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1. One of the Pedaliaceae
- what’s bestowed includes fruit (plural) GRAPPLE-PLANT (apple + pl, all in grant) Our
solution refers to Harpagophytum procumbens,
notable for its clawed fruit. The indication (fruit with an extra ‘pull’, etc) seems particularly apt once this is understood.
9. Baked cheese and egg mixture: batter
similar. RAMAKIN (ram + akin; s.v. ramekin) A
simple ‘charade’ clue cleverly exploiting the meanings of batter2
and batter1.
15. A tittle-tattler in Falkirk (I’m
meretricious) KIMMER
(hidden, s.v. cummer) Azed has hidden the
solution in words that indicate the Scots origin of the solution and add an
appropriate and amusing quip.
21. Pustules of a kind, inflamed, enclosed one,
turning gold on the inside. UREDINIA
(red + in + I, all in au (rev.)) This
clue was misprinted in the on-line editions. The absence there of the word
‘one’ may have caused solvers to wonder whether they were missing some subtlety
in the word-play. Sadly, no.
24. Wild (and rare) creature, one renowned for
living the high life. TAKI (2 defs; s.v. takhi)
At first reading this clue may be taken as a normal clue of two
definitions in sequence, the first
phrase referring to Przewalski’s horse, the takhi (or taki), and the second
to Taki Theodoracopulos,
the writer perhaps best known in the UK for his High Life column in The Spectator. However, on reme mbering the Himalayan
Plateau habitat of the first, and the roguish reputation cultivated by the
second, one realises that both may be defined by the whole clue. As a
consequence it might be regarded as a special kind of ‘&lit’ clue - ‘lit
&lit’, perhaps.
26. Superannuated master? He certainly sounds depressed. SIRE (i.e. “sigher”) Some
solvers might have been troubled by the seemingly redundant ‘certainly’ in this
clue. ‘Certainly redundant?’ Black
humour at its best.
29. Cable maybe attached to stern of frigate as
exhibit? EVINCE (‘e’ + Vince; ref Vince Cable) A
most amusing clue, particularly to those not politically sympathetic towards Dr
Cable or his party. Dr Watson was instantly reminded of the fate of John Bynge and,
more especially, to Voltaire’s famous
reference to it in Candide. Much
more grisly forms of naval dispatch than Byng was privileged to face might have
occurred to other solvers.
31. Participant in debate making some sound in
seat. REASONER (sone
in rear) Azed
has been careful here to indicate the precise meaning of ‘sone’
as a measure of sound by use of the
phrase ‘some sound’. The device improves the clue’s surface, and allows a
humorous reading.
32. Mark a chanoyu
that’s mishandled? It could offer any -- with mocha. RAKU (composite anagram
&lit?) ‘Mark
a chanoyu’ is found to be an anagram of ‘any raku’
plus ‘mocha’. The surface is then understood as meaning that a mishandled chanoyu (tea ceremony) could be one where coffee, say, had
been offered regardless of the type of raku
used. Does this amount to a definition that a person not capable of judging a chanoyu might
understand? Not quite one’s cuppa.
33. What’s viscous at heart and are E, L, and T
troubled about it? TREACLE
(‘c’ in anag. &lit) A
similar doubt attends this clue or, rather, its heart. Its context, bizarrely,
is the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party and a story told by the Dormouse about three
sisters named Elsie, Lacie and Tillie who live in a
well and eat treacle, all of which takes place in the realm of the Queen of
Hearts (something of a hint). There’s little more to be said about this story
except that, in the clue’s second clause, it provides most of the material for
the (very clear) indication and the link with the solution. In the context of
the whole clue, the second clause has no logical bearing on the definition
which is thus reduced to ‘what’s viscous at heart’ or ‘essentially viscous’ as
it might have been put. Treacle is the paradigm.
34. Performer in opera, mostly succinct one
received by Germans worriedly? MASTERSINGER
(ters(e)
+ I, all in anag.) Dr Watson had a suspicion at an early stage
that the solution would be found to be the word indicated, but resisted that
outcome, knowing that the solution could mean only a meistersinger
defined as ‘any of the burgher poets and musicians of Germany in the 14c - 16c etc’, which was long before the invention of opera. With
regard to Wagner’s opera: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, a distinction cannot be avoided
between the performers (opera singers) and their singing roles. It therefore
becomes necessary to consider the definition given as referring to one of the
contestant characters in that opera. The clue’s surface suggests that Beckmesser
is the guilty party.
4. Tile shows representation of this finch?
LINTIE (i.e. ‘l in tie’) It
has been a little while now since Azed last gave us
one of these delightful clues, in which an understanding of the parsing is
found by studying the solution rather than the clue. They are usually among the
last to be understood. New solvers are advised to be aware of this possibility.
5. ‘Exquisite’, as Sachin T. may be labelled
in Paris? PETIT MAÎTRE (Literally ‘Little’ + ‘Master’) A
reference to the great Test batsman Sachin Tendulkar and to his popular soubriquet: ‘Little Master’. The link between
‘exquisite’ and our solution lies in the former carrying a definition as a noun
meaning ‘a dandy’, and the French term being a euphemism for ‘fop’.
6. Give sharpness to a tea brewed with spice
in. ACUMINATE (cumin in anag, s.v.
acumen) Faced
with the need to find a five-letter word for a spice, Watson plumped
immediately for ‘cumin’, his only piece of luck in weeks.
10. Old
boy, king movin’ slowly, supported by arm?
KINCHIN-COVE (K + inchin’ + cove1; c.f. cove2) The definition ‘an inlet’
may be found at the entry for arm1, hence our ‘cove’.
11. Indicate advocates of good behaviour on the
rise? Those reaching upwards may reveal it. ARMPIT (tip +
MRA, all rev.) MRA
is the curious abbreviation for Moral Rearmament.
14. They ensure steady traffic flow? Otherwise
for a r-realist! ARTERIALS (anag.) Dr Watson had not noticed the special
instruction regarding Webster’s definition of ‘arterial’ as a noun until long after solving the clue. He did, however,
consult Chambers and Oxford dictionaries without success, but then noticed the
very apt wording of the indication and looked no further.
22. Artist I have found with a bit of research
in art institution. RIVERA (I’ve + ‘r’, all in RA) A
reference to Diego Rivera.
23. Is engraving (old-style) a reworking of R.
Stein? INTERS (anag; s.v.
engrave2) Watson’s
best guess for the surface reading here is that Azed
is suggesting work on a special edition of one of Rick Stein’s many books on cookery.
28. Measure (long lost), one ... FURAN (fur(long) + an) and
......
30.
... Element in the
tanning process, last in SA country promoted. PUER (Peru, ‘u’ moved to
2nd place; s.v. pure (as noun)) A
linked pair of clues sharing the same definition: ‘Element in the tanning
process’.
Other solutions:
Across:
12. AYIN (ay + in; s.v. aye2)
13. INSTRUCT (TR in anag.) 16. TURACIN (a/c in
Turin) 17. PINA (pina(for,e)) 18. UNTO ((j)unto; s.v. junta) 20. HELMINTH (elm in hint + h) 27. SNIFTER (The competition
word)
Down: 1.
GRAB (Gr + AB; s.v. grab2) 2. RAY GUN (anag. in ran; s.v. run (v.t.)) 3.
PANGA (pang2 + a) 7. NOCENT (i.e. ‘know
scent’) 8. TETRA (hidden; tetra1) 19. ODENSE (dens in O.E.) 25.
KECKLE (‘k’ + anag; s.v.
keckle1) 26. SERUM (hidden)