[If you’re attending York S&B please see comments 32&33] - here
A standard puzzle from Azed this week giving us another opportunity to dip into Chambers Dictionary for some new words.
In the clues and few of the entries there were quite a few allusions in a variety of senses to:
FIRE: suttee, autos-da-fe, GRAPESHOT;
WATER: RAIN, flood, storms, GALE [though not specifically referenced as such];
DEATH: [DEATHTRAP, suttee again, BRASEROS and autos-da-fe]
COLD: cauldfire
NASTY INSECTS: ASCARIS, ACARI
Overall, it seemed to me that there was a hint of danger in this puzzle, but I’m probably seeing something that is just a coincidence.
The puzzle was as usual, a good example of Azed’s cluing. I liked the first clues in each of the acrosses and the downs – 1 across as it took me a while to see that ‘in’ had to be removed from SKIN to get the SK. It wasn’t until I had nearly finished the blog that I finally saw how 1 down worked with SOWND being an anagram of DOWNS of which the clue was the first one.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
| 1 | Stabilizer at sea: outer covering’s lost in mine (5) |
SKIN (outer covering) excluding (lost) IN + EGG (bomb or mine) SK EGG |
SKEGG (stabilizing fin projecting from the underside at the rear of a surfboard or sailboard) |
| 5 | Monk’s hood turned up in hoard (7) |
UP reversed (turned) contained in (in) CACHE (hoard) CA (PU<) CHE |
CAPUCHE (hood or cowl, especially that worn by the CAPUCHin minks) |
| 11 | One result of crossing equator in storms (9) |
Anagram of (storms) EQUATOR IN ORTANIQUE* |
ORTANIQUE (cross between the orange and the tangerine, or its fruit) |
| 12 | Senior company man one behind parapet? (5) |
WALL (parapet) + A (one) WALL A |
WALLA (often as combining form someone who occupies an eminent position in an organization, etc) |
| 14 | Some token of what Trump may lay money on (4) |
KENO (hidden word in [some] TOKEN OF) KENO |
KENO (in America [Trump], a gambling game similar to bingo) |
| 16 | Tellers of traditional tales, plucky, in place of convalescence (7) |
GAME (plucky) contained in (in) SAN (sanatorium; place of convalescence) SA (GAME) N |
SAGAMEN (narrators of traditional Icelandic or Norwegian epic stories) |
| 17 | Veiled threat in collection of notes returned – it’s potentially hazardous (9) |
Anagram of (veiled) THREAT contained in (in) PAD (notePAD; collection of written notes) reversed (returned) D (EATHTR*) AP< |
DEATHTRAP (vehicle or place that exposes one to great danger of DEATH) |
| 19 | Perennial half up, with surrounding support (4) |
U (one of two [half] letters of UP) contained in (with surrounding) ARM (support) AR (U) M |
ARUM (perennial plant of the cuckoo pint or wake-robin genus) |
| 20 | Religious teaching given by some important rabbis (6) |
TANTRA (hidden word in [given by some] IMPORTANT RABBIS) TANTRA |
TANTRA (any of a number of Hindu and Buddhist writings giving religious teaching and ritual instructions) |
| 22 | Opal maybe graduate removed from fine church (6) |
BASILICA (magnificent church) excluding (removed from) BA (Bachelor of Arts; graduate) SILICA |
SILICA opal is an amorphous silica with some water, usually milky white with fine play of colour) |
| 23 | One symbolising chastity and upset about a bit of impropriety (4) |
Anagram of (upset) AND containing (about) I (first letter of [a bit of] IMPROPRIETY) D (I) AN* |
DIAN (another name for DIANa, the Roman goddess of light, the moon goddess, representative of chastity and hunting, |
| 24 | What worries moms about a file of schoolkids? Absolutely everything! (9) |
Anagram of (worries) MOMS containing (about) (A + CROC [crocodile; double file of schoolchildren taking a walk]) M (A CROC) OSM* |
MACROCOSM (a large and complex structure considered a whole, of which smaller similar structures contained within it are microcosms; the whole universe) |
| 27 | What may end in jam? A jar’s mostly full inside (7) |
A + (RICH [full] excluding the final letter (mostly) H contained in [inside] POT [jar]) A P (RIC) OT |
APRICOT (fruit often used to make jam) |
| 30 | After end of flood you can see where it gets to (4) |
There is a reference to D (last letter of [end of flood]) which, if added to the entry RAIN will form DRAIN [place where the RAINwater goes after a flood) RAIN |
RAIN (water, a contributory factor to flooding) |
| 31 | Card, ace taken by the king oddly? (5) |
A (ace) contained in (taken by) (an anagram of [oddly] THE and R [Rex; king]) HE (A) RT* |
HEART (one of 13 cards in a deck of 52 cards) |
| 32 | Sprayed fire started by hot gasper (9) |
Anagram of (started by) HOT GASPER GRAPESHOT* |
GRAPESHOT (clustered iron SHOT that scatters when fired; sprayed fir) |
| 33 | Tell about excitement once in a sweat? (7) |
SING (inform on; tell) containing (about) TEW (obsolete dialect word [once] for excitement) S (TEW) ING |
STEWING (feeling very hot and likely to be in a sweat) |
| 34 | Old-fashioned masquerades, what play ends with (5) |
MUMS (masquerades) + Y (last letter of [what … ends with] PLAY) MUMS Y |
MUMSY (old-fashioned) |
| Down | |||
| 1 | Old-style fainting fit? It could be the first of these (5) |
SOWND (an anagram of [could be] SOWND is DOWNS and this clue is the first of the down clue [DOWNS]) SOWND |
SOWND (Spenserian [old-style] word for swoon [fainting fit]) |
| 2 | Astringent from America I kept in upturned chest (8) |
(AMER [America] + I]) contained in (kept in) ARK (chest) reversed (upturned; down clue) KR (AMER I) A< |
KRAMERIA (the shrub rhatany, a S American plant with thick roots from which an astringent is prepared; the astringent itself) |
| 3 | Licence to mine identified with outburst (4) |
GALE (a mining licence;) GALE |
GALE (outburst) double definition |
| 4 | Jaw’s mostly stupid when crazy nag starts it (7) |
Anagram of (crazy) NAG + THICK (stupid) excluding the final letter (mostly) K GNA* THIC |
GNATHIC (of, or relating to, the jaws.) |
| 6 | Blue, pale, err with tot drunk? Not long before the hour (10,3 words) |
AQUA (pale blue colour) + an anagram of (drunk) ERR and TOT A QUA RTER TO* |
A QUARTER TO (15 minutes [not long] before the hour) |
| 7 | Tree fern, little good in bleak plateau (5) |
G (abbreviation for [little] good) contained in (in) PUNA (bleak tableland in the Andes) PUN (G) A |
PUNGA (tall tree fern of New Zealand) |
| 8 | Suttee’s end in what’s misguidedly seen as romantic? (9) |
E (last letter of [end] SUTTEE) contained in (in) an anagram of (misguidedly seen as) ROMANTIC CR (E) MATION* |
CREMATION (the Hindu custom of an Indian widow who burning herself on her husband’s funeral pyre) |
| 9 | Darling loses yen finally to pine as locals do (4) |
HONEY (darling) excluding (losing) Y (symbol for the Japanese yen) HONE |
HONE (dialect word [as locals do] for to pine, moan, grieve) |
| 10 | Oppidan possibly (Antoine in translation) (7) |
Anagram of (in translation) ANTOINE ETONIAN* |
ETONIAN (an OPPIDAN is a town dweller; in university towns, someone who is not a member of the university, or a student not resident in a college; at Eton a schoolboy who is not a foundationer or colleger.) |
| 13 | Like some bivalves, mixed sort one spotted round a fish (10) |
(Anagram of [mixed] SORT + AN [one]) containing (round) (A + COD [fish]) OSTR* (A COD) AN |
OSTRACODAN (like a class of minute crustacea with bivalve shells) |
| 15 | Feeling chilly at Murrayfield Scots call RU field ‘ourie’? (9) |
CA‘ (Scots word for CALL) + an anagram of (ourie [shabby]) RU FIELD CA ULDRIFE* |
CAULDRIFE (Scots [Murrayfield is the major rugby union stadium in Edinburgh] word for apt to feel chilly, or chilling) |
| 18 | What autos-da-fé led to? Foreign money raised goes into memorial plate (8) |
ORE (Swedish, Norwegian and Danish monetary units with the O symbolised in at least two different ways depending on the country) reversed (raised; down clue) contained in (goes into) BRASS (memorial plate) BRAS (ERO<) S |
BRASEROS (place for burning criminals or heretics.; AUTO-DA-FE is he public declaration of the judgement passed on heretics in Spain and Portugal by the Inquisition; the infliction of the punishment that immediately followed, especially the public burning of the victims) |
| 19 | A blemish is indicating parasitic worms (7) |
A + SCAR (blemish) + IS A SCAR IS |
ASCARIS (any nematode worm of the parasitic genus ASCARIS, infesting the small intestines.) |
| 21 | A deep hole, edge being perpendicular (7) |
A + POT (deep hole, especially in limestone country) + HEM (edge) A POT HEM |
APOTHEM (the perpendicular from the centre to any of the sides of a regular polygon) |
| 25 | Tiny arachnids right inside small purple fruit (5) |
R (right) contained in (inside) ACAI (small dark purple fruit of the açaí palm of South America; often used in smoothies and health drinks for its nutritional and antioxidant properties) ACA (R) I |
ACARI (mites; tiny arachnids) |
| 26 | Kirk’s dusty, by golly, excessively locked up (5) |
OTT (over the top; excessively) contained in (locked up) MY (golly!) M (OTT) Y |
MOTTY (Scottish word for containing particles of dust; dusty) |
| 28 | Positive phase of play, it’s agreed (4) |
P (positive) + ACT (part of a play) P ACT |
PACT (something which is agreed on) |
| 29 | Japanese custom uplifted Lord (when addressed) (4) |
J (Japanese) + USE (custom) reversed (uplifted; down clue) J ESU< |
JESU (form of address when speaking to Jesus [Lord]) |
Thanks to both as always. As usual my reference material contains a few more wrinkles after one of these and a few more electrons have been moved elsewhere. Great fun.
Isn’t 1 down an indirect anagram?
Well said, bridgesong: the “clue to the clue”. I’ve mentioned it before because I don’t like them. I will defend Azed’s fortress with life and limb but my wounds are still healing from my last raising of the matter.
Stefan
Anyone got the link for today’s?
My memory is that I found this one tougher than usual. If I’m in Sunday, I usually finish mid-evening. This one I had to come back to several times on Monday, finally having to do a couple of word searches to break into groups of clues that had defeated me.
https://uploads.guim.co.uk/2019/10/06/Azed_no.2469_(Oct).pdf
Thanks duncanshiel and Azed.
Shouldn’t one down be ‘could be those of which this is the first’?
That and last week’s TROPE, which didn’t have a definition, make me think Azed is changing his rules.
It sounds as though everyone was in the same boat in finishing at 1 across and 1 down. Again it’s the short words tht take some parsing. The latter is, I think, a forgivable “indirect anagram” because it was 1 down and not half way through.
Skin “lost in” =SK should have been easy but as usually, Azed’s precision in wording was spot on once the veil lifted.
Thanks to both- now for Doctor Spooner!!
Incidentally, Dr Spooner and I share a birthday. What’s more, my surname is the first word in the clue to 9ac today. Is this a coincidence?
On the whole, I’m on Azed’s side. He must be going on 100,000 clues by now and the poor old geezer’s no spring chicken (but never lose that twinkle, squire).
I thought TROPE last week was OK but now I can see where Gonzo is coming from. It was clever so I’m allowing latitude.
SOWND also is clever so my latitude applies again. bridgesong is still right.
I don’t like 31 Dn for HEART. A simple question: is “three” an anagram of “the Queen”? Simple answer in my opinion. The Azeds and Manleys disagree with me.
Stefan
Belated thank you to Gonzo.