A carte blanche to blog this week.
I always enjoy cartes blanches as I like the challenge of cold solving a few clues. We were told that the grid was symmetric on quarter turns rather than just half turns as is more usual, so that helped place the bars. The grid below shows numbers as well as bars, but the numbers are unnecessary for submission. It’s just that numbers help me when writing the blog.
I got off to a good start with RUDE, the second across and QOPH, the first down. The Q helped me get QUIPSTER. I then got a few more early downs which gave a good basis for some more bars. The grid fill built up steadily from there. There was a bit of a hitch as I had the three letter SAI for the Sumatran monkey clue for a while. It wasn’t till SEPHEN and ANYONE fell that I realised the error of my ways.
As ever with Azed, the cluing was precise and fair, especially for the more obscure entries. There were quite a few new words for me this week.
The filled grid looks like this.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
| 1 | One given to jests, absolutely right about ‘gutless press’ |
(QUITE [absolutely] + R [right]) containing (about) PS (letters remaining in PRESS when the central letters RES are removed [gutless]) QUI (PS) TE R |
QUIPSTER ( person given to making clever remarks; one given to jests) |
| 7 | Coarse groundsel requires regular weeding out |
RUDE (letters remaining in GROUNDSEL when letters 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 – GONSL [regular] are removed [weeded out]) RUDE |
RUDE (coarse) |
| 10 | Like moorland plants, new planted? We’re not converted |
N (new) contained in (planted) HEATHERY (descriptive of moorland plants) HEATHE (N) RY |
HEATHENRY (pagans; people who do not follow or have not be converted to religion) |
| 11 | Difficulty you’ll need to examine carefully? Almost |
PROBE (examine carefully) excluding the final letter (almost) E PROB |
PROB (PROBlem; difficulty) |
| 12 | Way of working, ancestry in heraldic cross |
MO (modus operandi) + LINE (ancestry) MO LINE |
MOLINE (in heraldry, like the rind of a millstone, applied to a cross with each arm ending in two outward curving branches) |
| 13 | One managing national curriculum, moderation first and last |
HO (moderation) + NC (national curriculum) + HO (moderation) HO NC HO |
HONCHO (leader, manager) |
| 15 | Turning round, poet drops first ingredient of salad dressing |
T S ELIOT (English poet, [1888 – 1965], American-English poet) excluding (drops) S [first letter {first ingredient of} of SALAD]) and then reversed (turning round) TOILET< |
TOILET (articles used in dressing) |
| 16 | Monkey found within borders of Sumatra, I |
IMP [monkey] contained in [found within] SA [first and last letters of {borders of} SUMATRA]) + I S (IMP) A I |
SIMPAI (black-crested langur [entellus monkey] of Sumatra) &Lit clue |
| 17 | Aspect of ageing to defeat technology? Not I |
CANE (defeat) + SCIENCE (technology) excluding (not) I CANE SCENCE |
CANESCENCE (tending to or becoming white or grey; hoary; aspect of ageing) |
| 18 | Rivet’s come adrift? It indicates a measure of tackiness |
Anagram of (adrift) RIVET’S COME VISCOMETER* |
VISCOMETER (instrument for measuring viscosity or stickiness [tackiness]) |
| 23 | VIP’s not just this unknown, closeted in a period of the Liturgy |
Y (letter frequently used to indicate an unknown value in mathematics) contained in (closeted in) (A + NONE [one of the hours of the Divine Office, originally held at the ninth hour of the day, 3pm, Roman Catholic – a period of the Liturgy]) A N (Y) ONE |
ANYONE (a VIP [very important person] is not just ANYONE) |
| 24 | Belonging to the Iron Age, not long past and not old (2 words) |
LATE (not long past) + NE (obsolete [old] word for not) LA TE NE |
LA TÈNE (descriptive of a division of the Iron Age exemplified at LA TÈNE near Neuchâtel in Switzerland, later than Hallstatt) |
| 26 | Dismal old Mediterranean port that’s lost heart |
TRIESTE (Italian port in the old Mediterranean region of Italy) excluding the central letter (that’s lost heart) E TRISTE |
TRISTE (archaic [old]word for dismal) |
| 28 | Legendary lover, one lute’s transported |
I [Roman numeral for one] + an anagram of (transported) LUTE’S I SEULT* |
ISEULT (In Irish legend, this is a reference to ISEULT, wife of Mark of Cornwall and lover of Tristan) |
| 29 | Demon inside everybody? Look there |
DEEV (hidden word [look there] INSIDE EVERYBODY) DEEV |
DEEV (alternative spelling of DIV [an evil spirit of Persian mythology.; demon]) |
| 30 | Instrument of brass and gold – no plated in tin |
(OR [the tincture gold] + NOPE [no]) contained in (plated in) CAN (tin) C (OR NOPE) AN |
CORNOPEAN (a brass cornet; [musical] instrument of brass) |
| 31 | Rack for drying cheese or fish |
HAKE (alternative spelling of HECK [rack or frame for drying cheese]) HAKE |
HAKE (edible marine fish) |
| 32 | Fair Scottish pixie in flowing water |
ELF (pixie) contained in (in) an anagram of (flowing) WATER WE (ELF) ART* |
WEEL-FAR’T (Scottish word for well-favoured; good-looking; fair) |
| Down | |||
| 1 | Letter for Israel heads for Qalansawe or possibly Haifa |
QOPH (first letters [heads for] of each of QALANSAWE OR POSSIBLY and HAIFA) QOPH |
QOPH (alternative spelling of KOPH [the nineteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.]) |
| 2 | Deracination achieved by gun troop I deployed |
Anagram of (deployed) GUN TROOP I UPROOTING* |
UPROOTING (deracinate is defined as ROOTING UP) |
| 3 | Wry, like Wellington in charge |
IRON (The Duke of Wellington was known as the IRON Duke) + IC (in charge) IRON IC |
IRONIC (wry) |
| 4 | Powerful stinger? King maybe declining second |
STEPHEN (reference King STEPHEN of England [1092/6 – 1154]) excluding the second letter (declining second) T SEPHEN |
SEPHEN (stingray [fish with a formidable barbed dorsal spine on its tail.]; powerful stinger) |
| 5 | Thanks! That’s got me involved in strong massage technique |
TA (thanks!) + (ME contained in [got … involved in] POTENT [strong]) TA POTE (ME) NT |
TAPOTEMENT (use of light taps in massage.) |
| 6 | Typical of Sturgeon’s speech mostly full-toned and burning within |
HOT (burning) contained in (within) RICH (full-toned) excluding the final letter (mostly) H R (HOT) IC |
RHOTIC (r-pronouncing, ie denoting a dialect or accent, or speaking a dialect or with an accent, in which r is pronounced when it occurs before a consonant or before a pause) Presumably a reference to Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland, a country where the majority of the population are RHOTIC in their speech |
| 7 | Put fresh match to old flue in Scottish coalyard? |
LUM (old Scottish word for chimney or flue) contained in (in) REE (Scottish word for an enclosure, especially a [partially-])roofed walled yard, eg for coal) RE (LUM) E |
RELUME (to light or light up again, to rekindle; put fresh match to) |
| 8 | One in dark, left out? |
UNLIT (dark) excluding (out) L (left) UNIT |
UNIT (one) |
| 9 | First person with rest, we hear, for one end of telescope? |
EYE (sounds like [we hear] I [first person]) + PIECE (sounds like [we hear] PEACE [rest]) EYE PIECE |
EYE-PIECE (lens or combination of lenses at the eye end of an optical instrument; one end of telescope) |
| 12 | Myrtle’s cousin, girl taken on by film studio that’s not succeeded therein |
MISS (girl) + ELSTREE (English film-studio) excluding (that’s not) S (succeeded) MISS EL TREE |
MISSEL-TREE (tree related to the myrtle) |
| 14 | One popular at dinner parties who’s fiddled around near court |
Anagram of (fiddled around) NEAR COURT RACONTEUR* |
RACONTEUR (teller of anecdotes, the kind of person who is popular at dinner parties) |
| 15 | Companion of Virginia, loaded |
TO (of) + VA (Virginia) + RICH (wealthy; loaded) TO VA RICH |
TOVARICH (comrade; companion) |
| 19 | Source of oil, hot, that’s infused minced ounce |
H (hot) contained in (that’s infused) an anagram of (minced) OUNCE CO (H) UNE* |
COHUNE (a Central and South American palm yielding nuts and oil) |
| 20 | Forward surge: pack member certainly not upended |
(WOLF [example of an animal that hunts in packs] + NO [certainly not]) reversed (upended; down clue]) (ON FLOW)< |
ONFLOW (forward surge) |
| 21 | Two sailors disposing of T bone |
TAR (sailor) + SALT (sailor) excluding (to dispose of) T TAR SAL |
TARSAL (bone forming part of the foot)) |
| 22 | Annual, second seen among tall grass, active |
(S contained in [seen among] REED [tall grass]) + A (active) RE (S) ED A |
RESEDA (the mignonette genus, plants which flower every year [annuals])) |
| 25 | Yank jacket, sleeveless, not fashionable |
JERKIN (sleeveless jacket) excluding (not) IN (fashionable) JERK |
JERK (yank) |
| 27 | Old lizard, over time always shedding tail |
EVER (always) excluding the final letter (shedding tail) R + T (time) EVE T |
EVET (obsolete [old] word a lizard) |
The last time one of these came up, I was completely defeated. I rely too much on the given word lengths when solving. Last week I was out Sunday night so only had chance to have a brief look at it, but I quickly got QOPH, QUIPSTER and RUDE. And the symmetry helped me get RUDE. At that point I went to bed, but WEELFART suggested itself to me overnight and I checked it in the morning.
Took a lot longer than a normal Azed, but I got it all by the end of Monday.
4dn I assumed was a reference to Stephen King, not King Stephen. 🙂
I thought it was a cracker. Good leads in the top left corner and you’re well on your way. I think I cheated though: somehow I got the vague swastika shape for the bars at 12, 17, 22 and the bottom of 5 Dn. Hang on a minute—this looks like one of Azed’s templates. And it was! You had to do a couple of tweaks but you also had to go back only to 2443, assume there’ll be 18 Across and 18 Down, and Bob’s yer uncle. Is that really cheating?
Stefan
I too liked this. The two Q-answers went in quickly top left, and made a basis for steady progress. As it happens, the current Spectator crossword also offers a blank grid to negotiate, being an Alphabetical Jigsaw, and the Q word is also a help there in getting started – this is no spoiler, since it is one of four 12-letter answers around the edge. I wonder how many others have done both of these satisfying puzzles.
Azed’s cartes blanches are always fun; harder than plain puzzles but solvable enough not to become a slog. It’s a different matter with themed puzzles when there are unclued entries, clashes etc!
I too fell into the SAI trap. I also wondered what other possibilities went through Azed’s mind when clueing WEELFART!
Marmite Smuggler, I’d say that was a very clever use of your solving experience, and far from cheating!
Thank you Azed and duncanshiell.
I really surprised myself by finishing this, and enjoying it as much as I do a Guardian alphabetical.
It helped that the first solves such as rude, quipster and hake established an 8/4 pattern round the margins.
And I too held myself up with sai.
quenbarrow @ 3 – thanks for your post. The Spectator is not a journal I see often, for blood pressure reasons, so I did not know its crosswords were available on-line, though not in a directly pintable version (copy the text, paste into Word, reformat ad lib, and print did it for me).
I look forward to attempting that one later today.
Another SAI here, I also had LEONTEUS for the legendary lover for a while (not confidently). I too thought of Stephen King.
Couldn’t find WEELFART in Chambers.
Thanks Azed an duncanshiell.
Gonzo@7: It’s there, but only under “well”.
This was the best Azed for ages,an excellent puzzle. Add me to the list who thought SAI was “obviously” correct and I failed to find NONE in my dictionary so thanks for explaining that.