I usually manage to solve plain Azeds in a single sitting, but with this one I ground to a halt after getting about ten answers in, so I had a break, and when I came back to it most of the rest yielded without too much trouble. There seems to be a higher-than-usual proportion of unusual words, which perhaps explains my temporary difficulties. Thanks to Azed.
| Across | ||||||||
| 1 | APPESTAT | Rat maybe tucking into a bit of butter? It may have a bearing on one’s intake (8) PEST (e.g. a rat) in A PAT; the appestat is “believed to control appetite”, hence “may” in the definition |
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| 8 | SWOP | Exchange some in stalag sent back? (4) Reverse of POWS (prisoners of war) |
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| 12 | SPARE TYRE | A bit of extra weight put on ere pastry’s disposed of (9, 2 words) (ERE PASTRY)* |
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| 13 | NORSEL | Variety of Scandinavian line, one used to tie up nets etc (6) NORSE (old Scandinavian language) + L |
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| 14 | GARNER | Former king gets patriotic composer in for stock of poems (6) (Thomas) ARNE (composer of “Rule, Britannia”) in GR (King George – take your pick of six); garner is a literary or poetic word for “store, stock” |
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| 15 | TRANCEY | Hypnotic, McCartneys’ composition, duet at first put out (7) Anagram of MCCARTNEY less the “duet” of CC; as the S isn’t involved in the anagram surely it should be “McCartney’s” |
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| 17 | RAST | Head of empire going west once laid waste (4) Reverse of TSAR |
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| 18 | PUTTI | These pictures may show recess he adorned with such cherubs (5) Composite anagram: (THESE PICTURES)* = HE RECESS PUTTI |
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| 20 | CHARENTAIS | Teas interrupted by a split melon (10) A RENT in CHAIS |
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| 22 | NEEDLECORD | Want a blend of colder trouser fabric perhaps (10) NEED (want) + COLDER* |
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| 25 | CAVEL | Bruce’s hiding place beside loch, providing his chance (5) CAVE (where Robert the Bruce hid and saw the spide: perhaps here) + L[och] |
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| 27 | GIBE | Make fun of Old Tom having little energy (4) GIB (tom cat) + E |
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| 30 | TRIDARN | Dresser from Rhyl originally I had found in lake (7) R[hyl] I’D in TARN; “dresser” as in “Welsh dresser”, so it might be from Rhyl, though that isn’t part of the definition |
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| 31 | INSOUL | Animate foot-warmer by the sound of it? (6) Homophone of “insole”; I thought an insole was mostly for comfort, but Chambers says it can also be for warmth |
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| 32 | ONIRIC | Girl’s heart captured in spin of coin? Imaginary! (6) [g]IR[l] in COIN*; a variant of the perhaps more familiar “oneiric”, meaning “relating to dreams” |
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| 33 | NEOPRENES | Types of synthetic rubber openers, almost new, flexible (9) Anagram of OPENERS + NE[w] – this is the “questionable” plural form referred to in the rubric, presumably as there’s only one form of Neoprene |
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| 34 | GRUE | Ice sliver for Scotch? Mixed us jigger (half each) (4) Anagram of U[s] + [rig]GER |
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| 35 | ASCENDER | What’s evident in guest’s last letter, see, penned by a correspondent? (8) C (see) in A SENDER – a lower-case T (last letter of guest) has an ascender |
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| Down | ||||||||
| 2 | PSORA | Aspro dealt with skin infection (5) ASPRO* – related to the more familiar “psoriasis” |
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| 3 | PARASCEVE | Good Friday: dad, as RC, prepared the day before (9) PA + (AS RC)* + EVE |
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| 4 | SPECIAL | Menu extra: mushroom rolled in crust partly (7) Reverse of CEP in SIAL (part of the earth’s crust) |
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| 5 | TALEA | Rhythmic pattern of motet cheers around highest note rising (5) Reverse of E-LA (“the highest note in old church music”) in TA (thanks, cheers) |
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| 6 | ARGYLE | A quantity of lovely gravy is served up in this (6) Hidden in reverse of lovELY GRAvy &lit – it’s a kind of gravy boat |
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| 7 | TEAL | Duck or lift top off (4) STEAL (to lift) less its “top” |
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| 8 | STROUT | Swell strong at sides of river (6) R (either “side” of RiveR) in STOUT |
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| 9 | ORECTIC | Regarding desire for intake, commander’s retaining muscles (7) RECTI (muscles) in OC, with a rather similar definition to 1a’s |
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| 10 | PERSISTENCY | Pig (by name) imbibing steins, drunk for duration (11) STEINS* in PERCY – presumably a reference to these sweets |
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| 11 | INTRENCHING | CERN involved in fashionable item for putting in military defence? (11) CERN* in IN THING |
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| 16 | STADIA-ROD | Aid to measuring distance? A journal mostly filling tiny amounts up (9, 2 words) A DIAR[y] in reverse of DOTS |
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| 19 | LEARNER | Student, one taking advantage of support around middle of programme (7) Middle letter of progRamme in LEANER |
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| 21 | NOMINEE | Damaging charge received, a long time coming up? One may be on list (7) MINE (explosive device, a “damaging charge”) in reverse of EON |
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| 23 | DELOPE | Aim to miss goose, catching wing (6) EL in DOPE (idiot, goose) |
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| 24 | ETTLES | Purposes for Scotch, topping stingers? (6) [n]ETTLES |
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| 26 | TRONC | System for rewarding waiters? Patron contributes in part (5) Hidden in paTRON Contributes |
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| 28 | BRISÉ | Lift after opening of ballet dancer’s leap (5) B[allet] + RISE |
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| 29 | JURA | Legal rights from period long long ago (4) Double definition – plural of “jus”, a legal right, and another name for the Jurassic period |
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I got about halfway through, ground to a halt, then started back in the next day. For me, quite a few of these lent themselves to the reaction: Is that a real word? Thanks, Andrew.
Thanks for the blog, had vaguely heard of most of the strange words, PUTTI was in very recently.
CHAI is not in my Chambers 93 but has to mean tea.
15 AC I agree with the apostrophe, very minor typo in the blog, MC is removed ( at first ) .
Andrew, I always find that it’s the four-letter words that give the most difficulty, and there were six of them in this puzzle. I stupidly put RIBE instead of GIBE (it parses as RIB = make fun of + E(nergy)) but I can’t explain what I thought it must mean.
I thought the clue for STROUT was a little unfair, as it seemed to require two Rs (Azed could have said “side”).
I had no idea about STROUT until I read the comments here. I assumed it was str(ong) + out and I was missing something. The only way it can be construed is R = river (abbreviation) and “at sides of” means “at the top side of” and “at the bottom side of”. How do we know “stout” is to be split rather than used twice? A convoluted, ungainly and unsatisfying clue.
I thought a few clues were straining a bit this week and I’m not sure if a GRUE is a “sliver”.
Stefan
Marmite Smuggler, I see what you mean about GRUE. Chambers defines it as “a pellicle of ice”, and a pellicle is, inter alia, “a thin skin or film”, which isn’t the same as a sliver. Grue is also “a shiver”, so perhaps that influenced the wording of the clue.
I must admit I just put STROUT in without a thought, I had all the letters and I was trying to break my time record. Now I find I totally agree with Stefan@4.
I also checked GRUE now and no doubt followed the same path as Andrew@5 , no real evidence for sliver.
No 2556 on the website today, and the library’s Pressreader.com app has not digitised the relevant section of the paper.
Thanks Azed and Andrew
8dn: I took “at sides of” to be the inclusion indicator, with R just being the normal abbreviation for river.
I took the same straightforward view as Pelham Barton@8 on STROUT. The only clue here that gave me serious pause was 5d where the “ELA” meant nothing to me – thanks to Andrew for enlightening me.
“Sliver” can also mean a “shaving” (as well as a “splinter”), so that seems nearer the sense of “grue.”
A digital 2556 is up now.
Small typo – the duet in 15a is MC not CC
Correction to my last message. It is in Pressreader.co, in the New Review supplement. The last time I saw the paper version it was in the Business supplement.
Cineraria @10 the clue does say ICE sliver though and Chambers gives ice pellicle for GRUE which is not a sliver.