Azed 2322

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As is quite common, there are a couple of minor typos in the clues. More seriously, that fact that this is a competition puzzle was not mentioned (at least initially) on the website, or in the paper – presumably there will be a correction this week. A medium-difficulty Azed I’d say – I thought I was off to a good start when I got 1 across immediately, and a few others, but the bottom half held me up for a while (though as often happens it doesn’t look too hard in retrospect). Thanks to Azed.

(I see that the online PDF this week compounds the error by having the competition instructions, referring to a non-existent asterisked definition… There are also a couple of mistakes in the grid.)

 
 
 
 
 
 
Across
1. ABSINTH Liqueur isn’t drunk in a British hospital (7)
ISNT* in A B H
7. ABYSM Bother includes this for new parent – it’s bottomless (5)
The new parent is “baby’s mother”, which leaves “bother” when you remove the ABYSM
12. ON THE BUROO Paddy’s receiving benefit, splashing out beer (not English)? Oh no! (11, 3 words)
Anagram of OUT + BE[e]R + OH NO – I’m not keen on “not English” to indicate removing one two Es, because an “English” still remains. The phrase (which is 10 letters, not 11 as stated) is an Irish equivalent of “on the dole” – from a corruption of “bureau”
13. UHLAN Horseman in the wars, separated from gig, laughing wildly (5)
Anagram of LAUGHING less the letters of GIG
14. ALDERS Lad found wild vetch in trees (6)
LAD* + ERS (“the bitter vetch”)
15. BOONIES US backwoods no longer on one’s doorstep? Shows displeasure about that (7)
NIE (old form of “nigh”) in BOOS – a shortened form of the perhaps more familiar “boondocks”, meaning wild or remote country
18. BATHETIC Like a damp squib? Hate it going off cold afte 6th of November (8)
B (sixth letter of november) + (HATE IT)*+ C, with a typo for “after”
19. TACAN Navigational aid for planes created in Alberta (Canada) (5)
Hidden
20. FROTH Fine US novelist in a lather (5)
F + (Philip) ROTH
21. ASHET Server making erstwhile tennis star tense (5)
(Arthur) ASHE + T – it’s a serving dish
25. CANOE Vessel for one – or none? Stick around (5)
O (zero) CANE
27. NEAR-GAUN Scotsman’s mean, sister admitting a rage when hard done by (8)
(A RAGE)* in NUN
29. DISCERP Small radius in two records, rarely separate (7)
R (radius) in DISC + EP (two types of record)
31. INLAID Australian enters wearing hat with patterned ornamentation (6)
A in IN LID
32. CURIE Name of distinguished scientists I introduced to their priest? (5)
I in CUR&Eactute; (French priest)
*33. VENTRICOSE Having a prominent belly (10)
The competition word
34. ESKER Something like a moraine found in The Skerries (5)
Hidden
35. SHREDDY Self-conscious about comb reduced to fragments (7)
REDD (to tidy, or comb) in SHY
Down
2. BOHO Beat type, vagrant swapping portions (4)
HOBO with its two halves swapped – short for Bohemian, or “beat type”/Beatnik
3. SOLONCHAK Poor soil, a mixture of chalk and so on (9)
(CHALK SON ON)*
4. INANGA Small fish I set before granny, good inside (6)
I + G in NANA
5. THREAP Energy spent, the harvest reveals Scot’s traditional belief (6)
THE less E + REAP
6. HEASTE Poet’s vow to produce opening of elegy in a hurry (6)
E[legy] in HASTE – Spenserian variant of “hest”, itself also an archaic word for a vow, related to “behest”
7. ABLY Left inside, the old carry on with proficiency (4)
L in ABY (to continue)
8. BUDGER Bed rug having slipped off, one’s stirring (6)
(BED RUG)*
9. SORBITOL Some Peruvian money restricting source of action, a sweetener (8)
ORBIT in SOL (Peruvian currency) – Chambers gives “sphere of action” for ORBIT, which I’m not sure is the same as “source..”
10. MOSS-CHEEPER Wee Scots birdie, she comes fluttering through (11)
(SHE COMES)* + PER
11. SUBSTANTIVE Real advances before almost headlong start of enfilade (11)
SUBS (advance payments) + TANTIV[Y] + E[nfilade]
16. STONKERED Drunk? Drunk having imbibed barrel – not good, right? (9)
KE[G] + R in STONED
17. CASERNES Roughly looks at housing senior service in old barracks (8)
RN (Royal Navy, the senior service) in CA (about, roughly) + SEES
22. ERGATE Worker losing openings for work after that political scandal (6)
WATERGATE less the first letters of Work After That
23. CADDIS Worsted ribbon, most ungentlemanly? (6)
“Most”, i.e. almost, CADDIS[H] – apparently no connection with the Caddis fly
24. QUITCH Vacate clubhouse couch (6)
QUIT + CH – another name for couch grass
26. ACCUSE Tax, common custom added at foot of bill (6)
ACC (account, bill – a change from the more usual AC) + USE (common custom)
28. TIRR Celtic strip, exciting for the fans without ambient chant? (4)
STIRRING (exciting for the fans – or anyone else!) less the surrounding SING
30. RIND Mansion’s closing? It’s free to go round outside (4)
[mansio]N in RID (free). Having just done the Everyman as a warm-up, I was primed for this from that puzzle’s 26a: “Clear about nitrogen outside”

7 comments on “Azed 2322”

  1. Thanks Azed and Andrew.

    29ac: The R in the wordplay comes from “Small radius”, but I am sure that is what you meant to put.

    26dn: I took this as C + USE following AC. As I am currently away from home, I cannot check to see if Chambers gives C = common.

  2. Thanks Pelham. I’ve corrected 29a: I must have dropped off there!

    You could be right about 26d – I can’t find c = common in Chambers (though it does have “common time”, so perhaps a misreading by Azed?), but it seems to work either way

  3. There are more problems with today’s (no. 2323)
    18 number for 18 down is missing from the diagram, but should be where you’s expect it.

    To fit the answers the diagram should be assymmetrical:

    The clue and length indication at 25A(6, two words) are correct. The bar after after the fifth letter should be removed.

    The clue and length indication at 32A (5) are correct. There should be a bar after the fifth letter. There should also be a bar before the eighth letter, so that line should be 5,1,1,1,4.

    Hope this helos anyone baffled.

  4. I saw 26 down as Andrew did: ACC = account (in Chambers) + USE (common custom).

    Thanks for the heads up Goujeers. It’s 29 across where the bar after the fifth letter should be removed, but your confirmation of the correct enumeration (6, two words) made this obvious.

    I’ve commented ad nauseam about these errors and don’t want to be a bore, but it really is time the Groaniad got a new proofreader/typesetter.

  5. Sorry to barge in on this thread, but today’s Azed (2,323 – Sunday 11th December) is absolutely appalling, the worst one I can remember. There are so, so many errors, in both grid (bars in the wrong place or not there at all), Clues – wrong numbers, numbers that don’t exist – it’s borderline undoable. Appalling stuff.

  6. Re Goujeers @3, cruciverbophile @4, Uncleskinny @5: Yes, agreed on all points. And apart from about eight errors in the grid and the clues, AZED 2,323 is billed as ‘Plain’ but the rubric is for a ‘COMPETITION’, ie a clue-writing challenge. There is no ‘asterisked definition’ for which a clue has to be written. The destination for entries in the version I’m looking at is for a ‘COMPETITION’ (ie, somewhere in Oxfordshire) rather than a ‘Plain’ (ie, somewhere in London N1)

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