fred Trueman).

M. Sanderson: Thirty is tops in this game: e.g. elder must take training to heart, hot having played four overs (drill in tree; anag.).

J. B. Sweeting: Coaching practice in wood may yield cards for three over fours if not straight with drive (drill in tree; anag.; ref. golf).

A. J. Wardrop: Baboon in its natural habitat provides amusement for three over-fours, cavorting with zeal (drill³ in tree; anag.).

D. Williamson: Four overs to go: Fiery Fred, doffing cap, has to bowl out Aussie’s tail in game for three (anag.; (F)red in trill + e; ref. F. Trueman).

HC

M. P. Barton, E. A. Beaulah, M. Berry, Mrs F. A. Blanchard, C. Boyd, E. J. Burge, B. Burton, C. J. & M. P. Butler, Mrs M. J. Cansfield, E. Cross, G. Cuthbert, R. V. Dearden, Dr C. D. S. Field, P. D. Gaffey, S. Goldie, E. Gomersall, B. Grabowski, J. E. Green, J. F. Grimshaw, C. R. Gumbrell, R. J. Hannam, P. F. Henderson, R. Hesketh, M. D. Laws, P. R. Lloyd, J. D. Lockett, E. Looby, C. J. Lowe, D. F. Manley, C. G. Millin, F. R. Palmer, J. Pearce, G. Perry, Dr T. G. Powell, D. R. Robinson, P. L. Stone, Miss D. W. Taylor, G. Telfer, L. L. A. Trethewey, Mrs M. P. Webber, R. J. Whale, J. P. Wheatcroft, M. A. L. Willey, S. Woods, Dr E. Young.
 

Comments
A smallish entry: 244 entries, a surprisingly large number unaccountably having BUCKRA for BACKRA (‘Artist follows behind white...’), including one or two who should have known better. I’m sorry the results and slip have been so delayed this month. I was not on holiday, as many of you assumed, but on a business trip to India, Nepal and Pakistan giving promotional talks on a new dictionary I was responsible for. Hard work, but a marvellous experience.
 
It was clearly a tough competition. I toiled a bit over my own clues and sympathize with your task of trying to produce a neat double clue for two such different words. The aim, as always, must be to find some sort of link between them, however tenuous, so that the whole clue reads naturally and seamlessly (or at least with the seam not too obviously showing). Given that the most obvious treatment for the two words separately was drill in tree and an anagram, the three prizewinners still managed variants on a similar idea which few others achieved with any degree of success. There wasn’t much to choose between them – Mr Tozer’s was just that bit wittier for me than the other two – but congratulations to all three. A number of otherwise sound clues failed (sometimes narrowly) to achieve mention either because of inadequately defining one or other of the two words (‘game’ tout simple, for instance, is a bit vague for TREDRILLE) or because the definition of one of the two was somewhat unconvincingly and inconsistently tacked on to the rest of the wording – a last-ditch lack of inspiration, as it were.
 
I know it was a bit cheeky to give you RIGHT-AND-LEFT at 1 Across but when I spotted it in C. I couldn’t resist it and tried to produce a clue for it which wasn’t too easy to solve, despite ‘& lit.’ undertones. I seem to have succeeded – many admitted that it was one of the last clues they solved, and there was plenty of Tippex around to prove it!.
 
In conclusion a word about Anthony Ellis who, now fully retired from the Observer, nobly handles the subscriptions for and mailing of the monthly slips. He asks me to say how grateful he is for the many appreciative comments he receives on the service, while apologizing for not answering every letter personally. Queries about non-receipt of prizes, book-plates, etc should however be addressed to the Observer, not to Anthony, who has nothing to do with these. Several of you have now written to the editor of the Review about the layout and positioning of the AZ puzzle. I hope such action elicits some respo