Comments on: Azed 2024

By: AJK

AJK — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 09:35:12 +0000

A lot tougher than previous week. 1d and 5d very good. Whereas this week’s puzzle? I might have to go to the newsagent.

By: Richard Heald

Richard Heald — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 01:08:36 +0000

The italicised ‘that’ in 27Dn is Azed’s way of alerting the solver to the self-referentiality of the clue, i.e. the fact that it refers directly to something already mentioned. (Similarly, the exclamation mark is there to highlight the fact that something slightly unusual is going on.)

In 24Dn, I think the italicised word is unnecessary, and simply there to slightly enhance the surface reading of the clue (with no detriment, it should be noted, to the cryptic reading).

By: Richard Heald

Richard Heald — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 00:41:20 +0000

For 8Dn, see tat(4), which cross-refers you to tattoo(3), “a native-bred Indian pony”.

22Dn is what Brian Greer in his book How To Solve The Times Crossword terms a ‘lit. & lit.’ where two different readings of the same clue give rise to two completely different definitions of the answer. Here one reading suggests scald(1), meaning a burn (i.e. the singular of ‘burns’), while the second reading refers to Robert Burns who was singularly (i.e. pre-eminently) a poet, or scald(2) (= skald). Very clever really.

By: Jan

Jan — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 00:26:20 +0000

I forgot to mention that I share your delight with 1a and 1d and 9 has a chuckleworthy surface.

By: Jan

Jan — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 00:22:37 +0000

Well done, John and thank you – I found this one fairly straighforward – my old Chambers coped this week!

re 9 EIDER – The EDER dam (with the Mohne) was a target of the Dam Busters’ bouncing bombs.

I’m still struggling a little to justify the cluing in 30 and I wondered about the significance of the italicised words in 24 and 27.