I always err in these Azed blogs on the side of giving rather too little information: anyone who is going to look at them will have a copy of Chambers to hand and will be able to understand the incredibly unusual words both in the answers and in the clues. the actual parsing is usually fairly simple. Sometimes I forget the definition in the time between doing the puzzle and doing the blog, but once one has given the wordplay the definition is usually obvious.
But what about those people who are new to Azed solving and want to have the clues properly explained? Well to them I say get a copy of Chambers. And if the price puts you off, the version for the smartphone is a fraction of the price and so far as I can see contains basically the whole of the new edition.
| Across | ||
| 1 | PLUMCOT | Hybrid, choice at front of bed (7) |
| plum [= choice, adj.] cot | ||
| 6 | CAMAS | Edible bulb American wrapped in dough (not hot) (5) |
| c(Am)as{h} — dough in the financial sense | ||
| 11 | CARMAGNOLE | Porter (say) with an awful lot of brandy in it, leading to song and dance (10) |
| C(armagn{ac})ole — referring to Cole Porter — but I’m less than comfortable with ‘an awful lot of’ to indicate the first six letters of eight | ||
| 12 | STAROSTY | Wherein Polish noble ruled, dissolute sort in time of residence (8) |
| (sort)* in stay | ||
| 14 | THUG | Brute describing big majority ousting MP in (4) |
| thu{MP in}g | ||
| 15 | GLOOP | Mawkish stuff with which doctor takes in ladies? (5) |
| G(loo)P | ||
| 16 | MEMENTO | Having experienced love, chaps held keepsake (7) |
| me(men)t 0 | ||
| 17 | MONTE | Forest area, not cultivated, in Maine (5) |
| (not)* in Me | ||
| 19 | SHOP SIGN | Foreign letter in hong’s swirly fascia feature (8, 2 words) |
| psi in (hong’s)* | ||
| 22 | SYNTAGMA | Part of grammatical structure to label in revision of any MS (8) |
| tag in (any MS)* | ||
| 25 | TWANK | Women falling in pond – slap (5) |
| t(w)ank | ||
| 28 | RETINAE | Optical tissues forming (literally) a sharp ridge? (7) |
| ret in ae is a(ret)e | ||
| 29 | RAGEE | Millet that’s mature forming alternative filling for recipe (5) |
| r(age)e — recipe with its inside letters removed and replaced with ‘age’ | ||
| 31 | PUNA | Cold mountain wind driving back one to windward (4) |
| (an up)rev. | ||
| 32 | SEDIMENT | Deposit small coin in tens roughly (8) |
| dime in (tens)* | ||
| 33 | SEGER CONES | They indicate oven heat, dough cakes requiring surge within? (10, 2 words) |
| s(eger)cones | ||
| 34 | SNELL | Angler’s bit of gut reversing contact with line (5) |
| (lens)rev. l — contact lens | ||
| 35 | EVENTER | Badminton competitor maybe, energy swelling (7) |
| e venter — Badminton Horse Trials | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | POSTMISTRESS | ‘Strain after job gets on top of me’ – might her base be under threat of closure? (12) |
| post mi [alternative of me, the note] stress — referring to the closure of Post Offices | ||
| 2 | LATHERY | Cover draping the king ready to be shaved? (7) |
| la(the R)y | ||
| 3 | MARGENT | Old-fashioned skirt in silver maiden’s put on (7) |
| m argent | ||
| 4 | CROW | Triumphant cry from rabble died away (4) |
| crow{d} | ||
| 5 | TATTOO | Rag excessively drumming (6) |
| tat too | ||
| 7 | ANGLO | Resident of Penang, local of British extraction (5) |
| Hidden in PenANG, LOcal | ||
| 8 | MORONIC | Simple bug devouring frilly roon (7) |
| (roon)* in mic. | ||
| 9 | ALLOT | Assign votes cast, except for the first (5) |
| {b}allot | ||
| 10 | SERPENT-EATER | Wild goat I lost in rocky steep eastern terrain (12) |
| (steep E terra{i}n)* | ||
| 13 | SETH | Novelist; his older brothers fell out fatally (4) |
| 2 defs: the novelist Vikram Seth, and also the biblical character — the name V. Seth sometimes appears in Azed’s lists and this may be him | ||
| 18 | ANAGOGE | One eagerly excited over sage’s last mystical interpretation (7) |
| an agog {sag}e | ||
| 20 | SHIPMEN | Hemp is spliced, navy following old-style skippers (7) |
| (Hemp is)* N | ||
| 21 | GRANNIE | Old woman in a cowl (7) |
| 2 defs | ||
| 23 | GRIECE | Closure of gate blocking little pig’s flight (6) |
| gri({gat}e)ce | ||
| 24 | MELD | Contribution from middleman taken up in merger (4) |
| Reversed hidden in midDLEMan | ||
| 26 | WAXEN | Easily impressed, we’ll accept a vote with small number (5) |
| w(a X)e n | ||
| 27 | NEVEL | Scots punch: litre, smooth, coming up (5) |
| (l even)rev. | ||
| 30 | BINE | Climbers’ support in climbin’ Eiger (4) |
| Hidden in climBIN’ Eiger | ||
*anagram
I recall finding this even harder than the previous week’s – took me a couple of hours, which is too much for a Plain. Probably just an off-day for me if the blog isn’t remarking on it.
I agree about the necessity of having Chambers to hand. It seems so obvious now, but I hardly ever completed until my in-laws bought me a copy as a present.
Incidentally, you’re right about Vikram Seth. The Chambers Book of Azed crosswords includes a quote from him: Azed’s crosswords are a source of delicious frustration and – if and when they yield up their secrets – delightful fulfilment. They have given me great pleasure (and some despair) over many years.
Delicious, delightful, I agree wholeheartedly. Today’s is exquisite.
As I’d been on holiday, this was my first Azed in three weeks. I bought an Observer getting off the Eurostar and when I finally got round to it, didn’t have too many problems Sunday night. The exception was 23dn which I couldn’t get: I knew neither the pig nor the flight. (I did guess that “closure of gate” probably referred to the letter ‘e’.)