Took me a while to get into this one…
…but getting the long answers on the perimeters helped greatly, especially 1 ac and 1 dn.
I’m not convinced by two of my parsings (COOPER and CHEMIST), but I think I got there in the end, notwithstanding these reservations.
There was much to like as usual in an Azed, especially the simplicity and smoothness of clues for PERTURB, WINSOME, GRAPES and AVER, which were my favourite clues.
On the other hand, I would need to be convinced that ROOTED is the same as ENCOURAGED, as the former requires “for” to mean “encourage” (confirmed by Chambers). Also, the “close” in the clue for PRONTO appears superfluous to me.
Thanks, Azed.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | BURGUNDY PITCH |
Resinous stuff to polish from behind with spraying device on fashioned diptych (13, 2 words)
|
| <=RUB (“to polish” from behind) with GUN (“spraying device”) on *(triptych) [anag:fashioned]
A resin originally extracted from Norway spruce trees. |
||
| 10 | PERTURB |
Upset a bath with last of water in (7)
|
| PER (“a”) + TUB (“bath”) with [last of] (wate)R in | ||
| 13 | SOJA |
Cooking sauce, ingredient for miso (Japanese) (4)
|
| Hidden in [ingredient for] “miSO JApanese” | ||
| 14 | JOGGER |
One exercising: Jock’s love with mine going round on run (6)
|
| JO (Scots word for sweetheart, so “Jock’s love”) with <=EGG (“mine, going round) on R (run, in cricket) | ||
| 15 | COOPER |
Mixture of strong beers packed quite a punch (6)
|
| Double definition, the first referring to a mix of stout and porter ale, and the second to a coper, a boat used to get illegal drink (“quite a punch”) to deep-sea fishermen. | ||
| 16 | WINSOME |
Attractive females mostly admitting sin naughtily (7)
|
| WOME(n) (“females” mostly) admitting *(sin) [anag:naughtily] | ||
| 17 | RENEWING |
Plunge in like active boxers? That’s invigorating (8)
|
| ENEW (“plunge in”) in RING (“active boxers” would be in a ring) | ||
| 19 | TAPIS |
Hanging of old, something that stops lives (5)
|
| TAP (“something that stops”) + IS (“lives”) | ||
| 21 | RAMBO |
Tough guy, guy going after reversal of damage (5)
|
| BO (“guy”) going after [reversal of] <=MAR (“damage”) | ||
| 24 | BROSE |
Something like pottage to feed on women left out (5)
|
| BRO(w)SE (“to feed on”) with W (women) left out | ||
| 25 | CRUSTATE |
Like a pie, delicacy (usually one of several) containing fungus (8)
|
| CATE (“delicacy, usually one of several” i.e. cates) containing RUST (“fungus”) | ||
| 28 | BLANCHE |
Dramatic heroine given latitude in court bench introducing explosive stuff (7)
|
| L (latitude) in BANC (“court bench”) introducing HE (high explosive, so “explosive stuff”).
Refers, I assume, to Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire. |
||
| 31 | ROOTED |
Cooking Torode encouraged (6)
|
| *(torode) [anag:cooking]
This clue doesn’t work for me as “rooted” needs to be followed by “for” or “on” to mean encouraged. I checked Chambers and it agrees with me. |
||
| 32 | LOVE-IN |
See humour in gathering to promote sex (6)
|
| LO (“see”) + VEIN (“humour”, as in mood) | ||
| 33 | KANT |
Thinker going round in flat naked (4)
|
| Hidden backwards in [going round in] “flaT NAKed”
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) was a German Enlightenment philosopher, who according to Monty Python, was “a real pissant who was very rarely stable” |
||
| 34 | PATIENT |
Sign of breathlessness around limit? I’ll be seeing doctor (7)
|
| PANT (“sign of breathlessness”) around TIE (“limit”) | ||
| 35 | PERFECT INSECT |
Imagines being found singly caught in pincers, feet damaged, tense (13, 2 words)
|
| C (caught) in *(pincers feet) [anag:damaged] + T (tense)
“Imagines” is one version of the plural of “imago”. |
||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | BESCRIBBLE |
The old scrawl on version of Serb bible inscribed by Catholic (10)
|
| *(serb bible) [anag:version of] inscribed by C (Catholic) | ||
| 2 | REJONEO |
Bullfighting technique to copy going round Spain and Japan (7)
|
| RONEO (“to copy” using an old copying machine known as a Roneo) going round E (Spain) and J (Japan)
A bullfighting technique where horseback riders use rejones (lances) to fight bulls. |
||
| 3 | GRAPES |
Lacking a tin, dividing up fruit (6)
|
| <=G(a tin)RAPES (“dividing” up, lacking A TIN) | ||
| 4 | NUTRIA |
Fur to display turned up below head (6)
|
| <=AIR (“to display” turned up) below NUT (“head”) | ||
| 5 | DRAWN |
Tense, being framed? (5)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 6 | PRONTO |
Number dividing for and against (close) without delay (6)
|
| N (number) dividing PRO (“for”) and TO (“against”)
I think the “close” in the clue is superfluous. |
||
| 7 | INGS |
Ride round this meadowland will get place affording best views? (4)
|
| “Ride” round INGS gets RINGSIDE (“place affording best views”) | ||
| 8 | TOGO |
Part of Africa supplying dress, old, for taking away (4)
|
| TOG(a>O) (“dress” with O (old) instead of [for taking] A (away)) | ||
| 9 | CHEMIST |
I produce something you can rattle up and down in a box (7)
|
| HEM (“something you can rattle up and down”) in CIST (“box”) and &lit.
I have a faint recollection that “rattle up a hem” is a phrase, but I may be misremembering? |
||
| 11 | THEW |
Article put on women to display bodily quality (4)
|
| THE (“article”) put on W (women) | ||
| 12 | CRESTED TIT |
What’s fluttering in European tree? Direct test to be solved (10, 2 words)
|
| *(direct test) [anag:to be solved] | ||
| 18 | EARLOBE |
Peer should be given honour? That depends on the listener! (7)
|
| EARL (“peer”) should be given OBE (Order of the British Empire, so “honour”) | ||
| 20 | PLATANE |
Tree one’s captured in illustration (7)
|
| AN (“one”) captured in PLATE (“illustration”) | ||
| 21 | RECIPE |
Prescription ready? Odd ones for each inside (6)
|
| RIPE (“ready”) with [odd ones for] E(a)C(h) inside | ||
| 22 | BURITI |
Palm tree: excrescence on it is reduced by half (6)
|
| BUR (“excrescence”) on IT + I(s) [reduced by half] | ||
| 23 | STOKES |
Physicist puts up with satisfactory input (6)
|
| <=SETS (“puts” up) with OK (“satisfactory”) input
Refers to Sir George Stokes (1819-1903), an Anglo-Irish physicist. |
||
| 26 | RESAT |
Stuck in sequence of voitures, a tailback, tried to pass again (5)
|
| Hidden in [stuck in sequence of] “voituRES A Tailback” | ||
| 27 | SOLI |
Cadenzas, maybe strong except for the end (4)
|
| SOLI(d) (“strong”, except for the end) | ||
| 29 | AVER |
State touching US state to the north (4)
|
| <=(RE (“touching”) + Va. (Virginia, a “US state”)) [to the north] | ||
| 30 | NEIF |
Pud that was iced initially found in napkin holder? (4)
|
| I(ced) [initially] found in NEF (ornamental stand for cutlery or napkins, so “napkin holder”) |
Thanks loonapick.
COOPER is referring to boxer Henry Cooper.
Not sure about CHEMIST.
Thanks as ever to Azed.
For 8dn I think the wordplay is TOG (dress) + O(ld), with “for taking away” being a separate indication of TO GO.
9dn is Mrs N. Jarman’s prizewinning & lit. clue for Ximenes no. 743, the wordplay being M1 (the motorway you can rattle up and down) in CHEST (a box).
Just remembered the M1 🙂
TOGO two lots of wordplay, I concur.
Thanks, Richard @3.
As in the blog, I thought it could have been CIST for chest, but wasn’t convinced because Cist is the tomb that a chest is only part of.
As for HEM, I thought maybe a half-cough (hem) could be something that’s rattled, but had zero confidence in that too, not least because it didn’t explain the ‘up and down’ part.
Anyway, a great clue, so straightforward when explained, but ingenious.
I wonder why and how Azed decides to resurrect old prize-winning clues for non-significant puzzles?
Thanks for the blog, all my queries in one cluster, 6 7 8 and 9.
For 6 , to is close against so I assume the close is in brackets so that the clue could use for and against.
7 is not in my Chambers but had to be from ringside.
8 and 9 sorted out above, thank you.
Another meander through the more obscure parts of the dictionary – marvellous. Thanks Azed.
I saw PRONTO as PRO (for) and NO (against) with the T from the close of against and the bracket round that indicating the enclosure.
Thanks for the blog Loonapick.
For 9D I was similar to Blorenge @6 but my HEM was the hem-line of skirts that certainly can go up and down but do not rattle.
Thanks, Azed: I’ve just remembered all those hours hitch-hiking at the M1/A1 at Hendon. The clue is wrong: I recall there was no rattling—you could wait hours.
Interesting reference in today’s Azed Slip (for 2560) to the new Chambers. Am I going to buy it? My own tenth from 2006 seems to do nearly all of the job. Roz gets by with a 1993. I don’t like using online references: paper in my hand, however unwieldy, is warm and welcoming. I love my Chambers (about fifteen editions) and we should keep our publishers going. Azed must have some inside info because I can’t find reference to it for sale yet.
This was the third of consecutive Azeds I found quick to solve: pleasing for the elderly brain. I’ve noticed that proper nouns are cropping up more and more. There are many here: Cooper, Rambo, Blanche, Kant and Togo. I can just about deal with those but we must acknowledge that Azed is a worldwide institution. A statue. If he comes up with the Minister for Health in the UK, I have no idea what the clue’s talking about (and no wish to). We had a “Rory” not so long ago and he turned out to be an Irish rugby player. Gawd! Not exacly Shakespeare. Tap on the bum for Azed.
For ROOTED we must blame Chambers, not Azed himself. If Chambers says something, Azed is entitled to use it, even if Chambers is wrong. (“Carley float”, and lots of others). At the risk of having this post pulled, dare I say that “rooted”, in Australia, where I Ilve, has at least two meanings. You can “root” somebody, as a transitive verb, but it is not exactly… er… shall we say… encouraging them. Unless there is a new euphemism amongst the young. You may well root for some team, which is far more polite and totally different.
And thanks loonapick.
Stefan
[ Stefan @10 I am very reluctant to replace my Chambers but it will fall apart soon so I am glad a new edition is coming. It is actually quite rare that a word from 2014 is not in mine, INGS for this one. I always try to do Azed without Chambers and check everything afterwards.
Root was in the Everyman recently , our friends from Australia had a lot of fun with it. Apparently there is a phrase used for wombats and certain male humans. ]
I couldn’t parse CHEMIST but I did remember Henry Cooper. I used to live in south-east London and when there was a train strike and I had to walk to work along the Old Kent Road, I used to pass a pub named after him. (Now closed, apparently.)
My copy of the 13th edition fell apart years ago and I now use the Windows app version. I wonder if the app will be updated. Do we know when it is going to be published?
The mention of a 14th edition and a new 16th one in the Azed slip baffled me too. The current edition is the Revised 13th Edition, and I can’t find any mention of a newer version than that.
I certainly can’t see any reference to it on the Chambers website, and Amazon doesn’t list it.
I find I usually get round to joining the conversation a bit late. Regards to all fellow-Azeders. Enjoyed this, as always. Thanks to Azed & loonapick..
I had got the parsing for CHEMIST (Dad was a pharmacist).
Wasn’t Henry Cooper one of the earliest team leaders in “A Question of Sport”?
I do remember Cooper and I think Gareth Edwards as captains in the late 1970s, there may have been others before them . Cooper was certainly famous on TV then , turning up on various shows and a lot of adverts. I only remember him as an ex boxer , do not know when he stopped.
Thanks to the commenters for clearing up Cooper and chemist. Of course I remember Cooper and the Brut adverts, so I’m kicking myself for missing that. In my opinion, the definition for M1 is not that good, but who am I to complain?