A competition puzzle this week, but it is just a plain one.
After I got ALPHABET SOUP at 1 across, a lot of the down entries that fed off it fell quite quickly which gave a good base from which to build the top half.
For me, the keys to the bottom half were UPSY at 21 across and SEPALINE at 23 across, which together formed the basis of populating the bottom half of the grid.
As usual with Azed, there were some good surfaces to the clues. My favourites were those for HANGI at 4 down and BRUNEI at 5 down.
I thought there were fewer obscure words this week than is sometimes the case with Azed, but that’s may be because I solved this puzzle quicker than some I have blogged in the past.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
1
|
Confusing series of letters pub / hotel asap sorted out (12, 2 words)
|
Anagram of (sorted out) PUB HOTEL ASAP ALPHABET SOUP* |
ALPHABET SOUP (confusing or off-putting series or mass of strings of letters, especially the abbreviations of names of official bodies)
|
|
10
|
Piano exam to do with very small passages (5)
|
P (piano) + ORAL (exam) P ORAL |
PORAL (relating to minute passages)
|
|
11
|
Scottish wallop, brownish with a dash of tannin (4)
|
DUN (greyish-brown) + T (first letter of [dash of] TANNIN) DUN T |
DUNT (Scottish word meaning to thump; Scottish wallop)
|
|
13
|
Optimistic generally but losing head becomes viperish? (7)
|
SANGUINE (confident and inclined to hopefulness; optimistic) excluding the first letter (losing head) ANGUINE |
ANGUINE (of or like a snake; viperish)
|
|
14
|
Revolver using shot, ten loaded (6)
|
X (Roman numeral for 10) contained in (loaded) an anagram of (shot) USING SI (X) GUN* |
SIX-GUN (six-shooter; revolver)
|
|
15
|
Selection of bottles packed in parcel (large) (6)
|
CELLAR (hidden word in [packed in] PARCEL LARGE) CELLAR |
CELLAR (stock of wine; selection of bottles)
|
|
18
|
Fiend did wrong in deed (6)
|
Anagram of (wrong) DID contained in (in) ACT(deed) A (DDI*) CT |
ADDICT (fiend; e.g. a chess ADDICT may be a fiend at playing chess); also a dope-fiend
|
|
19
|
Outer petticoat, one of five lining bottom (8)
|
QUIN (one of five children or animals born in one birth) contained in (lining) BASE (bottom) BAS (QUIN) E |
BASQUINE (an outer petticoat worn by Basque and Spanish women)
|
|
20
|
Lime tree? It grows wild in this mere (4)
|
LIME TREE* is a compound anagram of the entry TEIL [this in the clue] and MERE TEIL |
TEIL (linden or lime tree)
|
|
21
|
Successes ending in party, old-fashioned booze-up (4)
|
UPS (successes) + Y (last letter of [ending in] PARTY) UPS Y |
UPSY (obsolete [old-fashioned] variant spelling of UPSEY [carousal; drinking bout or party) |
|
23
|
Like part of flower friend chucked in river (8)
|
PAL (friend) contained in (chucked in) SEINE (river in France) SE (PAL) INE |
SEPALINE (of the forms of SEPALS [any of the separate parts of a flower calyx])
|
|
26
|
Religious pamphlets maybe part of NT introduced by translator (6)
|
TR (translator) + ACTS (one of the books of the New Testament [NT]) TR ACTS |
TRACTS (religious pamphlets)
|
|
29
|
Quality of sound and tempo limiting Britten’s early duet (6)
|
TIME (tempo) containing (limiting) BR (first [early] two [duet] of BRITTEN) TIM (BR) E |
TIMBRE (quality of sound)
|
|
30
|
Car I found in canal, wrecked (6)
|
I contained in (found in) an anagram of (wrecked) CANAL LANC (I) A* |
LANCIA (brand of Italian made car)
|
|
*32
|
Things to be seen (7)
|
No wordplay – competitors must submit a clue for this entry VIDENDA |
VIDENDA (things to be seen)
|
|
33
|
Place of worship? Before entering disciple turns back (4)
|
A (before) contained in (in) (SON [disciple] reversed [turns back]) N (A) OS< |
NAOS (temple; place of worship)
|
|
34
|
Outstanding court performer, not one given holiday from hearing … (5)
|
NO [not] + VAK (sounds like [from hearing] VAC [vacation; holiday]) the whole thing could be interpreted on hearing as someone was not being given a holiday NO VAK |
NOVAK (reference NOVAK Djokovic [born 1987], until recently ranked No 1 tennis [court] player in the world)
|
|
35
|
… During lawsuit, writer wanting to hammer select group? (12, 2 words)
|
PEN (author; writer) + DENT (hammer) + ELITE (select group) to me, DENT and HAMMER don’t convey the same meaning, the second seeming to imply greater force than the first but I suppose a DENT can be made with a HAMMER. PEN DENT E LITE |
PENDENTE LITE (during the process of litigation)
|
| Down | |||
|
2
|
Vaguely laid-back? Will of iron conceals it (4)
|
LO-FI (hidden word in [conceals it] WILL OF IRON) LO-FI |
LO-FI (informal [vaguely] word for laid-back)
|
|
3
|
Science in action, present with alliance of powers (6)
|
PR (present) + AXIS (name given to the political alliance of Germany and Italy formed in 1936) PR AXIS |
PRAXIS (the practice or practical side of an art or science, as distinct from its theoretical side)
|
|
4
|
Food eaten alfresco, no good in endless bad weather? (5)
|
NG (no good) contained in (in) HAIL (example of bad weather) excluding the final letter (endless) L HA (NG) I |
HANGI (in New Zealand, food cooked outdoors in a pit outdoors)
|
|
5
|
Malay state to manage in British Empire latterly, then independent (6)
|
(RUN [manage] contained in [in] (B [British] + E [final letter of {latterly} EMPIRE]) + I (independent) B (RUN) E I |
BRUNEI (independent State on the island of Borneo, inhabited by Malay people)
|
|
6
|
Fine acreage for moorland plant (5)
|
ERIC (blood-fine paid by a murderer to his victim’s family in old Irish law) + A ERIC A |
ERICA (plant of the heath genus; moorland plant)
|
|
7
|
Shuffling feet, a don’s no good with a tune (8)
|
Anagram of (shuffling) FEET A DON TONE-DEAF* |
TONE-DEAF (unable to appreciate or distinguish differences in musical pitch; unable to appreciate a tune)
|
| 8 | Camp you’ll rarely find top in stories? (6) |
OUT LIE (LIE [tell stories] better than [top] anyone else) OUT- can be defined as ‘indicating the fact of going beyond a norm, standard of comparison or limit, more than, more successfully than’ OUT LIE |
OUTLIE (rare word for ‘to camp’)
|
|
9
|
Poet’s destroying Lucan translated in German (8)
|
Anagram of (translated) LUCAN + IN + G (German) UNLAC* IN G |
UNLACING (a Shakespearean [poet’s] word for ‘destroying)
|
|
10
|
Only in Afghan language, name for ‘knob‘ (10)
|
(BUT [only] contained in [in] PUSHTO [an official Afghan language]) + N PUSH (BUT) TO N |
PUSH-BUTTON (knob, e.g. on a doorbell or a vending machine, which when pressed causes the bell, vending machine, etc to operate)
|
|
12
|
Carapace butler chopped up in food (10)
|
Anagram of (chopped up) BUTLER contained in (in) TACK (food generally, fare, especially of the bread kind) T (URTLEB*) ACK |
TURTLEBACK (carapace is defined as the thick hard shell, made of bone or chitin, of the crab, tortoise, turtle, etc TURTLEBACK is defined as anything arched like a turtle’s back)
|
|
16
|
Goats etc jumping apace around Scottish track (8)
|
Anagram of (jumping) APACE containing (around) RIN (Scottish word for ‘RUN‘ which can mean’ track’) CAP (RIN) AE* |
CAPRINAE (in modern classification, the family which includes goats and ibex)
|
|
17
|
Silky stuff one’s wearing with rustle moving around (8)
|
IN (referring to the clothes [stuff] one is wearing) contained in (with … around.) an anagram of (moving) RUSTLE LUSTR (IN) E* |
LUSTRINE (silky)
|
|
22
|
He-man shifted mass forward (6)
|
Anagram of (shifted) MASS + ON (forward) SAMS* ON |
SAMSON (exceptionally strong man from the biblical character of Judges 1 – 16; he-man)
|
| 24 | Half of some originating in ME most lacking in colour (6) |
PALESTINIANS (people from the Middle east [ME]) excluding the second six of twelve letters INIANS leaving just six [half] behind PALEST |
PALEST (most lacking in colour)
|
|
25
|
Carved incisions denoting early SA civilisation – six)
|
INCA (early South American civilisation) + VI (Roman numeral for six) INCA VI |
INCAVI (incised parts in an intaglio [a figure cut into any substance, stone or gem)
|
|
27
|
Litter vandalised antiquities – some thereof anyway (5)
|
SEDAN (hidden word in [some thereof anyway] VANDALISED ANTIQUITIES) SEDAN |
SEDAN (covered chair for one person, carried on two poles; a litter can be defined as a stretcher or bed carried on poles for supporting a sick person)
|
| 28 |
Chemical compound one held in awe, containing nitrogen (5)
|
IDOL (one held in awe) containing (containing) N (chemical symbol for nitrogen) I (N) DOL |
INDOL (crystalline chemical compound, forming the basis of the indigo molecule and found in some plants)
|
| 31 | Patterned fabric that shows wild horse rearing (4) |
TAKI (rare wild horse (Equus przewalskii) native to the Mongolian steppes, with a reddish-brown coat, stiff black mane and white muzzle) reversed (rearing; down clue) IKAT< |
IKAT (material made by a technique of tie-dyeing yarn prior to weaving, resulting in a fabric with a geometric pattern of colours) |
I was up and running with 1a too, though probably wouldn’t have if it hadn’t been a friendly anagram. The corresponding 12-letter clue at 35 was the last one in – completely new term for me.
I wonder if anyone without Chambers to hand, or in a rush, opted for CAPRIDAE instead of CAPRINAE, the N having no crosser.
Michael: I wouldn’t have got either word without Chambers. 🙂
Well quite, I see what you mean. But while both would seem equally valid from an internet search, say, you’d need Chambers to confirm RIN and not RID to be the Scottish track.
I think Azed confirmed the goat clue today – never seen that before.
Nick
Where?
Try 26ac.
Nick
Ah, I see what you mean, but it might not be good form to make reference to this week’s puzzle here.
I did know Capridae, but not Caprinae. I found rid(2) and saw the ref. to ride, but didn’t check its part of speech.
Assuming it to be a noun, I took it to be a synonym of track in the sense of an exercise track for horses etc. Lazy and impulsive, mea culpa.
Unlucky, Bob. (Perhaps!)
Nick, I’m not sure what has been confirmed. Perhaps this is Azed being playful and not a coincidence. Probably best to discuss it more explicitly in next Sunday’s blog.