AZED CROSSWORD 1290

NITERIE

1.  R. J. Hooper: Dive made from upturned punts (i.e. Eire tin (rev.)).

2.  R. Hesketh: Where might you find inebriety that’s fired by dancing? (anag. less by, & lit.).

3.  Dr E. Young: Replayed hit in here passes the small hours? (anag. less h, h, & lit.).

VHC

Mrs F. A. Blanchard: Hot spot with Northern and Southern Ireland in confrontation about start of talks (t between NI and Eire (rev.)).

E. J. Burge: One going in ten knocked up runs. That’s where bouncers will be employed (I in anag. + r + i.e.).

C. J. & M. P. Butler: Where you’ll find fool at bar being parted from his money? (nit + (brass)erie, & lit.).

R. M. S. Cork: Corrupted by this? Might result in inebriety (comp. anag. & lit.).

D. B. Cross: Inter fans inspire disheartened club (anag. + i(nspir)e; ref. Inter Milan).

E. Cross: Bit of territory between Northern Ireland and Eire, seething hot spot (t between NI and Eire (rev.)).

C. R. Gumbrell: You’ll find playing in here hit releases each of the small hours? (anag. less h, h, & lit.).

A. Hall: Late-night joint meeting of Ulster and Irish Republic coming up – about time! (t between NI and Eire (rev.)).

J. G. Hull: Place for a rave? In there I can make it with heroin (comp. anag. incl. H).

M. Jones: Tee off with iron? I won’t get round with that club! (anag. less O).

J. C. Leyland: With last two to three runs in it, bats expect bouncers here (anag. incl. ee r).

R. K. Lumsdon: Tramp’s outfit rent, i.e. half in shreds (anag. incl. i(n); ref. Tramp nightclub).

T. J. Moorey: Club with tiddly peer in it quietly dropping off (anag. less p).

C. J. Morse: Place one has evening out in and is then ruined? (alternate (evenly spaced) letters, & lit.).

G. Perry: Hot spot with temperature between Ulster and Republic rising (t between NI and Eire (rev.)).

M. C. Souster: Inert batting, that is where you may see bouncers (anag. + i.e.).

C. W. Thomas: Joint talks initiated between Ulster and the Irish Republic suffering reverse (t between NI and Eire (rev.)).

J. R. Tozer: The Cavern? You might find eremite in here, but not me! (anag. less me; ref. Liverpool nightclub).

R. J. Whale: Superior neighbour adjoining topless bar, say? ((u)nit + (Lake) Erie, & lit.; bar⁴).

HC

W. G. Arnott, D. Ashcroft, M. Barley, B. Burton, P. Cargill, C. A. Clarke, E. A. Clarke, N. Connaughton, K. W. Crawford, E. Dawid, R. V. Dearden, N. C. Dexter, Mrs P. Fahy, Dr I. S. Fletcher, Mrs M. Gabbutt, E. Gomersall, G. I. L. Grafton, C. P. Grant, R. R. Greenfield, R. W. Hawes, E. M. Holroyd, J. Horwood, W. Jackson, G. Johnstone, P. J. Knight, F. P. N. Lake, D. Lewis, P. R. Lloyd, B. MacReamoinn, W. F. Main, D. F. Manley, Rev M. R. Metcalf, Dr E. J. Miller, F. R. Palmer, J. Pearce, Mrs E. M. Phair, D. Price Jones, D. R. Robinson, D. P. Shenkin, J. B. Sweeting, R. C. Teuton, P. Thacker, D. H. Tompsett, L. Ward, A. J. Wardrop, P. Whitter, D. Williamson, M. Zeegen.
 

Comments
386 entries, no mistakes. Quite an easy competition, by general acclaim, with none of my clues causing special difficulty. NITERIE, however, proved somewhat troublesome. (When I came to choose the clue-word it was a toss-up between NITERIE and PARENTCRAFT – would you have preferred the latter, I wonder?) Clearly, for many of you, nightclubs are sinks of iniquity, and this despite the more liberal attitude of the 1993 Chambers compared to its predecessors. Earlier editions, I was reminded, defined nightclub as a place visited ‘for amusement or dissipation’, which is now replaced with ‘drinking and entertainment, etc’. That ‘etc’ could of course cover a multitude of sins!
 
Having nothing more to say about this month’s competition, I’d like to return to the much-postponed discussion of CJM’s clue to SIPOREX which won third prize in AZ No. 1,273. To refresh your memory, the clue was “DI IN SEX ROMP” could furnish material for artist with twisted mind’, and the objection voiced was that the clue did not indicate clearly enough that the material for artist’ was what solvers should be looking for. A number of you responded to my plea for opinions on this issue and the consensus was that putting ‘this’ or ‘such’ before ‘material’ would improve the clue but that it is acceptable as it stands. CJM himself comments: ‘I agree that my clue would have been more solid with ‘this’ or ‘such’ added; but that would have wrecked the misleading sense, and I felt that the words ‘could furnish’ provided just enough of a pointer to a mid-clue definition.’ Others said that ‘this’ would have been OK but that ‘such’ might have indicated an adjective. ‘Might’, not ‘would’, I’d say. My severest critic wrote: ‘I think you recognize full well that you awarded a prize to an unsound clue.’ Not true, I assure you. I thought long and hard about its merits, and the general reaction of solvers is the one I’ve indicated. Perhaps the last word (for the time being) can be this, from another very regular competitor: ‘I agree with the criticism of CJM’s clue. A ‘comp. anag. & lit.’ is a special type of clue where the definition will not necessarily appear at the beginning or end of the clue ... as is the established custom. (Obviously, in normal ‘& lits.’, the definition is at both beginning and end, as it were.) Therefore, if the traditional signal that a particular word or phrase is the definition part of the clue ... is not followed, there should be an alternative method of signalling what the definition bit is. This is done in ‘comp. anag. & lits’ either bywords such as this’ or ‘such or, if there is no definition word/phrase that can be qualified by ‘this’ or ‘such’, then a blank is used, informing the solver that if (s)he finds the word to fill the blank (s)he has the answer.’
 
Three short points to end with. First, a very promising ‘comp. anag. & lit.’ clue to NITERIE submitted, involving ‘hostile bouncer’ and ‘Soho club’, included a word that had been mostly Tippex-ed out without correction, leaving me no choice but to disqualify it. Do please check every part of your entry (diagram included) before posting. Second, Mr Willett informs me that at one time he and two other VHCs last month (CHALET), viz C. J. Morse and B. K. Workman, were all in the same form at school (form and school not supplied). This probably constitutes some sort of record, And third, with reference to the same CHALET slip, I am told that there is a large lake (Forggensee) in the lower (Bavarian) stretch of the Lechtal. Good.