AZED 2,443 – Printer’s Devilry

by

This took many visits and the occasional use of a word-search program to finish.  Tough, but I got there in the end! Thank you Azed.

Initially I was distracted by a compulsive habit of trying to solve the clues.  I kept seeing definitions and anagram indicators everywhere.

Across
*1 ERATHEM Unit of rock strata (7)
competition clue
6 SAMEN Showing kind Nestor will always encourage pupils (5)
Showing kindness a mentor will always encourage pupils
10 HEARTSORE As craftsmen they are trained in tally, well qualified (9)
As craftsmen they are trained in the art so really well qualified
11 ASHLAR Th ose naughty kids have got involved in ark (6)
Those naughty kids have got involved in a rash lark
12 TRAPES We now have moles in the garden, a next nuisance (6)
We now have moles in the garden, an extra pest nuisance
13 CIRE You’ll find what chef calls fare (king of garlic stuffing) (4)
You’ll find what chef calls farci, reeking of garlic stuffing – I had CERE (…farce reeking…) as my fist attempt which looked good but gave me great problems with 2 down
16 TSOTSI Downing his last pints alone in the empty bar (6)
Downing his last pint sot sits alone in the empty bar
17 ATONAL As drum-major he carries the bone (6)
As drum-major he carries the baton alone
19 MENTALISE Not being judge – nothing objectionable in others’ deeds (9)
Not being judgmental I see – nothing objectionable in others’ deeds
20 LIONHEART The army receives pay increase so battas are lifted (9)
The army receives pay increase so battalion hearts are lifted
25 ANIMES A citizen of Kolkata by the maids around (6)
A citizen of Kolkata by the maidan I mess around
26 MANTEL If I lope, regularly for wild-life programmes (6)
I film antelope regularly for wild-life programmes
29 LENO Never having said goodbye, he’s just stout (4)
Never having said goodbye, he’s just stolen out
30 ORIENT Th is is where I go out, and by this doer (6)
This is where I go out, and by this door I enter
31 NOMADE After diagnosis of this a demise is unlikely (6)
After diagnosis of this adenoma demise is unlikely
32 RENDERING Th e troops were ordered to surround offensive (9)
The troops were ordered to surrender in ground offensive
33 TIGER The area offers presentable flats for high earners (5)
The area offers prestige rentable flats for high earners
34 MASTERS I’ve rarely heard magistrates criticise in summing up (7)
I’ve rarely heard magistrates criticism as terse in summing up
Down
1 EXACT ENACT We’re worried about her – she’s being strange of late (5)
We’re worried about her sex act, he’s being strange of late

We’re worried about her – she’s been acting strange of late
2 RESISTING My passionate secretary shows heart with love’s filing (9)
My passionate secretary shows heart with love’s fires is tingling
3 ATHROB After shower every morning one’s in bed, ripping? (6)
After shower every morning one’s in bath robe dripping?
4 HEARSE One strains to overtones, keen to join in (6)
One strains to overhear set, ones keen to join in
5 EARLINESS With inexperienced cast I found inarticulate (9)
With inexperienced cast I fear lines sound inarticulate
6 STRATA Th e cameramen need the roller for extra height (6)
The cameramen need the rostra taller for extra height
7 ASAR Wing lost in church crisis (4)
Was a ring lost in church crisis
8 MOPANI In TV cookery programme chef shows his den, starting recipe (6)
In TV cookery programme chef shows his demo pan in starting recipe
9 NESTLES It’s better to keep hot pork pies, undermine one’s reputation (7)
It’s better to keep honest lest pork pies undermine one’s reputation
14 CATAMENIA Furious madam at her toilet fired tall domestic! (9)
Furious madam at her toilet fired talc at a menial domestic
15 EASTENDER Verily they approached us with gentle words and lowly responded (9)
Verily they approached us with gentle words and lo we as tenderly responded
18 ALAMORT The safari guide had to finish off – I’m pally, wounded (7)
The safari guide had to finish off impala mortally wounded
21 OILING Wretches collecting rock fragments travel pits (6)
Wretches collecting rock fragments toil in gravel pits
22 HENNER How otherwise refer to whey-faced nuisance? Ask, perhaps (6)
How otherwise refer to whey-faced nuisance? Ashen nerk, perhaps
23 RACONS It’s said an emperor chose his horse, foul (6)
It’s said an emperor chose his horse for a consul
24 STEARE Once you’ve had a tad, wine like this will win you over (6)
Once you’ve had a taste a red wine like this will win you over
27 LOESS To recondition some wheels, get the felt ripped off (5)
To recondition some wheels, get the felloes stripped off
28 REDE Preparing cookers one probably needs to have coach (4)
Preparing cookers one probably needs to have cored each

definitions are underlined

I write these posts to help people get started with cryptic crosswords.  If there is something here you do not understand ask a question; there are probably others wondering the same thing.

21 comments on “AZED 2,443 – Printer’s Devilry”

  1. Thanks for the blog, PeeDee.

    On Monday I worried that I wasn’t going to finish this, but everything fell into place on Tuesday.

    I’m pretty sure 1d is supposed to be: We’re worried about her – she’s been acting strange of late.

  2. I had ENACT for 1 down: … she’s beEN ACTing strange of late. Azed is usually very polite!

    Stefan

  3. I had ENACT too, so I hope it’s right! An interesting alternative though.

    Pretty tough as usual for a PD puzzle, but very clever. Struggling to write a clue for the competition certainly makes you appreciate the skill in composing a complete puzzle.

    CATAMENIA was a highlight.

    Thnaks to Azed and the appropriately-named PeeDee!

     

  7. You mean: I’ve just done my neck in for nothing?

    I can’t get that link to work at all.

    Stefan

  8. This was tough, tough, tough. I gave up after getting three answers, first one in was ORIENT, then I ground to a halt. The dificulty I have hree is entirely of my own making, and as PeeDee described – the urge to solve a clue when there’s nothing to be solved.

    Thanks to PeeDee and Azed.

  9. A friend of mine has pointed out that TIGER, MASTERS and AMEN appear at three of the corners. If Tiger Woods produces the goods at Augusta today, as now looks likely, then I’ll be scouring today’s grid looking for next week’s lottery numbers!

  10. The above link does work if you open it, then type .pdf at the end of the address and refresh. The page is rotated by 90 degrees but it prints OK.

     

  11. Another EXACT here. I thought it it seemed a bit clunky at the time and ENACT has to be better.

    That’s the problem with PD clues; you have no idea what the answer means so ambiguities can happen with shorter entries. I found this difficult but much more enjoyable than the recent DLM puzzle.

  12. I  think ENACT is more likely, I will change the blog.  I had a few places where I wondered is this right,can I stop now?  13ac is another example: CERE and CIRE are both solutions, though in this case the crossing letters rule one out. ASAR was my last one in: I had thought of this early on but discounted it as the end result seemed too tenuous.

  13. Two letters to correct in the grid at the top. 1d should surely now be amended to ENACT. And 23d to RACONS (as in the blog). Thanks to PeeDee, a testing item for you to blog, as for all to solve. RH@9 (and friend): I had noticed the prominent TIGER and MASTERS at the bottom, but not (S)AMEN (corner) at top right – could there be other Augusta items buried there? How often does Azed do this kind of thing?

  14. I’m sure I used to be able to do these, but this one totally defeated me, got only a handful by Monday afternoon, after which I lost interest.  That I managed to enter the wrong word in 24dn, despite having got the unmangled sentence correct, was only a minor problem compared to the whole.

  15. PS to @13: Tiger’s father was EARL Woods (start of 5d) – likewise one of his brothers. Perhaps too tenuous?

  16. As Azed has, I believe, himself ruled in the past, it is important that the undevilled version should be in idiomatic and credible English. Ideally, the devilled version should be too – though with a contrasting meaning – but some awkwardness is allowed, as often unavoidable. It is, of course, extraordinarily difficult to achieve even the first of these objectives and remarkable that so many of the clues in this puzzle (eg, 6A, 10A, 16A, 19A, 26A, 30A, 32A, 33A, 34A, 5D, 9D, 14D, 15D, 21D, 23D, 24D, 28D) unquestionably do so. (16A, 34A,14D and 24D pass the other test too.) Which all makes me wonder why on earth 12A was worded as it was. Surely there are no circumstances in which a native English speaker would naturally use the phrase “an extra pest nuisance”? Yet substitute something like “to deal with” for “nuisance” and the undevilled version is unexceptionably idiomatic, while the devilled one is no more awkward or unidiomatic than the version printed.

  17. Thanks to Azed and PeeDee

    It was a treat to re-jig the old brain to PD mode. Like a couple of others it took me a day or two to complete but was  a treat.

    I agree with Nila Palin at  3 that CATAMENIA “Furious madam at her toilet fired tall domestic!” with the subtle hint in the wording. Likewise for EASTENDER “Verily they approached us with gentle words and lowly responded” with archaic Verily nudging to Lo we

    P.S. In my copy of “Ximenes on the Art of the Crossword” (1966) He says “Printer’s Devilry” is the “favourite specialised type of many Ximenes solvers” and he includes one in his examples.

    I think his clues would not live up to Azed’s tough standards. “How can a girl, without a blessed, cur/sed chance of winning a beauty prize” is his first clue. I’ve marked the break point to help anyone who fancies casting their mind back sixty years.

  18. Can’t do PDs at all…do easier versions exist, perhaps with clues that include a definition of the answer?

  19. This is a bit late to be adding comments – but for what it’s worth:

    Robin @16 is fascinatingly erudite and authoritative. But I don’t share his extreme disapproval of 12ac – I can imagine the words being slowly spat out in annoyance one by one, ‘an extra pest nuisance’. As often with non-standard puzzles, I considered entering a clue but didn’t get around to it, as I hope that Robin, who frequently shows up in the winners/VHC list, will have done.

    RH @9 – So Tiger did win the Masters. You read the hint here first.

  20. I actually posted the Tiger tip on a crossword forum on Thursday morning to give those with faith in Azed a chance to get their bets on before the start of play. Sadly my belief in his golfing knowledge did not match my trust in his puzzle setting abilities. I’ll know better next time (assuming he doesn’t tip England to win the soccer World Cup).

    I have no problem at all with ‘pest nuisance’, extra or otherwise, and a google search for the expression suggests that it is in common use. The devilled version is awkward, but if all the devilled versions were super smooth the task of the solver would be near-impossible.

  21. 7dn seemed a bit odd: what on earth was a church crisis about? Then it was explained to me as being the best man’s nightmare.

    For 29ac I entered two different answers before hitting on the right one: he’s just stRODE out, he’s just sTEALt out, neither of them very satisfactory,

Comments are closed.