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Any competitors uncertain which set of
alternative answers to enter may be assured that either complete set will be
acceptable, to indicate that the theme has been understood. A mixture of
alternatives will not be accepted.
Nine
squares are found needing to be filled from these nine pairs of letters:-
A/O
C/P H/R I/K L/P A/F A/O O/T L/R
and, despite there being 512 possible
combinations, careful scansion of the first few pairs leads quickly to the
phrase APRIL FOOL which, in view of the date of the puzzle, is obviously the
intended theme. The uncertainty mentioned by Azed is
likely to have been occasioned by the note added at the foot of the clues in
the published puzzle which reads:
Every
answer in the puzzle may be found in The Chambers Dictionary (2011) except one
at 33 (in the OED), one at 25 (a non-dictionary compound), and one proper name.
If
the theme is to be included in the grid, in across light order, the solution of
25 Down must be REDEAL, which is listed in Chambers in the panel containing
words formed with the prefix ‘re-’, and not RED EAR, the non-dictionary
compound, which must be discarded. By contrast, the word needed at 33 Across is DOVIES, the word not in Chambers, but found in the
OED. The word discarded is DAVIES, a proper name. However, there is also
another proper name amongst the other solutions, namely ENYA at 36 Across. Thus there appears to be an inconsistency in the way
discarded words are treated when considering Azed’s
footnote.
Dr
Watson is confident that Azed did not intend that the
theme letters should comprise any set other than those in ‘April Fool’, and
that few solvers, if any, would seriously doubt it. In the notes below, ‘Either/Or’ solutions are shown in square brackets with the
defined word first and the word indicated by the ‘word-play’ second. The word
to be entered in the grid is shown in capitals with the theme letter
underlined.
1. Bad-tempered
look when imbibing gin. [stroppy/STRAPPY] (trap in spy) The first
of many very simple clues in this puzzle.
7. E.g.
Burnsian prevents retiring. [Scots/SPOTS] (stops (rev.)) The interest here is in the definition of
‘Scots’. Chambers has:- ‘n any of the
varieties of the northern branch of English spoken in Scotland, esp that of Lowland Scotland preserved in
the poetry of Burns and others ..’
11. Fellow
trimmed thin crinkled silk stuff. [chap/CRAP] (crap(e)) Chambers
defines ‘crape’ as ‘a thin crinkled silk or other fabric’.
14. Investment
in Elzevir? One risking some European
money. [kroner/IRONER] (hidden) Solvers
wondering about the significance of the reference to Elzevir
found that they were wasting their time when the hidden solution appeared. Azed may have intended the surface to refer to a purchase
of a rare Elzevir book rather than any financial investment.
21. After
removal of limits Europe modified former register? [ROUL/roup]
(anag. of (E)urop(e)) ‘Roul’ is an obsolete form of ‘roll’.
22. Low
starting point - it makes bar give attention.
BASE (‘bar’ with ‘b’ as ‘e’ gives ‘ear’) The first (with 7 Down) of two clues that reveal their parsings by study of the solution, rather than the clue. They
are frequent features of Azed’s puzzles causing
solvers to murmur with delight or to groan according to taste.
28. Just
after coming round had a meal frequently. [OFTEN/oaten] (ate in on) The
possibility that the ‘either/or’ letter might be ‘f’ may well have confirmed in
the minds of those solvers who took an early view that a theme must be involved
exactly what it might be.
33. Little
darlings, reverse of serious about life abroad. [DOVIES/Davies] (vie in sad
(rev.)) Dr Watson notes that Azed has relied on an entry in the OED, when a friendlier
reference might have been made to the shorter (2 volume) edition which also
contains an entry for ‘dovie’ (under ‘dovey’). See also the preamble for discussion of Azed’s note about the inclusion of one proper name as a
solution.
36. Singer-songwriter
from part of E. Africa, just missing No. 1.
ENYA (K(enya)) A reference to Enya,
the Irish singer.
37. Secretary
ecstatic about about introduction to tycoon. [STENO/stent] (t
in sent) ‘Sent’ as
a synonym of ‘ecstatic’ has its origin in the world of jazz.
38. Constant
deficit e.g. Miliband turned over? [grossed/GLOSSED] (G + loss + Ed) Watson’s parsing leads him to suspect,
somewhat incredulously, that this brilliant clue was written since Thursday
night when the astonishing result of the Bradford by-election was known. Ed Miliband
is the current leader of the Labour Party in the UK.
2. Allowing
little time with preliminary sketch, crude.
[though/TROUGH] (t + rough) Solvers may have been troubled here by
the the addition of ‘crude’ to qualify ‘preliminary
sketch’ which to many might seem an adequate synonym of ‘rough’, regardless of
its quality. Dr Watson might have avoided consideration of other possibilities
here had he checked the entry for ‘rough’ first, where he would have found the
definition: ‘a crude preliminary sketch’. How ironic the surface of this clue
seemed then!
4. One
picking a genus of ferns is missing. [opter/APTER] (a + pter(is)) ‘Apter’ proved eventually to be the apter
option, according to opter.
7. What
limits stand? A lot of ducks. SORD (i.e. ‘s’ or ‘d’; s.v. sord2)
Regular solvers may have been
reminded of a recent and similar clue in Azed 2075. There,
at 6 Down, ‘Group’s outsider, possibly…’ was the subsidiary indication leading
to ‘gorp’ (gorp1). Regarding the surface
of this clue, Azed,
by repute a keen follower of cricket, should surely know that a stand may be
limited by a maximum of one duck only. An alternative reading might involv e a ‘flock of mallards’ causing mayhem in a stand of
corn.
8. Weep
about nothing, having lots of birds. [PLOVERY/clovery]
(love in cry) Another lot of birds feature in this much
simpler clue. Solvers may have noticed the definition: ‘a company of plovers’
at the entry for ‘stand’ when pondering 7 Down.
10. Journey
in missile launcher getting out of gear. [stripping/STRIPLING]
(trip in sling)
Welcome to the circus, Azed-style.
14. Piercing
blade upended pan. [kris/IRIS] (siri
(rev.); s.v. sirih &
pan) Some careful cross-referencing
is needed in understanding this clue. Both sirih and
pan3 are synonyms for betel.
16. Some
E. Europeans are housed in dilapidated cast-iron. CROATIANS (a in anag; s.v. are2) The key to understanding this clue lies
in realising that the innocuous ‘are’ refers in the subsidiary indication to
the unit of metric land measurement equivalent to 100 square metres,
abbreviated as ‘a’.
20. Pine’s
crafted close to board. PENSION (anag. + on) ‘Close to’
may be found amongst the many listed definitions of ‘on’.
24. Finishes
ship, top to bottom. ENDS (‘send’ with ‘s’ moved to
end) Dr Watson observes that ships
are customarily finished from bottom (the keel) to top (the topsides).
25. Result
of boxing rambling leader? [red ear/REDEAL] (anag.) At an early stage, Dr
Watson suspected that this was a normal clue, with REDEAL defined as ‘Result of
boxing’ in connection with the game of cribbage, but thought that to
be somewhat tenuous on his limited knowledge of the game. Solving 38 Across as an ‘either/or’ clue leads to an understanding of
‘Result of boxing’ as defining the spurious ‘non-dictionary’ compound: RED EAR.
See the preamble for consideration of Azed’s footnote
on this 0and other clues.
29. Faith
I had put in rising tide. [FIDES/aides] (I’d in sea (rev.)) A most telling clue for
sailing folk. Even the parsing phrase ‘I’d in sea (reversed)’ might
cause a wry smile or two.
30. Tense,
temperature not normal? [taut/TOUT] (t +
out) A sweet and
simple clue. An enquiry one might ask of someone complaining of red ear
syndrome, perhaps.
31. Cans
shed nuts like this, a nuisance. [pest/PESO] (pe(cans)
+ so) Construing ‘Cans shed nuts’
the right way is the key to understanding this clue, as Dr Watson belatedly
found.
Other solutions:
Across:
12. RÉCOLLET (The competition word; s.v. recollect) 13. COTTUS (U in cotts; s.v. cot3) 17.
AGORA (or in Aga; s.v. agora2)
18. TIDE RIP (TID + anag.) 19. WHIPLASH (hip in anag.) 23. TERIYAKI (anag.)
27. LEONINE (anag. in line; s.v.
Leo) 34. EN DASH (i.e. end a ‘sh!’) 35. EUROSEAT
(initial letters + roseat(e))
Down:
3. RAT-POISON (anag.) 5. PRUH (pru(dis)h)
6. PESETA (set in pea) 9. TEED
(hidden) 15. SAWBLADES (saw + blades) 26.
KEKSYE (ke(pt) + anag; s.v.
kex) 32. INTO (into(nation))