AZED CROSSWORD 956

SPEAR-SIDE

1.  R. J. Hooper: Dies out after a person’s popped off without male issue (anag. less son + anag., & lit.).

2.  R. R. Greenfield: Dispraise agnates? So you snarl against us! (comp. anag. & lit.).

3.  D. F. Manley: A record’s climbing and rides high – see it in the pop charts? (a EP’s (rev.) + anag.; high = drunk).

VHC

M. Barley: Line of men is deployed in readiness, with President wanting end of Hussein (anag. + P less n).

C. J. Brougham: Foolhardy pas desire fathers’ race (anag.).

D. Buxton: Those who get hopelessly pissed are barred from being in the club (anag.; in the club = pregnant).

Dr I. S. Fletcher: Successors to title S. Edberg’s first round despair abandoned (anag. in S E; ref. S. E.’s No. 1 ranking before defeat in first round of US Open).

P. F. Henderson: Son not occurring? Awful despair – end of line (i.e. this) (s(on) + anag. + e, & lit.).

S. Holgate: Pistes read mistakenly – time lost in line of descent (anag. less t).

A. Lawrie: Descent of man – dies having erred and eaten fruit (pears in anag.).

J. C. Leyland: The males are perilously near their end when embraced by unsated black widow? (anag. + s, all in spide(r)).

H. W. Massingham: Air introducing a tenor’s manly strain (Pears in side; ref. Peter P.).

T. J. Moorey: Press aide twisted Maggie’s line? Never! (anag.; ref. M. Thatcher).

A. C. Morrison: Changing air speeds rashly can bring about a man’s descent (anag.).

C. J. Morse: On the surface rape’s wrong – that’s the male line (anag.+ side).

R. S. Morse: With this line you might find peers in, ladies out (comp. anag. & lit.; hereditary peerages passed through male line).

R. F. Naish: Air speed’s cut for line of descent missing spindle tree (anag.; see spindle side).

H. R. Sanders: I hold kings and jacks but no queens: playing spades to East I must enter with king (I and R in anag. + E).

A. J. Shields: A son’s pedigree could be represented on this (e.g.) (comp. anag. & lit.).

D. M. Stanford: All men despise Iraq ignoring its borders and mobilizing (anag. less I, q).

R. C. Teuton: The men in trees? (pears in side, & lit.; men = team members; in vb).

G. A. Tomlinson: Pace primarily features in team. You’ll find no spinners here (p ears in side; see spindle side).

HC

R. L. Baker, Mrs G. M. Barker, E. A. Beaulah, S. Best, Mrs A. Boyes, E. J. Burge, B. Burton, C. J. & M. P. Butler, E. Chalkley, M. Coates, R. Dean, N. C. Dexter, L. L. Dixon, R. A. England, C. E. Faulkner-King, E. G. Fletcher, S. C. Ford, B. Franco, H. Freeman, E. H. Furnival, S. Gaskell, S. C. Gilchrist, B. Greer, A. W. Hill, T. M. Hoggart, R. Jacks, Mrs D. B. Jenkinson, C. L. Jones, C. J. Lowe, K. J. Lyon, S. G. G. MacDonald, M. A. Macdonald-Cooper, P. W. Marlow, G. D. Meddings, C. G. Millin, W. L. Miron, W. Murphy, R. O’Donoghue, S. L. Paton, C. Pearson, D. Pendrey, G. Perry, R. Phillips, D. Price Jones, D. R. Robinson, T. E. Sanders, M. Sanderson, Dr W. I. D. Scott, D. P. Shenkin, W. K. M. Slimmings, R. I. Sutherland, J. B. Sweeting, P. Thacker, A. Thomas, K. Thomas, D. H. Tompsett, Mrs M. Vincent, G. Vinestock, A. J. Wardrop, Dr E. Young.
 

COMMENTS
385 entries, with very few mistakes, though for some reason there were quite a number of ‘spoiled papers’, grids not fully completed, usually with the unchecked letter of one of the four-letter words omitted. In the absence of any accompanying note I never know whether this is inadvertence or an inability to solve the clue in question. In all fairness I have to treat such entries as invalid and cannot even consider clues submitted with them (a great pity sometimes). So do please check your entries before sending them in, both for completeness and for accuracy of spelling.
 
SPEAR-SIDE offered many possibilities for cryptic indication but wasn’t too easy to define neatly. (One member of the old guard went so far as to say that having to define such words makes him feel like packing up crosswords altogether!). The definition given by most dictionaries isn’t terribly helpful, but I understand the word to mean no more than the male members of any family, those that traditionally do (or did) the fighting while the women (on the distaff side) get (or got) on with the spinning, cooking, housekeeping, childbearing, etc, etc. Anyway it was a nice word to make anagrams of, what with SEA-SPIDER, AIR SPEEDS, SIRED APES and the like (a nice definition of PYCNOGONIDA in Chambers, I note in passing).
 
A few were puzzled by the reference to Matilda in my clue to EYE-MUSCLES. Those familiar with Hilaire Belloc’s Cautionary Verses will recall that she ‘told such dreadful lies, it made one gasp and stretch one’s eyes’. Those who don’t know this splendid collection are urged to repair the omission with all speed. They have been favourites of mine since childhood, so references to them may be expected from time to time.
 
Finally, a query from this month’s second prize-winner concerning my recent definition of IN-OFF as an unsuccessful billiards shot. Not knowing the game I took it that a ‘losing hazard’ was a bad thing to get, but I’m assured that an in-off scores the same as for potting the object ball. Can anyone explain the term ‘losing hazard’?