In this puzzle, which features a 13 by 11 grid, Azed gives us 3 long answers both across and down. The puzzle also includes a larger than usual number of 4 letter words, which can often be more troublesome than the longer answers. Some readers of the Observer had this puzzle last week by mistake, instead of the competition Carte Blanche.
| Across | ||
| 4 | JASPERY | Like a quartz person wrapped in old wig (7) |
| PER(son) in JASY(which is indeed an old word for a wig). | ||
| 13 | AURUM POTABILE | I leap about madly when imbibing spirit in old-style cordial (13, 2 words) |
| RUM in *(I LEAP ABOUT). It means drinkable gold, because this old cordial contained a small quantity of the precious metal. | ||
| 14 | MEED | Retiring judge achieves this reward (4) |
| DEEM (rev). Judges on the Isle of Man are still called Deemsters. | ||
| 15 | OBIA | Old book, one about dark art in e.g. Jamaica once (4) |
| O(ld)B(ook), A1(rev). Obi in one form or another crops up quite frequently in Azed puzzles. I’m not sure I’ve got the wordplay right: anyone have any better suggestions, particularly for the last two letters? | ||
| 16 | BEDERAL | Kirk attendant having to retire a long time before end of ritual (7) |
| BED, ERA (ritua)L. As an intransitive verb, “bed” can mean to go to bed, hence “retire”. | ||
| 17 | NABBER | Name foreign cleric with Rector one arrests (6) |
| N(ame), ABBE, R(ector). One who arrests could be said to be a nabber. | ||
| 19 | LADY | Youth with yen for girlfriend… (4) |
| LAD, Y(en). Linking to the next clue… | ||
| 20 | SHALOT | … Where she was at home mostly? One of lachrymatory family (6) |
| I think the wordplay is just SHALOT(t). The reference is of course to the Tennyson poem. | ||
| 22 | TICKLE A TH’SERE | Kit – leather cases, as leaving – in order, once ready to go off (13, 4 words, apostrophe) |
| *(KIT LEATHER C(as)ES). This utterly obscure phrase can be found in Chambers under SEAR. | ||
| 24 | HETERO | Role model about marriage: ‘I must come out as straight’ (6) |
| T(i)E in HERO. | ||
| 27 | NYAS | Formerly unfledged, taking part in many a sortie (4) |
| Hidden in “many a sortie”. Described in Chambers as an old form of a Spenserian word for an unfledged hawk! | ||
| 29 | ETALON | Wavelength reader from eastern stock (6) |
| E, TALON. I didn’t know that talon can mean the stock of undealt cards. | ||
| 31 | NARWHAL | Warn Ahab (only half excited), with line for possible catch? (7) |
| *(WARN AH L). An appropriate reference to Moby-Dick. | ||
| 33 | ARBA | A nail, end sheared off, must be put back in carriage (4) |
| A BRA(d) (rev). | ||
| 34 | NAIA | New nurse – such may submit to charmers (4) |
| N(ew) AIA. Like OBI, AYAH often features in Azed crosswords. | ||
| 35 | ROLLER-SKATING | Feature of Starlight Express, number in lark R. Stilgoe composed (13) |
| N in *(LARK R STILGOE). A quite brilliant clue, as Richard Stilgoe wrote the lyrics to Starlight Express, which features roller-skating. | ||
| 36 | UNSHALE | Reveal best hope for world stability’s healthy (7) |
| UN’S HALE. | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | GAMB | Leg of lamb? Sacrifice going without it (4) |
| GAMB(it). | ||
| 2 | QUEENIE | Medium-sized scallop, mostly peaceful around close of day (7) |
| E’EN in QUIE(t). | ||
| 3 | PREDICTABLE | Unoriginal colour in small image on board (11) |
| RED in PIC, TABLE. | ||
| 5 | AMORAL | Afternoon delay on line – unprincipled (6) |
| A(fternoon), MORA, L(ine). It took me a long time to realise that A could be an abbreviation for afternoon, having been utterly misled by AM into thinking that it was some clever reversal of something that happened in the morning. Mora is a legal term meaning delay, although I was more familiar with its synonym, laches. | ||
| 6 | SPRAD | Broadcast formerly showing prince laid in grave (5) |
| PR(ince) in SAD. It’s an old variant of spread. | ||
| 7 | POLLYANNISH | Old dandy taking in NY, all-in, distressed, naively optimistic (11) |
| *(NY ALL-IN) in POSH. Pollyanna is the eponymous heroine whose outlook is remembered in the adjective from her name. | ||
| 8 | ETONS | Smart suit in special thread, top to bottom (5) |
| SETON (a thread) with the first letter taken to the end. | ||
| 9 | RAJAH | East Asian chief raised pint perhaps? What a surprise! (5) |
| JAR (rev) AH! | ||
| 10 | KIBBLE-CHAIN | It raises miner’s bucket, black bin he and I manhandled (11) |
| *(BLACK BIN HE I). | ||
| 11 | PLIE | Confusion involving opening of legs in dance movement (4) |
| L(egs) in PIE. This is the second (of five) meanings of PIE. | ||
| 12 | HEARTEN | Give lift to male, near frantic, around junction? (7) |
| HE on T in *NEAR. | ||
| 18 | AT HEART | Substantially awry, changing west to east (7, 2 words) |
| ATHWART, with E for W (and two words instead of one). | ||
| 21 | ORDAINS | Rules as Iron Duke, but flexibly (7) |
| *(AS IRON D(uke)). | ||
| 23 | HARTAL | Party withholding work weights industrial action (6) |
| H(op), ARTAL. | ||
| 25 | ROWEN | Second mowing, contents of wheelbarrow entirely (5) |
| Hidden in “wheelbarrow entirely”. | ||
| 26 | ONERS | Haymakers requiring e.g. ‘ook sharpeners? (5) |
| (h)ONERS. One meaning of a oner is a punch. | ||
| 28 | YAKKA | Work down under? Year’s dosh son at end wasted (5) |
| Y AKKA(s). AKKAS is an alternative form of ACKERS. | ||
| 30 | TROY | Experience once involving love? Paris knew it well (4) |
| 0 in TRY. | ||
| 32 | LAGS | Bangs up from butts (4) |
| Double definition: to lag can mean to imprison, but lags can also mean fag ends. | ||
*anagram
Thanks Azed for an enjoyable crossword and bridgesong for the blog.
15ac: I took this as O=old, B=book, I=one, A=about (in Chambers)
Richard Stilgoe was known for making hilarious anagrams of other people’s names so being part of the fodder in 35 makes the clue even better.
Four letter words are often the most deviously clued, Azed was being a bit kinder here I feel.
Couldn’t finish it. Finding them difficult at the moment, or I’m out of practice. Richard Stilgoe I think is a big azed fan and if memory serves me right was at azed 2000 lunch.