Azed 1966: Know-how
Posted by jetdoc on February 7th, 2010
Better late than never, I hope. I was relieved finally to retrieve my solved copy of this from the recycling bin, as I did not want to find time for re-solving it before doing the blog. The clues are fairly straightforward and — as always — absolutely sound, but I needed my dictionary to confirm the existence of quite a few words. I think the best Azeds are the ones where we learn new words, and this was definitely in that class.
I like several clues, but I don’t have a special favourite this time.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CUM-SAVVY | *(Camus V V Y) | |
| 7 | CHAD | Double definition — Lake Chad; a fish, also called a shad. Also C = 100; had = known. | |
| 10 | AUDIOPHILE | *(I I help a duo) | |
| 11 | LAMBS | First letters of ‘line are making baa-ing sounds’. As well as the definition ‘innocents’, an &lit in the wordplay. | |
| 12 | SIGIL | LIG (sponge) IS, reversed. A seal, signet; a magical mark or sign. | |
| 14 | PYELITIS | Pye = type confusedly mixed, a mixed state; confusion; lit = drunk; is. Inflammation of the pelvis of the kidney. | |
| 15 | PITCHMEN | *(chimp net). Advertising men, especially in the media. | |
| 17 | LANTANA | Hidden in ‘plant an American’. A perennial flowering plant. | |
| 19 | TOAST | *(a sot); T = time. ‘Drink to’ is the definition. | |
| 21 | EDUCE | ‘Deuce’ (two, a low throw in dice), with its first two letters reversed. | |
| 23 | STARNIE | *(streain) — ‘streamin’ minus M, the fifth letter of November. A diminutive Scottish word for a star, given under stern in Chambers. | |
| 25 | VORAGOES | VOR = an American aid to aircraft navigation (Very-High-Frequency Omni-Directional-Range); GO = progress; in SEAS reversed (ebbing ocean). Gulfs, given under voraginous in Chambers | |
| 28 | ALLOSAUR | ALL = complete; OS = bone; U = university; AR = Arabia. A genus of large theropod dinosaur. | |
| 30 | SIFTS | *(fit); in SS, ‘on board, on a ship’. | |
| 31 | FIBRO | ‘Orb if’ reversed. In Australia, a building-board made of a compressed asbestos and cement mixture. | |
| 32 | OVERSTATED | *(E Toad v Rest). Mr Toad is a character in the novel The Wind in the Willows, prone to impulsive desires and obsessions. | |
| 33 | ZENO | ZEN = a Japanese branch of Buddhism; O = old. Zeno of Citium, the founder of the Stoic school of philosophy. | |
| 34 | LESTRADE | LEST = in case; *(read). Inspector Lestrade, a Scotland Yard detective appearing in several of the Sherlock Holmes stories. | |
| Down | |||
| 1 | CULPA LEVIS | CUL[men] = peak, ‘the highest point; the top ridge of a bird’s bill’; PALE = feeble; VIS = strength. In legalese, a fault of little importance; excusable neglect. | |
| 2 | UMAYYAD | U = universal; MAY = might; DAY, reversed. the Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the four Islamic caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. | |
| 3 | MAMEY | ME = Middle East; MAY = part of summer. An alternative spelling of Mammee apple. | |
| 4 | SUBLET | Hidden in ‘chasuble that’. | |
| 5 | VINT | VAT, a fermentation vessel, with IN instead of A. Given under vintage in Chambers. | |
| 6 | VOLITATE | LIT = landed; A = one; VOTE = cross (what we write on our ballot papers). Given under volitant in Chambers. Neat clue. | |
| 7 | CHI-RHO | H = husband; CHIRO = denoting hand. The Chi-Rho is one of the earliest forms of christogram. | |
| 8 | HIGHMAN | HIGH[way]MAN. A loaded die. | |
| 9 | ALIVE | AVE = greeting; containing LI[on], reversed | |
| 13 | LENTEN ROSE | *(N Noel trees). Helleborus orientalis | |
| 16 | INSOLATE | ISOLATE, containing N (last of sun). To insolate is ‘to expose to the sun’s rays’, so this is a sort of &lit. | |
| 18 | NUROFEN | Hidden in (swallowed by) ‘oneforunfortunates’, reversed. | |
| 20 | SILURID | IS, reversed; LURID = ghastly. Siluridae is a family of catfish. | |
| 22 | CASTRO | C = Cuba, in the list of international vehicle registration codes; *(a sort). Fidel Castro | |
| 24 | ROSIER | R = river; OSIER = willow. Double definition — a rose bush; more rosy. | |
| 26 | OLIVE | OLIVE[tan]. The Order of Our Lady of Mount Olivet | |
| 27 | LABDA | B = front of bonnet; in LADA. Apparently, the more correct spelling of the Greek letter lambda, the upper-case form of which resembles an upside-down V. | |
| 29 | LIAS | SAIL reversed (entry number 2 in Chambers). The Lower Jurassic period. | |
February 7th, 2010 at 4:06 pm
Enjoyed this. A bit harder than devious week. I liked LABDA
February 7th, 2010 at 6:09 pm
Thanks, Jetdoc. Needed to rely heavily on the usual aids to finish, but very enjoyable. Thanks for the explanations of the clues where the wordplay escaped me.
February 8th, 2010 at 11:09 am
Very much enjoyed this, as you say a good number of pleasing unusual words.
Was interested to see 34ac – the Times puzzle 3,103 that was reprinted recently for the 80th anniversary clued it like this:
Though “busy” in fiction, he suggests a decline in business
Azed’s version is somewhat tighter!
February 8th, 2010 at 11:30 am
Harris: Thanks for the Times clue. I now realize I’ve been mispronouncing Lestrade all my life! I thought it went Le Strade as though it were French.