Azed 2286

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Apologies for the slightly delayed appearance of this blog – I had made a start on it last Sunday and then completely forgot about it. Fairly average on the Azed difficulty scale, I think – certainly a lot easier than the ferocious “Give and Take” puzzle from the week before. Thanks to Azed.

 
 
 
 
 
 
Across
1. CLADE Those with a common ancestor, see, put on board (5)
C (see) + LADE
8. PRIMO Initially rather proper, before love (5)
PRIM + O
12. HOMEOTELEUTON It doesn’t necessarily mean rhyming in deployment of note/lote round hokku’s end (13)
HOME (in) + [hokk]U in (NOTE LOTE)* – it’s “the use or occurrence of similar word endings”
13. CONGO Tea supplying energy after study (5)
CON (study) + GO
14. MIRBANE Drunken bar where diamonds are found? Jewellers made it up (7)
BAR* in MINE (diamonds are found in a mine). Chambers says it’s “an apparently meaningless word… a name for nitrobenzene, as used in perfumery” – so should the jewellers in the clue have been perfumiers?
15. CHRISTOM Baptismal robe, most rich in embroidery (8)
(MOST RICH)*
17. KATAL SI unit end of a lecture brought to the fore (5)
A TALK with K moved to the front
18. TRUNNION It enables a gun to pivot in turn when moved about (8)
(IN TURN)* + ON (about)
23. BISTABLE Descriptive of a valve sat uncomfortably in stomach (8)
SAT* in BIBLE (one of the stomachs of a ruminant)
25. MOUTH Master at a loss with hard insolence (5)
M + OUT + H
27. PIANISTE I may play composition of Satie, with 50% Chopin (8)
Anagram of SATIE + [cho]PIN, and “semi-&lit” as both composers wrote mostly for the piano
28. DAHLIAS Flowers ships conveyed westwards (7)
Reverse of SAIL HAD
29. RADII Bones? Studied old couple from Roman times (5)
RAD (old form of “read”) + II (Roman 2)
30. DEFERVERSCENCY It disperses fevers, in fairness (13)
FEVERS* in DECENCY
31. YARDS Touches of yellow and red distinguishing some gardens (5)
First letters of Yellow And Red Distinguishing Some
32. ALGAE Found in tea glass, we should be sent back! (5)
Hidden in reverse of tEA GLAss, &lit
Down
1. CHICK-A-BIDDY An old woman with sun screen above her little darling (11)
CHICK (Anglo-Indian sun screen) + A BIDDY (old woman)
2. LOCHAN Sub with chart entered wee stretch of water (6)
CH[art] in LOAN (sub)
3. AMORTISE Special deal for atomiser? Write off (8)
ATOMISER*
4. DENIAL Wrinkly holds one up saying no (6)
A in reverse of LINED
5. STOTTY Loaf little one’s consumed in pen (6)
TOT in STY
6. DEMORALISED Gunners, model side on the outside, clobbered, losing heart (11)
RA in (MODEL SIDE)*
7. GLIM Grand border but it’s lacking light (4)
G + LIM[it]
8. PERONE A single leg bone (6)
PER (a) + ONE – another name for the tibia
9. RUBIN Emphasize unpleasantly it’s an old stone (5)
RUB IN (as in “don’t rub it in!”)
10. MONA Mother keeping close to monkey (4)
ON (close to) in MA
11. ONE IN THE EYE Rebuff received by Harold? (11, 4 words)
Double definition – referring to King Harold supposedly being killed by an arrow through the eye at the Battle of Hastings
16. MISUSING Contemplation about lives showing ill-treatment (8)
IS in MUSING
19. JAGIRS James, about to dress up, calling for income from land-holders (6)
Reverse of RIG in JAS
20. HEARSE Male’s internal organs in meat wagon (6)
EARS in HE – “Male’s” needs to be read has “Male has”
21. GOIDEL Gaelic speaker set about translation of Ido (6)
IDO* in GEL
22. ATTICA Home of salt, famously – I act differently after even pinches of it (6)
[s]A[l]T + (I ACT)* – the region around Athens, giving its name to “Attic salt” = dry wit
24. TILED Cold viands, say, half of it served up with a certain topping(5)
Reverse of DELI + [i]T
26. GAEA Earth: parts of grave regularly covering one (4)
Alternate letters of GrAvE + A
27. PAVE Sidewalk lip a vehicle conceals (4)
Hidden in liP A VEhicle

6 comments on “Azed 2286”

  1. Thanks Azed and Andrew

    In the parsing of 12ac, I am sure you meant to write HOME (in), not IN (home).

  3. Yes, steady solve here with all clues (eventually) understood. I usually have one or two where I need this blog to explain them

  4. Not as mind bending as the previous week’s, but not as straightforward as the ones that preceded it either, so probably about average difficulty. At this point in time, I can remember little else about it. 🙂

  5. Andrew, you’re right about MIRBANE. Today’s Observer, in the corrections column on page 36 of the main paper, actually says this: “Azed 2,286 (New Review, last week, page 41) might have been confused with this clue: Drunken bar where diamonds are found? Jewellers made it up (7). The answer was MIRBANE. However, nitrobenzene, or oil of mirbane, is used in the making of soaps and perfumes, not jewellery.”

    I can’t remember such a correction appearing previously.

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