AZED No. 1,996 Plain – Fifteensquared

Nick: A slightly more difficult AZED this week, I felt. I am afraid I am totally beat with the explanation of 1ac, but I am sure readers here will enlighten me.
The blog below shows the correct solution lengths, as I noticed in both electronic versions there are various errors in that area.

If you are going to the AZED lunch on September 25th, the Trafites will see you there 🙂

Legend to solution comments:
* = anagram.
< = word reversed.

Across
1.	Early Stones – such as could make a man of Jon? (7)
	JASPERS	Who is Jon? Why is he not a man already? Is this a pun on ‘J on…’; if so my best clutch at a straw is: J on AS+PERS. (person=man).
6.	He struck a dangerous bargain, making money round the States (5)
	FAUST	FAT around US FAT=money, found often in higher level crosswords
11.	Muslin etc, No. 1 in outre fashioned thread (8)
	COTELINE	(ETC+O*)+LINE
12.	Thatcher’s bundle in yard, one surrounded by wood (5)
	YEALM	Y+(A in ELM)
13.	Simpleton on ops getting muddled (5)
	SPOON	(ON OPS)*
14.	Close point in lunar orbit – Roy adrift with epic ninth (12)
	PERICYNTHION	(ROY EPIC NORTH)* see PERILUNE
15.	Some condone offences that will not be repeated (6)
	ONE-OFF	hd: condONE OFFences
17.	Some knaves making millions in action (4)
	PAMS	M in PAS pam is a knave=Jack of Clubs, the highest card in the game of loo
19.	Chickens last but not as in blended soup (6)
	POULTS	L[as]T in (SOUP*)
21.	Doctor-priest has converted follower (6)
	SHAMAN	(HAS*)+MAN
22.	Aquatic umbellifer is reduced by half in height (4)
	SIUM	I[s] in SUM
26.	Recipe: crustacean (not cod) for beaks (6)
	ROSTRA	R+OSTRA[cod] I think this refers to the etymology of the word ROSTRUM as found in Chambers, as there is no confirmation of the plural.
28.	Thins something that may corrode a microlight? (12)
	SINGLE-SEATER	SINGLES+EATER singles=to make thinner
29.	Round buildings occupying central position among Romans? (5)
	THOLI	indirect hd: Romans=caTHOLIcs
30.	Try circling lake, calm (5)
	SLEEK	SEEK around L
31.	Source of vegetable oil? Find echoes in marsh plant (8)
	RAPESEED	APES in REED
32.	Judge, old or lacking in a witty riposte (5)
	ARETT	A RET[or]T
33.	Year in pen – sad, broken and wheezing (7)
	DYSPNEA	Y in (PEN SAD*)
Down
1.	Take drugs ‘recreationally’ and amuse oneself switching parts? (6)
	JOYPOP	amuse oneself=POPJOY with each half swapped
2.	Jap Mister going round seraglio? He enjoys some profit from catch (8)
	SHAREMAN	SAN around HAREM
3.	Piano medley creating something akin to paraplegia? (5)
	POLIO	P+OLIO
4.	Fiery song represented scarlet description of dawn (12)
	ROSY-FINGERED	(FIERY SONG*)+RED Homer’s favourite epithet of the dawn. Not Homer Simpson, I feel.
5.	Aromatic umbellifer showing sound quality in boxes on meadow (12, 2 words)
	STONE PARSLEY	(TONE in SPARS)+LEY
6.	Swag one removed from blown safe, extremely new (7)
	FESTOON	(SAFE*)+TOO+N
7.	A learner on piano has cut short beginning (5)
	ALPHA	A+L+P+HA[s]
8.	Lads in NE Scotland upended local doormat? (5)
	SNOOL	(LOONS)<
9.	Local maybe in exclusive group up for sport (6)
	TENNIS	(INN in SET)<
10.	Unconventional marriage (busy one not available: husband) (6)
	BEENAH	BEE+N/A+H
16.	Remove water bird in young oak (8)
	FLITTERN	FLIT+TERN A young oak: a new word for me; I messed about with a bird in ACORN for a while
18.	Almanac for e.g. solicitors working at wills (7)
	LAWLIST	(AT WILLS*)
20.	Kitchen dish: female bird in many gallons of old ale (6)
	TUREEN	REE in TUN
21.	Scripture held by Hindus as traditional (6)
	SASTRA	hd: hinduS AS TRAdition
23.	Pre-euro currency unit: notice king’s head on one (6)
	MARKKA	MARK+K+A
24.	Heads for Bhiwani in Haryana and Ranchi … herein? (5)
	BIHAR	first letters – and a possible &lit?
25.	Silver service always followed by another metal appendage (5)
	AGLET	AG+LET ref. to tennis here – after a let, another service follows
27.	Old-fashioned tonic, slushy stuff with a dash of alcohol (5)
	SALOP	A in SLOP
	00000000000000

6 comments on “AZED No. 1,996 Plain”

jmac

@1 - Sun 5th Sep 10, 06:38

Thanks for the blog Nick. Contrariwise, my experience of this puzzle was that it was a bit easier than usual. I couldn’t parse 1 ac satisfactorily either – I thought it was something to do with Jasper Johns and was hoping you could explain!

Bob Sharkey

@2 - Sun 5th Sep 10, 06:48

Me too. Could be an oversight. With ‘John’ instead of ‘Jon’, The Jasper Johns explanation would work. Thorough review of a standard Azed with a few tricky clues.

John

@3 - Sun 5th Sep 10, 06:57

Re 1 Ac – This is an Azed substitution clue. ‘J’ as ‘Pers’ converts ‘Jon’ into ‘Person’

Bob Sharkey

@4 - Sun 5th Sep 10, 07:17

John’s the man.

jmac

@5 - Tue 7th Sep 10, 09:00

John, thanks for that. All is now clear.

NormanHall

@6 - Tue 7th Sep 10, 11:09

I usually do AZED puzzles months after their publishing date and hence don’t contribute to the discussion.
However, in AZED 1987, contributors asked what compound anagrams were, and I wanted to help. Of course, if anyone else has posted an explanation since then, I won’t have read it – because I haven’t tackled these puzzles yet!

Clue from 1987: Yes and No? Refuse thus as on forms. Answer: deny
‘Yes and No’ is the phrase containing all the letters forming the compound anagram. (A)
‘Refuse thus’ is the phrase referring to the answer ‘[to] deny’ (B) ‘refuse’ here is analagous to a definition. The clue as a whole taken literally is misleading.
‘as on’ is the phrase containing the ‘extra’ letters (C)
‘forms’ is the anagram indicator. A is an anagram of B+C

Clue from 1987: Teeth Agony? Yet he’s improving with this. Answer: tonga
‘Teeth Agony’ is the phrase containing all the letters forming the compound anagram. (A)
‘This’ is the phrase referring to the answer ‘tonga’ (B). The clue as a whole taken literally, in this case, indicates the sort of thing ‘This’ may be. (c.f. ‘&lit’ clues)
‘Yet he’ is the phrase containing the ‘extra’ letters (C). (Not ‘Yet he’s’ as suggested by Jetdoc.)
‘improving’ is the anagram indicator. A is an anagram of B+C.

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