Azed No. 2,521 Plain – Competition Puzzle

18 comments on “Azed No. 2,521 Plain – Competition Puzzle”

1. Thanks. Is “set” a synonym for “sprinkle” in any other sense than “set seed”? That seemed a bit farfetched. My 4A was: Indispensable reference rooms.

2. I couldn’t justify ‘Rats!’ as meaning nonsense in Chambers, where it’s an expression of annoyance like ‘drat!’, but I saw later that OED does have it as rubbish and nonsense.

   A nice puzzle of moderate difficulty when I thought we were due a Special (but we have one today!), and a good competition word too. Plays on ‘wee’ and ‘peers’ may crop up.

   Thanks to Azed and PeeDee.

3. Cineraria: ‘set seed’ means to develop seeds (of the plant) or plant seeds individually (of a person) afaict from OED.
   It does have ” passive. To be studded, dotted, lined, etc. with a number of objects;…rare in the corresponding active use. ‘Winter had set them [the summits of the mountain] with snowy castles.'”
   Any other ideas?

4. Thanks PeeDee. Slight typo in 12 “DORP”.
   Thanks as ever to Azed.

5. I was disappointed with “rats” as “nonsense” too, in part because I was hoping for a specific type of rat.

   Counting up… yes, a lower proportion of obscure answers than usual, but that didn’t help me finish it any faster.  The bottom left stayed nearly blank until I resorted to brute force on 1d.

6. I had CUB (rev) on KING for 7 down.  Avoids using the K twice.

7. 25d – Coincidentally Laura Knight was the answer to the art competition on the facing page to AZED

8. SET is in my electronic C.

   12. To stud, dot, sprinkle, variegate

   Nick

9. Thanks for the corrections, fixed now.  I parsed 7dn like you bridgesong when solving the puzzle but then had a lapse when writing up the blog later.

10. There’s an error in today’s Carte Blanche. In the 6th down clue, “physicist” should be “physician”.

11. Didn’t know a budget is a rudder and didn’t spot the compound anagram at 30ac, so thanks for that.

    I fear I’m not going to get on with today’s puzzle.  Failed totally the last time one of those appeared.

12. Guys, as per site rules please don’t discuss details of the current puzzle on this blog.  Thanks for your understanding.

13. Thanks to Azed for the challenge and PeeDee for the explanations.
    Um, PeeDee in 18a (REDSHORT) I got the second R by taking “his head” to mean the start of RED – otherwise I was unable to account for that R.

14. I didn’t find this easy at all. Nothing wrong with the clues though.

    I will mention only, yet again, the composite anagram at 30 Ac. Here we have no fewer than eight letters added to get a four-letter word. See the comments to 2503 and 2509, Azed’s comments at Slip 1286 and DRC’s quote from Slip 146 (which I can’t find). If these clues are clever, all well and good. Is there a reasonable limit to the number of additional letters? I think 30 Ac here is going a bit far.

    I’m not sure I understand the clue anyway. Chemistry was not my subject but is a “hydrated carbonate of sodium” a splinter? The clue seems very forced.

    Stefan

15. 30a is a clue with definition “Feature of shores, lacustrine” and wordplay “or palustrine? This splinter possibly” so the word ‘splinter’ is not part of the definition.

16. Mystgore @13 – yes, quite so.  Fixed now, thanks.

17. Nice crossword as you’d expect, but I did have one or two misgivings:

    a) 12ac could just as easily lead to DORP (I think). I didn’t think Azed did this sort of thing, where you have to wait for the checkers before you know.

    b) In 13ac does ‘anal’ mean ‘being obsessive’? I suppose the clue could be read as ’13, being the solution to this clue: ‘obsessive, name …”, but that seems a stretch.

    c) 27ac, Rats = bosh? I agree with those who have already mentioned this. If Azed wants to invoke the OED then shouldn’t he say so below the puzzle? More likely he reckoned the Chambers definitions were OK, which I think is questionable.

    d) In 2dn the clue leads to HULLY. Sloppy of Azed in my opinion not to make it clear that just one of the Rs is changed.

18. Hello Matthew @15. I didn’t make myself clear: I wasn’t suggesting that 30 Ac was an &lit. Azed himself, Don Manley, DRC, others here, and at least one minor light (myself) have suggested that there is a place for the composite anagram. You can take this entire paragraph and turn it into a meaningless anagram. Then add four letters. And that’s a crossword clue, is it?

    I knew “lacustrine” but I certainly didn’t know “palustrine”. Stuff like this is the joy of my Sunday morning. I’m an old bloke: I need to keep the noddle-box going! The composite anagram often stands out like the “hidden”. An obvious doorway where we are allowed into the maze. The keyhole is not where it would normally be in a door and, anyway, you’ve still got to find the key. But sometimes, as here at 30 Ac, the keyhole is exactly where you’d expect it to be and the key is right down at your feet. All you have to do is bend down and pick it up.

    Stefan

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