I managed to solve about three-quarters of this puzzle without any assistance from Chambers or the internet. It’s surprising what being on holiday in remote places can do for the brain. However, I made somewhat heavy weather of the remainder on my return home. Fewer anagrams than usual, I thought, but with a couple of easy hidden clues to help get one started. As is often the case, it’s the shortest words that can be the hardest to solve.
| Across | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DABS | Hidden in “road, absorbent”; it’s a term supposedly used by police officers to mean fingerprints, hence the refernce to “whorls” in the clue. |
| 4 | COCKNIFY | COCK + IF in NY. “Reverse Prof. Higgins’s treatment” (of Eliza Dolittle) is the definition; presumably what he did was to decocknify. |
| 10 | OMOPHORION | MOP in OH + ORION (the “belted one”). |
| 11 | COLEUS | COLE + US. |
| 13 | ENIGMA | E + (AM GIN) (all rev.). |
| 14 | CADDOAN | C + A in ADD-ON. |
| 15 | SEDUM | Hidden in “naturalised umbellifers”. |
| 17 | SETT | SET + T(in). |
| 19 | ONE-LINER | NIL (rev.) in O + NE’ER. |
| 22 | BARRATRY | RA in BAR + TRY. I was pleased with myself for remembering this word; it’s possible that it features in the novels of Patrick O’Brian. |
| 24 | PEIN | PINE with the middle letters removed to the end. |
| 26 | DROIL | I in LORD (rev.). |
| 27 | SAND-BED | S AND BED. |
| 29 | PRE-NUP | REN in PUP. I’m not sure how REN equates to “most of revenue”. |
| 30 | CITESS | CITES + S. A word that was new to me. |
| 31 | ANTIOCHENE | * ATHENE and COIN. An easy enough anagram, but the first so far. |
| 32 | CHRISTIE | *STIR in CH + IE. A double reference: not just Agatha but also the murderer John Christie. |
| 33 | ASPS | *PASS. Another easy anagram. |
| Down | ||
| 1 | DOCUSOAP | DO + CU + SOAP. I didn’t realise that “soap” can be US slang for money. |
| 2 | BOLIDE | B + OLID + (fir)E. |
| 3 | SPECULA | *CAPSULE. |
| 4 | CHUG | C(otton) + HUG. Here “bolt” is used to mean to swallow quickly, which is at a stretch one of the subsidiary meanings of the word clued. |
| 5 | CREAMERY | REAME in CRY. Reame is a Spenserian word for realm. |
| 6 | KINDA | KIND + A(dvance). |
| 7 | INGOES | *SOIGNE. |
| 8 | FUMATORIES | FUM + A(fternoon) + TORIES. |
| 9 | YUAN | (platea)U in NAY (rev.). |
| 12 | OPEN-HEARTH | *PHONE + EARTH. |
| 16 | SNAKEPIT | NAKE(d) in SPIT. |
| 18 | THYLOSES | THY + E in LOSS. |
| 20 | PARATHA | A R(ecipe) in PATHA(n). I wasted a lot of time looking for a partial anagram of “Afghan”. |
| 21 | LINEAR | LI + NEAR. |
| 23 | TOPEES | TOP + SEE (rev.). I’m not sure that the clue adequately indicates that only half of its components are to be reversed. |
| 25 | ABUTS | BUT in AS. |
| 27 | SPIC | P in SIC. |
| 28 | BICE | B(rown) + ICE. |
I failed on 17a. I had?ETT, and running through the alphabet, came across NETT (completed). Should have pushed on through ‘C’ first.
I agree, AZED’s clues for four letter words are often the most difficult.
29A REN(T) in PUP
23D I have (SEE + POT)(rev)
You are right about the short words, Bridgesong. 28D must be BRICE, but B=brown? I think that must be a slip on Azed’s part. I remember CITES=townswoman from earlier Azed puzzles.
Correction – My remark @4 above should read ’28D must be BICE’ etc
Hi bridgesong
Regarding 23dn, I agree with Bob @3. Under ‘pot’ Chambers has “an important person (usu big pot; informal)”.
4 dn. Where do you find “swallow hastily” as a subsidiary meaning of “chug”. It’s not in my 2003 Chambers. Perhaps in the 2008 edition?
2008 edition gives ‘a quick or large swallow, esp of an alcoholic drink (sl)’
In addition, it gives ‘vt(sl) to drink in quick gulps [Imit}’
My 1999 Oxford Concise gives ‘chug(2) v. (chugged,chugging) N Amer. informal consume (a drink) in large gulps without pausing. – ORIGIN 1980s: imitative’
Looks like I’ll have to buy the new edition of Chambers. Curses!
Thanks Bridgesong.
Like yourself, I was on holiday last week without access to Chambers etc. and surprised myself by being able to complete so much. I had begun to think I’m normally perhaps too quick to resort to aids and resolved to tackle this week’s puzzle unaided.
Ah well – back to the dictionary.
Thanks, Bridgesong, for your excellent blog. Also, thanks to Bob Sharkey for the interesting Oxford citation on chug which indicates a North American origin in the 1980’s. My buddies and I were chugging beer in college in Bellingham, WA in the early 60’s. Little did we know how far ahead of the curve we were!
Thanks, all, for your comments. I agree with Bob Sharkey and Gaufrid about 29A and 23D. On reflection I was perhaps a bit harsh in my comments about stretching the meaning of CHUG. Anyway, time to finish 1996!
My problem with 4D was not CHUG, which I have met in American fiction, but BOLT. I am sure I have never come across it being used to mean “to drink quickly”, only “to eat quickly” – and that is how it is explicitly defined in Collins, Penguin and the on-line Oxford dictionary.
Anyway, the grandchildren have gone home so, as you say, let’s get on with 1996
Thanks for that bolt from the blue. I agree entirely. Do you know a chug from a pink?