A plain puzzle from Azed this week.
I got off to a reasonable start with this puzzle with a few of the early downs which led to me to SPLASH something at 1 across. VULPES at 23 led me to think that VERB would be the part of speech in 6 down.
The guidance about 18 down (answer appears at the entry for its commoner synonym) led me to Basque in the dictionary quite quickly which confirmed that ESKUARA was indeed a word.
The answer at 25 down, ENZIAN, was clear with a bit of dictionary work, but the parsing took a bit longer. The NINE bit was fairly obvious but it took me a while to pronounce the remaining letters in my head as A ZED, at which point the penny dropped.
As usual Azed’s vocabulary ventured across the world with the regular Scotland being joined this week by Australia, Spain, South Africa via Holland, West Indies and the Pyrenees.
| No | Detail |
| Across | |
| 1 | Ostentation with provision of meals, or dash (11)
SPLASHBOARD (dashboard; dash) SPLASH (ostentation) + BOARD (provision of meals as in Bed and BOARD in a hotel) SPLASH BOARD |
| 10 | Infatuation to follow clubs, a longing (5)
CRAVE (a longing) C (Clubs) + RAVE (informal term for infatuation) C RAVE |
| 11 | Fashioned rotunda? Note one neglected, Late Perpendicular (5)
TUDOR (the style of architecture [Late Perpendicular] that prevailed when the Welsh family of Tudors held the throne of England [1485 – 1603]) Anagram of (fashioned) ROTUNDA excluding (neglected) (N [note] and A [one]) TUDOR* |
| 13 | See individual scratching on desktop supports (6)
LOPERS (one of usually a pair of sliding or hinged pieces of wood, metal, etc which act as supports for a desk top or the extended flap of a table.) LO (see) + PERSON (individual) excluding (scratching) ON LO PERS |
| 14 | Gossip displaying disposition right for husband (6)
RUMOUR (gossip) HUMOUR (disposition) with R (right) replacing (for) H (husband) to form RUMOUR RUMOUR |
| 15 | Favourite clue spoilt if once included in it is peevishness (9)
PETULANCE (peevishness) PET (favourite) + (an anagram of [spoilt] CLUE containing [included] AN [an old form of [once] ‘if’]) PET UL (AN) CE* |
| 16 | It’s fine in SA – I’ll join Dutch uncle retiring there (4)
MOOI (South African [SA} word meaning ‘fine’) (I + OOM [Dutch word for uncle]) all reversed (retiring) (MOO I)< |
| 18 | Observation I inserted in error returned (6)
ESPIAL (observation) I contained in (inserted in) LAPSE (error) reversed (returned) ESP (I) AL< |
| 19 | One dealing in dyes etc changes back to front (6)
SALTER (tradesman dealing in dyes) ALTERS (changes) with the last letter (back) S moved to the front [back to front] to form SALTER SALTER |
| 20 | A container in Adelaide’s place displays this WI evergreen (6)
SAPOTA (a large evergreen sapotaceous tree of the West Indies) SA (South Australia, Adelaide is a city in this State) containing (displays) (A + POT [contained]) S (A POT) A |
| 23 | Carnivores? Five will get pulse racing (6)
VULPES (genus of animals that includes common foxes [carnivores]) V (Roman numeral for five) + an anagram of (racing) PULSE V ULPES* |
| 27 | It was used to treat malaria, contributing to skin allergy (4)
KINA (quinine, a drug that was used to treat malaria before the disease became resistant to it) KINA (hidden word in [contributing to] SKIN ALLERGY) KINA |
| 29 | I’ll be enthralled by nude tart dancing with nothing on (9)
UNATTIRED (without clothing; with nothing on) I contained in (enthralled by) an anagram of (dancing) NUDE TART UNATT (I) RED* |
| 30 | Member of family, one Tantalus initially cursed terribly (all in it) (6)
ATREUS (in Greek mythology, ATREUS was a member of a family descended from Tantalus. The family seemed to suffer from multiple disasters or curses) A (one) + T (first letter of [initially] TANTALUS) + an anagram of the central letters [all in it] URSE of CURSED) A T REUS* |
| 31 | Tempestuous event? It makes one sack auditor regularly failing (6)
BAGUIO (a hurricane; a tempestuous event) BAG (a [one] sack) + UIO (letters left in AUDITOR when letters 1, 3, 5 and 7 are omitted [regularly failing]) BAG UIO |
| 32 | Return of old style topping janitor making comeback (5)
RETRO (design, style, etc which deliberately reverts to or recreates the past; return of old style) PORTER (janitor) excluding the first letter (topping) P, then reversed (making comeback) RETRO< |
| 33 | Changing liras to …? This is likewise (5)
TOLAR (standard monetary unit of Slovenia; liras are monetary units, TOLAR are likewise) LIRAS TO is an anagram of (changing) TOLAR [this; the entry] and IS TOLAR |
| 34 | Fresh declaration? Old team put in ran test chaotically (11)
RESTATEMENT (fresh declaration) TEME (an old spelling of TEAM) contained in (put in) an anagram of (chaotically) RAN TEST RESTA (TEME) NT* |
| Down | |
| 1 | Scottish mount, first in Cairngorms, slender verges (5)
SCLIM (Scottish word for climb or mount) SLIM (slender) containing (verges) C (initial letter of [first in] CAIRNGORMS) S (C) LIM |
| 2 | Advertisements in favour of written work about love (6)
PROMOS (PROMOtionS [adverts]) PRO (in favour of; for) + (MS [manuscript {written work}] containing [about] O [character representing zero {love score in tennis}]) PRO M (O) S |
| 3 | PC of a kind left suitable work (6)
LAPTOP (a type of personal computer) L (left) + APT (suitable for) + OP (opus; work) L APT OP |
| 4 | Alto in earnest trilling pastoral cantata (8)
SERENATA (pastoral cantata) A (alto) contained in (in) an anagram of (trilling) EARNEST SEREN (A) TA* |
| 5 | Farewell to Barcelona conveys bit of rhythmic music introducing scene (12, 3 words)
HASTA LA VISTA (Spanish for ‘see you around’; farewell to Barcelona) HAS (carries; conveys) + TALA (a traditional rhythmic pattern in Indian music) + VISTA (scene) HAS TA LA VISTA |
| 6 | Part of speech amid four best broadcast? It’s designed to minimize extremism (12)
BERUFSVERBOT (in Germany, the policy of excluding political extremists from public service) VERB (part of speech) contained in (amid) an anagram of (broadcast) FOUR BEST BERUFS (VERB) OT* |
| 7 | Rare enamel revealing gold letters (6)
AUMAIL (rare term meaning ‘to enamel’) AU (chemical symbol for gold) + MAIL (letters) AU MAIL |
| 8 | There’s nothing in grand lady forsaking steamer for jet (6)
DOUCHE (jet of water directed upon or into the body from a pipe, etc) O (character representing zero or nothing) contained in (in) DUCHESS (woman of the same rank as duke; grand lady) excluding (forsaking) SS (steamship; steamer) D (O) UCHE |
| 9 | Money owed on going into gum trees? (7)
ARREARS (money owed) RE (with reference to; about; on) contained in (going into) ARARS (sandarac trees; gum trees) AR (RE) ARS |
| 12 | Lander in Sydney, name admitted by local informer? (4)
DONG (Australian [Sydney] word meaning ‘a heavy punch’. LANDER is a word meaning ‘a heavy blow’) N (name) contained in (admitted by) DOG (in Australia, i.e. local to the usage of ‘DONG‘, DOG means ‘an informer’) DO (N) G |
| 17 | Crowned sovereign to the French, king mostly worried (8)
LAUREATE (crowned with laurel) L (pound sterling; sovereign from 1817 to 1914) + AU (French for ‘to the’) + REX (king) excluding the final letter (mostly) X + ATE (worried) L AU RE ATE |
| 18 | Geological period wherein you’ll find seabird, one inhabiting Pyrenean area (7)
ESKUARA (Basque word for a member of a people inhabiting the western Pyrenees, in Spain and France; Basque is the language of the ESKUARA) ERA (geological period) containing (wherein you’ll find) SKUA (a type of seabird) E (SKUA) RA |
| 21 | Stroll, not heading for exciting experience as of old (6)
AUNTER (obsolete [old] term for ‘adventure’ [exciting experience]; exciting experience as of old) SAUNTER (stroll) excluding the first letter (not heading) S AUNTER |
| 22 | Those making choice re post to be broadcast (6)
OPTERS (people making a choice) Anagram of (to be broadcast) RE POST OPTERS* |
| 24 | Endlessly sick? Whimper about it, calling for tablet (6)
PILULE (a little pill or tablet) PULE (whimper) containing (about) ILL (sick) excluding the final letter (endlessly) L P (IL) ULE |
| 25 | Strong drink? 9 and, in short, I’ll be sozzled! (6)
ENZIAN (type of schnapps flavoured with gentian roots, drunk in the Tyrol; strong drink) Anagram of (sozzled) NINE (9) and AZ (a shortened form or pronunciation of the setter’s name AZED [I]) ENZIAN* |
| 26 | Drove to Scotland for something to wear men’ll be out of (4)
GART (Scottish word meaning ‘compelled’ or ‘drove’) GARMENT (item of clothing; something to wear) excluding (to be out of it) MEN GART |
| 28 | Sailor’s left … his unnamed starting point? (5)
APORT (nautical [sailor’s] term for the PORT or left side) A PORT (a seaman will have set sail from A PORT. In the case of the clue, the name of that PORT is undefined) A PORT |
Thanks for the blog, I also found the first few Downs very helpful, gave me SPLASHBOARD with lots of first letters for the other Downs.
DONG had to be a guess, I got lucky, this meaning not in Chambers93 or this meaning of DOG , quite rare for answer and wordplay not to be there .
ATREUS , I needed my Pengiuin Dictionary of Mythology but the wordplay was clear.
Is it time to update Chambers Roz, or do I have to dong you one? 🙂 A word I can attest to having heard in real life, as well as dog in that sense, unlike a lot of words in Azed’s crosswords. No great problems with this one from memory.
Tim@2 I have updated in one sense , I have a mint condition C93 first edition , it is time Azed saw sense and went back to using C93 .
Like Roz@1, I had to guess DONG, as my Chambers 98 didn’t have either part. I appreciate my dictionary is out of date, but I’m not keen on clues where both the answer and the wordplay involve obscure words (to those of us, in this case, who don’t live in Australia). I may resort to a dictionary when I fail to solve a wordplay, or to parse the clue correctly, but I don’t think trawling through for DON- or whatever should be a necessity.
As I’ve said before, I got into the habit of buying a new Chambers whenever the new edition came out. (Do they still sell dictionaries in bookshops?) I now use the Windows Chambers app, which seems to be the lasted edition. Interestingly, EUSKUARA might not be a headword in the latest paper edition, but typing ESKUA- into the app brought up the word.
Dormouse @5 I think Chambers has stopped publishing new editions in book form , I do not know if the latest is in bookshops. The second-hand market is very strong, you can get perfect copies of early editions for less than £5 , people have just left them on bookshelves . I got good advice on this from this very blog when my original C93 fell to pieces.
Dormouse @5 ESKUARA comes up only under the headword Basque in both the app and Chambers 2016.
If what Roz says is correct I’m glad I bought the 2016 hardcopy edition for my grandchild a couple of years ago.
Tim C: However, as I said, typing ESKUARA into the app does bring up the word, which helped me.
What we need, if Chambers is not printing anymore dictionaries, is for the app to be updated occasionally.
Tim and Dormouse, I do not know the actual facts. For a few years Chambers promised a new printed edition but the date kept getting put back and now I suspect it will never happen. They should be able to update the electronic version.
Thanks duncan for the detailed blog!
ENZIAN
Does the AZ bit make it an indirect anagram?
KVa @ 10
That’s an interesting question.
You probably need a setter, rather than a blogger, to give you a definitive answer.
My understanding of an indirect anagram, confirmed by at least a couple of references on the web, is that an indirect anagram doesn’t actually give you all of the anagram fodder; some (or all of it) is given by definition. Clearly from the web references, indirect anagrams are frowned upon.
For ENZIAN, I guess both the component parts are given by definition – 9 for NINE and ‘I’ll be short’ for AZ, but I also think they are such clear indications of the component parts that the term might not apply. It would be interesting to hear other solvers views.
Thanks duncan for your response. I will keep this in mind.
Duncan@13 I agree this is doubly indirect , 9 could be IX or refer to the clue/answer at 9 .
In short, I’ll be could be many things.
Azed uses the excuse that it is okay for unambiguous substitution but this is very subjective.
He recently used – small copper=CU , unambiguous ?
This provoked resistance ( 8,7 )
I thought 28 was ABOUT, i.e. AB is (or has) OUT (left, gone). And when a sailor comes about he or she is is not really starting from anywhere. I’m sure Azed comes up with these (almost?) double clues deliberately.
So that left me T_LAU and I had to do the trawling Munro Maiden mentioned before I found TOLAR. I too find it boring but I like to finish if I can.
In any case APORT seems to me to be quite a weak clue by Azed’s standards.
Stefan
Don’t suppose anyone will read this but I was busy Sunday (2720) and Monday (funeral of a 105-year old, very cheering in a miserable week of news)
Congratulations to winners and VHCs in Spoonerism clueing comp.
Greetings all far and near and thanks to Azed and duncanshiell.
Was delighted not t have any difficulty over ESKUARA as something similar was the name of an all-Basque Tour de France team (2023 began in that region) K would only be 1 point in Basque Scrabble, if it exists (10 in French)