Reviews
index
| & lit. homepage | Try the
puzzle
|
T |
HERE’S a continental feel to
this month’s competition grid, with two solutions from French (esplanade, art
brut), and five from Italian (numero uno, avanti, contessa, trat(toria), cabretta).
Only fair then that Azed assigns one of those as the competition word, while
providing devious clues to the others, and finally throwing in an Iberian river
at 26 down. Moreover the proportion of clues with a
general knowledge component is higher than usual, encompassing Hollywood, pop,
Brexit politics, Formula 1 and Greek myth. Yes, cricket as well, but that goes
without saying.
13. The
most important thing, half of what’s due NUMERO UNO (2 mngs.) Having entered
the solution near the end, Dr Watson was still unable to explain the wordplay
until the significance of ‘due’ dawned. It’s one of those numbers from other
languages that are also English words (elf, once and pump are others), in this
case Italian for ‘two’.
15. Is
Holding about the ultimate in fast bowlers maybe? HATS (t in has) Simple enough
wordplay, and a neat reference to the scourge of Test batsmen of the 1980s, Michael Holding of the
W. Indies, perhaps best known as the source of Brian Johnston’s commentary gaffe
“The bowler’s Holding, the batsman’s Willey”.
18. Tiny
thing clutching old covering – for which cot is doubly suitable? DOVELET (vele in dot) It’s not clear that a cot in the familiar sense would suit a
young dove, unless we’re anthropomorphising it, but a dovecot certainly would.
29. Ristorante?
You may get pickled roes in this one TRAT
(comp. anag.
& lit.) The Italian theme
develops in this compounded anagram. ‘Ristorante’ serves definition and anagram
material for ‘roes in trat’.
30. Azzurri’s
forward one’s opposing twice? AVANTI (a + v anti) And the theme continues with
a double exploitation of synonyms for ‘against’, referencing the Italians’ nickname
for several of their national sides.
3. Cave
dweller in ooze enveloping sea’s roar PROTEUS (rote3 in pus) The definition
refers to the troglodyte amphibian rather than the shape-shifting Greek sea god
who was the inspiration for several very brief clues in Azed
comp no 508 for POSTURE-MAKER.
5. Rover Matt’s turned up in NOMAD (Damon, rev.) Matt
Damon should be familiar to filmgoers. ‘Rover’ might allude to his extraterrestrial travels in The Martian, or more
prosaically to the former British car marque.
8. Deviously
Ursula’s refused what’s central for Boris – typical USUAL (anag. less r) Chances are this
clue was written around the final days of the Brexit agreement negotiations
last year, and before the recent vaccine and NI protocol spats with between the
PM and the European
Commission President.
9. She memorably lacked footwear –
scan toes wriggling CONTESSA (anag.) A straightforward anagram, but the definition
might be less familiar. Wikipedia lists a rock band and a cookery show called (The)
Barefoot Contessa, both no doubt named after Azed’s
intended reference, the 1954 film with Ava
Gardner.
10. Racing
star embracing nymph – one providing aid to the legless? PROSTHETIST (Thetis in
Prost) Two proper names entwine in the wordplay: the
record-breaking Formula 1 driver Alain Prost; and the
mythical nereid, events at
whose soap-opera wedding to Peleus eventually brought about the Trojan Wars.
16. Fab performer
in short song one released in twinkly style STARRILY (Starr i’
l(a)y)
Only for completeness does Dr Watson explain that The Beatles were known
as the Fab Four and Ringo Starr was one of them.
28. Heart throbs,
quick no longer RATHE
(anag.) Dr Watson has a small quibble about the
uniqueness of the solution, having initially entered EARTH. ‘Rathe’ (see rath1)
is an old word for ‘eager’, but equally ‘earth’ in Chambers shows the
definition ‘dead matter’, and ‘quick’ as a noun shows ‘the living’ – no longer
amongst the quick, one would be earth.
Other solutions:
Across: 1. ESPLANADE (an in anag.); 11. BURAN (a
in burn2); 12. CENSOR (anag.); 14. CUTCHA
(cut cha); 19. STUPA (St (saint) + up +
A); 21. SALISH (LI in sash); 23. CASABA (as in caba); 24. TERSE (hidden); 25. ART BRUT (anag.
+ rut); 32.
TIGHT-KNIT (tight + n in kit); 33.
ELUATE (U in elate); 34. SHUNT (n in
shut); 35. PARAPETED (ape in
parted).
Down: 2. SUSU (hidden); 4. LANCH ((b)lanch); 6. ACETOSE (ace + sot, rev. + E); 7. DERIVATE (anag.); 11. BACK-SCATTER (scatt in backer; see scat5); 17. CABRETTA;
20. CAULKER (a in anag.); 22. IRON OUT (iron + out); 26. TAGUS (tag US; ref. river Tagus); 27. TANKA (tank + A); 31. TONE (ton(nag)e).
Reviews
index
| & lit. homepage | Try the
puzzle