A French theme to this week’s puzzle.
In addition to the two words not to be found in Chambers (BRASIL and TIGRE) we also have DRABETTE (which looks French, even if it’s not) and BISTRO (which may be Russian in orgin, but which came to us from France). Only two obscure Scottish words this week (KET and LALDIE), so no appearance from Jock. Overall, I found this to be at the easy end of the Azed range and it took me substantially less time to solve than Paul’s puzzle in the previous day’s Guardian (see my blog from yesterday).
| Across | ||
| 1 | PHENGITES | Filler for old windows (eight panes cracked, one missing) (9) |
| *(EIGHT P(a)NES). A transparent stone. | ||
| 8 | GAD | Get away from doings, wandering (3) |
| GAD(get). Like the other 3 lettered word, it is fully checked, so could be solved wholly incidentally. | ||
| 11 | LOPER | Wooden part giving support in classical opera (5) |
| Hidden in “classical opera”. | ||
| 12 | CULTURE | Growing bacteria left in wound, former practice (7) |
| L in CUT, URE. | ||
| 13 | UPHROE | Part of paraphernalia for awning erected by versatile hero? (6) |
| UP, *HERO. The clue defines it completely, but the derivation is interesting. It’s a nautical term, from the Dutch juffrouw, meaning a young woman. | ||
| 14 | DIRAC | Physicist, reverse of barren, given constant (5) |
| ARID(rev), C. Although a proper name, this physicist is to be found in Chambers, because there is a constant named after him. | ||
| 16 | PAIRED | Like couple fiddling with diaper (6) |
| *(DIAPER). | ||
| 17 | BISTRO | No home of haute cuisine, drowning recipe in gravy? (6) |
| R(ecipe) in BISTO. Only tricky if you’re solving outside the UK and are not familiar with this gravy brand. | ||
| 19 | SATURNALIA | A performance during endless Frankish orgy (10) |
| A TURN in SALIA(n). | ||
| 21 | REALISABLE | Ariel skippingly before dark: ‘That may be accomplished’ (10) |
| *ARIEL, SABLE. | ||
| 26 | BRASIL | Herb enveloping centre of burrito – a foreign country for Escoffier? (6) |
| (bur)R(ito) in BASIL. One of the two foreign |
||
| 27 | LALDIE | Women not quite swallowing their first whacking Scotch (6) |
| L in LADIE(s). | ||
| 29 | RAGGA | Type of rap music from Asia, including a touch of grunge (5) |
| G(runge) in RAGA. Definition is “type of rap”. | ||
| 30 | TAPETI | Rabbit? What might that be, tucking into tree with tasty roots? (6) |
| A PET in TI. | ||
| 31 | CANE RAT | Brisk northerly around a long time, bane of plantation owners? (7, 2 words) |
| ERA in CANT. This is the fourth sense of the word “cant” in Chambers. | ||
| 32 | RICIN | Toxic stuff, dose of arsenic irrationally knocked back (5) |
| Hidden and reversed in “arsenic irrationally”. | ||
| 33 | KET | Road kill in Scotland, south-east area, not north (3) |
| KE(n)T. | ||
| 34 | REVERENCE | Homage shown as famous rider goes round enclosure (9) |
| ENC in (Paul) REVERE. I foolishly guessed DEFERENCE from the definition and some of the crossing letters. | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | PLUMBER-BLOCK | Case for revolving shaft made of US wood, sheathed in lead, secure (12) |
| LUMBER in PB, LOCK. A variant of PLUMMER-LOCK, and nothing to do with plumbers, as far as anyone knows. | ||
| 2 | HOPVINE | Twining stem: there’s five in tree below house (7) |
| HO, V in PINE. | ||
| 3 | NERITA | Marine gasteropod caught by mariner it attacked (6) |
| Hidden in “mariner it attacked”. | ||
| 4 | GROK | Rumble starts in gastric region all right (4) |
| G(astric) R(egion) OK. I was amazed to find this word in Chambers, being a coinage by the science-fiction writer Robert Heinlein in his 1961 novel Stranger in a Strange Land. I remember reading the book as a teenager and it’s clear that I wasn’t the only one to be impressed by it, although I suspect that it would appear a little dated now. | ||
| 5 | ICE HOUSE | Freezer (sort of) antiquated, so juice, scrapping starter, he mixed (8, 2 words) |
| *(SO (j)UICE HE). There’s a nice example at Compton Verney in Warwickshire. | ||
| 6 | ELIAN | Fan of writer, one in grip of stylish vigour (5) |
| 1 in ELAN. Charles Lamb wrote under the name of Elia | ||
| 7 | STRIGA | Reverse of dressed, clothed in sexiness, reveals a fine streak! (6) |
| GIRT(rev) in SA. | ||
| 8 | GUARDLESS | Free of custody, lad’s urges will roam free (9) |
| *(LAD’S URGES). | ||
| 9 | ARCED | Making a bow, parts of wood are transposed (5) |
| CED AR with the parts transposed. | ||
| 10 | DEAD-BALL LINE | Dull dance, note, limit of play (12, 2 words) |
| DEAD BALL LINE. A simple three part charade. | ||
| 15 | ASSAILANT | Attacker who’s very little latitude, soldier possible (9) |
| ASSAI, L(atitude), ANT. I didn’t know that ASSAI is an Italian term used in music to mean “very”. | ||
| 18 | DRABETTE | Coarse linen put on in messy trade (8) |
| BET in *TRADE. | ||
| 20 | IDIOTIC | Foolish one doubled holding diamonds, reverse of quickly (7) |
| 1 D(iamonds) 1, CITO(rev). | ||
| 22 | LIDGER | Record of old accounts concealed in girdle (6) |
| *GIRDLE. | ||
| 23 | LAPPIE | Cape Town rag to wrap part of picnic lunch? (6) |
| LAP PIE. | ||
| 24 | MARAE | One must have mum with attention rising in meeting place (5) |
| MA, EAR(rev). It’s a Maori term. | ||
| 25 | TIGRE | The inimitable Georges’s regular eponym? (Think leaders) (5) |
| Initial letters. The reference is to Georges Clemenceau. The other word not to be found in Chambers. | ||
| 28 | YARR | B-bit of sun brought up weed in cornfield (4) |
| RRAY (rev). | ||
*anagram
Thanks for the blog. Pity it’s Brésil in French and not Brasil, unless there’s something else going on. Stranger in a Strange Land was mandatory reading in the 60’s, but on rereading it ten or so years ago I found it quite unpalatable (the book, and grokking).
Norman: oops! Thanks for pointing that out, I’ve amended the blog.
Yes, but “for Escoffier” surely means the French version of the name. I meant that Azed seems to have got it wrong, not you.
Well it’s still a foreign country for Escoffier 😉 Sorry.