A “Spoonerisms” special from Azed for the competition puzzle this month.
I think it’s about three years since Azed last gave us one of these. It’s worth quoting the explanation in full:
“Half the across and half the down clues lead in their definitions to Spoonerisms of the correct answers to be entered. Subsidiary indications in these clues lead to the correct answers themselves. In the remaining clues (except 26) the definitions have been distorted by one Spoonerism per clue. Subsidiary indications in these clues likewise lead to the correct answers. Competitors should submit with their solutions a clue of the latter type to replace the asterisked definition at 26. NB Spoonerisms may be either consonantal, e.g. WHITEBAIT/BITE (or BIGHT) WAIT (or WEIGHT) or vocalic, e.g. BUNTING/BIN TONGUE, and may be accompanied by changes of punctuation. Bracketed numbers after clues indicate the length of grid entries throughout.”
Additionally, three clues were not in Chambers; all proper names, one Biblical, one geographic, and one trade name.
In the blog I have tried to distinguish the two types of clue by number. The latter kind (2) are much easier to solve as the Spoonerism in the clue is usually easy to spot. The first kind (1) are much harder, as you have to go through two stages: first solve the clue from the wordplay and then deduce the Spoonerism of the answer. In fact, of course, you don’t need to do the second stage, which is a weakness of this kind of puzzle. The generous checking means that you can usually be pretty sure of the answer even if you haven’t worked out the Spoonerism.
I think that Azed is unusual in using vocalic Spoonerisms, and it must be said that some of the Spoonerisms are combinations of words that are not exactly common (TAR MELL, for example). In one or two cases I failed to work out the complete Spoonerism, but I acknowledge with thanks in two cases (SILVERN and FARCI) the suggestions of Dr Watson on the &lit site, whose blog of the puzzle is published a few hours before this one. The Spoonerisms in both types of clue are shown in italics.
| Across | ||
| 1 | POSTWAR | After siting’s feast, port was drunk (7) |
| (2) *(PORT WAS). After fighting’s ceased. A nice easy one to get us started. | ||
| 7 | IAMB | Martin Peter, a creation of William Boyd’s (4) |
| (2) Hidden in William Boyd. Part in metre. | ||
| 10 | HIED | Trade Mac’s concealed involves bit of extortion (4) |
| (2) E in HID. Made tracks. | ||
| 11 | ANOINTER | Cooking eastern nan (roti) one applies an ocean of lard, say (8) |
| (2) *(E NAN ROTI). One applies a lotion of nard, say. Nard is an aromatic plant which might be used to anoint someone. | ||
| 12 | ALANG | Partridge e.g. with tiger’s heart for greedy ras (5) |
| (2) ALAN (Partridge) (ti)G(er). Reedy grass. | ||
| 14 | THOLI | Base part of leg, this, is missing smear of oil (5) |
| (1) TH(is) *OIL. Low thigh. | ||
| 15 | KNEEHOLES | Recognize base types: sleek one deviously captures hearts (9) |
| (1) H in *(SLEEK ONE). Know heels. | ||
| 17 | MARTEL | Sailor to mix article in honey (6) |
| (1) ART in MEL. Tar mell. | ||
| 19 | IN PLAY | Pot off niche, left out, plainly cracked (6, 2 words) |
| (2) *P(L)AINLY. Not off pitch. Apparently “niche” can be pronounced to rhyme with “pitch”. | ||
| 22 | DEEJAY | Time to suit US river bird (6) |
| (1) DEE JAY. Day gee. | ||
| 27 | PEEWIT | It follows end of cigarette being dropped in seat – very small hole (6) |
| (1) E in PEW, IT. Wee pit. | ||
| 28 | EWECHEESE | We’ll divide to eke out, as before, see, struggling? The old will (9) |
| (1) WE in ECHE, *SEE. Ye chose? | ||
| 29 | FARCI | Charge for fish? If doubled, round the bend (5) |
| (1) ARC in IF (rev). Sar fee. I had originally guessed at wrasse fee, but that involves a reversal. | ||
| 30 | SLING | Section for pa in fence of stakes – it rings flocks (5) |
| (2) S for PA in PALING. It flings rocks. | ||
| 31 | ALLIANCE | Frond between bends, one holding spike left from behind (8) |
| (2) NAIL L (rev) in ACE. Bond between friends. | ||
| 32 | STOA | Speak grace for students before entering it (4) |
| (2) TO in SA. Greek space for students. | ||
| 33 | LENO | Lion fed with new joint, dejected (4) |
| (1) N in LEO. Low knee. | ||
| 34 | SILVERN | Chopped liver in tin, small community business of old (7) |
| (1) *LIVER in SN. Vill cerne. This had completely baffled me, although the answer itself was obvious enough. Cerne is a Shakespearean version of “concern”. | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | PHASMID | Champagne crazy as I’m working to enter higher degree (7) |
| (1) *(AS I’M) in PHD. Fizz mad. | ||
| 2 | OILCAKE | Modest stretch of water that is nursing watery lack, with duck coming over (7) |
| (1) O, *LACK in IE. Coy lake. | ||
| 3 | SEA BREEZE | See zebra bursting with energy, highland stock to grab (9, 2 words) |
| (1) E in *(SEE ZEBRA). Seize bree. Bree is a Scots word for cooking liquor. | ||
| 4 | WAGNER | One responsible for sting often raged, name appearing in bet (6) |
| (2) N in WAGER. One responsible for Ring often staged. In Chambers under Wagnerian and other derivatives. | ||
| 5 | ROSELIPPED | Sad times, rent heaps mounting, bound around? (10) |
| (1) PILES (rev) in ROPED. Lows ripped. | ||
| 6 | SITHEN | Be a model female in the mine team formerly? (6) |
| (2) SIT HEN. In the meantime formerly. | ||
| 7 | INHOOPS | Wherein the weird sisters cooked joints hard in simmering poison? (7) |
| (1) H in *POISON. Oon hips. Oon is a Scottish term for an oven, the Scottish reference being indicated by the weird sisters (i.e. the witches in Macbeth). | ||
| 8 | MELEE | Might that’s fixed, sheltered with Middle East dominant (5) |
| (2) ME LEE. Fight that’s mixed. | ||
| 9 | BRISE | Last character to cry loudly ‘Run’ with cold wind around (5) |
| (1) R in BISE. Zee bray. BRISÉ has two syllables. | ||
| 13 | JELLY BEANS | In Paris I and Ben sally out for swell denims (10, 2 words) |
| (1) JE *(BEN SALLY). Belly jeans. | ||
| 16 | LILYWHITE | ‘Basket not heavy,’ I yell frantically, ‘Only a straw in it’ (9) |
| (1) WHIT in *(I YELL). Willy light. | ||
| 18 | AJACCIO | A judge with proceeds from cocaine (nearly new cut) bought home for young pony (7) |
| (2) A J *COCAI(NE). Port home for young Boney!! | ||
| 20 | ALIENOR | One heaving loam (say) elsewhere and not under a siding (7) |
| (2) NOR under A LIE (a railway siding). One leaving home (say) elsewhere. | ||
| 21 | YATAGAN | Dirk’s ‘tagger’, a label to intercept any wandering (7) |
| (2) A TAG in *ANY. Turk’s dagger. | ||
| 23 | APHIAH | Sin to call? One who was so pi, ha-ha (funny) (6) |
| (2) *(PI HA HA). Kin to Saul? One who was so. The Biblical name. | ||
| 24 | VESSEL | Sub at tea, maybe, contribution to wives selling (6) |
| (2) Hidden in “wives selling”. Tubs at sea. | ||
| 25 | TEFAL | Duck, initially frozen within, still forming inside (5) |
| (1) F in TEAL. Foetal. The trade name. | ||
| *26 | SWALE | A shady spot (5) |
| (2) The competition clue. | ||
*anagram
I don’t think I’ve ever done one of these before, and when I first looked at it and read the instructions I didn’t know where to start. But running my eyes over the clues, I saw “Trade Mac’s” in10ac and realised that was an obvious Spoonerism. Then I looked at 13dn and the “Paris I” and “denims” immediately suggested “jeans”. After that, it all fell out fairly quickly.
But… There were many answers which had to be correct but I couldn’t for the life of me work out what the definition was. I was hopeless at identifying the vocalic Spoonerisms. So well done in being able to blog this.
Dormouse
Thanks very much; as I admit in the preamble, I had some help with a couple. I think that if you completed the puzzle without ever having done one before, that it itself is cause for some pride.
Bridgesong is right on the money – the clues containing Spoonerisms of the definition were much easier than the clues that led to Spoonerisms of the answer. I solved almost all the clues of the first type before getting any of the second. Thank goodness the puzzle didn’t comprise only the second type!
It’s true that in most cases it wasn’t necessary to understand the Spoonerised answers. As it happens I’m sad enough to try to understand every aspect of thematic crosswords, so this took a lot longer than it need have done.
Grumbles about Spoonerisms on the daily crossword threads are as predictable as the sun rising, so I imagine this puzzle will have had a Marmite flavour to it. I found it great fun, even though some of the Spoonerisms were rather far-fetched e.g. COY LAKE/OIL CAKE. It must have been hard to set, so Azed really went the extra mile here.
One minor point – the spoonerism in 28ac is I think ‘ye choose’ rather than ‘ye chose’.
Incidentally, I’m not sure that the single word ‘foetal’ can legitimately be described as a spoonerism of ‘Tefal’ (irrespective of the pronunciation of the latter); OED defines a spoonerism as ‘An accidental transposition of the initial sounds, or other parts, of two or more words.’, while other references tend to be more, rather than less, restrictive in their definitions, a consistent element being that multiple words are involved.
If I had done one of these before, it would have been more than 30 years ago. As I’ve mentioned before, I first discovered Azed in about 1979. I had been getting the Sunday Times up till then, but Times Newspapers went on a long strike and I started getting The Observer. Somehow I discovered Azed and often did it with colleagues at work.
I can’t remember if I kept doing it for the next ten years or so, but when The Independent on Sunday I switched to that, and then started getting in Beelzebub, especially after I retired and also discovered fifteensquared. So when the IoS stopped, I went back to Azed.
I was certainly pleased to complete this, and it didn’t take much longer than a normal Azed. Maybe it helps that I share a birthday with the Rev. Spooner.
DRC: you’re right about 28ac – I don’t know why I couldn’t see it. The vocalic switches are very confusing.
Your second point takes us into the thorny area of defining Spoonerisms. I think the OED definition is descriptive rather than prescriptive, but I agree that two or more words is the norm.
I completely agree about the vocalic spoonerisms!
I think that Azed’s Spoonerism puzzles are absolute marvels of crossword construction and I’ve no problem at all with a bit of latitude being given to the term ‘spoonerism’ – the two examples which Azed offers in the preamble both involve a single word (albeit with two words on the other side of the equation). I suspect Azed would have avoided an ‘internal’ spoonerism at 25dn if he could have, but he was facing a bit of a challenge in the SW corner (the only alternative I can see would be DEFAT/TYRO/SWALY, which come with their own problems) and whilst TEFAL could in theory have a type 2 clue (something involving ‘prying fans’, perhaps), in practice it has to have a type 1 clue as none of the down solutions with type 2 clues could reasonably be changed to a type 1 in order to maintain the correct ratio.
When I first done one of these I thought it was novel, but it turned out to me everyone speaks different and I ended up having a fight and no enjoyment. Would the Rev. Spooner actually transpose the obvious engineered words so?
BTW, my favourite was someone in the pub going on holiday and when asked where he was flying from replied “Gatport Airwick”.
Nick
In order to get risqué (or perhaps I mean downright rude) racehorse names past the Jockey Club the trainer Julie Cecil used the Rev Spooner’s device with success on a couple of occasions. I won’t quote the names here lest anyone be offended, but one of the horses in question finished fifth in the 1994 William Hill Trophy…
Ha ha. That is intriguing. I am wondering now how many other clever names have been used in alsorts of places to go unnoticed.
Nick
Nick @8, I highly doubt Spooner would have said almost any of the phrases that appear in crosswords in his name, but why should that matter? He didn’t pour claret on to spilt salt as the story has it, but the idea is still amusing.
It’s amazing how Azed can write thirty-five Spoonerism clues to stand alone, let alone concoct a grid to accommodate them. Amazing work.
By the way, did anyone else consider Shadowy site as a definition for SWALE before abandoning Had a wee s**** as wordplay? Just me? 🙂
Thanks to Azed for the headbanging fun, and to bridgesong for the baking a tart. (Near enough!)
Thanks bridgesong for a great breakdown of Azed’s latest wonder. So glad you put an exclamation mark after AJACCIO, “A judge with proceeds from cocaine (nearly new cut) bought home for young pony”. I certainly went into LOL mode on spotting “Port home to young Boney”
Tefal/Foetal bothered me a bit- I cannot remember his using a single word Spoonerism before.
I always understood that the original Spoonerism was the announcement of the hymn “Conquering Kings their titles take” as “Kinkering Kongs” in the Doctor’s chapel.
Re Dormouse’s comments, I reckon I have done every Azed since number I and even have a Ximenes slip in which Ii was HC alongside a whippersnapper called J. Crowther.