I found this a fairly tough challenge, with even more unfamiliar words than usual. I have on several occasions simply quoted the definition from Chambers without any additional comment.
It was a bit worrying at the beginning of the week to learn that the May slip was delayed as a result of Azed’s illness, but fortunately he appears to have made a rapid recovery.
*anagram
Hold mouse over clue number to see clue
| Across | ||
| 1 | ODELSTING | (I OLD GENTS)* |
| 9 | PIPIT | PI PIT. PI is a form of pie, an old word for a mess. A pit is a fruit-stone |
| 12 | OCULATE | O, CU, TEAL* |
| 13 | SCHMO | SCH(is)M, O. Both cluck and schmo are American terms meaning a fool. I confess that the wordplay had eluded me until I came to write this blog. |
| 14 | WATERED | WATE, RED. Wate is the Scots form of the 3rd person singular of the verb wit, meaning to know or discern |
| 17 | STIR | STIR(ps). Lawyers will be familiar with the term per stirpes (loosely translated as via the descendants). |
| 18 | TELLAR | LL in TEAR. A tellar or tiller is a sucker from the base of a plant. |
| 19 | REGALE | REGAL, E(xtravagance) |
| 20 | AXLE-TREES | LET RE in AXES |
| 23 | ESSAYETTE | AYE in SESTET* |
| 26 | LABRUS | BAR* in LUS(h). Labrus is the wrasse genus of fishes |
| 29 | BRIGUE | B(loody), (I URGE)*. It’s a French word meaning strife |
| 30 | IRIS | I(nland) R(evenue), IS |
| 32 | TREHALA | EH in TRA-LA. Burden in this clue means the refrain in a song. Trehala is defined in Chambers as “Turkish manna”. |
| 33 | PORTY | PORT(l)Y |
| 34 | ZELATOR | ZEALOT*, R. A nun whose duty it is to keep observation on the behaviour of other nuns. It comes from the same root as zealot, but the difference in the spelling just about justifies the easy anagram. Anyway, hard words should have easier clues |
| 35 | PAGOD | P(riest), A GOD |
| 36 | BANDOLERO | B AND OLERO (a bolero is a short waistcoat). I’m not sure that “literally” adds anything to the clue |
| Down | ||
| 2 | DICKENS | K in DICE, N(ot) S(pecified) |
| 3 | EPHELIS | (HELP I E(xiguou)S)*. An ephelis and a lentigo are both names for a freckle |
| 4 | LIMO | A(limo)NY. One of the first answers I got – a nice surface reading |
| 5 | STORAX | STOR(e), AX(e) |
| 6 | TOWERLESS | STEELWOR(k)S* |
| 7 | NUTLET | NUT (cut)LET |
| 8 | YARTA | Hidden in “early art autre”. In Chambers under jarta, a Shetland term of endearment |
| 9 | STEIL | ISLET* |
| 10 | MEDRESSEH | E DRESS in HEM (reversed) |
| 15 | STRELITZI | (RITZ IS LET)*. A soldier of the Muscovite guards, abolished by Peter the Great |
| 16 | FRETBOARD | (FOR A DEBT, R(upees))* |
| 21 | ENGORGE | E N G(e)ORGE. Almost an &lit, when you consider that George I was German by birth and that his name was originally Georg. |
| 22 | EQUATOR | QUA in ROTE(reversed). Note that this is a down clue: otherwise it would have to be “called back” or similar |
| 24 | YUKATA | A compound anagram. Take the letters of ” a soon” from “a Tokyo sauna” to get the answer. It’s also an &lit of course |
| 25 | TROPPO | Double definition, referring to an Italian musical term and to an Australian slang term for someone who has been out in the sun too much |
| 27 | ARRET | Hidden in “bizarre trial”. The reference is to the last chapter of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. I’m pretty sure that Azed has used this word, with a completely different clue, in a fairly recent crossword |
| 28 | BIELD | B(a)LD, with IE replacing A. It’s a Scottish word for a shelter |
| 31 | FOAL | O in FAL |
I agree, quite tough, but it was nice to get an all correct for a change!
A very thorough review, Bridgesong, greatly appreciated. I failed to notice the bolero in BANDOLERO (to my shame), but I quibble with your parsing of EPHELIS. Mine is ‘anag. in E(xigous)S. I have the same thought about ARRET being a recent AZ inclusion, but only guessed at the literary reference, there and also in IRIS.
Thanks for your kind words, Bob. You are quite right about EPHELIS – my error in writing up the blog.
On checking by using this site’s superb search facility (I should have done this sooner!) I find that Azed used ARRET as recently as puzzle 2020, and (as ARRETS) in puzzle 1975.