What is there left to say about Azed other than “thank you”? Thank you Azed.
I found the lower half of this puzzle much more difficult than the top half. I attempted this puzzle in fits and starts over a few days. I am left wondering whether the difference is due to the puzzle or my alertness during the protracted solving process.
| Across | ||
| 1 | CHUCKWALLA | Edible lizard providing food to fortify one (10) |
| CHUCK (food) WALL (to fortify) A (one) | ||
| 12 | ISLANDER | Cretan maybe I vilify (8) |
| I SLANDER (vilify) | ||
| 13 | OIRISH | Like a caricature Paddy, rather dark (name withheld) (6) |
| nOIRISH (rather dark) missing N (name) | ||
| 14 | DUNNO | Cargo of contraband unnoticed? Search me (5) |
| found inside (cargo of) contrabanD UNNOticed | ||
| 15 | STOP HIT | Counter-thrust? This goes wrong round highest point (7, 2 words) |
| anagram (goes wrong) of THIS containing TOP (highest point) | ||
| 16 | ZEIN | What’s possibly in maize (cropping early summertime in France)? (4) |
| anagram (possibly) of IN maiZE missing (cropping) MAI (May, early summertime in France) – I think the definition is &lit, though I imagine one finds zein in the earlier and later harvests too | ||
| 17 | SHOCKHEAD | Feature of Struwwelpeter to outrage principal? (9) |
| SHOCK (outrage) HEAD (principal) – the frizzy-haired character from German folklore | ||
| 18 | ABTA | What’ll provide cover for travellers lodged in Arab tavern? (4) |
| found (lodged) inside arAB TAvern – originally the Association of British Travel Agents | ||
| 21 | ROSACE | One’s often seen in cathedral – or e.g. Luxemburg Church? (6) |
| ROSA (e.g. Rosa Luxemburg, political activist) then CE (Church of England) | ||
| 23 | COTISE | Ordinary lives confined to farm shelter (6) |
| IS (lives) inside COTE (farm shelter) | ||
| 25 | IBIS | Hotel chain in Italy, to be repeated (4) |
| I (Italy) BIS (repeated) | ||
| 27 | OBSTETRIC | Perinatal set-to, crib damaged (9) |
| anagram (damaged) of SET-TO CRIB | ||
| 30 | PRAM | Jack’s about heading for Russia in Baltic vessel (4) |
| PAM (Jack, in cards) containing Russia (first letter, heading for) | ||
| 31 | PARDALE | Short piece of prose on valley wild cat (7) |
| PAR (paragraph, short piece of prose) on DALE (valley) | ||
| 33 | ODIST | Poet producing love poem once, second penned (5) |
| O (love) DIT (poem, once) containing (penning) S (second) | ||
| 34 | ALISON | Not married, curse for a girl (6) |
| mALISON (curse) missing M (married) | ||
| 35 | SONATINA | A pianist without piano, I changed round on short composition (8) |
| anagram (changed round) of A pIANIST missing P (piano) I containing (round) ON | ||
| 36 | SHELLYCOAT | Sheriff’s messenger, a Scot upset about uproar, end of city (10) |
| anagram (upset) of A SCOT containing HELL (uproar) and citY (end of) | ||
| Down | ||
| 2 | HAITH | Jock’s oath: it interrupts expression of surprise? (5) |
| IT inside (interrupts) HAH (expression of surprise) | ||
| 3 | UPROOT | Weed wrenched out? In favour of digging in (6) |
| anagram (wrenched) of OUT containing (with…digging in) PRO (in favour of) | ||
| 4 | CHIP | Approach in which I persevere (4) |
| found inside whiCH I Persevere – a chip-shot in golf to approach the green | ||
| 5 | KISHKES | His keks becoming tight, guts revealed (7) |
| anagram (becoming tight, drunk) of HIS KEKS | ||
| 6 | A LATERE | Confidential answer received, almost all changed (7, 2 words) |
| A (answer) inside (received in) ALTEREd (changed, almost all) | ||
| 7 | LADRA | Headers from left and right are including hint of deception, Gazza-like? (5) |
| first letters (headers) of Left And Right Are containing Deception (first letter, hint of) – a thief. Ladra is the Italian for thief and gazza is the Italian for magpie (a thieving bird). | ||
| 8 | ADNEXA | Organs attached to others, chopped and cut up (6) |
| anagram (chopped) of AND then AXE (cut) reversed (up) | ||
| 9 | MENISCI | Lenses created by some Yemeni scientists working together (7) |
| found inside (created by some…working together) yeMENI SCIentists | ||
| 10 | FRONDESCENT | Rebels with a whiff of developing from early growth (11) |
| FRONDE (rebels, in 17th century France) and SCENT (a whiff) | ||
| 11 | COSSACK POST | Mounted detail company randomly sacks, with speed (11, 2 words) |
| CO (company) then anagram (randomly) of SACKS then POST (with speed) | ||
| 19 | BOURDON | Organ stop to work at within limit, as before (7) |
| DO (to work at) inside BOURN (limit, as before=archaic) | ||
| 20 | DESPOIL | Sack, oddly lopsided, cut short (7) |
| anagram (oddly) of LOPSIDEd (cut short) | ||
| 22 | OVERLAY | Milton’s span on narrative poem (7) |
| OVER (on) LAY (narrative poem) | ||
| 24 | TRAINS | Works out anagram of ‘instar’ (6) |
| anagram (anagram) of INSTAR – considering how simple the explanation is this clue took me an inordinately long time to solve! | ||
| 26 | BRASSO | Fool caught in one eye, looking up? It could produce a real shiner (6) |
| ASS (fool) inside (caught in) ORB (one eye) reversed (looking up) – a make of metal polish that could produce a shiny object | ||
| 28 | BOTTE | Sword thrust left out of drinking bout (5) |
| L (left) removed form BOTTLE (drinking bout) | ||
| 29 | ILONA | Girl from Budapest, first of lots set- tling in northern isle (5) |
| Lots (first letter of) inside (settling in) IONA (a northern isle, an island in Scotland) – the foreign word not in Chambers | ||
| 32 | DISC | Over gone, find out what’s known to slip (4) |
| DISCover (find out) missing (with…gone) OVER | ||
definitions are underlined
I write these posts to help people get started with cryptic crosswords. If there is something here you do not understand ask a question; there are probably others wondering the same thing.
My memory is that I completed this whilst watching the American football last Sunday evening, but I couldn’t get 10d without a word search – I knew neither the answer nor the rebels. I couldn’t parse ZEIN either – another word search, I think.
17ac proved easy when I googled Struwwelpeter to remind myself who he was and found he is often called Shockheaded Peter in English.
29ac, ILONA is in Chambers, in the list of names at the end. (As is Iona.) I must admit I got this by remembering Ms Staller, the politician porn star from some years back.
I’m pretty sure that 7d is supposed to be the foreign word not in Chambers. I don’t think Azed necessarily expects us to know Italian, but only to be familiar with the title of Rossini’s opera La gazza ladra.
Matthew, now you mention it, I remember thinking that myself when solving it.
Nice to be able to welcome back Mrs AZ, making I believe her first appearance (at 34ac) since 2,223 (“Daub Ali removed from studio in bits”), with previous outings in 2,132 (“As for Ali, jewellery designer, oriental diamond is required”), 2.057 (“Sweet cake often associated with Ali”) and 2,050 (“Romance includes this sexiness, Alison so going for it”).
Matthew @2 – quite right, ladrone is in Chambers not ladra. I am getting confused.
This was a struggle, mainly because other commitments limited time to focus. When I finally sat down unimpeded I wondered why I’d been so slow as everything was fair and above board. Does Brasso still exist? My last in was OVERLAY as I couldn’t spot the Milton attribution in Chambers.
A lot of the fun is the sudden recognition of things you didn’t know you knew such as “The Thieving Magpie” overture’s being played at morning assembly during WWII as a recessional, and then also delving up an acquaintance with Struwwelpeter from goodness knows where.
Thanks to Azed as always, to PeeDee and also to DRC for drawing attention to Alison’s inclusion. I seem to remember Tom & Ned also appearing in a very early Azed along with mum, also Tom’s wry tribute to AZ at the 1000th bash.
Again many thanks and for today’s Left & Right (no subediting cock-ups this time!).
I have a tin of Brasso sitting in my cleaning cupboard. I bought it in the last couple of year. (A visitor pointed out that a metal rocket ship trophy I have was getting a bit tarnished.)
But sadly you can no longer “buy it or nick it from Woolworths”.
It’s only two ‘ap pence a tin. I have a tin that must be over 30 years old. Great for removing scratches on plastic type watch glasses – come up good as new.
Sainsbury’s still sell Brasso according to their website.