Azed 2558 – Right and Left
Azed effectively gives us two separate crosswords this week. Apart from 1 across, there is no link between the left and right hand sides of the grid. To add to the fun the clues for similarly placed entries on the two sides are run together (without overlapping) with no clear indication which side is clued first. Indeed, Azed told us that the division is not necessarily marked by punctuation. We were also told that the individual forming part of each double clue may not make sense. Finally, the preamble stated that one of the answers at 3 is of three words.
In the end, the puzzle, for me, was not as difficult as I find some plain Azed puzzles.
Fortunately, I solved 1 across straight away which helped to identify which bits of down clues 1 to 5 went where. In turn this assisted the placing of the early across clues
I think I have got the break position right in most of the clues, but I’m not entirely sure about 15 across. I think ‘In it belongs to the left hand grid clue for TALUKA
The entry at 17 right brought up memories of the old Roger Miller song King of the Road which refers to smoking old STOGIEs I have found.
The finished grid is shown immediately below with the detailed parsing further below:
| No | Detail |
| Across | |
| 1 |
Limbs flailing about right and left i.e. at a modified feature of this puzzle? (12) BILATERALISM (two-sidedness – in this puzzle referring to the right and left elements) Anagram of (flailing) LIMBS containing (about) an anagram of (modified) R [right] and L [left] and I.E AT A) BIL (ATERALI*) SM* |
| 6 | Snowy tracks, left uncovered, I entered / in a do, troubled after a time of mourning once (6, 6) |
| 6 Left |
Snowy tracks, left uncovered, I entered (6) LOIPEN (tracks used for cross-country skiing) L (left) + (I contained in [entered] OPEN [uncovered]) L O (I) PEN |
| 6 Right |
In a do, troubled after a time of mourning once (6) ADONIA (the festival of mourning for Adonis, a young man beloved by Aphrodite in Greek mythology; a time of mourning once) A + an anagram of (troubled) IN A DO A DONIA* |
| 7 | Middy too far into side channel / to disturb fens steered with it (6, 6) |
| 7 Left |
To disturb fens steered with it (6) INFEST (disturb or harass) Anagram of (steered with) FENS and IT INFEST* |
| 7 Right |
Middy too far into side channel (6) SNOTTY (naval slang for a midshipman; middy is an informal short form of midshipman) OTT (over the top; too far) contained in (into) SNY (side channel of a river) SN (OTT) Y |
| 8 | Bulging trunk mostly containing what’s central for your / use, lot untidily loose (6, 6) |
| 8 Left |
Use, lot untidily loose (6) SOLUTE (loose; free) Anagram of (untidily) USE LOT SOLUTE* |
| 8 Right |
Bulging trunk mostly containing what’s central for your (6) TOROUS (swelling; bulging) TORSO (trunk) excluding the final letter O (mostly) but containing (containing) OU (middle letters of [what’s central to] YOUR) TOR (OU) S |
| 10 | Buccaneer from rear artist included / to expose in bed, showing him a debauchee? (6, 6) |
| 10 Left |
Buccaneer from rear artist included (6) SEARAT (pirate; buccaneer) RA (Royal Academician; artist) contained in (included) SEAT (part of the body on which one sits; rear) SEA (RA) T |
| 10 Right |
To expose in bed, showing him a debauchee? (6) UNRAKE (uncover a flower bed by RAKing) UN (dialect word for ‘him’) + RAKE (debauched or dissolute person) UN RAKE |
| 11 | Prominent pupil almost certainly follows church leader / changing RC rota: one has cutting point (6, 6) |
| 11 Left |
Prominent pupil almost certainly follows church leader (6) POP-EYE (prominent or protruding eye) POPE (church leader) + YES (certainly) excluding the final letter S (almost) POP E YE |
| 11 Right |
Changing RC rota: one has cutting point (6) TROCAR (surgical perforator with a three-sided cutting point) Anagram of (changing) RC ROTA TROCAR* |
| 15 | Account, one to draw on, returning currency unit / in it universal in palaver with a revenue subdivision (6, 6) |
| 15 Left |
In it universal in palaver with a revenue subdivision (6) TALUKA (subdivision of a district for revenue purposes) U (universal) contained in (in) TALK (palaver) + A TAL (U) K A |
| 15 Right |
Account, one to draw on, returning currency unit (6) PATACA (basic unit of currency in Macau and formerly in Timor) (AC [account] + A [one] + TAP [draw upon]) all reversed (returning) (PAT A CA)< |
| 16 | End of war in Iliad, awful – touching part of sight / is nothing alongside school, a creepy thing! (6, 6) |
| 16 Left |
End of war in Iliad, awful – touching part of sight (6) IRIDAL (relating to the iris of the eye; touching part of sight) R (final letter of [end of] WAR) contained in (in) an anagram of (awful) ILIAD I (R) IDAL* |
| 16 Right |
Is nothing alongside school, a creepy thing! (6) ISOPOD (member of an order of Crustacea including woodlice, fishlice, etc with no carapace; a creepy thing) IS + O (character representing zero; nothing) + POD (school of whales) IS O POD |
| 17 | Egoist flourishing weedy regalia / turning brown in senescence as related (6, 6) |
| 17 Left |
Turning brown in senescence as related (6) AGNATE (related) TAN (tawny brown colour) reversed (turning) and contained in (in) AGE (senescence [the process of growing old]) AG (NAT<) E |
| 17 Right |
Egoist flourishing weedy regalia (6) STOGIE (long inexpensive cigars; regalia can be defined as a big cigar. Cigars are made from narcotic leaves of a tobacco plant, some varieties of which are considered to be a weed) Anagram of (flourishing) EGOIST STOGIE* |
| 18 | Room to manoeuvre in pasture is reversing fear / frisson, sweating less in part (6, 6) |
| 18 Left |
Room to manoeuvre in pasture is reversing fear (6) LEEWAY (room to manoeuvre) AWE (fear) reversed (reversing) and contained in (in) LEY (pasture) LE (EWA<) Y |
| 18 Right |
Frisson, sweating less in part (6) TINGLE (thrill; frisson) TINGLE (hidden word in [in part] SWEATING LESS) TINGLE |
| Down | |
| 1 | Not quite front-rankers waved for old poet / renewing art as of religious movement (5, 5) |
| 1 Left |
Not quite front-rankers waved for old poet (5) B-LIST (not belonging to the most important or famous group; not quite front-rankers) BLIST (Spenserian [for old poet] word for waved) double definition B-LIST |
| 1 Right |
Renewing art as of religious movement (5, 5) RASTA (RASTAfarian [relating to a West Indian religious movement]) Anagram of (renewing) ART AS RASTA* |
| 2 | Plant extract, not one consumed by two units, / number besieged in a fortified mound – it plays abnormal role among parts of speech (6, 6) |
| 2 Left |
Plant extract, not one consumed by two units (6) IONONE (either of, or a mixture of, two isomeric ketones extracted from certain plants, with an intense odour of violets, used in making perfumes) NO (not any; not one) contained in (consumed by) (I [Roman numeral one; unit] and ONE [unit]), giving two units I O (NO) NE |
| 2 Right |
Number besieged in a fortified mound – it plays abnormal role among parts of speech (6) ADNOUN (adjective used as a noun; something that plays an abnormal role among parts of speech) NO (number) contained in [besieged in] (A + DUN [fortified mound]) A D (NO) UN |
| 3 | Copy super daubed almost Monet-style / top coat applied in swirling action (8, 8) |
| 3 Left |
Copy super daubed almost Monet-style (8) A PEU PRES (French [Monet] for nearly [almost]) APE (copy)+ an anagram of (daubed) SUPER A PE U PRES* |
| 3 Right |
Top coat applied in swirling action (8) INTONACO (in fresco painting, the finishing coat of lime plaster on which the paint is applied) ON (applied) contained in (in) an anagram of (swirling) ACTION INT (ON) ACO* |
| 4 |
Exercise bit of ingenuity in places from below / cross in ornate style (5, 5) |
| 4 Left |
Cross in ornate style (5) TESTY (irritable; annoyed; cross) TESTY (hidden word in [in] ORNATE STYLE) TESTY |
| 4 Right |
Exercise bit of ingenuity in places from below (5) SIT-UP (an exercise in which the head and torso are raised from a lying position while the legs remain still) I (first letter of [bit of] INGENUITY) contained in (in) PUTS (places) reversed (from below) S (I) TUP< |
| 5 | Spenser’s teacher, one cloaked in endless enigma, / understanding little new, infatuated about it (7, 7) |
| 5 Left |
Understanding little new, infatuated about it (7) ENTENTE (an understanding) ENTETE (infatuated) containing (about it) N (abbreviation for [little] new) ENTE (N) TE |
| 5 Right |
Spenser’s teacher, one cloaked in endless enigma (7) MAYSTER (Spenserian word for master or teacher) A (one) contained in (cloaked in) MYSTERY (enigma) excluding the final letter Y (endless) M (A) YSTER |
| 9 | South African shipping company? Head may be wrapped up in this / triangular structure redesigned for twelve, housing first of them (8, 8) |
| 9 Left |
South African shipping company? Head may be wrapped up in this (8) CAPELINE (covering for the shoulders attached as a tippet [shoulder cape] to a coat or cloak; presumably it can cover the head as well) CAPE (reference CAPE of Good Hope around South Africa) + LINE (shipping company) CAPE LINE |
| 9 Right |
Triangular structure redesigned for twelve, housing first of them (8) FRONTOON (pediment [triangular structure crowning the front of a Greek building]) Anagram of (redesigned) FOR + (NOON [12 o’clock midday] containing [housing] T [first letter of {front of} THEM]) FRO* N (T) OON |
| 10 | Believer in perfection finding peak in Hebridean isles, / hitting the mark in earth’s upper layer as regards open expanse (7, 7) |
| 10 Left |
Hitting the mark in earth’s upper layer as regards open expanse (7) SPATIAL (relating to space or open expanse) PAT (hitting the mark precisely) contained in (in) SIAL (the lighter upper part of the earth’s continental crust) S (PAT) IAL |
| 10 Right |
Believer in perfection finding peak in Hebridean isles (7) UTOPIST (believer in perfection) TOP (peak) contained in (finding … in) UIST (there are two Hebridean islands, North & South UIST) U (TOP) IST |
| 12 | Light bathrobe that looks disgusting on a fatty’s middle before a / rare reception in woven calico (6, 6) |
| 12 Left |
Light bathrobe that looks disgusting on a fatty’s middle before a (6) YUKATA (light kimono, usually of printed cotton, worn as a bathrobe or housecoat) YUK (expression of disgust) + A + T (central letter of [middle] FATTY) + A YUK A T A |
| 12 Right |
Rare reception in woven calico (6, 6) ACCOIL (a rare word for reception) Anagram of (woven) CALICO ACCOIL* |
| 13 | Start of indulgence after period denying it – numbering days / get plastered as fair amount of fine grappa’s upended (5, 5) |
| 13 Left |
Get plastered as fair amount of fine grappa’s upended (5) PARGE (plaster over) PARGE (reversed [upended; down entry] hidden word in [fair amount of] FINE GRAPPA) PARGE< |
| 13 Right |
Start of indulgence after period denying it – numbering days (5) FASTI (an enumeration of the days of the year) FAST (abstinence from food; period denying indulgence) + I (first letter of [start of] INDULGENCE) FAST I |
| 14 | High achiever on board, we hear, regularly / displaying energy opening cask, porter serving Scotch of old (5, 5) |
| 14 Left |
High achiever on board, we hear, regularly (5) DALEY (reference Tom DALEY [born 1994, British diver who is a double world champion from the 10 metre board {high achiever on {diving} board}]) DALEY (sounds like [we hear] DAILY [regularly]) DALEY |
| 14 Right |
Displaying energy opening cask, porter serving Scotch of old (5) CADEE (an 18th century messenger or errand porter in some large Scottish towns) E (energy) contained in (opening) CADE (cask) CAD (E) E |
Thanks duncanshiell.
Like you I got BILATERALISM straight away.
Not as tough as at first sight. I was delighted with ‘regalia’ (and ‘tobacco’ is in Chambers as a definition of ‘weed’).
Thanks as ever to Azed.
Two days—my own fault. Made a complete mess trying to be quick and clever. “thrill” and “tickle” also mean “frisson”. I’m sure Azed knows that very well and is just having fun (and well he might). But when you can’t even spot the obvious hiddens it’s time to start kicking your shins. I had “unbare” for UNRAKE. So what kind of word is – B O – – O O C !?
Azed’s slip on &lit. for today (#2556) is well worth reading.
Stefan
Thanks for the blog, much easier than last week. 1AC and all the clues at 10 were very simple which gave a lot of first letters and sorted out the left and right. I was on for a non-Chambers finish right until the second half of 14D, did not know CADE but should have guessed the answer with the Scottish link to caddy.
Took a while to get going on the bottom half for no apparent reason. I didn’t think “in it” belonged to either the left hand clue or the right hand clue in 15A, but heigh-ho. Thanks both.
I completed it, which is better than the previous week, but it took me to Tuesday night, and I needed word searches to get the last few. Also, I’m not good with big anagrams and started off with an anagram search program for 1ac to get going.
Like duncanshiell and Gonzo @1 I got BILATERALISM straight away, which helped enormously, and like Wiggers @4 I found the bottom half more tricky, but got there in the end with FRONTOON. Lots of fun. Thanks to Azed and duncanshiell.