AZED CROSSWORD 1307

AGILE (Spoonerisms)

1.  R. K. Lumsdon: Describing lovely wine, mature, ’49 bottled (lively one; IL in age).

2.  D. Ashcroft: A typical farmer not quite having fifty neat (nifty feet; a Gile(s)).

3.  M. J. E. Wareham: In ocean with me’s a girl with no resistance. Ecstasy! (motion … ease; a gi(R)l + E).

VHC

M. Barley: Core elements of Blair dogma “will see left dimmed” (deft-limbed; middle letters).

M. Bath: E.g. Ali punch-drunk? Certainly left dimmed! (deft-limbed; anag.).

E. A. Beaulah: How one describes the Test bumbler – one caught by a good short leg? (best tumbler; I in a g le(g)).

J. R. Beresford: Taking seconds was against diet – please remove my bowl (mobile; second letters).

G. P. Conway: One getting stuck into a supporter ‘foot first’, as one jumping over stand’ll kick? (candlestick; I in a + leg with g first; ref. nursery rhyme and Eric Cantona).

R. M. S. Cork: Beaumes? I’ll get one litre in to mature (mobile; I l in age).

G. Cumming: Flick of quite disorganized goalie (FA not involved) (quick of flight; anag. less 0).

N. C. Dexter: In years of life, one’s 49 – ne’er 50! (fair nifty; IL in age).

P. D. Gaffey: What’s nine and fifty nine and forty in years? (fine and nifty; IL in age).

C. R. Gumbrell: What a lovely wine is red Aigle! (lively one; anag.; red²).

R. J. Hooper: With 250 neat entries for Azed’s grading, illegibility’s ludicrous error (two nifty feet; first letters).

D. F. Manley: Might in lotion – one litre stops oldness! (light in motion; I l in age).

G. L. McStravick: It’s loathsome and my bile starts as greed inspires Lottery executives (lithesome and mobile; first letters).

F. R. Palmer: ‘My bowl is empty, gimme another ladleful.’ ‘First helpings only, Twist.’ (mobile; anag. of first letters).

Dr T. G. Powell: Stank from swirling costume in beer (swank from Stirling; gi in ale; see gie).

J. B. Sweeting: Bleat and frisk – the first signs of activity glimpsed in lamb emerging (fleet and brisk; first letters).

J. R. Tozer: Tarpon shows a wiliness avoiding hook? (sharp on toes; a guile less U).

A. J. Wardrop: Beer with large measure of gin in, capable of making couple sick? (supple kick; gi(n) in ale).

G. H. Willett: Like the young kiss more but, perhaps, I start to learn in later life (Miss Korbut; I l in age; ref. Olga K.).

HC

D. Appleton, M. J. Balfour, A. Barker, Mrs F. A. Blanchard, J. G. Booth, Mrs A. Boyes, C. J. Brougham, Rev Canon C. M. Broun, D. P. Byrne, W. R. Chalmers, K. W. Crawford, E. Cross, G. Cuthbert, Rob Dean, R. V. Dearden, D. A. Ginger, B. Grabowski, R. R. Greenfield, R. Hesketh, Mrs D. B. Jenkinson, G. Johnstone, J. F. Jones, J. P. Lester, P. Long, E. Looby, C. Loving, M. A. Macdonald-Cooper, Mrs M. D. Maitland, P. W. Marlow, T. J. Moorey, C. J. Morse, R. Parry-Morris, J. Pearce, G. Perry, D. R. Robinson, H. R. Sanders, M. Sanderson, N. E. Sharp, D. P. Shenkin, E. J. Shields, D. J. Short, Mrs I. G. Smith, R. Stocks, P. L. Stone, R. C. Teuton, C. W. Thomas, K. Thomas, Mrs M. P. Webber, S. Weissman, R. J. Whale, Dr M. C. Whelan, W. Woodruff, R. Zara.
 

ANNUAL HONOURS LIST (13 COMPETITIONS)
1. C. J. Morse (2 prizes, 10 VHCS); 2. J. R. Tozer (3,6); 3. D. F. Manley (1, 9); 4 (equal). C. R. Gumbrell (2,6), R. J. Hooper (3, 4), M. A. Macdonald-Cooper (3, 4); 7. N. C. Dexter (2, 5); 8. E. J. Burge (1, 6); 9 (equal). M. Barley (1, 5), F. R. Palmer (0, 7), P. L. Stone (2, 3); 12 (equal). R. R. Greenfield (0, 6), P. F. Henderson (1, 4), R. K. Lumsdon (1, 4), T. J. Moorey (0, 6), Dr E. Young (2, 2); 17 (equal). E. A. Beaulah (0, 5), J. R. Beresford (0, 5), Dr J. Burscough (1, 3), C. A. Clarke (0, 5), R. Hesketh (1, 3), F. P. N. Lake (1, 3), J. C. Leyland (0, 5), Mrs J. Mackic (0, 5), R. J. Whale (1, 3); 26 (equal). R. M. S. Cork (0, 4), D. J. Dare-Plumpton (1, 2), C. G. Millin (1, 2), A. J. Wardrop (1, 2), G. H. Willett (1, 2). CONSOLATION PRIZES F. R. Palmer, R. R. Greenfield, T. J. Moorey, E. A. Beaulah, J. R. Beresford, C. A. Clarke, J. C. Leyland, Mrs J Mackie, R. M. C. Cork, A. J. Wardrop.
 

 
Comments
 
A tough puzzle, clearly - only 222 entries, but no mistakes in the grid. Most of you seem to enjoy Spoonerisms, with only a couple of dissenting voices. The clues are fun to write, I find, even though the diagram can be a brute to construct. As a number of you pointed out, SCINCOID is not a true Spoonerism of ‘coy sinned’, but I allowed it myself because I was desperate and could see no other way of achieving the necessary quota of Spoonerizable words. It’s also a lot closer to a Spoonerism than some of those submitted (e.g. ‘Kirriemuir’ll’ for ‘mercurial’, which I can’t imagine the good doctor ever perpetrating!) I have a delightful vision of puzzled looks in Azed-solving households on Spoonerism Sundays as solvers try out possible solutions by speaking them aloud. During the judging process my wife kept coming into my study to find out why I was talking to myself all the time in clipped phrases! I should add that one or two otherwise quite good clues were just too indecent to be printable. If the cap fits... Otherwise there was a fine range of Spoonerisms submitted, some of them (I have to say) pushing a definition of AGILE to the limits of acceptability and beyond. I sympathize, having had to wrestle with some really tricky words (ANTE had me scratching my head for ages). Despite the note in the puzzle’s preamble about changes of punctuation, I tended to mark down Spoonerisms which depended for sense on the insertion of a comma between the two parts of the ‘clear’ form. There were simply too many good entries that did not require this rather artificial device.
 
Another year of competitions over. Congratulations once again to CJM for retaining the number one position in the honours list. The consistent excellence of his clues over so many years is quite remarkable. Congratulations also to Mr Tozer for his rapid rise to second place, and indeed to all those named in the list. I am grateful as always to Mr Ron Dearden who keeps the score for me throughout the year, a sterling service. Finally, word has reached me that The Times is planning to discontinue the Listener Crossword in its Weekend section on Saturdays. Devotees of this unique institution, many of whom must also be Azed-solvers, are urged to write to the paper deploring this sad decision.