For the benefit of solvers new to the rigours of the Advanced Cryptic, Dr Watson provides a monthly review of the Observer's Azed competition puzzle. Dr Watson is a regular Azed competitor. Please post any comments on this review to the Crossword Centre message board.
The Crossword
Centre’s message board was enlivened this month with a discussion over the
merits of various types of ‘subtraction’ clues. In this sort of clue, the cryptic part contains or alludes to extra
letters that do not appear in the final grid entry, and provides instructions
for their removal, usually in conjunction with other devices such as anagrams
or charades. Subtraction has an obvious
appeal to the setter because the more letters there are to play with in the
cryptic part the more he or she can do with them. The simplest subtraction is the removal of the first or last
letter, indicated as often as not (in fact all too often), by ‘losing [his,
etc.] head’ and ‘endlessly’. Removing
the middle of a word could make it ‘heartless’ - but how many letters
constitute the heart of a word? Then
there’s the removal of specific letters from a subsidiary word, such as part
from compartment to leave comment. This is where the question of fairness kicks in. The letters that are removed don’t appear in
the grid and can’t be cross-checked, so how cryptically can the setter indicate
them, and still give the solver a reasonable chance? In this example, would ‘Note where one section is removed from
another’ be ok, or should it be ‘Note where part is removed from a
section’? Azed would see either clue as
valid because the letters removed are consecutive, though the former is
undoubtedly much trickier to solve.
The fun really
starts when the letters removed are not consecutive, and worse still, not in
order. The message board discussion
centred on whether ‘tore off clothing’ could indicate the removal of r…ent
from raiment to leave aim, and on Colin Dexter’s Ximenes
competition winner for TAILOR-BIRD: ‘Fantastic warblers do it. Sew leaves!
Here’s one amongst them.’ (I in anagram of warblers do it less s,e,w,
& lit). That last clue is a kind of
compound anagram by proxy. Azed’s view
is that it should have included something to indicate that the letters removed
were not in the order given (e.g. ‘Somehow sew leaves’) – but see 27a
below. For an example of extreme
subtraction, try this VHC clue from a recent Azed competition: ‘Nearly smooth
leaves around jazzy bower drop down rock face (6)’. Solution at the end.
All of which
merely provides a preamble to this month’s fairly straightforward puzzle (whose
main difficulty concerned typesetting errors in the competition
instructions). It’s worth noting in a
few of the clues below, though, the different ways Azed manages his
subtractions in an effort to challenge the solver.
Notes to the
clues
1a: Thesis Prism’s
disseminated in position of tutoress? MISTRESS-SHIP (anagram). You can solve this without knowing Miss
Prism is Cecily’s governess in The Importance of Being Earnest, but the
Doctor likes to give a quality consultation.
How many other English words contain a triple letter? Answers to the
message board, please.
13a: Low life,
old, not legless (nearly so). LEGGE (legge(d)). The first of the subtractions - so obvious that you doubt the
solution at first.
19a: Scrabble
letters round edge of board. These can’t be shown thereon.
TILDES ((boar)d in tiles). The apparent
anagram indicator proves to be a dummy.
Watson seeks confirmation of Azed’s assertion from anyone possessing a
Spanish or Portuguese Scrabble set.
27a: One with policy maybe, retrograde, is missing show again? RERUN
(insurer rev., less is). Hmm… the clue
seems to indicate that is is removed from insurer after
reversal. Shouldn’t it be indicated as si,
then? An illustration the complications
inherent this clue type.
29a: Light units
set back round area of some organs. SEXUAL (a in luxes rev.). A very po-faced clue for this solution. Regular competitors might have enjoyed a
bash at it.
33a: Chopper
providing air defence on quitting region. ADZE (AD + z(on)e). An easier subtraction in a cleverly worded clue that avoids the
obvious temptation of an anagram!
1d: Timon, for
example – what could make him so sharp? MISANTHROPOS (anagram of Timon
so sharp). The clue packs a huge amount
into its few words: Shakespeare, character, and even a Greek flavour. Timon does double duty as definition and
letter contributor to create a ‘semi & lit’.
5d: Turfed, for
example, where centre of sward’s become uneven. SODDY (odd for (sw)a(rd) in say). Not at all obvious, with the key
indicator disguised as part of the
definition, and the more noticeable sward given only a walk-on part.
11d: Jumbo
measurement maybe spawning cracks. WINGSPAN (anagram). One word anagrams of this length are a gift to the setter.
20d: Batting side
half dismissed and lacking stand declare (firmly).
INSIST (in + si(de) + st(and)).
Two different subtractions in the same clue. Watson feels ‘stand lacking and’ would have worked better
cryptically and just as well literally (cricket experts may differ).
26d: Metre dug? I don’t mind heavy going. MUDDER (m +
udder). The kind of effortlessly witty
clue that maintains Azed’s sterling reputation. Just pips Timon as Watson’s favourite
of the puzzle.
31d: The end for
Scotch, English having arranged bottling. DEID (E in did). A good example of how a cryptic reading can
suddenly appear on re-examining the clue.
Other solutions
9a: PERICON (per icon); 12a: SIVA (a vis, rev.); 13a: DARDIC (d in
Daric); 15a: MEDIBANK (anag.); 16a: NARCOS (so C ran, all rev.); 18a: TRYER
(anag.); 21a: CAFTAN; 24a: TEMPE (hidden); 30a: ONISCOID (comp. anag.. &
lit); 32a: PESACH (S in peach); 34a: BETIMES (I’m in bêtes); 35a: STANDARD-BRED
(stand + d in anag.); 2d: SEVERY (S + every); 3d: TRANCE (n in trace); 4d: RIEM
((dunc)e in rim); 6d: SURBED (anag.); 7d: HIDAGE (hid age); 8d: PICKEREL-WEED
(ere l we in picked); 10d: CUESTA (cue + at s(print), rev.); 14d: PARCENER (arc
in anag.); 22d: ARISTA (hidden); 23d: FUSAIN (USA in fin); 25d: EXCAMB (anag.);
28d: BOHEA (e in a hob, all rev.)
Solution to subtraction clue: RAPPEL (Grappelli less glib less b!, ref
Stefan G., jazz violinist (bow-er))