5 Mar 1972 Clue list No. 5  ▶

AZED CROSSWORD 1

ORGIAST

1.  S. L. Paton: Before the heart ensnares one, one likes to go on a binge (or3 + a in gist).

2.  H. W. Massingham: I celebrate ‘first’ and ‘last’ in Observer – Azed’s inauguration in point of fact (O, r + A in gist).

3.  C. O. Butcher: I realise gravity in a riot’s out of place (g in anag., & lit.).

VHC

C. Allen: Drunken sot, a rig (anag. & lit.).

Mrs K. Bissett: I may leave a wanton with one in the oven (r(I)g I in oast, & lit.).

E. R. Evans: Doughboy in roast upset unhealthy liver (GI in anag.; doughboy = dumpling).

R. P. C. Forman: I make love and take spirits and wine endlessly (0 + r + gi(n) + ast(i), &lit.).

A. L. Freeman: A rig, sot, dissolute – that’s me (anag. & lit.).

L. D. J. Gatt: Display of gravity in a riot’s unusual for him (anag. incl. g, & lit.).

J. R. Kirby: I’m last in admitting a riot’s wrong (anag. incl. g, & lit.).

Mrs B. Lewis: A mess of groats around lunch-time is good for a loose liver (I in anag.; i.e. one o’clock).

Mrs J. Mackie: I’m a bit of a Borgia: strychnine’s mysteries fascinate me (hidden; ref. Eleusinian Mysteries).

B. L. Meek: Endlessly gross, I, at cavorting (anag. incl. gros(s), & lit.).

L. W. G. Oxley: A bite from a corgi, a stray, abandoned creature (hidden).

N. C. Price: Rake half the garden so it is turned over (anag. incl. gar(den)).

K. C. Slater: I’m keen to celebrate, sir – got all excited about Azed’s first (A in anag.).

Brig R. F. E. Stoney: Party Tollesbury fears – love, gratis, unrestrained (anag. incl. 0; ref. pop festival venue).

P. H. Taylor: I may use tigs or a rummer (anag. & lit.; tig, rummer = drinking cups).

D. J. Thorpe: May be out for love – gratis (anag. incl. 0, & lit.).

E. R. L. Timbrell: I make love gratis, promiscuously (anag. incl. 0, & lit.).

G. A. Tomlinson: It’s in ‘Bacchae’ one could see me star – I go berserk (anag.; ref. Euripides’ play).

H. Walsham: Late Night Supper Ball – Free Gratis (anag. incl. O; i.e. one who sups late).

HC

C. Allen Baker, W. G. Arnott, G. B. Arrowsmith, M. Avery Jones, I. M. Barton, J. C. Brash, R. S. Caffyn, L. Campbell, A. H. P. Cardew, D. H. Clayton, P. R. Clemow, M. Cook, A. J. Crow, N. C. Dexter, L. L. Dixon, R. G. Everard, J. A. Fincken, A. G. Fleming, A. B. Gardner, C. C. M. Giffin, T. E. Girdlestone, S. Goldie, G. M. Hornby, A. Lawrie, L. F. Leason, P. Leather, J. C. Leyland, H. Lyon, D. F. Manley, H. S. Mason, Mrs E. McFee, C. J. Morse, D. A. Myles, K. Neale, Dr R. J. Palmer, Miss M. J. Patrick, M. L. Perkins, R. W. Purnell, R. W. Quibell, D. S. Robertson, Mrs J. E. Rogers, M. G. Rupp, A. H. Seville, T. A. J. Spencer, F. B. Stubbs, Mrs C. Theodorsen, M. B. Tonkin, J. van de Linde, Rev C. D. Westbrook, A. R. Wheatley, W. E. White, D. J. Williams, Miss M. Withers, A. R. Woodburn.
 

Comments
About 650 entries and only one mistake that I spotted (BALMAIN/CLAP for BAR MAID/FRAP): a monster mail-bag and a brute to judge. It’s a tribute to X’s popularity that so many seem to have welcomed the return of this type of competition. I have been at pains to maintain his most rigid standards in judging clues, though I dare say personal preferences may emerge in the coming months. Congratulations anyway to the first three prize-winners in what I hope will be a long and enjoyable series.
 
In such a large entry good ideas proliferated. Borgias, riot gas and wild oats were all so common that only the most felicitously worded made the lists, I fear. In extenuation I would say that ‘hidden’ clues are notoriously easy to solve; that the idea of drunken revellers being dispersed by CS gas or the like is to me a little far-fetched; and that nearly everyone does a bit of wild oat sowing in his time, without necessarily being an orgiast. The case rests.
 
One or two people queried TELL’D. It is in C, lurking under TELD. I mention that here because I forgot to put it in the notes to accompany the solution. (In actual fact I originally had TELAR, a would-be adjective from TELA I was sure existed until I came to write the clues. I therefore had cause to be very grateful for TELL’D, though how I came to find it is a mystery! Otherwise I’d have had to change the whole N.E. corner and scrap ETA, part of the A-Z-E-D motif that some of you spotted.) Which reminds me, the publishers W. and R. Chambers Ltd. have announced a completely new edition of the Twentieth Century Dictionary, to be published on 30 April. Many of you will want to buy a copy and I shall certainly start using it, though I shall make a point of mentioning when a word appears in either edition and not the other.
 
Finally I must thank all of you who wrote to congratulate me on succeeding Ximenes or to compliment me on my first puzzle as his successor. Your very flattering comments gave me great pleasure and encouragement at the start of what will be an immensely enjoyable and challenging assignment. Happy solving to you all!
 
Apologies for the lateness of this slip. Teething troubles!
 

 

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Solution