A standard puzzle from Azed this week
There aren’t many words beginning PC and we had one of the few at 1 across. Perhaps not surprisingly, that wasn’t my first one in.
It was the long anagram across the middle that got me started. HARMONIC cried out from the anagram and the remaining letters could sensibly be re-arranged as TRIAD
That entry led to TRADE ON at 4 down and SIRVENTE at 17 across and the grid gradually built up from that base.
I struggled a bit with the parsing of 33 across – KNEEJERK – as I initially had ‘fool [annoying]’ as JERK rather than NERK
As usual, there were a number of Scottish words in the grid.
VIOLONCELLO is a word I always want to spell as VIOLINCELLO, which made understanding the anagram a bit difficult to begin with
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
| 1 | Breton speaker maybe caught in shower (5) |
C (caught) contained in (in) PELT (shower blows or missiles) P (C) ELT |
P-CELT (a speaker of P-CELTic [a branch of the Indo-European family of languages including Breton, Welsh, Cornish, Irish, Gaelic, Manx.]) |
| 5 | Strip of metal, line inside corrected backing (8) |
L (line) contained in (inside) REVISED (corrected) reversed (backing) DESI (L) VER< |
DESILVER (take the SILVER off [strip [the] metal off] |
| 11 | Drugs jar, overturned jar, left empty inside (9) |
(L [left] + BARE [empty]) contained in (inside) OLLA (jar or urn) reversed (overturned) A (L BARE) LLO< |
ALBARELLO (a majolica jar used for dry drugs)
|
| 13 | Hard disc in sport area, durable (5) |
PUCK (hard thick rubber disc used instead of a ball in ice hockey) + A PUCK A |
PUCKA (durable) |
| 14 | Evangelist‘s contribution to vernacular making comeback (5) |
LUCAN (hidden word [contribution to] reversed (making comeback] in VERNACULAR) LUCAN< |
LUCAN (of or relating to Luke or Luke’s gospel; Evangelist’s) |
| 16 | Cheer up once having kicked coca craze (8) |
Anagram of (having kicked) COCA + RAGE (craze) ACCO* RAGE |
ACCORAGE (Spenserian [old; once] word meaning encourage [cheer up]) |
| 17 | Ancestor penning opening for troubadour’s speciality (8) |
SIRE (ancestor) containing (penning) VENT (opening) SIR (VENT) E |
SIRVENTE (a medieval verse form of satirical or heroic character as composed and performed by troubadours) |
| 19 | Good base for healthy complexion (4) |
G (good) + LOW (base) G LOW |
GLOW (healthy complexion) |
| 20 | A third Marconi distorted in common chord (13, 2 words) |
Anagram of (distorted) A THIRD MARCONI HARMONIC TRIAD* |
HARMONIC TRIAD (an old name for the common chord)
|
| 23 | Mop was in a mess – head for barber (4) |
Anagram of (in a mess) WAS + B (first letter of [head for] BARBER) SWA* B |
SWAB (mop) |
| 25 | It’ll kill fish, joint being thrust into mass of their eggs (8) |
TENON (reference a mortise and TENON joint in woodworking. I don’t think the TENON itself is a joint) contained in (being thrust into) ROE (a mass of fish eggs) RO (TENON) E |
ROTENONE (insecticide and fish-poison prepared from derris and other plants) |
| 26 | Heading for the sunsets from Scotland, news breaking about list at sea (8) |
Anagram of (breaking) NEWS containing (about) an anagram of (at sea) LIST WE (STLI*) NS* |
WESTLINS (Scottish word meaning to [or in] the west; i.e. towards the sunset) |
| 30 | Calm earlier, one’s heading for large centre of cyclone (5) |
A (one) + L (first letter of [heading for] LARGE + EYE (centre of a cyclone) A L EYE |
ALEYE (earlier spelling of ALLAY [calm]) |
| 31 | Stuffing, one tucked into nuts, right? (5) |
A (one) contained in (tucked into) (KP [brand of nuts] + OK [right]) K (A) P OK |
KAPOK (very light, waterproof, oily fibre covering the seeds of a species of silk-cotton tree, used for stuffing pillows, life-belts, etc.) |
| 32 | Nile up-lane diverted, not a regular monthly phenomenon (9) |
Anagram of (diverted) NILE UP LANE excluding (not) A PLENILUNE* |
PLENILUNE (time of the full moon; a regular monthly occurrence) |
| 33 | King’s fool (annoying) about to move faster backwards – it’s automatic (8) |
(K [king] + NERK [irritating fool or idiot]) containing (about) JEE (alternative spelling of GEE [move faster]) reversed (backwards) K N (EEJ<) ERK |
KNEEJERK ( reflex throwing forward of the leg when tapped below the KNEE-cap; automatic reaction) |
| 34 | Lizard that’s all right replacing most of tail (5) |
TAIL with OKAY (all right) replacing AIL (three of the four letters [most of]) T OKAY |
TOKAY (a gecko (lizard), native to the Malay archipelago and South East Asia) |
| Down | |||
| 1 | Catholic (to detractors), head as of old full of sanctimonious stuff (6) |
PASH (Shakespearean [as of old] word for head) containing (full of) PI (sanctimonious talk) PA (PI) SH |
PAPISH (relating to popery [hostile term for Roman Catholicism]) |
| 2 | Evergreen climber displaying tangled caulis (6) |
Anagram of (tangled) CAULIS CLUSIA* |
CLUSIA (any plant of the American genus CLUSIA, evergreen climbing plants) |
| 3 | One of many in the north to take a break from work there (4) |
LAKE (reference one of the many LAKEs in the LAKE District in the North of England. There are also many LAKEs in some European countries further north, such as Sweden and Finland) LAKE |
LAKE (take a holiday from work – this a North of England term, so getting North into both definitions) double definition |
| 4 | Take advantage of pictures etc put up, done badly (7, 2 words) |
ART (pictures etc) reversed (put up; down clue) + an anagram of (badly) DONE TRA< DE ON* |
TRADE ON (take advantage of) |
| 5 | It’s havoc if station’s lacking good spirit (4) |
DEVASTATION (havoc) excluding (lacking) STATION DEVA |
DEVA (a good spirit) |
| 6 | Campaign worker broadcast lie etc, a whopper (11) |
Anagram of (broadcast) LIE ETC + ONE-ER (a big lie; whopper) ELECTI* ONEER |
ELECTIONEER ( someone who works to secure the election of a candidate) |
| 7 | Lancashire’s opener cracking six – a piece of cake? (5) |
L (first letter of [opener] LANCASHIRE) contained in (cracking) SICE (the number six in a game of dice) S (L) ICE |
SLICE (thin piece or segment; a piece of cake, for example) |
| 8 | Party losing muscle? It’s looking gloomy (4) |
LABOUR (political party) excluding (losing) AB (ABdominal muscle) LOUR |
LOUR (a scowling glare; looking sullen or gloomy) |
| 9 | Composition for a violoncello (quartet lost) or other instrument (8) |
Anagram of (composition for) A and VIOLONCELLO excluding (lost) the final four letters (quartet) ELLO VOCALION*
|
VOCALION ( musical instrument resembling a harmonium, with broad reeds) |
| 10 | Invigorate partly low energy, given a lift (5) |
RENEW (hidden word [partly] reversed [given a lift; down clue] in LOW ENERGY) RENEW< |
RENEW (invigorate) – dictionary definition; thesaurus suggests reinvigorate |
| 12 | Litter from end of picnicking in wood? It’s mounting (4) |
(G [last letter of {end of} PICNICKING] contained in [in] OAK [a type of wood]) all reversed (it’s mounting; down clue) (KA (G) O)< |
KAGO (a Japanese basketwork palanquin [a light litter for one passenger]) |
| 15 | A bishop on a bishop’s seat, new installed in fine embroidery (8) |
A + RR (Right Reverend; title for a bishop) + A + (N [new] contained in [installed in] SEE (a bishop’s diocese [constituency] or seat) A RR A SE (N) E |
ARRASENE (a fine embroidery material, of wool and silk. |
| 18 | Sandy’s fastened most of metal tools (7) |
STEEL (metal) excluding the final letter (most of) L + KIT (tools assembled in a container, for example) STEE KIT |
STEEKIT (Scottish [Sandy] word for fastened) |
| 21 | Sheep and a variety of hens (6) |
ANCON (breed of sheep with very short legs) + A ANCON A |
ANCONA ( breed of laying poultry with speckled plumage; variety of hens) |
| 22 | Maid holding large ungulate? Employ one for striking character (6, 2 words) |
DEY (dairymaid) containing (holding) ELK (deer of Northern Europe and Asia; an example of a large ungulate [term applied to several groups of superficially similar hoofed animals which are not necessarily closely related taxonomically, eg horses, cows, deer, tapirs]) D (EL K) EY |
DEL KEY (DELete KEY; KEY used for erasing characters) |
| 23 | Morag’s nimble woman in loose gown (5) |
W (woman) contained in (in) SACK (loose-fitting gown; SACK dress) S (W) ACK |
SWACK (Scottish [Morag] word for nimble) |
| 24 | Last to show age will folk shrivel, being old? (4) |
WELK (final letters of [last to] each of SHOW, AGE, WILL and FOLK) WELK |
WELK (obsolete [being old] word for wither or shrivel) |
| 25 | Satellite channel exercised having lost director twice (5) |
DRILLED (exercised) excluding (having lost) both occurrences of [twice] D (director) RILLE |
RILLE (narrow furrow or channel on the moon [satellite channel]) |
| 27 | No longer showing restraint, in part of Dirty Den (4) |
TYDE (hidden word in [in part of] DIRTY DEN) TYDE |
TYDE (Spenserian [old; no longer] word for TIED [restrained; showing restraint]) |
| 28 | Scotch fatty downed rapidly (4) |
SUNK (Scottish word for an overweight person; Scottish fatty) SUNK |
SUNK (went down rapidly) double definition |
| 29 | Stop around middle of psalms for Gloria (4) |
HO (instruction to stop) containing (around) AL (central letters of [middle of] PSALMS) H (AL) O |
HALO (a gloria can be defined as a HALO) |
Perhaps people are too busy wrestling with the Bank-Holiday-weekend Azed Jigsaw to comment, so far: like Maskarade’s prize one the day before, imore testing and time-consuming than the norm, but surely in a more satisfying way. Without going into the statistics, I thought that 2462 had a higher proportion of obscure words than usual, i.e. clues where the answer and/or one of the components were unfamiliar and needed checking. But as always everything was fair, and it’s always a pleasure to have duncanshiell’s ultra-lucid chart: thank you for elucidating KNEEJERK, and thanks as ever to Azed.
Thanks to both. As always I am amazed at the blogger’s ability to explain the parsing, especially KNEEJERK. I got that from the definition but could not fit EEN sensibly. LAKE obviously has a usage I have never encountered, so that was a discovery. The rest. Well, they were the expected “is that really a word” moments and smiles. Lots of both. I had a PC* start early on but that became my last corner in as I kept thinking I had made a mistake with one of the down clues. Great fun as always.
I’ve seen P-CELT in an Azed before; quite recently I think.
I found this useful quotation about P-Celt. I doubt if anyone filled 1 ac in until late on. I certainly don’t recall meeting it in Azed before.
“The Goidelic languages are often referred to as “Q-Celtic” because they use a “Q” sound, usually represented by a C or K, where the Brythonic or “P-Celtic” languages use P. For instance, Irish and Scottish Gaelic for “head” is ceann, or sometimes kin. Brythonic languages, P-Celtic Welsh and Cornish, use pen. There’s a place on the coast of Cornwall called Pentire, and one on the coast of Scotland called Kintyre. Both mean “head of the land.” There are hundreds of similar P and C initial word pairs that indicate the relationship between P-Celtic and Q-Celtic languages. In Celtic linguistics, it really pays to “mind your Ps and Qs.”
Thanks, as always, to Azed and duncanshiells
Took me ages. P–CELT was in fact my first one in. It leapt off the page along with HARMONIC TRIAD and I thought I was on a roll. How wrong—how on earth do you parse POPISH? Wasted ages on that.
I was going to take Azed to task: I thought the clue to DEVA should read “It’s havoc if station’s not lacking good spirit” (4). But you can reassign the parts of the sentence: “It’s havoc. [But,] if station’s lacking [, then it’s] good spirit”. Azed’s right, of course, but I might have liked at least one comma. Worth comparing 2460 / 31Dn: [S]WALE: The best of northern England, one of its rivers, if not the first (4). This is “The best of northern England. One of its rivers [but] not the first”.
Ifs and buts. Both clues quite right so I’m not complaining.
Stefan