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EGULAR solvers who rely on
the Guardian site to deliver their weekly or monthly Azed fix will have been
miffed that this puzzle didn’t appear until mid-morning on Monday, despite some
chasing by & lit.. It was worth
the wait (as every Azed is of course) but when you have a clue to write, a
delay can be more than frustrating. The puzzle isn’t difficult by Azed’s standards, with only three necessary excursions
outside Chambers’s ambit. The
competition word SPRAT-WEATHER is a tough challenge given its specific
definition.
14. Man e.g.
given time inside showing fibre ISTLE (t in Isle) The captialised Man is nicely hidden at the start of the clue.
16. In a corner
round piece of Hepplewhite is giving impression of depth THREE-D (H in treed) ‘Treed’ can mean
forced into a tree, as prey, or more generally, cornered. George Hepplewhite
was a renowned 18c. cabinetmaker.
19. Mosquito maybe
making one swerve a little way WARPLANE (warp lane) A great charade
with an unexpected definition, again taking advantage the initial
capitalisation. The best-known of several Mosquito aircraft is the De Havilland
fighter-bomber of World War 2.
22. One landing
fish on port wandering round Exeter once PISCATOR (Isca in anag.) The Roman name for what
is now Exeter may need an internet search.
25. Like a yoked
pair formerly attached to cart ATWAIN (at wain) Dr Watson thinks the
Chambers definition of ‘atwain’ points to a meaning of ‘split in two’ rather
than ‘joined as a pair’.
31. Desirable
companion to have in bed, in more ways than one! HOTTY (double meaning) A rare double entendre from Azed, who’s never averse to this kind of
risqué surface.
9. E.g. title
page in rewrite of Elstree Spiderman STEEL ERECTOR (recto in anag.) Marvel fans will know the distinction between
a spiderman, whose job is putting up skyscrapers, and
the Spider-Man, whose
job is mainly jumping off them.
18. Like
Adam after Eve’s arrival, in green mode of existence ECOSTATE (eco state) The
solution surely means ribless rather than short of
one rib, as Adam was after God’s intervention
20. Use another
rose on art? We’re going crazy REWATER (anag.) The definition
‘use another rose on’ is both well-hidden and misleading. A good penny-drop
when it’s seen.
21. Early
colonist in place before Roman river PLANTER (pl ante R) The wordplay is obvious once solved, but Dr
Watson missed it twice, once when solving and again when reviewing, both times
searching fruitlessly for a River Anter.
27. J.
Laurie’s ardent one giving him orders at Walmington? ALOWE (i.e. A. Lowe) Happily Dad’s Army has enough
repeats on telly that solvers born since the 1970s are likely to be familiar
with John Laurie and Arthur Lowe playing Pte Fraser and Capt
Mainwaring, and ‘Walmington[-on-Sea]’ is a generous
giveaway.
30. Guy
maybe – atop fire’s a fit one lit ROPE (comp. anag.) Azed tosses in a
cunningly misleading surface for the final clue.
Other solutions:
Across: 1. SCUPPERS (C in
suppers); 11. POLEY (E in poly); 12. SEROXAT (anag.); 13. RUCKS (hidden rev.); 18. MAUVAISE (a is in mauve); 26. PRAISE (comp. anag.); 29. TRANSFIX (tra(I)ns
+ X if, rev.); 32. DONAT (hidden); 33. ÉPÉEIST (pee (P) in anag.); 34. AWETO (a wet O); 35. PESTERER (stere
in per.).
Down: 1. SPRAT-WEATHER; 2. COUCHANT (c/o + anag.); 3. ULCER (hidden); 4. PEKOE (0 in Peke); 5. ESPADA (E
+ pad in SA); 6. REPUGN (rep + anag.); 7. HOSANNA
(san in anag.);
8. EXTINCT (X tin in anag.); 9. PALS (pals(y)); 23. INFUSE (f in in use); 24. SPIRTS (trip, rev., in SS); 28. INNER ((d)inner).
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