A plain Azed this week
I found this to be a fairly standard Azed where 99% of the time you know whether you have got it right. There is one exception today at 2 down where I am torn between ALLUVIA and ILLUVIA. I have gone for ALLUVIA on the grounds that it is listed in Chambers when only the singular ILLUVIUM is given. Also I’m not sure the I in ILLUVIA would be pronounced as a standalone capital I. The really distorted declaration is AH LOOV YAH. Feel free to disagree.
My first one in was LUDOS (14 across) and the last one in was FOLIO (28 down) though by that point it was very obvious what the entry would be.
I had SORT at 17 across for a while before I realised that it had to be SIFT.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
3
|
The world of hack journos is irritating, wooden with little great penning (10, 2 words) |
GT (abbreviation for [little] GREAT) containing (penning) (RUBS [is irritating] + TREE [example of something that is wooden]) G (RUB S TREE) T |
GRUB STREET (a former name of Milton Street, Moorfields, London, once inhabited by booksellers’ hacks and shabby writers generally; the milieu of hack writers or activity of hack writing)
|
|
10
|
Like hints from everyone I see in employment (8)
|
ALL (everyone) + ([I + V {vide; Latin for see}] contained in [in] USE [employment]) ALL US (I V) E |
ALLUSIVE (hinting; like hints)
|
|
12
|
Head for pool, full-length, in old-style dive (5)
|
P (first letter of [head for] POOL) + LONG (full-length)
|
PLONG (Spenserian [old-style] word for plunge [dive])
|
|
13
|
Counterfeit murals I reproduced (7)
|
Anagram of (reproduced) MURALS I SIMULAR* |
SIMULAR (counterfeit)
|
|
14
|
Board games like this, endlessly dreary, looking back (5)
|
(SO [like this] + DULL [dreary] excluding the final letter [endlessly] L) all reversed (looking back) (LUD OS)< |
LUDOS (plural of the board game LUDO, to gibe board games)
|
|
15
|
This lawyer provides some support – granny’s in step (6)
|
NAN (granny) contained in (in) PEG (degree or step) PE (NAN) G |
PENANG (reference PENANG lawyer [a walking-stick made from the stem of a prickly dwarf palm; an object that provides some support])
|
|
16
|
Old silken cloth, splendid round a border (9)
|
FINE (splendid) containing (around) (A + RAND [border]) F (A RAND) INE |
FARANDINE (obsolete word [old] for a cloth or a dress of silk with wool or hair.; old silken cloth)
|
|
17
|
Stumped, admitting uncertainty in filtering process (4)
|
ST (stumped [cricketing abbreviation]) containing (admitting) IF (an uncertainty) S (IF) T |
SIFT (filtering process)
|
|
19
|
Pro put foot down in souped-up motor (6, 2 words)
|
HO (prostitute [pro]) + TROD (put foot down)
|
HOT ROD (a motor car converted for speed by stripping off non-essentials and heightening in power; souped-up motor)
|
|
22
|
Meat chopped with a chisel partly (6)
|
HACHIS (hidden word in [partly] WITH A CHISEL)
|
HACHIS (minced [chopped] meat)
|
|
25
|
Hot? I have put on that old straw hat (4)
|
H (hot) + I’VE (I have)
|
HIVE (a hat of plaited straw shaped like an old beehive)
|
|
26
|
Amino acid: number mostly short of multiple thereof (9)
|
THREE (number) excluding the final letter (mostly) E + O (abbreviation of [shortl] OF) + NINE (multiple of THREE)
|
THREONINE (an amino acid essential for bodily growth and health, present in certain proteins.)
|
|
29
|
One wandering around Romania and America (6)
|
RO (International Vehicle Registration for Romania) + AMER (America)
|
ROAMER (one who wanders)
|
|
30
|
Once off course, sailor lost point (5)
|
AB (able seaman; sailor) + ORD (obsolete word for [lost] point, for example of a weapon)
|
ABORD (Spenserian [old; once] word for astray; once off course)
|
|
31
|
Symptoms originating in subcontinent, reverse of ideal (7)
|
INDIC (originating or existing in the subcontinent of India ) + (AI [A1; ideal] reversed [reverse of]) INDIC IA< |
INDICIA (symptoms)
|
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32
|
English rose? Rose less red at the edges (5)
|
REBELLED (rose) excluding (less) the letters of RED forming the edges
|
BELLE (a beautiful woman or girl similar to an ‘English rose’ who is defined as an English girl with a fair complexion and regarded as classically beautiful)
|
|
33
|
Showing dramatic style is in A. Behn, not hard to work out (8)
|
Anagram of (work out) IS IN A BEHN excluding (not) H (hard when describing pencil lead) IBSENIAN* |
IBSENIAN (in the style of Henrik IBSEN [1828 – 1906], Norwegian playwright; showing dramatic style)
|
|
34
|
Nobleman, one with land scattered round Spain and a little bit of Oman (10)
|
A (one) + (an anagram of [scattered] LAND containing [round] E [International Vehicle Registration for Spain {Espana}]) + TAD (a little) + O (one letter of [a bit of] Oman) A (D (E) LAN*) TAD O |
ADELANTADO (grandee or provincial governor in Spain; nobleman)
|
| Down | |||
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
1
|
Stale beer, messy lap getting caught in facial hair (7)
|
Anagram of (messy) LAP contained in (getting caught in) TASH (moustache; facial hair) T (APL*) ASH |
TAPLASH (poor or weak alcohol, esp stale beer; the dregs from a cask.)
|
|
2
|
Distorted declaration of affections, we hear, stuff that’s settled in bed? (7)
|
ALLUVIA (sounds like [we hear] I LUV YOU [declaration of affection] or AH LOOV YAH in a distorted form) This could be either ALLUVIA or ILLUVIA (I LOOV YAH) but although ILLUVIUM is in Chambers, ILLUVIA isn’t as far as I can see. |
ILLUVIA (material, including mineral salts, fine clay and silt particles, dissolved or suspended in water and transported from one layer of soil to a lower layer where they are deposited.)
|
|
3
|
Good line introducing poem passed smoothly for poet (5)
|
G (good) + L (line) + ODE (poem)
|
GLODE (Spenserian [poet] form of GLIDED [passed smoothly])
|
|
4
|
Mediocre series, frequently on edge and incompetent (12)
|
RUN (series) + OFT (frequently) + HEM (edge) + ILL (incompetent, of temper etc)
|
RUN-OF-THE-MILL (mediocre)
|
|
5
|
Writer welcoming hush in eaterie (6)
|
BIRO (pen; writer) containing (welcoming) ‘ST (hush) BI (ST) RO |
BISTRO (small bar or restaurant; eaterie)
|
|
6
|
Shrine people found in ancient Ionian location (7)
|
MEN (people) contained in (found in) TEOS (ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia) TE (MEN) OS |
TEMENOS (a place dedicated to a god, a sacred precinct; shrine)
|
|
7
|
Being converted bothered nun having died crazy (12, 3 words)
|
Anagram of (being converted) BOTHERED NUN + D (died) ROUND THE BEN* D |
ROUND THE BEND (crazy)
|
|
8
|
New retreat after conclusion of battle being discussed (6, 3 words, apostrophe)
|
E (last letter of [conclusion of] BATTLE) + N (new) + LAIR (retreat)
|
EN L’AIR (being discussed)
|
|
9
|
Form of grate, or grill (Scottish) (5)
|
Anagram of (form of) GRATE TARGE* |
TARGE (Scottish word meaning ‘cross-examine’; grill [Scottish])
|
|
11
|
Steer on avoiding collision (4)
|
CANNON (noun form derived from ‘to collide’; collision) excluding (avoiding) ON
|
CANN (variant of con [steer])
|
|
18
|
One opening OED at random spies Linnaean class (7)
|
(I [one] contained in [opening] an anagram of [at random] OED) + CIA (Central Intelligence Agency; spies) D (I) OE* CIA |
DIOECIA (a class in the Linnaean system)
|
|
20
|
Common feature Ravel adapted in one of his pieces? (7)
|
Anagram of (adapted) RAVEL contained in (in) OP (opus; usually a term ascribed to a musical work. RAVEL was a composer) O (VERLA*) P |
OVERLAP (coincide in part with; common feature)
|
|
21
|
Dad with need for a change, lacking prospects (7)
|
Anagram of (for a change) DAD and NEED DEAD–END* |
DEAD-END (leading nowhere; lacking prospects)
|
|
23
|
Bit of classical Latin read in translation, or crib (6)
|
Anagram of (C [first letter of {bit of} CLASSICAL] and L [Latin] and READ) CRADLE* |
CRADLE (crib)
|
|
24
|
A youngster brought up before strict heartless old judge (6)
|
(A + KID [youngster]) reversed (brought up; down clue) + ST (letters remaining from STRICT when the central letters [heart] are excluded [less]) (DIK A)< ST |
DIKAST (one of the 6000 Athenians annually chosen to act as judges; old judge)
|
|
26
|
Little girl? That’s her, without a man, in a Turner (5)
|
(HER excluding [without] HE [descriptive of a man]) contained in (in) TINA (reference singer TINA TURNER [1939 – date] American singer) T (R) INA |
TRINA (shortened girls name [little]; diminutive of Catriona)
|
|
27
|
Suspended disused trading company (4)
|
HONG (obsolete [disused] form of HANG or HUNG [suspended])
|
HONG (one of the multinational trading and financial companies based in Hong Kong) double definition
|
|
28
|
Fine medley, part of exam submission (5)
|
F (fine) + OLIO (medley)
|
FOLIO (a body of written work submitted as part of an examination)
|
I’m still very much a newcomer to Azed so thanks for the explanations. Can I ask a couple of questions?
Is ‘v’ to mean ‘see’ common? I’ve never come across it and it seems a little random. Can I use ‘l’ for ‘walk’ just because it happens to be the first letter of the Dutch word for ‘walk’?
Is it not reasonable to have expected to be told that ‘run-of-the-mill’ is four words? After all, we go told about the apostrophe in ‘en l’air’.
Alastair
Alastair @ 1
The use of ‘see’ for ‘v’ is a fairly common crossword clue convention, perhaps more so in barred crosswords than blocked crosswords, but I come across it often in crosswords in the daily broadsheets that I solve regularly – Independent, Guardian, Times.
For point two, you will find that there are many ways of indicating the first letter of a word. In Azed today we have ‘Head for pool’ to indicate P at 12 across and ‘bit of classical’ to indicate C at 23 down. However, the word that you are taking the first letter of must be clearly stated. To take L as the first letter of ‘loop’ [A Dutch English translator on the internet tells me that ‘loop’ is one form of ‘walk’ in Dutch] you would have to put ‘loop’ in the clue. Look through other blogs on fifteensquared and you will find plenty other examples of how to indicate a first letter.
On point three, I think you might generate an interesting debate. My experience is that hyphenated words are usually described as one single word. The use of apostrophes to increase the word count is a fairly new convention, to me at least.
Please continue to ask questions whenever you come across something that puzzles you – it’s one of the best ways to learn and might encourage others to ask as well. I suspect there are many readers out there who would like to ask but don’t for fear of asking something that others might consider obvious. If in doubt – ask! All the bloggers will have struggled in their early days of solving and some of us still struggle on many clues today.
Hi Alastair, welcome to the joy of Azed.
I think v for see is still seen in academic publications so is not common but is still current usage.
With hyphenated words it seems usual in dictionaries to treat them as single entities. Also, as the meaning may change if there is no hyphen, for instance ‘run through’ and ‘run-through’, the clue would have to change to reflect this. As The Chambers Dictionary is the standard reference the cluing will reflect their usage, in 4 down they use hyphens so it’s regarded as one word. In my experience Azed is at least consistent with this in my experience.
Thanks for Trina, had been wondering how that worked.
FWIW “HONG” was not in the iOS Chambers, but having written to the compiler I have had assurances this will be seen to. I hinted at this in my post on this board about ERE last week but obviously did not want to comment on a puzzle in progress.
Getting back to AZED after a hiatus of over thirty years…
Many thanks to Duncanshiell and Sidey for the explanations. I’ll take sidey’s word for it that ‘v’ for ‘see’ is used in academic circles. At least that’s something – if were purely a convention in crosswords it would seem to be a rather small circular defintion…
I find with an Azed, which I don’t get to every week, there are only a few clues (one or two) where I can immediately see an anagram or hidden clue. The rest is like pulling teeth – lots of cheating with on-line word lists and my venerable copy of Chambers Twentieth Century (which doesn’t have ‘see’ for ‘v’, incidentally) sometimes leads to a complete solution and sometimes doesn’t.
Still you learn some new words, or new old words – like plong. I mean, when is that not going to be useful?
Oh, and yes, duncanshiell, ‘ik loop’ = ‘I walk’. The infinitive is ‘lopen’. In both cases, the vowel is as in the English ‘low’.
Alastair, there’s nothing wrong with electronic aids! http://www.onelook.com/ is a useful site as it searches multiple dictionaries, unfortunately not Chambers. There is a Chambers App available for Android and Mac at about £5 which is considerably cheaper than a paper edition if you have a suitable device.
Useful-looking site, that OneLook. Thanks, Sidey – I’ll add it to my crossword bookmarks. I like my old copy of the Twentieth Century dictionary – none of these modern usages cluttering it up… 🙂
Chambers does have v. for ‘see’, although in old editions you need to look in the appendix of abbreviations. As it’s short for the Latin vide, it’s not surprising that it’s a mainly academic usage.
I stand corrected Peter, you’re quite right.