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1. A —— ... can spy a lot? Wrong (at times,
anyway) NYCTALOPS
(composite anagram &lit; s.v. nyctalopia) ‘A nyctalops’ is
found to be an anagram of ‘can spy a lot’, and so the designation: ‘comp. anag.’ applies to this clue. In consequence, immediate
attention must be paid to the surface reading of the whole clue, as this type
is often devised so that it may be read as a definition of the solution
(designated ‘&lit’). This must be the case here as there is no definition
given internally, and it is clear that the whole is a true statement about
someone afflicted with nyctalopia. Whether that true
statement is an adequate definition
is always a matter of taste and judgment.
Azed is known to insist that each of the two parts of a
composite anagram must be indicated separately. Dr Watson’s best guess is that
the question mark applies to the second, and ‘Wrong’ to the first.
7. Cheer? It’d go round in US town. GRUB (burg (rev.)) ‘Food’
is listed as the last definition of ‘cheer’ as a noun, hence our solution.
15. Like old governors, ergo contra changes,
involuntary response. GERONTOCRATIC
(anag. + tic)
Azed has
achieved a brilliantly apt and witty surface here, alluding to the knee-jerk
response: ‘Contra!’ to any suggested change. The clue turns on readings of
‘changes’ – as a noun in the surface, and as a verb in the indication.
17. Composer producing repeated note and one
below it in sound? BIZET (i.e. “B’s, A”) At
first reading the reference to sound, rather than to pitch, seems odd. Clang!
20. Once favoured putting shilling in a jar. AGRASTE (s in ‘a grate’) Our solution is one
variant of the past tense of ‘aggrace’, Edmund
Spenser’s word meaning ‘to grace’.
24. Source of sugar? That’s yellow and green.
SORGO (s(ugar) + or + go; s.v.
sorghum)
‘Green’ equals ‘go’ is a common enough
crossword convention, but Chambers, whilst it has an entry for ‘green light’
with a definition: ‘permission to go’, does not list the definition ‘a green
signal’ (or light) at its entry for ‘green’. Dr Watson has found such a
definition in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, but not elsewhere.
26. Pickle? Hardly a smack.
PECK (2 meanings; s.v.
peck1 & pickle3) Azed may have had HMS Pickle in mind for the surface reading
of this clue, in which context it has subtle shades of meaning with ‘smack’ referring to another type of small sailing vessel
(two readings), or else to damage sustained by Pickle during her brief but illustrious career.
27. Sharp (e.g.) ear UK deployed installing
electronic radar system. REBECCA-EUREKA (Rebecca + e in anag.) A reference to Becky Sharp
(as an instance of ‘sharp’), the
anti-heroine of Vanity Fair.
30. No loveless Romeo, wandering? Yes and no. MOONER (anag. less 0) The ‘yes and no’ device rounds off two
distinct readings of the whole clue, with ‘yes’ completing the indication of
the word: ‘mooner’, and ‘no’ the double negative of
its definition.
32. E.g. sodalite
specified as ‘retrograde’ in density.
FOID (of (rev.) + i’ + d) ‘Specified
as’ may be found amongst the definitions of ‘of’.
33. Pond creature unknown in European river. EMYS (y in Ems)
‘Unknown’
makes a quick return as an indicator in an Azed
puzzle, this time as ‘y’.
34. Herd, ill, fell sated – those farmers
fatten thus? STALL-FEED (anag.) Azed has shown how to indicate an anagram of
two words, cleverly involving a word needed for the surface (as a collective
noun). In the indication ‘herd’ (as a verb) serves to do no more than instruct
the solver to join ‘fell’ and ‘sated’ before considering them ‘ill’.
1. Peg that’s good as ‘chaser’ for strong
old ale. NOGG (nog2 + g; def. as nog1) In the surface ‘peg’ refers to ‘a drink
measure, esp
of brandy and soda’ taken as the chaser, but as nog2 in the
indication. With ‘g’ (good) added, our solution is the variant listed at nog7
(Norwich strong ale (obs)).
Consequently, ‘that’s’ must be understood as meaning ‘that has’ in the
indication reading, but as ‘that is’ in the surface. See Chambers’ entry for ’s.
3. Flexing abs, a riposte that’s effect of
STD on the nerves? TABOPARESIS (anag; s.v. tabes) Younger solvers may not
remember subscriber trunk dialling,
the system by which one could telephone someone on a distant exchange without dialling the telephone operator
first. They may test their ab control by watching this video of the first-ever STD telephone
call in Britain in 1958.
Our
solution is an effect of syphilitic infection of the nervous system (hence
control of the muscles), and so STD is to be understood in that context as
‘sexually transmitted disease’.
5. These guns may be taken on board. PIECES
(two meanings) The two meanings
apply to the predicate: ‘may be taken
on board’ – firstly in respect of guns (pieces) which may be mounted on a ship,
and secondly in respect of chess pieces (the cryptic reading) which may be
taken in play by an opponent. Dr Watson does not know of any use of ‘guns’ as
meaning ‘chessmen’ or ‘chess pieces’. Thus there is an asymmetry in this clue
in that the definition part is not involved in the ambiguity of the indication.
7. Fool holding puree of pea errs – impermeable
in the kitchen needed! GREASEPROOF (anag. in goof) For experienced solvers, the reading of this Azed clue as an indication is immediate and straightforward
– the only question concerns the choice of a four-letter synonym of ‘fool’ from
quite a long list of candidates. The surface has prompted Watson to check the
entries for ‘greaseproof’ in Chambers and Oxford dictionaries. Neither has the
word defined as a noun, but only as an adjective as defined here by Azed. Websters (online) has an
entry for ‘greaseproof paper’ defined as ‘British:
a heavy stiff waxed paper – called also greaseproof’
which accords with everyday usage as both adjective and noun. Chambers
needs to ‘get some greaseproof quick!’
8. Line ending in bait: grub. ROWT (row + (bai)t) Solvers who checked the entry for rout2
without having first considered the obvious ‘row’ as a synonym for ‘line’ may
not have found the variant spelling: rowt, which is
listed separately. The ‘w’ is the unchecked letter here.
10. See
news vendor circling character in centre of fanzine for old copper. CREUTZER (c + z in Reuter, ref. Paul Julius
Reuter) A less well-known variant
spelling of ‘kreutzer’ is found by considering ‘see’
as the letter ‘C’ and recalling the name of the famous news agency founded by Paul Reuter.
13. Queen’s granddaughter among commoners, as
privileged Christian in old Spain. MOZARAB (Zara in mob) A
reference to Zara Tindall
MBE, the daughter of The Princess Royal.
14. Wearing amplifiers, including one that’s
taken off. MIMICKED (mic
in miked; s.v. mike1) Azed may have been
influenced by Chambers’ somewhat spurious entry for ‘microphone’ to define them
as ‘amplifiers’. Here’s Wikipedia’s article.
24. Fish – lots – died in pouches hauled up. SCADS (d in sacs (rev.) plus 2 defs; s.v. scad
1 & 2) A very simple clue in
its indication with the added twist of definitions to two very different
meanings of the same word.
29.
A potter’s first aim, once explained. ARED (i.e. ‘a red’, ref. Snooker; s.v. aread)
Chambers
has two main entries for ‘potter’, but one has to find the correct reading here
under pot1 as a transitive verb: ‘to pocket (a snooker or billiard
ball)’, no doubt after trying to remember words relating to pottery.
Other solutions:
Across:
10. CHAW (C + haw1) 11. MICROBE (rob in mice) 12. GRABEN (anag.) 16. QUEP (hidden; s.v. gup1) 18. SUMO (sum + o’)
23. CZAR (z(one) in car) 31. KNAIDEL (N.A. in anag.)
Down: 2.
CHARET (re in chat) 4. LENTI (lenti(go); s.v. lento) 6. SCART (i.e.
scar t(issue); s.v. scart1)
9. BEACON (e in bacon; s.v. speck2)
19. SCRIKE (anag.)
21. ROCKET (The competition word) 22. WEENIE (wee + nie) 25. GEMEL (’em in gel) 28. BLAY (B +lay; s.v.
lie2)