AZED CROSSWORD 1260

OUT-AND-OUT

1.  D. J. Dare-Plumpton: Sweeping defeat with primary loss – Dole’s no leader ((r)out + (h)andout; ref. Bob D.).

2.  M. A. Macdonald-Cooper: Unqualified don working in Open University taught in modern style (anag. in OU taut).

3.  P. L. Stone: South’s hand, lacking both spades and hearts, in distribution is extreme ((S)out(h’s h)and + out; ref. bridge).

VHC

W. Anderson: It’s definitely wrong to do a U-turn without right (anag. less r).

M. Barley: Absolutely nothing to do – common feature of life on the dole (0 + ut² + ’andout).

J. R. Beresford: Teetotal finished one tonic after another (out an do² ut²).

E. J. Burge: Dismissed one’s hesitancy – when not getting bowled comprehensively! (out an dou(b)t; ref. some batsmen’s reluctance to ‘walk’).

C. A. Clarke: Absolutely devastating to Ulster Unionist to embrace rising Nationalist party (Nat (rev.) do in anag. incl. UU).

M. Coates: Unreservedly being topless, you are prominent when there’s no sun ((y)ou + (S)tand out).

G. I. L. Grafton: Do tuna? Definitely (i.e. anag. of out and).

R. J. Hooper: Dog? One slipping lead in the field nips small terriers (TA in (h)ound out; dog adv).

M. Jones: Tuna do swimming away from the land, definitely (anag. + out).

J. C. Leyland: Five star or B & B? (i.e. out and out; B = bowled).

D. F. Manley: Utter words in mouthfuls, grandiloquently spouting (words successively hidden).

T. J. Moorey: Love aroused naturally passes muster, but Scotch makes it perfect! (0 + anag. less rally + dout; see but²).

C. J. Morse: Might one see Open University project bar beginner as ‘unqualified’? Definitely! (OU +(s)tand out, 2 defs.).

C. Pearson: A donut, possibly? Definitely (i.e. anag. of a donut).

A. P. Vincent: B and B with no reservations? (i.e. out and out; B = bowled).

A. J. Wardrop: Unqualified worker, without aspiration, dismissed after striking (out (h)and out).

Mrs M. P. Webber: Where French beat British lacking in scruple completely (où tan dou(b)t).

R. J. Whale: ‘Love’ united with wavering Turandot, resistance gone utterly (0 + U + anag. less r; ref. opera).

W. Wynne Willson: Definitely convalescent – not able-bodied (out-and-(AB)out).

HC

D. Appleton, D. Ashcroft, E. A. Beaulah, Mrs K. Bissett, R. E. Boot, Mrs A. Boyes, C. J. Brougham, Dr J. Burscough, T. Butcher, C. J. & M. P. Butler, D. A. Campbell, A. G. Chamberlain, S. C. Cockburn, G. P. Conway, D. B. Cross, E. Cross, G. Cumming, P. Davies, N. C. Dexter, V. Dixon, Dr I. S. Fletcher, P. R. Giaccone, B. Grabowski, Ms J. Greatrex, Mrs E. Greenaway, R. R. Greenfield, J. F. Grimshaw, C. R. Gumbrell, M. T. Hart, P. F. Henderson, R. Hesketh, J. G. Hull, T. Jacobs, R. E. Kimmons, F. P. N. Lake, J. P. Lester, R. K. Lumsdon, S. MacRéamoinn, A. Martin, G. D. Meddings, J. R. C. Michie, Dr E. J. Miller, C. G. Millin, C. J. Milner, C. J. Napier, F. R. Palmer, J. Pearce, G. Perry, Mrs E. M. Phair, A. J. Pinel, D. R. Robinson, G. Robinson, M. Sanderson, W. J. M. Scotland, V. Seth, R. Stocks, J. B. Sweeting, M. C. Sykes, G. Telfer, R. C. Teuton, D. H. Tompsett, J. R. Tozer, Mrs C. Velarde, Dr M. C. Whelan, Ms B. J. Widger, S. Woods.
 

Comments
316 entries, no noticeable mistakes. Quite a hard puzzle, it seems, not helped I dare say by REGO and SOKAH. I warned you that these are not to be found at their natural alphabetical place in Chambers, but did not, I see, give their locations in the solution notes. They’re at REGGO and SOCA respectively. I use Chambers Words a lot when completing diagrams, and often discover only later that words I’ve used are either hard to find in C, or part of a compound phrase, or occasionally (and worst of all) misprints.
 
OUT-AND-OUT also caused trouble, despite its friendly set of meanings. For one thing it more or less defied ‘& lit.’ treatment (quite a refreshing change, for once). It also invited cricketing (or tennis) clues but few of those submitted rose above the ordinary, with far too many using a ploy based on ‘caught and bowled’ (normally a singular form of dismissal, incidentally). Part of the problem seemed to be knowing how to deal satisfactorily with the -AND- part, and too many clues could just have easily have been clues to OUT-OUT, a weakness I felt. That said, there were plenty to admire, as I hope those quoted demonstrate. I don’t like picking on losers but for the benefit (I hope) of less experienced competitors here’s a clue that needs a bit more self-criticism: ‘Definitely – the ape didn’t telephone, and picked up Mac’s fag-end’ (ou(rang)-utan + dout). The clue as a whole paints a totally unreal picture and that alone renders it terminally flawed, but my real objection is to ‘the ape didn’t telephone’ for ORANG-UTAN minus RANG, which no possible reading of the words can account for (why not ‘the ape hasn’t telephoned’?). The message here is two fold: (a) make sure your clue makes passable sense and is set in the real world, unless there are very specific reasons for it not to be; and (b) make sure that the grammatical structure of your clue is sound in both the cryptic and the definition part. Then at least you will have achieved soundness and can start on the fine-tuning that turns a presentable clue into a prizewinner.
 
I’m very sorry that the Observer have yet again started mucking about with the layout of the puzzle, and especially that they’ve reduced the diagram size so drastically. Despite regular pleas I am never consulted about these changes in advance and am consequently as frustrated as you must be. If you are unhappy please write and say so to Jocelyn Targett, editor of the Review section. Our basic needs are, I think, simple and reasonable: (a) clues printed in a clear and readable (preferably serif) typeface; (b) a diagram large enough for the numbers to be readable; and (c) stability, i.e. the same design in the same position in the paper ev