I am a Gozo fan and always enjoy solving his puzzles learning much entirely useless information (the best kind) along the way.
As you will know Gozo puzzles are themed, this one is about transport with a heavy slant towards automobiles. Thank you Gozo.
| Across | ||
| 1 | JOWETT | Bradford car firm which produced the Javelin and developed Jet2 (6) |
| (JET TWO)* anagram=developed – The Jowett Javelin. Jet2 is a UK budget airline based at Leeds-Bradford airport. Funnily enough I travelled to Bradford only yesterday to pick up another car, sadly not a Jowett though. | ||
| 4 | DAIHATSU | Welshman with bowler from Russia at oldest Japanese car firm (8) |
| DAI (Welshman) with HAT (bowler) SU (Soviet Union, Russia) – the Daihatsu Motor Company | ||
| 10 | AVIETTE | Having lost odds, navvy is entitled to glider (7) |
| nAvVy Is EnTiTlEd with the odd numbered letters removed | ||
| 11 | ALLEGRO | BL model’s speed (7) |
| double definition – the Austin Allegro from British Leyland – innovation ahead of its time, or just plain wrong? You decide. | ||
| 12 | OPEL | Work with the Spanish car firm (4) |
| OP (opus, work) EL (the, in Spanish) – a very old German automobile firm, now part of General Motors | ||
| 13 | HOVERCRAFT | Dam leading offcer left and caught rough boat to cushioned transport (10) |
| HOoVER (dam) with O (leading letter of officer) removed, C (caught) and RAFT (rough boat) | ||
| 16 | SINGER | Bass, say, at Coventry car firm (6) |
| double definition – Singer Motors Limited, originally a bicycle manufacturer | ||
| 17 | CLIPPER | Hairdresser under sail (7) |
| double definition | ||
| 20 | MINIBUS | Transport Ian Botham, initially into take-away (7) |
| IB (Ian Botham’s initials) in MINUS (take away) | ||
| 21 | BEETLE | Say! Ringo has a bug (6) |
| Ringo Starr is a Beatle (sounds like “beetle”, say) – the Volkswagen Beetle | ||
| 24 | HANG GLIDER | Henry Langridge lashed out at large kite (4-6) |
| H (henry) LANGRIDGE (lashed out = anagram) – I’m not wholly at “lashed out” as an anagram indicator here | ||
| 25 | TRAM | Leading transport running round Moscow (4) |
| Transport Running Around Moscow (leading letters of) – I think this clue has a misprint in the online version | ||
| 27 | PHAETON | Roofless Stanhope rebuilt as this? (7) |
| sTANHOPE* anagram=rebuilt – a style of car body, also various car models from Buick, Mercury and Volkswagon | ||
| 29 | TITANIC | Liner – 1 it can’t crash (7) |
| anagram (crash) of I (one, Roman numeral) IT CAN’T | ||
| 30 | DRAGSTER | Obstacle to progress that’s almost serious for Santa Pod racer (8) |
| DRAG (obstacle to progress) STERn (serious, almost) – Santa Pod in Northamptonshire was Europe’s first drag racing circuit. Named after Santa Anna, a track in California, and Poddington the local village. | ||
| 31 | WYVERN | Points out very different 1950s Vauxhall model (6) |
| VERY* (different=anagram) with NS (points of the compass) outside – the Vauxhall Wyvern | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | JEALOUSY | Envy shown by nameless girl feeling bad (8) |
| JEAn (girl) missing N (name) LOUSY (feeling bad) | ||
| 2 | WHITE ENSIGN | Standard variation of nine weights (5,6) |
| (NINE WEIGHTS)* variation=anagram – a British naval flag (standard) | ||
| 3 | TUTU | Archbishop’s dress (4) |
| double definition | ||
| 5 | ARABELLA | Girl’s graceful horse turned up at heart of valley (8) |
| ARAB (graceful horse) and vALLEy (heart of) reversed (turned up) | ||
| 6 | HELICOPTER | The police broke rule for a Chinook (10) |
| (THE POLICE)* anagram=broke R (rule, law) – a military helicopter | ||
| 7 | TAG | Stagecoach’s label (3) |
| sTAGecoach | ||
| 8 | U-BOATS | They’re fitted to a sub! (1-5) |
| U-boats are subs, the definition is &lit since the letters of ‘u-boats’ can be fitted into ‘to a sub’ | ||
| 9 | VELOX | French bike on cross for 31’s 1950s partner (5) |
| VELO (French bike) on X (cross) – the Vauxhall Velox based on the same body shell as the Wyvern (31 across) | ||
| 14 | AGENT ORANGE | Amateur getting info for 28 that’s poisonous (5,6) |
| A (amateur) getting GEN (info) TO (for) RANGE (cooker, an Aga for instance) | ||
| 15 | MENINGITIS | Illness of US soldier having to sit out under gate in Ypres (10) |
| GI (US soldier) having SIT* (anagram=out) under the MENIN gate war memorial in Ypres | ||
| 18 | AUDIENCE | They hear German car in French church (8) |
| AUDI (German car) EN (in, French) CE (church, of England) – definition is ‘they hear’ | ||
| 19 | PEMMICAN | Emergency rations bringing out the camp in me (8) |
| (CAMP IN ME)* anagram=out, bringing=you will get from this… – dried meat used as emergency rations | ||
| 22 | SHAPED | Formed from diamonds under loose heaps (6) |
| D (diamonds, cards) following HEAPS* (anagram=loose) | ||
| 23 | JETTY | Pier for plane on outskirts of Tobermory (5) |
| JET (plane) on TobermorY (outskirts of) | ||
| 26 | STAY | Support will last (4) |
| double definition | ||
| 28 | AGA | Chief offcer from Alvis gains approval at first (3) |
| Alvis Gains Approval (first letters of) – an important ottoman military officer or official | ||
*anagram
Interestingly it turned out I knew far more about vehicles than I thought I did, even 1a was there in the back of my head somewhere.
Thanks to Gozo and PeeDee too
Beautifully crafted, as always. Thanks to Gozo, and to PeeDee especially for telling me about Jet2, which makes the clue even finer.
I can well recall the excited crowds around the Jowett Javelin at the Festival of Britain.
Enjoyable stuff. Although 25ac was also mispronted in the print version – the European edition at any rate.
Neat, lovely, well-written clues!1
Cheers
Rowly.