AZED CROSSWORD 1433

NEANDERTHAL

1.  A. J. Wardrop: One might describe arch-conservative thus and hearten loony left (anag. + l).

2.  F. P. N. Lake: Unwilling to give up the old ways and learn the new? (anag. & lit.).

3.  V. Dixon: Old-fashioned and not changing heart and left behind (ne + anag. + l, & lit.).

VHC

D. Appleton: What can make Handel and T. Arne very old-fashioned (anag.).

M. Barley: End near at HL following purge of anti-reformers? (anag.; ref. House of Lords).

J. R. Beresford: The eland ran excitedly out of the ark (anag.).

C. J. Brougham: One in antre held uncouth? (an in anag., & lit.; i.e. cave-dweller).

D. A. Campbell: Who’s dated more swimmingly than Leander? (anag.; ref. Hero & L.).

C. A. Clarke: Reactionary heartland in revolt following bill abolishing foremost of blood-sports (ne(b) + anag.).

Dr I. S. Fletcher: One in number ten heard exploding over left not backing new order (a in n + anag. + l; ref. New Labour).

C. R. Gumbrell: What sadder than end Lear comes to, being an old man? (anag.).

R. B. Harling: ‘Antre’ handle could style me (anag. & lit.; i.e. cave-dweller).

R. Heald: Underneath ground, striking head leads to awful lump. A hard hat’s the answer (anag. less u + first letters).

R. Hesketh: Tool Barney, passing by, had lent Fred Flintstone, perhaps (anag. incl. (B)arne(y); ref. ‘The Flintstones’).

G. Johnstone: Reactionary England at her most outrageous rejecting end to foxhunting (anag. less g).

J. C. Leyland: Really ancient succession’s ending and the earls (almost all) get sacked (n + anag. less s).

W. F. Main: The eland ran frantically out of the ark (anag.).

P. W. Marlow: Near the ultimate in illiberal and crude? (anag. incl. l, & lit.).

R. J. Palmer: Sort elder than a Cro-Magnon, ultimately (anag. incl. n, & lit.).

D. R. Robinson: Being outmoded most of earls and the foremost of nobles get put out (anag. less s incl. n).

R. J. Whale: No left winger? New formation, with Guppy’s introduction, may give England heart (anag. less G; ref. Steve G.).

G. H. Willett: Devoid of modern instincts stirring the adrenalin I dropped out (anag. less I).

D. Williamson: Such antediluvian frames an antre held (anag.; i.e. cave-dweller).

W. Wynne Willson: Characteristic of a possible ancestor? Learn the DNA to form this (anag.).

HC

W. G. Amott, C. J. Anderson, D. Ashcroft, E. A. Beaulah, S. Best, A. Brash, Rev Canon C. M. Broun, Ms H. Brown, E. J. Burge, Dr J. Burscough, B. Burton, B. Butler, C. J. & M. P. Butler, M. Casserley, D. C. Clenshaw, E. Cross, P. M. A. Crozier, D. J. Dare-Plumpton, E. Dawid, R. Dean, N. C. Dexter, A. J. Dorn, E. G. Fletcher, Ms E. Forbes, H. Freeman, P. D. Gaffey, S. Gould, G. I. L. Grafton, R. R. Greenfield, Mrs S. Harries, D. Harris, A. Hodgson, B. Ingoldsby, T. Jacobs, D. W. Lewis, E. Looby, C. J. Lowe, R. K. Lumsdon, D. W. Mackie, Mrs J. Mackie, Mrs D. Maitland, D. F. Manley, J. Mayhew, J. R. C. Michie, C. G. Millin, T. J. Moorey, I. Morgan, C. J. Morse, J. Mortleman, R. Murdoch, R. A. Norton, F. R. Palmer, J. Pearce, C. Pearson, A. J. Pinel, D. Pritchard, H. R. Sanders, M. Sanderson, W. J. M. Scotland, Dr S. J. Shaw, N. G. Shippobotham, W. Sloman, C. M. Steele, R. Stocks, J. B. Sweeting, J. R. Tozer, Mrs M. Treanor, L. Ward, P. H. Watkin, Dr M. C. Whelan, Dr E. Young, R. Zara.
 

Comments
314 entries, very few mistakes, despite much puzzlement over NOSFERATU. Clearly a miscalculation on my part – I’d assumed that this 1922 classic of the German silent cinema would be well known. (And by sheer coincidence it was actually broadcast quite recently on British television, though probably late at night, like most things worth watching.) Directed by F. W. Murnau, it’s a version of the Dracula story and was in fact pirated from Bram Stoker’s original, resulting in a successful action for breach of copyright. There were also queries about my reference to the poet Æ – not Housman but the nom de plume of George William Russell (1867-1935). He was something of a mystic and is probably not on many syllabuses these days, but again I thought he’d be familiar to Azed solvers.
 
NEANDERTHAL was generally welcomed as a clue word, having a nice set of letters (especially for anagrammatists) and general as well as particular meanings. A fair number commented that they actually found it tougher to clue to their satisfaction than they’d expected. I accepted clues which defined it as a noun, and am sure Chambers means to indicate the noun use where the odd misprint NeanNeanderthal appears. There was much witty invention to keep me amused, and a welcome lack of unsoundness generally. Mr Wardrop’s clue was not the most elaborate of those submitted, but its simple elegance and wit won the day for me. I hope this will give the lie to the suspicion occasionally expressed that I always prefer clues of fiendish complexity and cleverness. One of two of you challenged my criticism of ‘back’ to indicate reversal in clues to down words in last month’s slip. This is an old chestnut that turns up from time to time. As it happens, there is an article about it in the latest issue of the Crossword Club magazine. I may devote more space to it in a future slip, but, briefly, I follow the Ximenean line, echoed in Alee Robins’s The ABC of Crosswords (Corgi 198l, now out of print), which is that where the wording of the clue indicates the mode of entry in the diagram ‘back’ cannot indicate reversal in the vertical plane. I know there are many who regard this as unnecessarily prescriptive and are unconvinced by the arguments for it, but I stick to my preference, so you know where you stand.
 
I am as unhappy as you probably are that my puzzle has been moved yet again. As usual I was not consulted about this in advance and cannot say whether this is a temporary expedient or a longer-term arrangement. The Work section of the Business supplement seems a very odd place for a crossword, and I have written to the Editor Roger Alton to say as much. If you feel similarly disgruntled please add your voices to mine by doing the same. The only thing to be said in favour of our present location seems to be the amount of space we are allocated, but I know from experience that this can change when more lucrative copy (especially advertisements) has to be accommodated.