Azed No. 2,736 Plain

Apart from a couple of quibbles and one exceptionally clever clue, this solve was mostly straightforward.

Perhaps the caption should have the subtitle: “The Shakespeare Edition”?

 picture of the completed grid

ACROSS
1 KOL NIDRE
Older kin reassembled for synagogue service (8, 2 words)
Anagram of (reassembled) OLDER KIN
11 DIAPHONE
One brought in to lower and sharpen fog signal (8)
A (one) inside (brought in to) DIP (lower) + HONE (sharpen)
12 TIMON
Misanthrope in play? Phrase he arranged maybe (5)
Compound/composite anagram of (arranged maybe): MISANTHROPE = PHRASE + TIMON, the entire clue referring to Shakespeare’s Timon of Athens
13 BARON
Duck housed in farm building? It may suggest some beef (5)
O (duck) inside (housed in) BARN (farm building), defined in Chambers as “a joint consisting of two sirloins left uncut at the backbone”
14 MINDEL
What glacier goes through in meld abroad? (6)
Anagram of (abroad) IN MELD
15 ERRED
Part of computer redone was inaccurate (5)
Hidden in (part of) [COMPUT]ER RED[ONE]
16 HOG-PEN
‘There’s power in strong drink’ – Shakespeare’s frank (6)
P (power) inside (there’s . . . in) HOGEN (strong drink), “frank” being Shakespeare’s word for “pigsty”
18 POAKE
Exercising round wood? A pocketful for poet (5)
PE (exercising) around (round) OAK (wood), Shakespeare’s spelling of “poke,” thus “for poet”
19 SLAISTER
Artless, I mucked around in sloppy mess (8)
Anagram of (mucked around) ARTLESS I
23 NORTHING
Love holding end of rudder making differences of latitude at sea (8)
NOTHING (love) around (holding) last letter of (end of) [RUDDE]R
24 SLUED
Lots of Americans getting dead drunk (5)
SLUE (lots, listed in Chambers as “North American” usage, thus “of Americans”) + D (dead)
27 PETITE
Darling with special appeal, European, mignonne (6)
PET (darling) + IT (special appeal) + E (European)
28 TARRY
Roller in river resulting in delay (5)
RR (roller, i.e., Rolls-Royce) inside (in) TAY (river)
29 HUMBLE
Low buzz spouted endlessly? (6)
HUM (buzz) + BLE[D] minus last letter (endlessly)
31 URALI
Source of venom and some fervour alike (5)
Hidden in (some) [FERVO]UR ALI[KE]. I think this should say “poison” or “toxin,” instead of “venom”?
32 BIONT
Living organism acceptable in the smallest degree (5)
ON (acceptable) inside (in) BIT (the smallest degree)
33 FELO DE SE
Reaches within money charged for seppuku? (8, 3 words)
LODES (reaches [of water]) + FEE (money charged), i.e., a method of suicide
34 FREE-REED
Sort of ‘windy’? Being empty, given food, bird twice tucked in (8)
REE + REE (bird, twice) inside (tucked in) outside letters of (being empty) F[E]D (given food), referring to wind instruments. Note: Clue is misnumbered as “24,” but appears at the end of the Across clues.
DOWN
1 KITCHEN-STUFF
Waste food? Tick off chickens, hard to chew, we hear (12)
Anagram of (off) TICK + HENS (chickens) + homophone of (we hear) TOUGH (hard to chew)
2 OKIMONO
Loose robe, with nothing on top? It’s ornamental in Japan (7)
O (nothing) + KIMONO (loose robe)
3 LAMIGER
Arm and leg twisted, I kept inside (local disabled) (7)
I inside (kept inside) anagram of (twisted) {ARM + LEG}, listed in Chambers as “dialect,” thus “local”
4 NOON
Culmination? With this one comes to earth (4)
[ON]E minus ON (with “NO ON,” [this, i.e., the solution to the clue]) results in (comes to) E (earth)
5 DIZEN
The old dress up in religion following gods (5)
DI (gods, i.e., plural of deus) + ZEN (religion), listed in Chambers as “obsolete,” thus “old”
6 RAILMAN
Transport worker trained animal to follow rule (7)
R (rule) + anagram of (trained) ANIMAL
7 CHAROSET
Traditional Jewish dish, small spud, pink inside (8)
ROSE (pink) inside CHAT (small spud)
8 SORRA
What abusive Paddy calls you in tantrums or rancour (5)
Hidden in (in) [TANTRUM]S OR RA[NCOUR], with the whole clue suggestive of the solution
9 SNOEK
Fish one’s played with end of hook (5)
Anagram of (played with) ONE’S + last letter of (end of) [HOO]K
10 TENDER-HEFTED
The Bard’s delicately framed offer he’s accompanied by deft twirling (12)
TENDER (offer) + HE + anagram of (twirling) DEFT, referring to Shakespeare
17 PETERLOO
Tragic incident in office, safe at first (8)
PETER (safe) + LOO (office, listed in Chambers as “a euphemism”), August 16, 1819
20 LIGHTER
Dockside craft after unloading cargo? (7)
Double/cryptic definition, the second suggesting the state of such a craft “after unloading cargo”
21 TRILOBE
Like a normal clover? Take a look inside family (7)
LO (take a look) inside TRIBE (family)
22 ENTENTE
Understanding medical field doubled energy (7)
ENT + ENT (medical field, i.e., ear, nose, and throat, doubled) + E (energy)
25 LARES
What may feature at openings of Latin residences? (5)
&lit and first letters of (at openings of) LA[TIN] + RES[IDENCES]
26 URALS
Calf’s first to last in range (5)
SURAL (calf’s) moving the first [letter] to the last [position]
27 PULSE
Beans are thrilling (5)
Double definition
30 BIER
Litter that is dumped in bedroom (4)
I.E. (that is) inside (dumped in) BR (bedroom)

6 comments on “Azed No. 2,736 Plain”

  1. Not sure why NORTHING isn’t defined by “difference…” rather than “differences…” but otherwise no problems.

  2. Mostly straightforward and enjoyable, and thanks to Azed and Cineraria. I went badly astray, putting BURBLE for 29ac and then inventing LIE-BYER for 20d, as meaning a boat lying by the quayside having unloaded, and never getting round to checking if such a thing existed. But I stuck completely on 4d. It clearly had to be NEON or NOON, but why? I have read the blurb at least half a dozen times, and I still do not get it. Have I not yet woken up properly?

  3. I also got misled by BURBLE and although it clearly had to be HUMBLE I never managed to separate low from buzz. Nonafi, you need to take NOON as an instruction: “no ‘o’ [and] ‘n’ “. If you apply this instruction to the word ONE, you’re left with E[arth]. It’s a kind of clue Azed uses maybe once every two weeks, and the words “with this” often give it away. Hope this helps but maybe someone else can explain it better.

  4. I recall getting through this fairly quickly Sunday evening, mostly before the NFL game on Sky. Couldn’t parse NOON but the explanation I think works. I couldn’t understand HOGPEN, not having thought to look up “frank” in Chambers.

  5. I had one or two quibbles this week. 3dn: LAMIGER is a noun, meaning a cripple; disabled is an adjective (except possibly for “the disabled”, which would be a collective noun and plural). 31ac: I agree with Cineraria that URALI is not venom, which is defined as a posionous liquid secreted by a creature. I also think Tim C@1 is right about NORTHING.
    There were also three “hidden” clues (15ac, 31ac and 8dn), which seemed a bit excessive.

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