Azed No. 2,741 Plain

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Sorry this blog's a few hours later than normal.

No excuses – I simply forgot to post this, having written it a week ago.

A comparatively straightforward Azed with the exception of BASH, which I have been unable to parse.

Thanks, Azed.

ACROSS
1 BOURD
Fun once hosted by Labour do (5)

Hidden in [hosted by] "laBOUR Do"
5 GRAPNEL
Grey panel disguised small anchor (7)

Gr (grey, on racecards) + *(panel) [anag:disguised]
10 AU SERIEUX
An addict that is given preference to wife? It’s no joke (9, 2 words)

A USER ("an addict") + i.e. (id est, so "that is") given preference to (i.e. put before) UX (prefix meaning "wife")
11 STOPE
Underground excavation to plug end of mine (5)

STOP ("to plug") + [end of] (min)E
12 FOMENTS
Applies poultice to chaps in soft liquid (7)

MEN ("chaps") in *(soft) [anag:liquid]
14 TAIVERT
Scots pickled cheesecake maybe I have stuffed (7)

I'VE (I have) stuffed TART ("cheesecake maybe")

Taivert is a Scots word for "bewildered" or "in a pickle".
15 SAUNT
One often portrayed in kirk, special one often sainted? (5)

S (special) + AUNT ("one often sainted", as in the expression, "my sainted aunt")
17 GHAT
It descends to a river partly through a tunnel (4)

Hidden in [partly] "throuGH A Tunnel"

A ghat is a stairway leading down to a riverbank in India.
19 ANTIPHON
Piece of church music, end bit, hard, soon coming round (8)

ANON ("soon") coming round TIP ("end part") + H (hard)
21 PORTALOO
Left potato in temporary privy (8)

PORT ("left") + ALOO ("potato" in Indian cuisine)
22 YEGG
Cracksman having yen to introduce bomb (4)

Y (yen) to introduce EGG ("bomb")

The cracksman in the clue is a man who cracks safes (aka a yegg or yeggman).
24 SNELL
What angler fixes to hook, making contact from behind line (5)

<=LENS ("contact", from behind) + L (line)
25 LURCHER
Church interrupts ruler out of order, cross (7)

Ch. (church) interrupts *(ruler) [anag:out of order]
28 AVARICE
What’s this, involving a bit of rapacity? (7)

A VICE involving A + [bit of] R(apacity) and &lit.
29 ALL-TO
Singer given latitude within, totally archaic (5)

ALTO ("singer") given L (latitude) within
30 PLASTISOL
Form of powdered resin I’ll pass to getting recast (9)

*(ill pass to) [anag:getting recast]
31 BETTIES
House-husbands best when busy around obligation (7)

*(best) [anag:when busy] around TIE ("obligation")
32 HARRY
Styles e.g. fence round pricey motor? (5)

HAY ("fence") round RR (Rolls Royce, so "pricey motor")

Harry Styles was a member of One Direction.
DOWN
1 BASH
See band turning to round of applause in this informal do (4)

Sorry, haven't been able to parse this.
2 OUTMANOEUVRE
Get the better of varied amount and love comic revue (12)

*(amount) [anag:varied] and O (love, in tennis) + *(revue) [anag:comic]
3 REPUNIT
E.g. 22 going off, ruin pet (7)

*(ruin pet) [anag:going off]

A repunit is a number made up of two or more identical integers, such as 22.
4 DREK
Kinder abroad, not at home, creating rubbish (4)

*(kder) [anag:abroad] where KDER is K(in)DER [not IN ("at home")]
5 GIFTSHOP
Fights breaking out, work in place that’s busy at Xmas? (8)

*(fights) [anag:breaking out] + OP(us) ("work")
6 AUMIL
Indian manager, one from Chennai, say, first off, receiving upper class (5)

[first off] (t)AMIL ("one from Chennai, say"), receiving U (upper class)
7 NINEHOLES
Like a short course, second creating difficulty in the US (9)

NINE-HOLE ("like a short (golf) course") + S (second)
8 EXTRAPOLATOR
One making inferences, unusually inferior, about karzy (12)

EXTRA ("unusually") + POOR ("inferior) about LAT(rine) ("karzy")
9 LUST
Five years denied strong drink, one shares quality with 28 (4)

LUST(rum) ("five years") denied RUM ("strong drink")
13 AUTOGRAFT
Surgical transplant, with the author’s own hand, we hear? (9)

Homophone/pun/aural wordplay [we hear] of AUTOGRAPHED ("with the author's own hand")
15 SAGY
Green and tasty, possibly with a bit of grey in? (4)

SAY ("possibly") with [a bit of] G(rey) in
16 FORTRESS
Keep what’s appropriate to part of coiffure (8)

FOR ("what's appropriate to") + TRESS ("part of coiffure")
18 TOOL
Excessively long utensil (4)

TOO ("excessively") + L (long)
20 GANGLIA
Good car model in centres of activity (7)

G (good) + (Ford) ANGLIA ("car model")
23 CHILI
Hot wind? One follows mostly cold spell (5)

I (one) follows [mostly] CHIL(l) ("cold spell")
25 LAMB
Picnic party without cake outside? There’s meat (4)

(c)LAMB(ake) ("picnic party" without CAKE outside)
26 RATH
Ancient fort found in crater at Helvellyn (4)

Hidden in [found in] "crateR AT Helvellyn"
27 MOLY
Magic herb making one relax, life mostly passing (4)

LIF(e) mostly passing from MOL(lif)Y ("make one relax")

I can't quite get the grammar to work here as MOLLIFY is "make one relax" rather than "makING one relax".

7 comments on “Azed No. 2,741 Plain”

  2. I agree with Roz@1. That type of clue seems to be an Azed specialty, one that usually trips me up, too, and I have about a 50/50 chance of getting the PDM, no matter that I have seen this sort of thing more than a few times now. I seem to recall STOA clued using this device not too long ago. Nice, clear blog.

  3. I took a long time to work out the parsing of BASH – and then kicked myself since, as Cineraria@2 says, it seems to be an Azed speciality. 27dn: my Chambers gives “to relax in severity or opposition” as a meaning of mollify, so I think the clue works in that context. 124ac: quibble – “pickled” doesn’t (according to my C98) mean “in a pickle”; it means either “treated with a pickle” or “drunk”. (I would agree that “in a pickle” and “treated with a pickle” could be roughly synonymous when talking about food, but taivert means “in a pickle” in the colloquial sense of bewildered.)

  6. loonapick: If you take the word BAND and replace B as H, you get HAND, a round of applause.

    A lot easier than the Christmas puzzle. I think I finished this just before cooking dinner on Sunday.

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