This is my first outing blogging the venerable Azed.
Except for my query on 17A, this seemed comparatively straightforward, helped along considerably by several long anagrams.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | PAUNCH |
Corporation displaying striking power, restricting one (6)
|
| PUNCH (striking power) around (restricting) A (one) | ||
| 6 | PHOBIC |
One with morbid aversion dodging pibroch heartlessly (6)
|
| Anagram of (dodging) PIB[R]OCH omitting central letter (heartlessly) | ||
| 11 | BROO |
Scotch liquor king left off enjoying as of old (4)
|
| BROO[KING] (obsolete for enjoying, thus “as of old”) minus (left off) king | ||
| 12 | LADINO |
Type of clover grown for forage and oil possibly (6)
|
| Anagram of (possibly) AND OIL | ||
| 13 | FOULBROOD |
Bad news for apiaries left our bee damaged in nourishment (9)
|
| Anagram of (damaged) L (left) + OUR + B (bee) inside (in) FOOD (nourishment) | ||
| 15 | DAYSMEN |
Old umpires may end batting (or bowling) round start of shower (7)
|
| Anagram of (batting or bowling) MAY END + S[HOWER] (first letter of [“start of”] “shower”), “old” indicating archaic | ||
| 16 | TOISE |
Measure no longer used in French river after time (5)
|
| T (time) + OISE (French river) | ||
| 17 | JOINT |
Sunday lunch? It may include greens (5)
|
| Double definition |
||
| 18 | APOSTASY |
Being a renegade always restricts job with bank (8)
|
| AY (always) around (restricts) POST (job) + ÅS (bank) | ||
| 22 | SNIGGLER |
Drained Stour about to worry eel fisher (8)
|
| S[TOU]R (“drained”) around (about) NIGGLE (to worry) | ||
| 24 | OTTAR |
Perfumed oil, excessive when applied to Mary’s middle (5)
|
| OTT (excessive) + [M]AR[Y] (Mary’s middle) | ||
| 26 | CRAPS |
Is stuffing rubbish with minimum of sage? (5)
|
| CRAP (rubbish) + S[AGE] (first letter of [“minimum of”] sage) | ||
| 28 | ORARION |
Stole recipe forming new centre of lecture (7)
|
| ORA[T]ION (lecture) substituting R (recipe) for the central letter (forming new centre) | ||
| 30 | REVALENTA |
Lentil meal a Levanter transported (9)
|
| Anagram of (transported) A LEVANTER | ||
| 31 | ANLAGE |
Organ begins with this Caprice for Angela (6)
|
| Anagram of (caprice for) ANGELA | ||
| 32 | ACER |
National symbol maybe, runner losing lead (4)
|
| [R]ACER (or possibly [P]ACER) (runner) omitting first letter (losing lead) | ||
| 33 | SEEMLY |
Suitable spot, lake, this writer’s written about (6)
|
| SEE (spot) + MY (this writer’s) around (written about) L (lake) | ||
| 34 | EYE-PIT |
Sort of hollow marriage, retrograde? One’s sure trapped in it (6)
|
| YEP (one’s sure) inside (trapped in) TIE (marriage) reversed (retrograde) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | PUFFTALOONAS |
Sweet cake down under? It has fat, a spoonful, mixed in it (12)
|
| Anagram of (mixed) FAT A SPOONFUL | ||
| 2 | AB OVO |
Volume welcomed by a sign of disapproval from the start (5, 2 words)
|
| V (volume) inside (welcomed by) A + BOO (sign of disapproval) | ||
| 3 | NO LESS |
Crowns once placed on sovereign’s head? This shows admiration (6, 2 words)
|
| NOLES (crowns once, i.e., obsolete word for “head”) + S[OVEREIGN] (first letter [“head”] of “sovereign”) | ||
| 4 | COBB |
Old gull making good after losing fish? (4)
|
| COBB[LING] (making good, i.e., repairing, minus [losing] ling [fish]), “old” indicating archaic | ||
| 5 | HARDPAN |
Rap hand delivered roughly – it’s low-level stuff (7)
|
| Anagram of (delivered roughly) RAP HAND | ||
| 6 | PLOAT |
Scotch burn, one entering part of garden? (5)
|
| A (one) inside (entering) PLOT (part of garden) | ||
| 7 | ODDS-ON |
Eccentric offspring? Favourite may well be this (6)
|
| A charade of ODD (eccentric) + SON (offspring) | ||
| 8 | BISMILLAH |
Troubled sahib, male not well inside, by God (9)
|
| M (male) + ILL (not well) inside anagram of (troubled) SAHIB | ||
| 9 | INTENSE |
How decimals are calculated, requiring energy with concentration? (7)
|
| IN TENS (how decimals are calculated) + E (energy) | ||
| 10 | COUNTERSHAFT |
It transfers motion, number inside shifting touch faster (12)
|
| Anagram of N (number) + TOUCH FASTER | ||
| 14 | BIOSTABLE |
As to churning in stomach, not affected by the environment (9)
|
| Anagram of (churning) AS TO inside (in) BIBLE (stomach, i.e., specifically, the omasum) | ||
| 19 | PETRINE |
What makes one’s dog bark when old and saintly? (7)
|
| A charade of PET (one’s dog) + RINE (bark “when old,” i.e., an obsolete form of “rind”) | ||
| 20 | SIGNAGE |
Front of saloon with ageing flickering indicators (7)
|
| First letter of (front of) S[ALOON] + anagram of (flickering) AGEING | ||
| 21 | MARRAM |
Piston rising and falling – it limits erosion (6)
|
| RAM (piston) reversed (rising) and normal (falling) | ||
| 23 | GRIECE |
Cierge lit ? to light one’s way up these? (6)
|
| Anagram of (lit) CIERGE | ||
| 25 | COVEY |
Game birds, number not appearing in transport (5)
|
| CO[N]VEY (transport) minus “n” (number not appearing) | ||
| 27 | PETRI |
Bacteriologist exchanging parts of entrails (5)
|
| Anagram of (exchanging parts of) TRIPE (entrails), i.e., Julius Richard Petri, inventor of the Petri dish. [For a more precise reading, see Pelham Barton@6.] |
||
| 29 | FLAY |
Beat song with loud opening (4)
|
| F (loud in music) + LAY (song) |
Thanks Cineraria, “greens” is low grade pot.
Thanks as ever to Azed.
Gonzo@1: Thanks. I thought that that might be the case, but I could not find an attribution for that slang usage, and did not want to guess. That is not familiar to me (in the US).
JOINT for greens held me up for a long time but it’s listed in Chambers under the main definition for green. I also struggled to see the Tripe in PETRI for ages. It’s funny how 2 of the more familiar words can cause the difficulties.
Despite living in Oz I (or my partner who was born here) have never heard of a PUFFTALOON.
Thanks and congrats on your first Azed blog Cineraria.
Thank you for your first blog Cineraria.
I found the anagrams helpful, but needed Chambers to check several of the words, including double checking the cannabis meaning of greens. But with a 1998 Chambers to hand, all solved and parsed.
I hit a brick wall in the bottom left corner and failed to finish.
Thanks Azed and Cineraria
27dn: This is not really a full anagram: that would be an indirect anagram of the more serious type, which Azed would not use. Rather, the word TRIPE is split into two parts TRI + PE, which are then kept intact but swapped over to form PETRI.
I found this more challenging than recent offerings, taking time to find some answers even when I could parse the clues. HARDPAN eluded me for a while, despite it being an obvious anagram, and I also took time to get MARRAM (having decided BARRAB or DORROD couldn’t possible be words). Meanwhile, others went in quite easily, so I didn’t get too downhearted. Thanks for the blog.
God afternoon all. Thanks to Azed, as usual, and to Cineraria for his venue. I don’t remember this as a particular problem day. Am surprised no-ne has mentioned the Prize Playfair. My measure of brain shrinkage. Hope it elicits a good response.
Good afternoon! Ancient keyboard/fingers problem.
Keith Thomas @8, we’ve just had our knuckles rapped on the Genius blog for discussing live crosswords, not the one we should be discussing, so that’s possibly why no commentary on the current Azed.
Just trying to encourage people to have a go.
Thanks for the blog, very succinct and precise. Greens is generally home-grow that has not been dried properly and is low quality.
I agree with Pelham Barton that PETRI is a switch.
Like MunroMaiden I had various thoughts for the double piston, finally remembered the MARRAM grass, I think it is actually used on the Scottish machair.
I will echo Keith @ 11, it is worth having a go at the Playfair, most of it is a normal crossword,
Thanks to Cineraria for elucidating 15ac and 4 & 27 d. Thanks to AZED especially for Pufftaloonas and Revalenta – two good new words that took quite a bit of work. Marram grass is used to stabilise sand dunes. It is like a giant couch grass.
Like MunroMaiden@7, I found this harder than recent Azeds – needed some crossers to get 1D and took a while to solve the across clues. Once solved, the clues seemed no less friendly, so just me I think.
I’ll add my voice to those advising people not to be daunted by the Playfair. To me, the clueing seemed well pitched to the other needs of the puzzle.