A plain crossword from Azed this week.
This seemed to me to be a fairly typically Azed crossword with a typical mix of common and uncommon words generated by well-crafted clues.
I don’t really understand the wordplay for OATH so I hope that someone can explain it properly to me.
| No | Detail |
| Across | |
| 1 | Useless male welcoming lives being a fop? (6)
DUDISM (being a dude; being a fop) (DUD [useless] + M [male]) containing (welcoming) IS (lives) DUD (IS) M |
| 6 | Poem rewritten, publicity that’s recalled large shops (7)
EMPORIA (large shops) Anagram of (rewritten) POEM + AIR (exposure or publicity) reversed (that’s recalled) EMPO* RIA< |
| 11 | Unfit, I note? Then one has something to deal with that (5)
INAPT (unfit) I + N (note) + APT (something appropriate or fit, thereby replacing or dealing with something unfit) I N APT |
| 13 | Noblemen in jewels doffing cap (5)
EARLS (noblemen) PEARLS (jewels) excluding (doffing) the first letter (cap) P EARLS |
| 14 | Enter clusters scribbled – they’re graphically simulated (13, 2 words)
SCREEN TURTLES (pictures that can be made to move across a flat surface with paper, etc on it, now often simulated by graphics on a screen, hence SCREEN TURTLES) Anagram of (scribbled) ENTER CLUSTERS SCREEN TURTLES* |
| 15 | She pursues would-be partner of herself, plaited hair trailing (8)
SUITRESS (a female seeking the love of a man, or his hand in marriage; she pursues would be partner) SUI (of herself) + TRESS (plaited hair) SUI TRESS |
| 17 | Feel tenderness, as poet did? It’s in the heart thereof (4)
ERNE (Edmund Spenser’s [poet’s] word for yearn [feel tenderness]) ERNE (hidden word in [in the heart of] tendERNEss) – it’s not in the exact centre though. ERNE |
| 18 | A T-shirt flapping about becomes so dry (7)
ATHIRST (needing water; very dry) A + an anagram of (flapping) T-SHIRT A THIRST* |
| 19 | To make romantic love (in Rome) I’ll get caught in entwining of legs (9)
GLAMORISE (make romantic) (AMOR [Italian {Rome}] word for love + I) contained in (caught in) an anagram of (entwining) LEGS GL (AMOR I) SE* |
| 23 | Old angler having roll round depth (7)
RODSTER (archaic [old] term for an angler) ROSTER (roll) containing (round) D (depth) RO (D) STER |
| 26 | Gutter for Jock, first to last? That’s wallop for you (4)
ONER (heavy blow; wallop) RONE (Scottish word for a roof-gutter) with the first letter R moved to the end (first to last) to form ONER ONER |
| 28 | Dry measure in set? It protects against chromosomal deterioration (8)
TELOMERE (the structure which terminates the arm of a chromosome, protecting the chromosome against gene loss and decay) OMER (a Hebrew dry measure containing about 21/4 litres) contained in (in) TELE (TELEvision set) TEL (OMER) E |
| 30 | I count beads as transferred in junior church offices (13)
SUBDIACONATES (junior church offices) Anagram of (transferred) I COUNT BEADS AS SUBDIACONATES* |
| 31 | Rock consisting of panache, fitted with volume (5)
ELVAN (a granular crystalline dyke rock) ELAN (panache) containing (fitted with) V (volume) EL (V) AN |
| 32 | Feature of spore, section thrice stripped from libido (5)
EXINE (alternative spelling for EXTINE, the outer membrane of a pollen grain or spore) SEXINESS (libido) excluding (stripped from) all three (thrice) S (section) EXINE |
| 33 | Heading for the deep drainage channel in green turf (7)
SEAWARD (towards or heading for the sea [deep]) EA (drainage channel in the Fens) contained in (in) SWARD (green turf) S (EA) WARD |
| 34 | Priest mostly withdrawing for time of worship (6)
PRECES (prayers, time of worship) P (priest) + RECESS (going back or withdrawing) excluding the final letter (mostly) S P RECES |
| Down | |
| 1 | Annoyed with rejection of excuse treated with contempt (6)
DISSED (treated with contempt) DISPLEASED (annoyed) excluding (with rejection of) PLEA (excuse) DISSED |
| 2 | Straighten end off hook right and left (6)
UNCURL (straighten) UNCUS (a hook or hook-like process) excluding the final letter (end off) S + R (right) + L (left) UNCU R L |
| 3 | A clique involved in reverse of occasional bravado (8)
DARING-DO (alternative version of DERRING-DO [bravado]) (A + RING [clique]) contained in (involved in) ODD (occasional) reversed (reverse of) D (A RING) –DO< |
| 4 | Bird in South Africa displays such bones (6)
STERNA (breastbones in humans) TERN (long-winged aquatic bird) contained in (in) SA (South Africa) S (TERN) A |
| 5 | Strong alloy in mass one with mallet hammered (10, 2 words)
MONEL METAL (a nickel-base alloy with high strength and resistance to corrosion) Anagram of (hammered) ONE, M (mass) and MALLET MONEL METAL* |
| 6 | Regularly deflates young in sty? (4)
ELTS (young sows; young pigs who live in a sty) ELTS (letters 2, 4, 6 and 8 [regularly] of dEfLaTeS) ELTS |
| 7 | Rooster may command this element of supercharge (5)
PERCH (a rod where a bird [rooster] may sit and ‘command’ the surrounding space) PERCH (hidden word in [element of] suPERCHarge PERCH |
| 8 | Nouns maybe contributing to lingo, a thousand (4)
OATH ( the form of words [nouns?] used in a solemn appeal to a god or something holy or reverenced as witness or sanction of the truth of a statement;) OATH (hidden word in [contributing to] lingO A THousand) OATH |
| 9 | Colicky condition got from fungal cap, not the first (5)
ILEUS (obstruction of the intestine with severe pain, vomiting, etc; colicky condition) PILEUS (the expanded cap of a mushroom or toadstool, or other fungus) excluding the first letter (not the first) P ILEUS |
| 10 | Afternoon fling turning up to get drunk (5)
ASSOT (besotted, which has an old meaning of intoxicated, hence drunk) A (afternoon) + TOSS (fling) reversed (turning up; down entry) A SSOT< |
| 12 | Hen in parlour sat fidgeting (10)
AUSTRALORP (an Australian breed of black hen [AUSTRALian and ORPington]) Anagram of (fidgeting) PARLOUR SAT AUSTRALORP* |
| 16 | Distracted centre if dodging (8)
FRENETIC (distracted) Anagram of (dodging) CENTRE IF FRENETIC* |
| 20 | One working on board in club raised second note (6)
IRONER (one who works on an ironing board) IRON (golf club) + RE (second note of the tonic sol-fa) reversed (raised; down entry) IRON ER< |
| 21 | Bad fall in the night? Catch one deprived of oxygen (6)
SERENE (a supposedly unwholesome night dew; bad fall in the night) SERE (alternative spelling of sear [the catch that holds a gun at cock or half-cock]) + ONE excluding (deprived of) O (chemical symbol for Oxygen) SERE NE |
| 22 | Scotsman’s chairman putting energy into journalism (6)
PRESES (Scottish word for chairman or president) PRESS (journalism) containing (putting … into) E (energy) PRES (E) S |
| 23 | Such as standard ramblers (5)
ROSES (reference rambling ROSES) ROSES (ROSES are often featured as symbols on flags or standards) double definition ROSES |
| 24 | What turns to seed, almost past containing centre of culm (5)
OVULE (the body containing the egg cell, which on fertilization becomes the seed; what turns to seed) OVER (past) excluding the final letter (almost) R, containing (containing) UL (middle letters of [centre of] cULm OV (UL) E |
| 25 | Wee Catherine, Gaelic style, centre of cortege trailing (5)
TRINA (diminutive of CATRIONA, a Gaelic form of Catherine) I’m writing this blog on holiday in North Uist [Outer Hebrides], where Gaelic is widely spoken. TRAIN (a cortege can be defined as a TRAIN of attendants) with the central letter (centre) A moved to the end to form TRINA TRINA |
| 27 | Old cow? Pat mounts under one (4)
ADAW (Edmund Spenser’s [hence, old] word for daunt or subdue [cow]; old cow) A + WAD (pad of loose material) reversed (mounts; down entry). As this is a down entry, the letters DAW are placed under the leading A A DAW< |
| 29 | Mild expletive to render en clair, without extremes (4)
ECOD (egad; mild expletive) DECODE (render a cipher en clair) excluding the outer letters (without extremes) D and E ECOD |
For OATH, under Nouns in Chambers 2016 is…
nouns (obsolete)
interjection
Used as a mild oath, for od’s (or odd’s) nouns (see under od2)
INAPT , I had I N A PT , PT being training to deal with being unfit .
Thanks for the blog , agree with Tim @1 for OATH , this clue could have had one of Azed’s rare links to ECOD . ONER , the Scottish gutter has only just been in . PRECES , could not find this in Chambers93 but was very clear . DUDISM , I was distracted by the tautology but DUD and M were needed .
SERENE , the sort of clue that annoys me , pretty obscure meaning , SERE is pretty obscure and no first letter . Can only get it with a dictionary search .
My reading of 11Ac was I + N + A (one) + PT: i.e physical training, which is what the unfit need.
I thought 23Dn just referred to ‘standard roses’ and rambling roses’.
25Dn is an incomplete clue: the centre of cortege is trailing what? It only works if you change the clue around: ‘… cortege with centre trailing’. Didn’t really get that one so thank you, duncanshiel.
Stefan
I agree with Roz@2 and Marmite Smuggler@4 re INAPT and ROSES. The SERENE/PRECES pair remained unsolved.
It’s PRESES both—two S’s. It’s in my 1983 and my 1988…
Stefan
Stefan @6 , in C93 PRESES is there 22D , but PRECES is not 34Ac .
Agree about INAPT, OATH and ROSES. I was ok with the wordplay of the clue at 25dn, as meaning “centre of cortege trailing (the rest of the word)”, but the surface makes no sense, so not really a great clue. Also agree with Roz@3 about SERENE; I ran through the alphabet in my mind for possible answers and settled on Serene as my first look-up, as it rang a very faint bell as having some alternative meaning, but I dislike clues that have an obscure answer plus an obscure wordplay element. PRECES also stumped me for a bit as I was fooled (no doubt deliberately) into thinking PR was the “priest”.