Another high-quality set of clues in a Plain Azed – overall about middling in difficulty, I think, with nothing particularly devious this time, though I’m not entirely convinced by my explanation of 26d.
| Across | ||
| 1. Twits we maltreated in quarrel? It’s difficult to say (10) | ||
| JAW-TWISTER | (TWITS WE)* in JAR | |
| 11. What’ll start cancer of the mouth returning? A cigar (5) | ||
| CLARO | C + ORAL< – a rather gruesome but probably accurate surface reading | |
| 12. Coal fires may generate small fluid bits of slag like this (7) | ||
| SCORIAE | (COAL FIRES)* less FL[uid] | |
| 13. Her embroidered jacket girl displayed – see gold lining from rear (6) | ||
| ZOUAVE | (V AU)< in ZOE – the name of some French regiments, but also a woman's jacket | |
| 14. Pilot opposed to diminution of navy (4) | ||
| CONN | CON (opposed to) + N[avy] | |
| 15. My nest is large (depending) though it’s quiet inside (7) | ||
| BUSHTIT | SH in BUT IT | |
| 16. 51 and old-looking? Able to get away – a good chap at a party (7) | ||
| LIVENER | LI + VENER[able] | |
| 17. A dash of milk in tea? That’s the idea (5) | ||
| THEMA | M[ilk] in THEA (the Tea genus) | |
| 18. They’re (excessively?) liberal, last to be worried about boundary set back (7) | ||
| LAXISTS | SIX< (boundary in cricket) in LAST* | |
| 24. Ceanothus to procure through Amazon? Send it back (7) | ||
| REDROOT | (TO ORDER)< | |
| 25. Ponder this at large – it could create bane with torpedo? (5) | ||
| E-BOAT | PONDER E-BOAT=(BANE TORPEDO)* &lit. According to Chambers the name is from either “Enemy Boat” or German Eilboot from Eile = speed. | |
| 27. Contracts are horrifying with the writer behind time (7) | ||
| APPALTI | APPAL + T + I – plural of Italian appalto, a contract or monopoly | |
| 29. Penny, old one being eclipsed by (relatively) new (7, 2 words) | ||
| RED CENT | D (old penny) in RECENT | |
| 31. Scotch presently had victory back up against English (4) | ||
| ENOW | E + WON< . I knew ENOW as an old form of “enough”, but here its Scots dialect for “a moment ago; presently”, probably from “even now” | |
| 32. With a good lather? Not so one’s rolling in tub, the indirect way (6) | ||
| BY-PATH | SOAPY less SO A in BATH | |
| 33. Slight cut during diabetic’s medication (7) | ||
| INSULIN | INSUL[t] + IN (during) – the definition is a giveaway, but I suppose we shouldn’t complain about the odd easy clue.. | |
| 34. Shrew, irritable and cross (5) | ||
| SOREX | SORE + X | |
| 35. High retro flat, needs changing inside (10) | ||
| ELATEDNESS | NEEDS* in STALE<, with definition “high” (as a noun) | |
| Down | ||
| 2. Concerning estate owned outright, a look on face says it all! (7) | ||
| ALODIAL | A LO DIAL | |
| 3. United involved in contest defeat Celtic (4) | ||
| WAUR | U in WAR | |
| 4. Part-exchange, 50% of deal going into process (7) | ||
| TRADE-IN | DE[al] in TRAIN | |
| 5. Wife must have e.g. Aga, getting spliced? (5) | ||
| WOVEN | W + OVEN | |
| 6. Exchange old recipe used in cheap stew, special part of meal (7) | ||
| SCOURSE | Two different sets of wordplay: R in SCOUSE; and S + COURSE. Also spelt “scorse”, the word (“old” in the definition denoting that it’s obsolete) may be derived from “horse-courser” | |
| 7. No longer relished receiving ball – like one treated to bumper? (7) | ||
| TOASTED | O in TASTED, a bumper being a cup or glass used in toasting | |
| 8. One in grip of retro, going wild? (6) | ||
| RIOTER | I in RETRO* &lit, though the definition is a bit strained: rioters aren’t particularly stuck in the past. Also I feel that the double use of “retro” in this clue and 35a (albeit with different cryptic meanings) is a (tiny) flaw | |
| 9. I am attached to pagan deity – or was (5) | ||
| PANIM | PAN + I’M – Milton’s variant (hence “or was”) of “paynim”, meaning a heathen or other non-Christian | |
| 10. Reworked epics that’ll include new limerick typically? (10) | ||
| PENTASTICH | N in (EPICS THAT)* – a pentastich is a five-line poem, of which a limerick is an example | |
| 13. Customs union (10) | ||
| ZOLLVEREIN | (The competition word) | |
| 19. Aussie bird displaying sexiness – I recount being entrapped by that (7) | ||
| SITELLA | I TELL in S.A. | |
| 20. Route artist’s taken in varying tints (7) | ||
| TRANSIT | RA in TINTS* | |
| 21. One form of deception within another? That should help you get a grip (7) | ||
| CRAMPON | RAMP in CON | |
| 22. What spinner does, form of dismissal changing a test (7) | ||
| ROTATES | R[un] O[ut] + (A TEST)* | |
| 23. Finish making incision in part of face affected by rhinophyma? (6) | ||
| NODOSE | DO in NOSE – a tumorous growth of the skin of (appropriately) the nose (Google will find you some rather unpleasant pictures); “nodose” is an adjective from “node”, which can mean a swelling | |
| 26. Hill maybe getting e.g. Jack warm? (5) | ||
| BENNY | Two examples people called Benny (Benny Hill. Jack Benny), and a benny can be an overcoat, which would keep them warm (at least I think that’s what’s intended) | |
| 28. Land in France and Germany once in equilibrium? (5) | ||
| PAYSD | PAYS (French “land”) + D (German) | |
| 30. Dark plain? That of Flanders was spoken ill of (4) | ||
| MARE | Double definition – a “sea” or dark plain on the Moon or Mars, and Anne of Cleves was “the Flanders Mare” | |
26d is almost there – check the nounal definition of ‘warm’.
Ref. 12ac, I at first thought this was a composite anagram: ‘coal fires’ minus ‘of’ = [calires*] = SCALIER. This, of course then messed up 7dn and I was a bit confused why ‘TAOSTED’ wasn’t in C.
It took a few head scratching minutes to wort this out 🙂
And 30dn I thought was a trap (it appeared too straight forward?) ~ I pondered for ages at the end if ‘mare’ was indeed the solution required.
Nick
I think 12ac actually is a comp. anag., with [coal fires] and fl scoriae] having the same letters, with scoriae replacing ‘bits of slag like this’, although (as a friend nudged me towards — I missed this) I can’t see the point of ‘like this’. If you have to subtract something then we need an indicator to tell us this, and I can’t see one.
Of course I meant [fl scoriae].
Thanks Andrew. I parsed 12ac the same as you but I thought the definition was &lit.
I have agreed to provide holiday cover for an AZED blog, so not having done an AZED puzzle for years I thought I would have a practice. I did not realise that the starred clue is not cryptic so spent a very long time failing to come up with any solution for 13dn. Doh!