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11. Perennial
rings brought forth tons in e.g. Kew feature. ARBORETUM (bore, t, all in arum)
Our perennial is any of the Arum genus. Kew Gardens has an extensive and very mature
arboretum.
14. E.g.
Turner in splurge of lac, radiating. ACTINAL (Tina in anag.)
Watson’s first thought here was of Lana, rather than Tina for the cryptic filling. The surface reading brilliantly evokes
the luminous paintings of J.
M. W. Turner.
15. Sign
of hesitation in rear? Almost - it’s bound to lose. STUMER (um in ster(n)) Azed’s take on
a dud entry, perhaps. Those punters keep making the same mistakes.
18. Autochthones
from Utah heading south-east, driven back. UTES (UT, SE (rev.))
The main feature of this simple clue is the use of ‘autochthones’
as its definition where ‘natives’ would serve just as well.
20. Pig
has messed about with garden’s splendid plant. SPANISH DAGGER (anag.) Dr Watson
is not a friend of those who would import alien species such as Yucca gloriosa
and is firmly on the side of the pig.
25. Gift
number passed back? BOON (no., ob., all rev.) ‘No, Old boy, take that back’ was Watson’s
first reaction. Our ‘ob.’ is, of course, the abbreviation for ‘obiit’ (q.v.).
28. Philosopher,
by the sound of it, having to take stock? RUSTLE (“Russell”) A
reference to the philosopher: Bertrand Russell, no
less.
30. So
Greek ——
could indefinitely offer more songs, Keats? STAMNOS (comp. anag.,
& lit., ref. Ode on a Grecian Urn)
This clue was the winning entry by D. F. Manley
in Azed 1117. It
works as an &lit clue when the solution is
substituted for the long dash. It is then found that ‘So Greek STAMNOS’ is an
anagram of ‘more songs, Keats’. So much for the cryptic
indication. As a definition, it may be paraphrased as ‘According to
Keats, this could inspire songs in
its praise indefinitely’. Now imagine that
in place of ‘an ancient Greek short-necked jar’ in Chambers.
33. Notes
about senior I returned indicating ‘grumpy behaviour’. CROTCHETINESS (sen, I, all rev. in crotchets) ‘Can’t
mean me, surely?’ quite a few
regulars may have wondered. Such a tease.
5. Club
runs in early stage of competition. HEARTS (r in heats) A
reference to Heart
of Midlothian F.C.
7. Chamber
group rules for old peer sitting in judgement on fellow. TRIOR (trio, r) On
a small point, Chambers gives ‘rule (law)’,
but not ‘rules’ at its entry for ‘r or r. abbrev:’. Dr Watson recommends that competitors
check the abbreviations used in their entries before sealing the envelope.
9. She
followed the troops – one in part of journey’s broken rules, as
bedded. LEAGUER-LASS (a in leg, as in anag.)
The ‘ ’s ’ appears to play no part in the cryptic indication,
but is required for the surface reading as meaning ‘has’.
10. Last
character you’ll see in divine heaven (no Saint!) EBLIS (e, blis(s) & lit.) Solvers needed to be wary of the unchecked
second letter here. Without a full grasp of the cryptic indication a few may
have guessed at ELLIS, the surname of Ruth Ellis, the last woman
to have been hanged for murder in the UK.
12. Shoot
up maybe, rakee shot drunk, and prepare to ride. TAKE
HORSE (anag., two
definitions) In a recent competition
puzzle (2139), Azed gave us a memorable clue for ERGO
which nestled its definition: ‘hence’ between two cryptic indications. Here we
have the reverse, a single anagram (rakee shot) between
two definitions, the first being a disguised reference to taking heroin. The
whole reads like the plan for a perfect night out, not in the Wild West, but in
some remote part of Turkey.
21. County back, one of two in three-quarters.
DORSET (dorse, t) Dr Watson is not a follower of Rugby Union and cannot say whether there are
or have been two backs of note named Dorset. The letter ‘t’
is the only letter occurring twice in ‘three-quarters’.
23. ‘Opposed to acid’ –
with which you’ll see I can come from ban. BASIC (i.e. with ‘b’ as ‘ic’ ) This clue relies for its
indication on a simple substitution. Starting with ‘ban’, by substituting ‘i, c’ for ‘b’, ‘I can’ is obtained.
29. Unattractive hybrid, regularly bungaloid. UGLI (even letters of ‘bungaloid’) The wonderful adjective: ‘bungaloid’ is not listed in Chambers (yet) but may be found
in the (2 volume) Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, warmly recommended for
those with deep pockets and shelving.
Other solutions:
Across: 1. SPIN-THE-BOTTLE (anag. in spittle) 13. LEHR (h in le, r) 16. WONGI
(won, GI) 19. PRAUS (r in paus(e)) 23. BORGO (bor,
go) 27. ARRAS (a, r, ras)
31. KHAN (ankh with halves switched) 32. STEELIEST
(tee3, lies, all in st.)
Down: 1. SALSA (anag.)
2. PRÈT-À-PORTER (p, ta in reporter) 3. NORMAN (norm, an) 4.
TRUE (2 meanings) 6. BUCKS (2 meanings) 8. TONNAGS (ton2, anag.)
17. FARRAGO (The Competition Word) 22. GASKIN (asking, last
letter to front) 24. GAMUT (hidden) 25. BROTH (broth(ER)) 26. GENTS (t in gens2)