An accessible Azed puzzle.
I found this one at the gentler end of the Azed spectrum with a lot of the across answers slotting in fairly quickly, providing significant crossers for the down clues. I was held up a little towards the end when I couldn’t work out why Woody = strode until something at the back of my mind told me there was an actor called Woody something, and a quick Google confirmed his surname was Strode. I think I’ve parsed everything satisfactorily.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | SOSS |
Appeal for help succeeded heavy fall (4)
|
| SOS (save our souls, so “appeal for help”) + S (succeeded) | ||
| 4 | CASTRATI |
Give out helping but not on those cut? (8)
|
| CAST (“give out”) + RATI(on) (“helping”, but not ON) | ||
| 10 | SPEAKERINE |
Keen praise distributed for old-style radio hostess (10)
|
| *(keen praise) [anag:distributed] | ||
| 11 | PREASE |
The old insist on rule being kept in balance as before (6)
|
| R (rule) being kept by PEASE (an old word for a balance, so “balance as before”)
PREASE is an obsolete variation of PRESS. |
||
| 13 | AU FOND |
Basically gold-loving (6, 2 words)
|
| Au (chemical symbol for “gold”) + FOND (“loving”) | ||
| 14 | EARCAP |
Sort of muffler Western lawman used to wrap colt, active? (6)
|
| (Wyatt) EARP (“Western lawman”) used to wrap C (colt, on racecards) + A (active) | ||
| 16 | BESMEAR |
Daub showing girl in pub (7)
|
| ESME (“girl”) in BAR (“pub”) | ||
| 18 | STEROID |
Chemical compound Tories restyled and had shortened (7)
|
| *(tories) [anag:restyled] and ‘D (had, shortened) | ||
| 19 | DOLE |
Sweet clubs left out, small portion (4)
|
| DOL(c)E (“sweet”) with C (clubs) left out | ||
| 20 | TROD |
It showed the way to go, part of the introduction (4)
|
| Hidden in [part of the] “inTRODuction”
TROD is an old word for PATH. |
||
| 21 | ASCETIC |
Abstainer – what shreds etc will be swallowed by one such (7)
|
| *(etc) [anag:what shreds] will be swallowed by A (one) + SIC (“such”) | ||
| 22 | AUFGABE |
Experimental task, distorting a bag with endless fuel (7)
|
| *(a bag fue) [anag:distorting] where FUE is [endless] FUE(l)
Comes from the Germen verb “aufgeben” meaning “to assign”. I knew this from Hausaufgabe (homework), which I used to be given by my German teacher a long, long time ago. |
||
| 27 | FAT HEN |
One of the goosefoots, article brought in to cool (6, 2 words)
|
| THE (“article”) brought in to FAN (“cool”)
Fat hen is a thick-leaved plant of the goosefoot family. |
||
| 28 | DONSIE |
Sickly Scottish son somehow about to languish? The opposite (6)
|
| DIE (“to languish”) about *(son) [anag:somehow] | ||
| 29 | STRODE |
Woody street remained undisturbed (6)
|
| St. (street) + RODE (“remained undisturbed”, as in “let it ride”)
Woody Strode (1914-94) was an American decathlete that became an actor. |
||
| 30 | STERNBOARD |
Inflexible committee losing way when shifting position (10)
|
| STERN (“inflexible”) + BOARD (“committee”) | ||
| 31 | MASSETER |
Fool taken in by what measures muscle (8)
|
| ASS (“fool”) taken in by METER (“what measures”) | ||
| 32 | NEWS |
Report coming from all quarters (4)
|
| Made up of N (north), E (east), W (west) and S (south) [from all quarters] | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | SUPERSTARDOM |
Beating of drums at poser being top of the bill? (12)
|
| *(drums at poser) [anag:beating of] | ||
| 2 | SPERM |
Flickering light, what inspires Prosper Mérimée? (5)
|
| Hidden in [what inspires] “proSPER Mérimée”
Refers to a candle made from oil from the sperm whale. |
||
| 3 | SEA CARD |
Sailor’s chart, one kept on board, sacred in a way (7, 2 words)
|
| A (one) kept on board *(sacred) [anag:in a way] | ||
| 4 | CASANOVA |
Inveterate flirt embracing e.g. Italian sculptor (8)
|
| (Antonio) CANOVA (“Italian sculptor”) embracing AS (e.g.) | ||
| 5 | SEABED |
Sailor plumbing spawn in Davy Jones’s locker? (6)
|
| AB (able-bodied seaman, so “sailor”) plumbing SEED (“spawn”) | ||
| 6 | TRUG |
Flower carrier right in tow (4)
|
| R (right) in TUG (“tow”) | ||
| 7 | RIFT |
Set of nets without opening split (4)
|
| (d)RIFT (“set of nets”) without opening (i.e. first letter) | ||
| 8 | ANOLE |
’Ow ’Arry might refer to a cavity for lizard (5)
|
| Someone who doesn’t pronounce his H’s might refer to a hole (“a cavity”) as AN ‘OLE | ||
| 9 | INDIRECTNESS |
Untidy nest I discern in hedging (12)
|
| *(nest i discern) [anag:untidy] | ||
| 12 | RASTRUM |
Artist’s instrument (not cherished) – one may draw staves (7)
|
| RA’s (member of the Royal Academy’s, so “artist’s”) + TRUM(pet) (“instrument”, but not PET (“cherished”)) | ||
| 15 | TALIPED |
Typical of Byron, misused date introducing insolence (7)
|
| *(date) [anag:misused] introducing LIP (“insolence”)
Lord Byron was born with a clubfoot (talipes) |
||
| 17 | SECTATOR |
Member of school rarely removing page from journal (8)
|
| P (page) removed from S(p)ECTATOR (“journal”) | ||
| 19 | DEXTRAN |
Plasma substitute, and extraneous if without fringe elements (7)
|
| Hidden in [if without fringe elements] “anD EXTRANeous” | ||
| 21 | ABSENT |
Dreamy son absorbed in adult trend (6)
|
| S (son) absorbed in A (adult) + BENT (“trend”) | ||
| 23 | FONTS |
Origins, sources of family one names then suspects (5)
|
| [sources of] F(amily) O(ne) N(ames) T(hen) S(uspects) | ||
| 24 | SHORE |
Runs in e.g. sneaker to prevent slipping (5)
|
| R (runs, in cricket) in SHOE (“e.g. sneaker”) | ||
| 25 | USES |
What’ll denote home for Seabee, filled with energy and exercises (4)
|
| USS (United States Ship, so potentially the home to a Seabee, a member of a US navy construction batallion), filled with E (energy) | ||
| 26 | WIRE |
What’s involved in fencing with wax (4)
|
| W (with) + IRE (“wax”) |
No real difficulties apart from STRODE. I was familiar with TROD from paths like Moses Trod in the Lake District despite it being marked as obsolete in Chambers.
I thought this was very straightforward (32ac – “all quarters” – is an old chestnut of a clue!). I didn’t know Strode, but it was fairly clear from the wordplay and confirmed by all the crossing letters. The only one that gave me pause was WIRE – I wanted to put CIRE (“with wax”) but that didn’t go with fencing, then I realised IRE = wax. No doubt that was an intentional mis-steer!
I was climbing in the Lake District earlier this year and there was a crag where most of the routes were called Trod, followed by a number from the Cumbrian sheep-counting system (Yan, Tan, Tethera etc). It was quite educational!
I would have expected some indication that ‘Woody’ is a definition by example. I doubt whether Mr Strode is the first person called Woody who comes to most minds.
In the clue for TROD Azed is adhering to a view held by Ximenes that in ‘hidden’ clues “no word other than an article should occur in the hiding-place that does not contain at least one letter of the required word”. Not everyone agrees with this exception for definite and indefinite articles, and would say that ‘the’ before ‘introduction’ is a superfluous word.
I did remember Woody STRODE from somewhere, I’d forgotten Canova.
Thanks Munro Maiden @2 about Trod and rock climbing. I’m going to check all my Dad’s old F&RCC Guides tomorrow. 🙂
[TimC@5: the crag was Glaciated Slab. We were staying at an FRCC hut in Borrowdale.]
The surprising thing about this puzzle was that it didn’t include a clue-writing competition. I have had no reply from The Observer to the enquiry I sent last week so I suppose we will have to wait for the August slip for an explanation.
And, bridgesong, we’re still waiting for the July slip, which I’m beginning to think won’t see the light of day at all. Perhaps the August slip will explain that too. We were told last Sunday that it would appear within two weeks.
Extensive discussion about the lack of a clue-writing competition and slips at https://www.clueclinic.com/index.php/2025/09/07/notes-for-azed-2770/
Sounds like there will be no slip for July, clearly the competition was a complete mess.
The Azed 2,769 slip has landed, at http://www.crossword.org.uk/Azed2769.pdf