A plain Azed puzzle.
As Azeds go, this was at the easier end of the spectrum. I felt I needed fewer visits to my Chambers app than usual, and even then, it was just to check words such as CETE, SIGN and SIMUL to make sure they made sense.
Thanks Azed
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | OFFCUTTER |
Leaving vessel for a quick break? (9)
|
| OFF (“leaving”) + CUTTER (“vessel”)
In cricket, an off cutter (normally two words or hyphenated) is a fast delivery that deviates or “breaks” when it hits the pitch. |
||
| 11 | NAIAD |
Cobras dead in water plant (5)
|
| NAIA (the “cobra” genius) + D (dead) | ||
| 13 | TIMER |
Kitchen essential maiden kept in range down under (5)
|
| M (maiden, in cricket) kept in TIER (a Tasmanian name for a mountain range, hence “range fown under”) | ||
| 14 | SIGN |
Pub device next to Scotch, we hear (4)
|
| Double definition, the first referring to a pub sign, the second to a word which means “next” in Scots. | ||
| 15 | ALUNITE |
A hydrous sulphate, one found in Morocco? (7)
|
| UNIT (“one”) found in ALE (a very strong North English “ale”) | ||
| 16 | STRIPPERGRAM |
Naughty surprise upset p-priest – take pulse! (12)
|
| *(ppriest) [anag:upset] + R (take, in recipes, from the Latin) + GRAM (a “pulse”, normally a chickpea) | ||
| 17 | TWADDLE |
Tedious talk to make clumsy progress after time (7)
|
| WADDLE (“to make clumsy progress”) after T (time) | ||
| 19 | BALEEN |
Two measures (large then small), component of stiffeners (6)
|
| BALE + EN (“two measures. large then small”) | ||
| 20 | OMIT |
Volume to fail thus will make one sick (4)
|
| V (volume) fails from (i.e. is OMITted from) (v)OMIT | ||
| 22 | SILL |
Threshold that’s not well thought out, yard short (4)
|
| SILL(y) (“not well thought of”) short of Y (yard) | ||
| 24 | ULTIMO |
Last of tail, I’m out bowled, in the last period (6)
|
| *(l im out) [anag:bowled] where L is [last of] (tai)L | ||
| 25 | SHEATHE |
Woman with inner passion to keep under wraps? (7)
|
| SHE (“woman”) with inner HEAT (“passion”) | ||
| 27 | DISTRACTEDLY |
Here’s cardi styled, about time … thus? (12)
|
| *(cardy styled) [anag:thus] about T (time)
A meta clue where the “thus” is indicating the solution (distractedly) |
||
| 30 | IMITATE |
Parody kept within limit, a tease (7)
|
| Hidden [kept] within “lIMIT A TEase” | ||
| 31 | RATU |
Local ruler, king attending university (4)
|
| R (rex, so “king”) + AT (“attending”) + U (University)
A ratu is a local chief in Indonesia and Fiji. |
||
| 32 | SUBER |
Cork, a teaser to twist (5)
|
| <=REBUS (“a teaser”, to twist) | ||
| 33 | DETOX |
To eat carefully, I avoided beef and cut out unhealthy stuff (5)
|
| I avoided in D(i)ET (“to eat carefully”) + OX (“beef”) | ||
| 34 | RIDERLESS |
Led sire out in run, second unmounted (9)
|
| *(led sire) [anag:out] in R (run, in cricket) + S (second) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 2 | FAITH |
One of biblical trio, I’ll be welcomed by padre without hesitation (5)
|
| I will be welcomed by FATH(er) (“padre”, without ER (“hesitation”))
The biblical trio referred to in the clue are the theolgical virtues of faith, hope and charity that Christians are supposed to follow. |
||
| 3 | FIG ROLL |
Teatime treat for Gill when spoiled (7, 2 words)
|
| *(for gill) [anag:when spoiled] | ||
| 4 | CANINE LETTER |
Ancient tele needs adjusting with this – it makes a grumbling sound (12, 2 words)
|
| *(ancient tele) [anag:needs adjusting] with R (a canine letter, so “this”)
R is also known as the canine letter (when pronounced by, for example, Scotsmen) as it sounds like the growl of a dog. |
||
| 5 | TRAP |
Gin and tonic’s starter before chat (4)
|
| T(onic) [‘s starter] before RAP (“chat”) | ||
| 6 | TELE-AD |
Position of first in field, not second notice phoned in (6)
|
| T(h)E LEAD (“position of first in field”), not the second (letter) | ||
| 7 | RING DOTTEREL |
Plover trod green ’til flying (12, 2 words)
|
| *(trod green til) [anag:flying] | ||
| 8 | AMIR |
Prince making mark in broadcast (4)
|
| M (mark) in AIR (“broadcast”) | ||
| 9 | SETAE |
Tease playfully making one bristle more than once (5)
|
| *(tease) [anag:playfully making] | ||
| 10 | CREMATORY |
Mourn about a term sadly, Dido’s end in pyre? (9)
|
| CRY (“mourn”) about *(a term) [anag:sadly] + (did)O [‘s end] | ||
| 12 | DIPTERA |
Insects sank (so it’s said) with age (7)
|
| Homophone [so it’s said] of DIPPED (“sank”) with ERA (“age”) | ||
| 16 | SUBSIDISE |
Junior journo is in team, to help with grant (9)
|
| SUB(“juniour journo”) + IS in SIDE (“team”) | ||
| 18 | DELETED |
Cancelled tenancy in legal document (7)
|
| LET (“tenancy”) in DEED (“legal document”) | ||
| 21 | MISDATE |
Master that is holding children up for history error maybe (7)
|
| M (master) + i.e. (id est, so “that is”) holding <=TADS (little lads, so “children”, up) | ||
| 23 | STATED |
Regular tried a little, second (or third) coming first (6)
|
| TA(s)TED (“tried a little”) with S (second, or “third ” (letter)) coming first becomes S(TATED) | ||
| 25 | SIMUL |
In chess I’m ultra displaying grandmaster’s stunt (5)
|
| Hidden [in] “chesS I’M ULtra”
A simul (or simultaneous) is an exhibition where a chess player plays several opponents at the same time. |
||
| 26 | ALTOS |
Section of choir also unusually including tenor (5)
|
| *(also) [anag:unusually] including T (tenor) | ||
| 28 | SIBB |
Walter’s brother is brought up with young chaps’ organization (4)
|
| <=IS [brought up] with BB (Boys’ Brigade, so “young chaps’ organization”)
Sibb was a word used by Walter Scott to mean brother, presumably from “sibling” |
||
| 29 | CETE |
Eye up European badgers as a group (4)
|
| <=’TEC (private “eye”, up) + E (European) |
I seem to find clues that require me to drop a letter from some word the hardest, so this time, I struggled to parse TELE-AD. As usual, it seems obvious, once I see it. Thanks for the blog.
Thanks Azed and loonapick
14ac: I think the second part of this clue is not another definition of sign, but rather a homophone of syne.
Thanks Pelham@2.
SIGN
I was looking up sine, signe and even sain. Syne didn’t occur to me.
Asked to translate ‘next’ into Scottish, Google returned ‘an ath’. 🙂
DISTRACTEDLY and CANINE LETTER: brilliant stuff.
DETOX and SIMUL: Lovely surfaces (like extended defs)
Still a neophyte in this universe, but did manage most of this one which is encouraging. Many thanks to blogger for the clear explanations and also to the setter of course.
me@3 contd…
Excellent blog! Thanks loonapick!
Agree with Pelham Barton @2. I kicked myself when I realised that I should be familiar with the word from Auld Lang Syne.
Thanks for the blog, I think the grid made this rather friendly, each 12 letter answer has 11 crossing letters , pretty incredible setting really.
TELEAD is very neat and a reminder of the old Classifieds and Notices in the papers , Hatched, Matched and Dispatched was the usual term.
Quite a few self-referring clues with “thus” or “this” .
SIBB our Scottish word but not actually a Scottish term this time, they are usually both.
PB@2 – of course, you’re right and when I solved the puzzle a week ago, I saw that, but for some reason when I came to write the blog yesterday I forgot to add the homophone bit – my bad!
Hello all! Yes, this was a relatively easy solve with minimal aids (what’s an app?).
Thanks, as always to Azed, and to loonapick for the blog.
Syne seems to means since so next in the SIGN clue needs stretching. That the clue to SIGN involved homophony was clear and leapt into my mind at once.
I always recall the midnight do on 1-1/2000 when Tony blir tried to cross arms with her late Majesty at the beginning of the song and she was rebuked in the press or refusing (one shouldn’t do this until verse 2)
Now for 2700.
Blair!
PPS
Found the words for the point when one should join hands in verse 5 of Auld Lang Syne
“And there’s a hand,
my trusty fiere!””
9dn – I thought “more than once” was a slightly dubious way of indicating a plural; I would have thought “bristle more than once” would indicate SETASETA.
Roz@7: SIBB is a “Scott-ish” term!
Keith @9: Syne can mean since, as in the phrase Auld Lang Syne (incidentally, pronounced by Scots with a soft s, not a hard one), but it can also mean next or then.
Further to the discussion on 14ac, here is the definition from Chambers 2016:
syne¹ adv then, next; afterwards, later; ago, since (as in auld lang syne).
An easy trap to fall into in crosswords in general, but especially in Azed, is to reject a possible solution because you know one meaning of a word only to find out later that the clue depends on a different meaning of that word.