For the benefit of solvers new to the rigours of the Advanced Cryptic, Dr Watson provides a monthly review of the Observer's Azed competition puzzle. Dr Watson is a regular Azed competitor. Please post any comments on this review to the Crossword Centre’s message board.
The Spoonerisms puzzle is one of
Azed’s trademark specials, and never disappoints, as
every clue contains a little gem of wit. The hardest part of it, as the Doctor
knows from experience and from his correspondence, is getting to grips with the
two clue types. Azed’s preamble is precise, but can
be difficult to keep in mind while solving, so here’s Watson’s explanation,
with examples:
Firstly, remember all the grid
entries are normal words, and the cryptic indicators in the every clue are
normal, too. The Spoonerisms only affect the definition part.
In the first type of clue (Type
A’s), the definition defines a Spoonerism of the answer to be entered. 1d is a
good example:
Ought marriage in e.g. odd dhows to be at sea? (12)
The cryptic part points to an
anagram of ‘in e.g. odd dhows’ and the definition part is ‘ought marriage’.
This can define the phrase ‘should wedding’, which is
a Spoonerism of ‘wood-shedding’, the word indicated by the anagram.
‘Wood-shedding’ is the solution entered in the grid. Note that the meaning of
the solution is irrelevant in this type of clue, as only a (usually
meaningless) Spoonerised phrase is defined. The
definition is usually therefore a two-part phrase, but not always, as 8d shows.
In the second type of clue (Type
B’s), it is the definition in the clue itself that is Spoonerised,
so here the meaning of the solution is relevant. Take 19a:
Grade of sheen, nothing vivid. (5)
The last two words here make up
the cryptic part of the clue, and ‘grade of sheen’ is the Spoonerised
definition. Undoing the Rev Spooner’s tongue-slip converts the definition to
‘shade of green’, and the solution is ‘olive’ (O + live).
One approach to starting the
puzzle is to look, or rather listen, for phrases in the clues that could be Spoonerised definitions. Another is to try and solve a
cryptic part on its own, then Spoonerise the result,
and the remainder of the clue, and see which works. Some solvers advise trying
out the Spoonerisms by saying them aloud. It adds to the fun, if you don’t mind
the strange looks it may attract! Azed describes in
one of his competition slips a mental picture of solvers muttering their way
through the puzzle.
Because a type A requires a two
or more syllable word, the longer solutions are more likely to be of this type.
In this puzzle all four twelve-letter solutions have type A
clues.
Here are the solutions and some
notes. The clues are grouped into the two types:
Type A’s (definition of Spoonerised solution)
1a: Die desiring woman, healthy,
negligible amount clothing bit of leg. WHALE-FISHING (fail
wishing; w hale + shin in fig). Just as well the definition is
irrelevant in this clue type as Chambers doesn’t define this word anyway!
11a: Green parrot I found in
orchard having quit road, flapping. CHORIA (raw kia; I in anag. of orchard
less rd.). Inevitably some Spoonerisms won’t be 100% precise, but this is
pretty close.
12a: Shippon
collapse brief, in ruins completely. FIREBALL (byre fall; anag. + all)
13a: Stop working spike to limit
a unit of force. DIETINE (tie a dyne; die tine). Watson wonders if this is
really pronounced ‘diet-een’, but Chambers gives no
help.
24a: Drink a little gravy
mixture for putting in bread like this. DIPSO (sip dough; dip so). Gravy in the sense of dosh, spondoolicks, etc.
28a: Left with debts, noggin
drunk, round imbibed. ONGOING (gone owing; O in anag.). Note that it’s acceptable to move just one sound
where one part of the Spoonerism starts with a vowel and the other with a
consonant. The clue tempts you to look for a type B definition (deft with
lets).
29a: US trainee with time to
record some computer info. INTERNET (enter nit; interne + t). As the preamble
says, Spoonerisms can be vocalic or consonantal. The reference to computers is
just coincidence, as Azed wouldn’t drop a hint in
this way.
30a: Sound, at all times a
whinny (we hear), for example. NAYSAY (sane ay; ‘neigh’ say). Although
unquestionably fair, and rather good, this has to be the most confusing clue of
the puzzle, with its homophonic cryptic part. Azed
carefully avoids defining ‘say nay’, and sets an enjoyably frustrating
challenge.
32a: U channels? G-Girl snubbed
rest dreadfully. GLASS-CUTTERS (class gutters; g-lass cut + anag.).
This is a most unusual sort of stutter, but quite a common Azed
device.
1d: Ought marriage in e.g. odd
dhows to be at sea? WOOD-SHEDDING (should wedding; anag.)
2d: Smelly old droppings pong,
that is with tons involved. HUMITE (high mute; hum + t in
i.e.)
3d: Police going under treat
wild water creature, tops. ATTERCOPS (otter caps; anag. + cops)
4d: X, a bit short, made no
loans? LENTO (ten low; lent O). The question-mark
points to the slightly indirect cryptic part.
7d: Crumpet greeting dissolved
in blah about nothing. HOBNAIL (nob
hail; O in anag.)
8d: Darkness? One lit flares. NILOTE (no
light; anag.). Azed
defines the meaningful Spoonerised phrase offered by
this solution, and shows just how neatly and concisely it can be done. Watson’s
favourite of the type A’s.
9d: Blinking chokers - good
friend has mine locked up in banks. GALLYBAGGERS (bally
gaggers; g ally + egg rev. in bars).
23d: Container damage I removed
from hotel room fridge? MINBAR (bin mar; min(I)bar)
26d: Dandy girl: date of death
follows core bit of ecstasy. TOBIT (beau tit; (ecs)t(asy) + obit)
Type B’s (Spoonerised definition of solution)
10a: I won't let haze guide
first to last in marching orders. OUTER (… gays hide; r to end in route). Azed chooses the
least obvious definition to spring a fine surprise on the solver. The wittiest of a witty bunch of type B’s.
15a: Sharpen. STROP.
This one’s up to you.
16a: Formal Noakes
was pressing about it. LAITY (normal folks; it in lay)
17a: Male keeps turning
quiet! Why hitch? HECATE (high witch; tace rev. in he)
19a: Grade of sheen: nothing vivid. OLIVE (shade of green; O +
live)
20a: Hack of punter's maybe,
high ball of unusual size. LOBOS (pack of hunters… ;
lob OS). Is a set the same thing as its members? Gödel may have had a view on
this, but under the circumstances we probably shouldn’t worry too much about
it.
22a: The governor, the priest
and the low tinker? PALAMA (toe linker; pa lama). A clue that demonstrates Azed’s genius
with Spoonerisms.
25a: Reprobate banished strip,
wanton court of sex. STRIG (sort of kex; st(rip) +
rig). Rather convoluted in the cryptic part and probably the hardest of the
type B definitions.
31a: What navvy reads to perform
is concocted with art. SITAR (…Ravi needs… ; anag. of is + art). The only clue to hide
a real name in its definition. The reference is to Ravi Shankar, the
popular sitarist.
5d: Hang on bed loop in iron. FRINGE (bang on head; ring in Fe). US solvers will be most
familiar with this kind of bang.
6d: Hall smut, undated, the
fellow penned. SHED (small hut; he in s.d.)
11d: See blushful love letter -
mine's from lass maybe. CREDO (lines from mass… ; C red O)
14d: Verse song clad in pungency
wherein air may palter BIVARIATE (…pair may alter; v aria in bite). A really
tough one to clue, Watson suspects, but handled with style.
18d: What fuss's pill's giving
sailors and chief engineer on steamer. ABSCESS (…pus fills; ABs CE SS). Oh,
yuck! Don’t you just hate it when that happens?
20d: Len 'n' Ali possibly
related to Kel 'n' Molly? LIENAL
(…melancholy; anag). The Spoonerism nicely
inverts the seriousness of the real definition.
21d: Backing a lean second in Ascot's fashionable.
STONY (lacking a bean; s + tony)
22d: What dog'll
frown? Tailless pug
going round in river. PINEAU (…Frog’ll down;
in ea in pu(g)). For those without a SOED, Watson can confirm that pineau is a French aperitif made from cognac and grape
juice.
27d: We each have care of pups - take in hound that's lost set. BRAS (pair of cups; r in bas(set)). A nicely lateral approach. Azed is often less restrained with this kind of subject matter.