17:30 21 October – corrupted data in the file has been removed – the blog now reads correctly.
This was a Carte Blanche Competition Puzzle from Azed where solvers were presented with a blank 12 * 12 grid without numbers or bars. After blogging standard Azed puzzles every six weeks for a long time, I now find myself having blogged two non-standard puzzles in a row.
Although this was a Carte Blanche puzzle, I have presented the blog as a nomal puzzle with clue numbers and entry lengths. These have been deduced from the completed grid – see below.
The grid had 180 degree symmetry which helps build up pairs of bars whenever a clue is solved. I got my entry into this with PICK-ME-UP in the top line and its intersection with COSSET. Next to fall were KILN and PHENYLALANIN [from the anagram]. The grid built up steadily from there.
My favourite clues this week were those for ADDITIONAL (because of its many component parts), NISUS (with its use of the Rising Sun) and CLASP (because of its quirky nature).
It seemed to me that the clues were slightly easier than normal, presumably because the Carte Blanche nature of the grid provided the additional difficulty.
The completed grid was as follows:
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
| 1
|
Chance acquaintance embraces this writer, a tonic (8)
|
PICK-UP (a man’s chance, informal acquaintance with a woman, or vice versa) containing (embraces) ME (this writer)
PICK (ME) UP |
PICK-ME-UP (a medicinal tonic)
|
| 7
|
Left inside nearest to fire (4)
|
L (left) contained in (inside) KIN (family; (nearest [and dearest])
KI (L) N |
KILN (to fire)
|
| 10
|
Special school for geeky swot (4)
|
S (special) + POD (a school [of whales or seals])
|
SPOD (a socially inept person, especially a student seen as being excessively studious; geeky swot)
|
| 12
|
NZ-style picnic, no good in endless shower (5)
|
NG (no good) contained in (in) (HAIL [to shower vigorously] excluding the final letter [endless] L)
HA (NG) I |
HANGI(a New Zealand term meaning a pit in which food is cooked outdoors; or a social gathering at which food is cooked; picnic
|
| 13
|
One in skiing venue botched test – in appropriate gear? (10)
|
(A [one] contained in [in] SLOPE [skiing venue]) + an anagram of (botched) TEST
S (A) LOPE TTES* |
SALOPETTES (a type of ski suit consisting of usually quilted trousers extending to the chest and held up with shoulder-straps; appropriate gear for a skiing venue)
|
| 14
|
Protein creating a fellow’s bodily firmness (7)
|
HIS (a fellow’s) + TONE (bodily firmness)
|
HISTONE (any of a group of five simple proteins)
|
|
16
|
Plunge into lake, e.g. Windermere? – getting tangled with grim reed (4)
|
ENEW (Reverse engineered compound anagram of [getting tangled with] E.G. WINDERMERE produces GRIM REED and ENEW)
|
ENEW (plunge into water, e.g. Lake Windermere)
|
|
18
|
Fancy! Prisoners fed with such bivalves (6)
|
CYPRIS (hidden word in [fed with] FANCY PRISONERS)
|
CYPRIS (a bivalved barnacle of the genus CYPRIS of freshwater ostracod crustaceans)
|
|
19
|
Possibly impenetrable lock securing one wrongfully (9)
|
TRESS (lock [of hair]) containing (securing) (A [one] + ILL [wrongfully]) TR (A ILL) ESS |
TRAILLESS (without a track/route; possibly impenetrable)
|
|
21
|
Less than half tobacco crumbled with e.g. naan – it flavours snuff (9)
|
Anagram of (crumbled) (TOB [3 of 7 {less than half} letters of TOBACCO] and E.G. NAAN)
|
TONGA-BEAN (the coumarin-scented seed of a large papilionaceous tree [genus Dipteryx] of Guiana, used for flavouring snuff)
|
|
24
|
Openings of a minute measure in human body yielding sweat? (6)
|
MM (first letters of [openings of] MINUTE and MEASURE) contained in CLAY (human body) CLA (MM) Y |
CLAMMY (unpleasantly damp, and often warm; yielding sweat)
|
|
25
|
How Texans address others in reverse of liberal song (apostrophe) (4)
|
(L [Liberal] + LAY [song]) all reversed (in reverse of) (L LAY)< |
Y’ALL (Southern United States [including Texas] contraction of you-all [you, when addressing two or more people])
|
|
27
|
A glacis fashionable in limestone (7)
|
Anagram of (fashionable) A GLACIS
|
SCAGLIA (an Italian limestone)
|
|
29
|
A divine, I translatred Latin including nothing extra (10)
|
A + DD (Doctor of Divinity; devine) + I + an anagram of (translated) (LATIN containing [including] O [nothing]) A DD I TI (O) NAL* |
ADDITIONAL (extra)
|
|
30
|
Shake second of dice in board game (5)
|
SHOG (shake) + I (second letter of [second of] DICE)
|
SHOGI (Japanes form of chess; board game)
|
|
31
|
Gathering in essence led by bishop (4)
|
B (bishop) + OIL (essential oil; essence)
|
BOIL (a gathering can be defined as a suppurating swelling or BOIL)
|
|
32
|
TV feature presenting antithesis of Con Government? (4 )
|
PRO (opposite [antithesis] of CON) + G (government)
|
PROG (programme; televsion feature)
|
|
33
|
Rank of former cavalry officer and others in old-fashioned clothing (8)
|
ETC (et cetera; and others) contained in (in … clothing) CORNY (old-fashioned) CORN (ETC) Y |
CORNETCY (rank of former cavalry officer)
|
| Down | |||
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
1
|
Wherein you might see pharaoh’s head, height swathed in perfume? (7)
|
P (first letter of [head] PHARAOH) + (H [height] contained in [swathed in] SCENT [perfume]) P SC (H) ENT |
PSCHENT (the crown of the Egyptian pharaohs; wherein you might see a pharaoh’s head)
|
|
2
|
Antidepressant I lug around outside (9)
|
I + (POLE [lug {definition 5 of lug in Chambers}] containing [around] RIND [outside]) I P (RIND) OLE |
IPRINDOLE (an antidepressant drug)
|
|
3
|
Pet you can get from Tesco’s (6)
|
Anagram of (you can get from) TESCO‘S
|
COSSET (pet)
|
|
4
|
*Sensational (12)
|
No wordplay – this is the word to be clued for the competition
|
MELODRAMATIC (sensational)
|
|
5
|
Senior yeoman bringing up some longhorn oxen (4)
|
EXON (hidden word [some] reversed [bringing up; down clue] in LONGHORN OXEN) EXON< |
EXON (one of the four commanding officers of the Yeomen of the Guard; senior yeoman)
|
|
6
|
Nanny he treated with a pill; protein constituent (12)
|
Anagram of (treated with) (NANNY HE and A PILL)
|
PHENYLALANIN (an essential amino acid present in most proteins.)
|
|
7
|
Unit of weight with origins in Korea and the Indies (4)
|
KATI (first letter of (origins in) each of KATI, AND THE and INDIES)
|
KATI (a unit of measurement used in SE Asia and China) &Lit clue if you interpret Indies as East Indies
|
|
8
|
I’m flagging around end of marathon, in one piece but antiquated (6)
|
(I TIRE [I’m flagging]) containing (around) N (last letter of [end of] MARATHON) I (N) TIRE |
INTIRE (obsolete form [antiquated] of ENTIRE [in one piece])
|
|
9
|
Striving exists in what represents Japan? (5)
|
IS (exists) contained in (in) (SUN reversed – to give ‘rising sun’, the symbol that represents Japan. The use of rising is compatible with a down clue) N (IS) US< |
NISUS (striving)
|
|
11
|
Type notes about Europe? (7)
|
SPIES (notes) containing (about) EC (European Community; Europe) SP (EC) IES |
SPECIES (type)
|
|
15
|
Prudent, skirting small island of crude rock (9)
|
POLITIC (prudent) containing (skirting) (IS [abbreviation for {small} island]) P (IS) OLITIC |
PISOLITIC (descriptive of a coarse/crude limestone rock)
|
|
17
|
Endless hell? Girl coming around to give young parents a break (7)
|
BIT (girl) containing (coming around) (ABYSS [hell] excluding the final letter [endless] S) B (ABYS) IT |
BABY-SIT (look after baby to give young parents a break)
|
|
20
|
Muscle put into excursion in a way that should attract punters? (7)
|
AB (abdominal muscle) contained in (put into) SALLY (excursion) SAL (AB) LY |
SALABLY (in a way that should attract shoopers / punters)
|
|
22
|
What’s ground for Abos? Not one will include made-up road (6)
|
NO (not at all; not one) containing (will include) an anagram of (made-up) ROAD N (ARDO*) O |
NARDOO (an Australian clover-like fern of the genus Marsilea; its spore-forming, multicellular body, ground into flour and used as a food by Aboriginal people)
|
|
23
|
Baronet holds urn up, revealing votes cast (6)
|
BT (baronet) containing (holds) (OLLA [urn] reversed [up; down clue]) B (ALLO<) T |
BALLOT (total number of votes cast)
|
|
24
|
Bar (of a kind) that converts club into pub (5)
|
Replacing CL AS P in the word CLUB will turn it into PUB
|
CLASP (bar or insignia on a medal ribbon)
|
|
26
|
Barley producing great gallons (4)
|
BIG (great) + G (gallons)
|
BIGG (four-rowed barley)
|
|
28
|
I’m husky – hate initially having to leave singers (4)
|
CHOIR (singers) excluding (having to leave) H (first letter of [initially] HATE)
|
COIR (the strong fibre of coconut husk,)
|
Comments are closed.