Azed 1966: Know-how

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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.

4 comments on “Azed 1966: Know-how”

  2. 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.

  3. 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!

  4. 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.

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