Comments on: Azed 2051

By: Iqbal

Iqbal — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 18:56:24 +0000

17a SUPT is an abbreviation for Superintendent and sounds like supped also fits. But I like your SUPE answer better.

Thanks for blog

By: bridgesong

bridgesong — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 10:45:11 +0000

Pelham, I think you’re right on both counts.

By: Pelham Barton

Pelham Barton — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 08:57:41 +0000

Clarification of 4 re 30ac:

On re-reading it, I have used a form of words which suggests that my interpretation is established fact. It is of course only an opinion, which will be shown to be right or wrong when the official notes are published in two weeks’ time.

Azed could have clued the word simply as “Weights once found in gymnasium”: I believe that my interpretation is necessary to account for the words “central to those using” in the clue.

By: Pelham Barton

Pelham Barton — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 08:42:02 +0000

One more small point re 30ac: MNAS is not formed from the central letters of gymnasium, but of gymnasts ("those using gymnasium"). As I understand it, Azed is not averse to two-step indications of this kind, but does use "central letters" precisely.

By: bridgesong

bridgesong — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 07:55:21 +0000

Matthew @1, thanks for the explanations. I’m kicking myself over CHICANE; should have spotted that, and as you say the treatment at 22d is one that Azed uses regularly. In 31a I missed the significance of the “or”.

By: Pelham Barton

Pelham Barton — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 06:09:50 +0000

Thanks Azed for the puzzle and bridgesong for the blog. I agree with Matthew on the three missing explanations.

I had no problem with 6dn: to diet is one way (hence “maybe” in the clue) to thin, in the sense of “grow thinner”.

By: Matthew

Matthew — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 23:23:54 +0000

Thanks for the blog, bridgesong.

For 31d you need to know that ‘or’ and ‘ere’ can both mean before.

For 18d ‘style’ ends in AN E.

The trick for 22d is that with sp as m ‘spell’ becomes ‘mell’. It took me a long time to work out this clue, even though I have seen the trick quite a few times.