A standard plain puzzle from Azed today.
I made steady progress through this one with the usual help from Chambers dictionary.
As usual I learnt an obscure meaning of an everyday word . At 1 across, I have probably come across DRESS meaning treat before but I had to check it.
Words I hadn’t come across before included CARLOT (9 across) although the clue couldn’t lead to anything else, CAYUSE (15 across) and SOTADIC (4 down). There were others.
I thought the cluing was very fair.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
|
1
|
Diplomat from Belgium entering a crowd, a treat (12)
|
(B [International Vehicle registration for Belgium] contained in [entering] [A + MASS {crowd}]) + A + DRESS (treat) A M (B) ASS A DRESS |
AMBASSADRESS (diplomat)
|
|
10
|
Place to buy a used Pontiac for old peasant? (6)
|
CAR (e.g. a Pontiac [American CAR]) + LOT (A plot of ground allotted or assigned to any person or purpose, e.g. in America especially, for selling CARs)
|
CARLOT (archaic [old] term for churl, rustic or peasant)
|
|
12
|
Head for prickles among garden flowers? This may prevent accidents (5) |
P (first letter of [head for] PRICKLES) contained in (among) ROSA (the rose genus; garden flowers) ROS (P) A |
ROSPA (ROyal Society for the Prevention of Accidents)
|
|
13
|
Bright star – sailor in North Sea given guidance (7)
|
TAR (sailor) contained in (in) (an anagram of [given guidance] N [North] and SEA) AN (TAR) ES* |
ANTARES (first-magnitude red star, the brightest in the Scorpius constellation)
|
|
14
|
Wine cases in the process of fermentation (6)
|
CA (cases) contained in (in) MUST (process of fermentation) MUS (CA) T |
MUSCAT (MUSCATel wine)
|
|
15
|
Small pony, advantage with year corralled (6)
|
CAUSE (advantage) containing (with … corralled) Y (year) CA (Y) USE |
CAYUSE (small Native American pony)
|
|
16
|
Bore object, removing rot (4)
|
PROTEST (object) excluding (removing) ROT
|
PEST (troublesome person, e.g. a bore)
|
|
17
|
Passage from a poem of long ago (4)
|
A + DIT (archaic [of long ago] word for poem)
|
ADIT (opening or passage, especially into a mine)
|
|
20
|
Regular feature of route march giving legionary firmness of muscle? (9)
|
MILES (informal word for very much [legionary]) + TONE (firmness of muscles)
|
MILESTONE (regular feature of a route)
|
|
22
|
What Spartans never did as it clashed with edict (9)
|
Anagram of (clashed) AS IT and EDICT ATTICISED* |
ATTICISED (side with the Athenians, something the Spartans never did. The Spartans and the Athenians were great rivals)) |
|
25
|
Part of Berber merlon? (4)
|
BERM (hidden word in (part of) BERBER MERLON
|
BERM (wall of sand built as a defence in desert warfare; a MERLON is the part of a parapet between embrasures. which could be a made of sand in BERBER fortresses)
|
|
27
|
Lines of the French playing without us (4)
|
VERSUS (against; playing) excluding (without) US
|
VERS (French word for verse; poetry; lines)
|
|
29
|
Musical drama from a region that includes Italy (6)
|
A + (ZONE [region]) containing [includes] I [international vehicle registration for Italy]) A Z (I) ONE |
AZIONE (composition performed as a drama.; musical drama)
|
|
31
|
Former line introducing discussion put back in paper? (6)
|
REW (Spenserian [old; former] word for row [line]) + RAP (discussion)
|
REWRAP (put back in paper)
|
|
32
|
Set pane that’s broken, leaden (7)
|
Anagram of (that’s broken) SET PANE PESANTE* |
PESANTE (musical term meaning heavy; leaden)
|
|
33
|
Yankee ships on river displaying lichen (7)
|
USN (United States Navy; Yankee ships) + EA (dialect word for river)
|
USNEA (any member of the USNEA genus of lichens)
|
|
34
|
Lid: turn it, then fret with spillage (6)
|
IT reversed (turn) + an anagram of (with spillage) FRET TI< TFER* |
TITFER (tit for tat, Cockney rhyming slang for a hat; lid)
|
|
35
|
Chalet’s cluttered with épées – it entails clearing obstacles (12)
|
Anagram of (cluttered) CHALET’S and [with] ÉPÉES STEEPLECHASE* |
STEEPLECHASE (race with obstacles to be jumped)
|
| Down | |||
|
2
|
Small model that French put in sort of mask (8)
|
QUE (French for that) contained in (put in) MATTE (sort of mask used to block out areas of the image, allowing a different image to be superimposed) MA (QUE) TTE |
MAQUETTE (small model of something to be made on a larger scale)
|
|
3
|
Old-fashioned club, rather loud (6)
|
BRASSY (variant spelling of BRASSIE [old-fashioned golf club])
|
BRASSY (showy, loud) double definition
|
|
4
|
Dancing at disco, lascivious (7)
|
Anagram of (dancing) AT DISCO SOTADIC* |
SOTADIC (relating to SOTADES, a lascivious and scurrilous Greek poet (approx 276BC), or his writings, or his metre)
|
|
5
|
Speak words in play with special majesty (11)
|
STATE (speak) + LINES (words in a play) + S (special)
|
STATELINESS (majesty)
|
|
6
|
Fantasy tot, packed with energy (5)
|
DRAM (tot [of whisky]) containing (packed with) E (energy) DR (E) AM |
DREAM (fantasy)
|
|
7
|
Key ivy – it’s standard in Cape Verde (6)
|
ESC (escape key on a keyboard) + UDO (Japanese species of Aralia [genus of the ivy family] with edible shoots)
|
ESCUDO (standard monetary unit of the Cape Verde islands)
|
|
8
|
Bath etc reduced muscular contraction (4)
|
SPASM (muscular contraction) excluding the final letter (reduced) M
|
SPAS (heated baths or pools; resorts offering steam baths and other health treatments; bath etc )
|
| 9 | A Scots child having a beach dip as a tonic? (7, 2 words) |
(A + GET [variant spelling of GEIT [Scot’s word for child]) contained in (having a … dip) SEA A beach dip can be defined as going in the SEA) S (A GE T) EA |
SAGE TEA (infusion of sage leaves, used domestically as a tonic) |
|
10
|
Marks accepted by head in school (4)
|
M (marks [former German currency]) contained in (accepted by) CAP (head) CA (M) P |
CAMP (training school)
|
|
11
|
Arrange gold box price (11)
|
OR (gold) + CHEST (box) + RATE (price)
|
ORCHESTRATE (arrange)
|
|
18
|
Vipers, angriest when disturbed (8)
|
Anagram of (when disturbed) ANGRIEST INGRATES* |
INGRATES (ungrateful people; vipers)
|
|
19
|
Check rear end for bloodsuckers (7)
|
TAB (check; both TAB and check used more often in America than in Britain) + ANUS (part of the rear-end of the body)
|
TABANUS (gadfly genus; bloodsuckers)
|
|
21
|
Moony since maddened with extremes of love (7)
|
Anagram of (maddened) SINCE and LE (first and last letters [extremes] of LOVE) SELENIC* |
SELENIC (relating to the moon; moony)
|
|
23
|
Bishop vacates centre of his stall in Trinity (6)
|
TRIBUNE (bishop’s stall or throne) excluding (vacates) B (bishop)
|
TRIUNE (a trinity in unity)
|
|
24
|
Whistle-blower interrupts meal not properly prepared (6)
|
REF (referee; whistleblower) contained in (interrupting) TEA (meal) TE (REF) A |
TEREFA (forbidden as food, not kosher; not properly prepared) MEAL could be doing double duty in this clue |
|
26
|
Pinch, a little bit of salt one put in mint (5)
|
A (one) contained in (put in) SNEP (catmint) SNE (A) P |
SNEAP (nip, pinch)
|
|
28
|
What penetrates flank where Royalists and Puritans meet? (4)
|
SPUR (hidden word [where … meet] in ROYALISTS PURITANS [where the two words meet, without the intervening and])
|
SPUR (hard sharp projection that penetrates the flank of a horse)
|
|
30
|
Leader of trek says climbing provides relish (4)
|
(T [first letter of {leader of} TREK] + SEZ [says]) all reversed (climbing; down clue) ZEST< |
ZEST (relish)
|
Thanks for explaining 9d, which I couldn’t work out. Nice puzzle, and a shade easier than some of his.
Thankfully on the easier side for Azed after last week’s mammoth task. I had to check the wordplay in a few I didn’t fully understand at the end, but the rest was a gentle stroll through the pages of Chambers.
I thought 9d was COMP: M in COP
A cop is the head (of anything)
A Comp is a Comprehensive School
Norman @ 3
You could well be right! I was looking at CAP as ‘top’ and there was an oblique reference to school in the definition of CAMP. As the A was an unchecked letter, I just moved on.
Your suggestion seems to be much more rigorous than mine.