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12. Episcopal
style, to cut reversed collar (old-fashioned)
ABER (reba(to) (rev.); s.v.
Aberdeen) This solution, with its
unchecked fourth letter, is not immediately found by a scan of Chambers’ headwords
beginning ‘abe..’, but that list extends to only 17
in number and so there is no excuse for failing to find the correct entry. The surface is apt and witty - one imagines
the wagging finger from the pulpit for those who merely guessed.
13. It
was peevish and unfriendly of us to break slate. SOUR-COLD (our in scold) It is hardly surprising that Chambers does
not attempt a definition of SOUR-COLD since its only occurrence in
Shakespeare’s canon is in Timon
of Athens, Act IV, scene III, (line 239 in The Globe Edition
1864). It is rendered as ‘sowre cold’ in the First Folio, so Azed’s definitions seem
to be perfectly appropriate.
18. Late
snack with wine left page with plan as in cuisine. VOIDEE (vo
+ idée) Azed has
rung the changes here by indicating a French word for ‘plan’ with ‘as in
cuisine’.
19. My
language is international − it involves complete lives. IDOIST (do + is, all in it) ‘To complete’ is listed
among several meanings of ‘to do’.
21. Hospitalized?
‘Medium’, quack penned. IN DOCK (doc in ink) The
parsing here has an aptness all its own, a bonus pleasure for solvers. The use
of ‘medium’ to indicate ‘ink’ may be understood as referring to drawing in pen
and ink.
24. Le
Bon, Duran’s lead, ordered variable floodlight. BLONDE (anag
inc. d) A
few solvers may not have heard of Simon Le Bon and Duran Duran.
Our solution is the name of a type of studio light.
30. Fraternity’s
doorman, rebel long ago. TYLER (2 meanings; s.v. tile) A reference to Wat
Tyler fixes the spelling here.
34. Sound
guided fish swinging to and fro. DINGLE-DANGLE (ding1 + led + angle) A crisp charade-type clue.
1. Swarthy baron being without power, very
old. BLACK-VISAGED (B + lack + vis + aged) This charade includes the
very pleasing ‘being without’ to indicate ‘lack’. Crisp again, and very fine.
2. Automaton bringing oil tanker into port
(not river) ROBOT (obo in (Po)rt) A case of ‘spot the
river’ - not the expected ‘r’, but the Po.
3. Protoplasmic
unit that’s reigned with evolution? ENERGID (anag; s.v. energy) Dr Watson’s
concern with this clue is whether the use of ‘with evolution?’ to indicate the
anagram is intended to render the whole clue as an apt description of an energid. Solvers with a better understanding of biological
science will know, no doubt.
4. Rock-dweller, fool occupying pass. DASSIE
(ass in die) The dassie
is a South African term for the hyrax.
5. Lively Scottish booze-up − a second
should be avoided. CROUSE (c(a)rouse) The first of two clues (with 8 Down) to
feature indication of an excluded letter by reference to its position in a
word.
8. Indian tree in (Raj-style) Maharashtra
city? Last one’s gone. POON (Poon(a)) ‘Raj-style’ is used to indicate the spelling
of ‘Pune’ during the British
administration of India before her independence. Poon is the common name for
trees of the Calophyllum genus in India.
11. Jock’s sort of black, not exactly sable. BLAES (anag. & lit, s.v.
sable2) Chambers
has ‘blae’ as meaning ‘blackish’ amongst others. In a
section containing alternative forms (including our solution) the definition
‘..., often blae (also red) in colour’ is given.
16. A pet allowed round river inn fouled
decking. ADORNING (R + anag., all in ‘a dog’) It
is disappointing to find a redundant word ‘allowed’ in an Azed
clue. Perhaps that’s the joke, and it’s on us as per usual. ‘Decking’, as in
‘bedecking’, is cleverly disguised here.
23. E.g. Cicero, at one time opposed to Roman
dictator (indeed dismissed) CONSUL (con + Sul(la); s.v. la2) Solvers may decide for
themselves whether the surface is intended to refer to Cicero’s opposition to Mark Antony (which led to
his denunciation and death) or to his early political opposition to Sulla.
29. A
failure, love-lorn, soon nameless. ANON (i.e. ‘a no-n(o)’; 2 definitions) Where a solution is
marked in Chambers as not being in
current usage, Azed may be relied upon to hint at
that by some means, even if not directly. The first definition here is marked ‘archaic or literary’, and the indication part: ‘A failure, love-lorn’ appropriately evokes such a suggestion.
Other solutions:
Across:
1. BREAD-CHIPPER (anag. +
chipper1) 14. CORDS ((Ac)cords) .15. XOANA (anag.
less s, + a) 17. STARKEN (anag.) 26. SAPROBE (sap + robe) 28. WANNA (wanna(be))
31. GANISTER (anag.) 32.
VIVA (v in via) 33. HAIRNET (air in anag. inc. N)
Down: 6.
INROAD (inro + ad) 7. PICAROON (The competition word)
9. REDINTEGRATE (red + anag. in
irate) 20. INKLING (ink + ling) 22. NAWAB (a in bawn (rev.)) 24. BEHEAD (he +
a, all in bed) 25. LATRIA (L + atria; s.v.
dulia & atrium) 27. REVEL (lever (rev.))