AZED 2,445

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A tougher than usual Azed for the Bank Holiday, but no Easter theme that I could detect.

I don’t know why I found this puzzle harder than usual; perhaps there were more unfamiliar words, or perhaps it was the unaccustomed Mediterranean heatwave over the weekend that slowed me down.  Favourite clue was for 18 down with a very nice misleading reference to Robin Cook.

completed grid
Across
1 GRIFF  ‘Grand’ applied to musical theme indicating canyon (5)
G RIFF.
5  SABKHAT Bask nervously with e.g. terai on in salty plain (7)
*BASK, HAT.  A terai is a ventilated felt hat, appropriate for the terrain.
10  AEOLIPILE Steam turbine supplying energy, oil driven, in a tall building (9)
*(E, OIL) in A PILE.  Chambers defines it as “a hollow ball turned by the escape of steam through valves set at a tangent” for which “steam turbine” is a pretty good summary.
11  PLEURA Entreaty has early pair in urgency cutting delicate membrane (6)
UR(gency) in PLEA.  With this sense “pleura” is a singular noun (plural “pleurae”).
12  PAD-NAG Mount for Sancho Panza, and stuck in muset back to front? (6)
  AND(rev) in GAP.
14  DONE Socially acceptable, albeit mousey according to hearsay (4)
Sounds like “dun”.
15  SCOLDER Xanthippe not so hot after her spouse’s end? (7)
S(pouse) COLDER.  She was the wife of Socrates and her name has become a synonym for a scold.
16  SPRAT Seamen brought back fish (5)
TARPS(rev).
18  BULLOCKY Aussie driver, stout, gripping column in reverse (8)
COL(rev) in BULKY.
20  HALTERES Aids to balance in flight, crippled before storm’s onset (8)
HALT ERE S(torm).  They are the rudimentary hindwings of flies.
21  TRANS Invert pictures etc backed with poles (5)
ART (rev) N S .
22  DEVLING Imp doing drugs – volume not accepted (7)
DEALING with V for A.
25  SAPS Green cheese? A turn off for fools (4)
SAPS(ago) is a green Swiss cheese.
28  MISFIT Sad sack whenever going round in a fog (6)
IF (rev) in MIST.
29  VIDAME Minor French nobleman? See one alongside his queen (6)
V(ide) 1 DAME.
30  TREE-LINED Like many French roads, with fork to circumvent rotary system? (9)
REEL in TINED.
31  NEREIDS Marine worms wriggling in reeds (7)
*(IN REEDS).
32  MORNE Short number REM put out often scored a hit in the lists (5)
*(NO REM).  It’s the blunt head of a jousting-lance.
Down
1  GAPES Avian disease, potential energy being restricted by chatter (5)
PE in GAS.
2  RELIC Copy pa’s left, divided, as memorial (5)
RE(p)LIC(a).  “Divided” here shows that the letters of “pa” which are to be removed are not next to one another.
3  FLUELLIN Lecturer tucking in to food falls for Veronica? (8)
L in FUEL, IN.  Fluellin is speedwell, or the genus Veronica.
4  FIRK The old drive, using 9 gallons (not fashionable) (4)
FIRK(in); a firkin is 9 gallons.
5  SPACE CADET Wild escapade, act giving away a habitual druggie (10, 2 words)
*(ESCAPADE, ACT) less A.  This sense of the phrase has a somewhat dated air to it now.
6  BLAG One banged up for a stretch after second-class robbery (4)
B (second-class) LAG (one banged up).
7  HONORARIA Voluntary fees in moderation, and not a song (9)
HO (moderation) NOR ARIA
8  APANAGE Dependent territory, hence housing not available (7)
NA in APAGE (Greek for “away”).
9  TAGETES S. American plant to acquire in climbing saddle (7)
GET in SEAT (rev).
12  PARKLEAVES Woodland shrub famous racer planted in sidewalks (10)
ARKLE in PAVES.  “Pave” is an America term for pavement, hence “sidewalks”.
13  COLLAPSAR Space-time phenomenon to grasp one’s well up in (9)
 SPA (rev) in COLLAR.  I’m not sure about “one’s” in the clue: it seems to be there just for the surface.
17  PRELUDIO Overture, piano, played louder round Italy (8)
P(iano) I in *LOUDER.
18  BATSMAN Section held by friend of Robin Cook maybe? (7)
S in BATMAN.  I spent some time looking for characters from Christopher Robin, before the penny dropped.
19  UPRAISE Universal acclaim for increase (7)
A simple charade of U PRAISE, but I question the accuracy of the definition.  Both Chambers and the OED only have senses equivalent to raising or lifting up in a physical sense, or the metaphorical extolling, or raising from the dead.
23  NOMEN Egyptian province, new for e.g. Julius (Caesar) (5)
NOME N.
24  GLEDE Kite, fourth from shelf moved to the top (5)
LEDGE with the fourth letter moved to the top.
26  MIRI Agricultural communities, one of which may be identified with Muslim ruler (4)
MIR (Muslim ruler) I.
27  FILM Release group from slum life given lift (4)
Hidden and reversed.

*anagram

9 comments on “AZED 2,445”

  1. I was away last weekend so I didn’t get round to starting this till midweek, but I think I found this tough, too.  Mind you, I now see I misspelt 31ac, which stopped me getting 26dn.

    A couple I couldn’t parse.  I didn’t know the cheese at 25ac, and I totally failed to spot the hidden reverse in 27dn.  Thanks for all the explanations.

  2. I did not particularly like 22 Ac . I just wondered if dealing is the same as doing drugs. One is the seller, the other the buyer.

  3. Thanks to both. I also found this took longer and did not finally finish until about Wednesday. I too wondered about the use of dealing in 22A. But my main problem is with 21A as TRANS does not equal invert, to me. But it could not be anything else.

    The rest was the usual dictionary romp and knowledge increase from the well written clues I have come to expect from Azed. Now for this week.

  4. I was also a bit thrown by 22 across. Chambers gives “provide” as one of the definitions for DO, and one might say “Shop X does (sells) a nice line in sweaters” – but that’s not very convincing when DO has a well-established and different meaning in connection to drugs.

    Nice puzzle.

  9. This did seem trickier than usual.  Thanks for explaining some of the parsing I didn’t get. Small point: at 3 dn it’s L in FUEL + LIN. It seems a lin (or linn) is a waterfall (“falls”).

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