Notes for Azed 2,660

There are usually one or two points of interest in an Azed puzzle, and here we pick them out for comment. Please feel free to add your own questions or observations on any aspect of the puzzle (including clues not listed below) either by using the comment form at the bottom of the page or, if would prefer that your question/comment is not publicly visible, by email.

Azed 2,660 Plain

Difficulty rating: (3.5 / 5)

After last week’s issues, it was no surprise to find that the online version of the puzzle was available on schedule this morning – we should be alright for the next couple of weeks, I think. In terms of difficulty, this was a real contrast to last week’s offering, with very few ‘write ins’ and a number of quite tricky parsings. There were also a couple of clues which struck me as rather odd. Note that the enumeration of 22d should be (6).

Setters’ Corner: This week I’m going to look at clue 1d, “Personal problem mum’s got after tripe (4)”. I think that misdirection is one of the finest tools in the setter’s box, and something that adds a great deal to a clue; personally, I am rarely satisfied with a clue where what I am saying on the surface and what I am saying cryptically are essentially the same, and I suspect that Azed’s feelings are similar. Here we have three deceptive elements, the first being the overall surface reading, which suggests that mum is suffering a personal problem (as well one might) after eating tripe – but the tripe which provides the definition is not of the edible variety. Secondly, ‘mum’ is not a person, but an interjection meaning ‘quiet!’. And thirdly, ‘got after’ in the surface suggests something along the lines of ‘suffering as a result of’, but in the cryptic reading it simply means ‘put after’.  Just six words in the clue, but three false scents.

Across

10a It’s chill in Scotland – over there I’ll be kept inside (5)
You really need Chambers in order to be sure of the spelling required here – the big red book shows three possible options for the solution (a Scots word meaning ‘chill’ or ‘dingy’), but only one viable Scottish (ie ‘over there’) form of the word ‘over’ which, with the Roman numeral for ‘one’ inside, can produce one of them. Other references, however, give Scots versions of ‘over’ which could lead to an alternative solution.

12a Returning kisses this is abandoned excess (6)
A reversal (‘returning’) of a four-letter verb form meaning ‘kisses’ is followed by THIS (from the clue) missing the letters IS (‘is abandoned’).

15a Philippine buffalo, a miniature? It returned to plunder endlessly (7)
The word IT from the clue is reversed (‘returned’) in front of a word meaning ‘to plunder’ without its last letter (‘endlessly’). The interesting element here is the ‘a miniature’ – given that the answer is an anagram of A MINIATURE minus INE, I think this may be a lingering vestige of a composite anagram which never came to fruition.

16a Home preferred to nursing home, not available? Praise be! (7)
Another slightly strange one – a 2+3+2 charade, the ‘preferred to’ simply meaning ‘put ahead of’ and the nursing home being a three-letter ‘old informal’ contraction of a ten-letter word. But in order for the cryptic reading to work, ‘Home’ needs to be ‘House’, which also avoids the repetition of the former.

18a Handsaw tot held steady I’d cut (6)
The ‘tot’ describes the sort of thing that someone suffering from arithmomania (as we discovered last week) would do compulsively; that three-letter word is contained (‘held’) by a five-letter word meaning ‘steady’ or ‘sedate’, from which the letters ID have been removed (“I’d cut”).

23a What’s a hyena’s growl, wild? We go ‘Ah!’ with this (6)
This is a composite anagram and a type of &lit, where the whole clue constitutes the wordplay but only part forms the definition. Here the letters of A HYENAS GROWL when rearranged (‘wild’) can produce WE GO AH plus the solution (‘this’).

30a Tradesman adding to the scales, according to hearsay? (6)
A homophone (‘according to hearsay’) of a word meaning ‘more obese’ (ie ‘adding to the scales’). The answer is the name which Private Eye memorably gave to Ted Heath, as a result of his role in negotiations over EEC food policies, as well as being the occupation of Margaret Thatcher’s father.

32a Japanese nerds wandering about Tokyo’s centre, lacking breadth? (5)
An anagram (‘wandering’) of ABOUT and the middle letter (‘centre’) of ‘Tokyo’, from which the usual abbreviation for breadth has been omitted (‘lacking’).

33a Crater formed in crest abroad? A result of erosion (10)
Here an anagram (‘formed’) of CRATER is contained by a word which means ‘crest’ or ‘head’ in the European language most frequently referenced in puzzles.

Down

2d Birds’ rear ends demonstrated by one fat lady? Look out! (6)
The ‘fat lady’ indicates the first name of the late Ms Dickson Wright (other forenames Theresa Philomena Aileen Mary Josephine Agnes Elsie Trilby Louise Esmerelda), former barrister and celebrity cook, who joined forces with Jennifer Paterson as the Two Fat Ladies. A two-letter interjection meaning ‘lo!’ or ‘see!’ (ie ‘Look out!’) must be removed from within it.

3d Garrison commander still replacing head of tracking system (8)
A verb meaning ‘still’ in the sense of ‘to muffle’ or ‘to silence’ replaces the first letter of a system used for locating and tracking objects.  Clues of this type always put me in mind of JPH Hirst’s brilliant clue for VINEGAR in AZ comp 27, “Given unconventionally for Jack’s head” [TAR with the first letter replaced by an anagram of GIVEN].

4d Have a flutter with the hard stuff? (5)
The wordplay produces a (3,2) phrase that certainly means ‘back’ as you might ‘back a horse’, and I suppose would mean ‘have a flutter with’ when followed by, say, ‘the Tote’.

5d One brings up water, absent after strong drink (5)
The standard single-letter abbreviation for ‘absent’ follows the sort of strong drink that one might be served in Japan.

6d King introduces check limiting extremes of martial government (7)
The chess players’ abbreviation for ‘king’ precedes a four-letter word meaning ‘[to] check’ containing the first and last letters (‘extremes’) of ‘martial’.

9d Devouring even bits of pud in rolypoly – foolishness (7)
Ideally there would be a comma between ‘in’ and ‘rolypoly’ for the benefit of the cryptic reading, since it is a word for a round, podgy person which is ‘taking in (devouring’ ) the second and fourth letters (‘even bits’) of ‘pud in’. Chambers suggests that there should be a hyphen in ‘roly-poly’.

17d A peasant’s piercing pain once in cell, lacking vital part (8)
The letter A (from the clue) and a four-letter word from the Indian subcontinent for a peasant or tenant farmer are contained by (‘piercing’) an old spelling (‘once’) of a familiar word for a pain. The answer is an unlikely sort of word which I don’t remember encountering before and will have forgotten by tomorrow.

26d One of several in pack runs in to cover up (5)
Care is required here – the solution is not the obvious spelling of the word which the checked first, third and fourth letters might suggest – the wordplay, involving the usual abbreviation for ‘runs’ being inserted into a reversal (‘up’) of a word meaning ‘[to] cover’, makes clear that an alternative spelling is required.

(definitions are underlined)