Beelzebub 1,340

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Very few scribbles on the magazine this week, suggesting relatively smooth sailing.

I did get held up in the top right for a bit, not helping myself by being convinced 14 across would be RODENT. Last one in was 22 down, an unfamiliar term that doesn’t seem to be in my Chambers. An online word search was needed for that, though it seems clear enough once you know the answer.

Upon blogging, I can’t quite see how 32 across comes together, though with no notes by the clue, it appears I probably had it a week ago!

Anyway, many thanks to Beelzebub for an enjoyable Sunday solve once again.

*=anagram, []=dropped, <=reversed. Hover to expand abbreviations.

Across
1 STAR CHAMBER – STARCH + AMBER.
11 GOLF – FLOG<. It took a moment to spot the definition, but it’s just “G”, as in the NATO phonetic alphabet.
12 BOUGIE – U in BOGIE.
13 RUBINA – RUB + IN A. Can’t say I’ve met many girls with this name, but the checking letters removed any doubt.
14 BIDENT – DEN in BIT.
15 ATILT – L[aws] in AT IT.
17 BOTTLE-IMP – BOTTLE + I’M + P.
18 EROS – EROS[ive]. The specific definition (“carnal impulse”) again isn’t in my Chambers, but it seems plausible, and couldn’t have been anything else.
19 HIP BATH – ((Pb + A) in HIT) + H[ot].
21 LOGHTYN – (H[o]T + Y) in (LOG + N).
23 BABY – B in BAY.
26 EPICENTRE – EPIC + (N in TREE*).
30 GARNI – (IN RAG)<.
31 SPOONY – (0 + ON) in SPY.
32 MANIAC – Man who’s about cuckoo?. Presumably &lit, but where does the “cuckoo” come from?
33 LEUCIN – NUCLEI*.
34 ALMS – [p]ALMS.
35 CROWN LAWYER – CROWN (a past participle of “to crow”) + (W in LAYER).
Down
2 TOUTER – [sen]T + OUTER.
3 ALBINO – [re]AL BINO[culars].
4 CONTORTED – (ON + TORTE) in CD.
5 HEALTHY – H + [w]EALTHY.
6 ABBA – a Syriac or Coptic bishop. The wordplay alludes to the word being a palindrome.
7 BUDGE – two definitions, one new to me: move/pompous or stiff.
8 EGERIA – EG + (AIR + [allur]E)<.
9 RING – two definitions: call/an engagement ring.
10 METAPHYSICS – (MY PASTICHES)*.
11 GRACELESSLY – (RACE in [sin]GLES) + SLY.
16 ALPARGATA – (PAR + GAT) in ALA[s].
20 INTIMAL – IN TIM[e] + A + L.
22 GIAOUR – GI + A + OUR.
24 AIRILY – A1 + (I in RLY).
25 BY-NAME – [mystiqu]E MANY B[elieve]<.
27 CHOCO – CHOC + O.
28 SPEC – SPEC[k].
29 WYNN – W[ord]Y + N[otatio]N.

 

3 comments on “Beelzebub 1,340”

  1. I’m away this weekend so I don’t have the magazine in front of me, but I remember this one being a bit tricky. It was quite late on Sunday by the time I completed it.

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