AZED CROSSWORD 1334

CATACHRESTIC

1.  C. R. Gumbrell: In which fashion see the cold as ‘artic’ (anag. incl. c, c, & lit.; cf. arctic).

2.  C. A. Clarke: Dubious cachet associated with racist using incorrect language (anag.; ref. backlash against PC language).

3.  F. R. Palmer: Heavy tackle ending in player in pain rapidly has automatic response of bad language (cat + r in ache + ’s tic).

VHC

C. J. Brougham: Conservative, accepted new architects like pineapples for pinnacles (C + a + anag.; ref. Malapropism).

D. A. Campbell: ‘Chaste, arctic wanton’ is just misusing words (anag.; i.e. contradiction in terms).

R. M. S. Cork: Like Mrs Malaprop’s use of ‘allegory’? See it catch Acres out (anag.; ref. characters in ‘The Rivals’).

G. Cuthbert: Describing Mrs Malaprop’s idiosyncracy could make Acres catch it (anag.).

E. Dawid: Bob Cratchit – case of verbal abuse? (anag.; bob vt).

C. D. S. Field: Chatters confusedly in between opening letters from Capt. Absolute’s ‘interceded’ correspondence – just like Mrs Malaprop! (anag. in first letters; ref. ‘The Rivals’).

H. Freeman: Clean up act, Chris E, act involving unacceptable use of language (anag.; ref. Chris Evans).

R. R. Greenfield: Deranging ‘epitaphs’? This in more forms could be characteristic of one Mrs M (comp. anag. & lit.; ref. Mrs Malaprop).

J. Grimes: Using ‘luxuriant’ for ‘luxurious’ about arches carved in classical Greek style (c. + anag. in Attic).

R. Hesketh: Blasted cold (as the Arctic) or too tropical? (anag. incl. c; see trope).

C. J. Lowe: Verbally abusive about a ‘misconstruction of architects’ (c. a + anag.).

Mrs D. Maitland: This use (misapplying a word) can make teachers caustic (comp. anag. & lit.).

D. F. Manley: Oaf’s inaccurate chatter could be of a —— nature (comp. anag. & lit.).

C. G. Millin: ‘Chaste car out of control and caught it reversing’ is badly worded (anag. + c it (rev.)).

C. J. Morse: Characteristic – her word for it? – of Mrs Malaprop’s parlance (i.e. Malapropism of ‘catachrestic’).

Dr T. G. Powell: As Mrs Malaprop’s speaking does Acres catch it? (anag.; ref. ‘The Rivals’).

D. H. Tompsett: Mrs M’s abusive about Acres astride horse in classic (c + h in Acres in Attic; ref. ‘The Rivals’).

J. R. Tozer: Confusing terminology is not normally that scarce in college (anag. + i’ C).

L. Ward: Re: ‘I learn them the artic’s geography’ – it’s ‘teach’ and ‘Arctic’s’, dopy (anag.).

R. J. Whale: Perhaps confusing Arctic as the centre for Sphenisciformes? (anag. incl. c, & lit; penguins only in Antarctic).

HC

D. Appleton, W. G. Arnott, M. Barley, E. A. Beaulah, Mrs F. A. Blanchard, C. Boyd, G. C. Brown, E. J. Burge, C. J. & M. P. Butler, D. Buxton, P. Cass, W. R. Chalmers, E. Cross, D. J. Dare-Plumpton, R. Dean, N. C. Dexter, J. Dromey, Dr I. S. Fletcher, Dr J. Foster, Mrs M. Gabbutt, N. C. Goddard, B. Grabowski, G. I. L. Grafton, J. F. Grimshaw, R. S. Haddock, I. A. Herbert, T. Jacobs, T. H. Keeley, F. P. N. Lake, J. P. Lester, R. K. Lumsdon, Mrs J. Mackie, P. W. Marlow, T. J. Moorey, G. M. Neighbour, J. Pearce, L. H. Perkins, Mrs E. M. Phair, D. R. Robinson, M. Sanderson, D. J. Short, Mrs A. Terrill, K. Thomas, Dr I. Torbe, L. L. A. Trethewey, M. Wakeling, A. J. Wardrop, M. J. E. Wareham, Mrs M. P. Webber, G. H. Willett, W. Woodruff, M. J. Wright, Dr E. Young.
 

Comments
335 entries, no mistakes. A few arrived too late for consideration, even though they may have been postmarked by the closing date. They probably fell foul of pre-Christmas postal delays, but I do urge you to send off your entries in good time and use a first-class stamp if at all possible. (You have an extra week for the Christmas competition but the same advice applies.) By common consent this one was a relatively easy plain, but the clue word provoked howls of anguish – ‘Nurse! The ice pack!’ being a not untypical comment. Why do so many of you go to pieces when faced with an adjective to clue? A disappointingly large number of entries could only have indicated a noun and were automatically disqualified as a result. What exactly is catachresis? Dictionaries, Chambers included, are not terribly helpful and I can only assume that it means virtually any misuse of words. I certainly judged clues on that basis, as those quoted above will show. It was hardly surprising that Mrs Malaprop turned up as often as she did, and it was nice to be reminded of some of her splendid howlers, but it was difficult to come up with something truly original, I can see that. I was well disposed to clues which included an example of catachrestical usage as well as or instead of a simple definition of the word. This is what I was hoping for when I chose it for you, despite its tricky shape and component letters (three c’s, for example).
 
Having nothing further to say about the competition, I’ll take a couple of general queries which came up this month. (i) Would I automatically reject a clue if its definition led straight to the light (in the dictionary)? This was asked because Chambers gives ‘catachrestical’ as one definition of abusive, though it is labelled ‘(archaic)’ in this sense. No, I wouldn’t automatically disqualify such a clue on such grounds. They do not in themselves constitute unsoundness. But when writing my own clues I do try to avoid handing you the answer on a plate in this way, and I would merely suggest that you keep an eye out for this sort of thing. If this had been the only definition of abusive in the dictionary, the case for avoiding it would have been much stronger. (ii) It seems that Scottish words are invariably clued with reference to their roots, but other ‘foreign’ or dialect words are not always so clued. Is that so, and if it is, is there a reason for the different treatment? Well, I may not be wholly consistent in this but I do aim to indicate the Scottishness or foreignness of a word what it is explicitly labelled in Chambers. It seems fairer to the solver. But Chambers sometimes omits to label as foreign words which strike me as clearly so. In such cases I may allow myself to be equally unexplicit. The label ‘(dialect)’ is (to me) rather vaguer, and I may therefore choose not to indicate it explicitly in the wording of a clue. But if you are in any doubt when writing a clue I suggest that you should be more rather than less explicit in these matters. I don’t think I’ve ever given you a Scottish or dialect word to clue, and I don’t think I’m ever likely to, for the very reason that it could cramp your style, so this shouldn’t be a major problem where competitive clue-writing is concerned.
 
Mr Roy Dean tells me that he’s been interviewed by Bill Bryson on crosswords and word games for one of the programmes in BB’s new radio series. I have foolishly mislaid RD’s letter giving details of when the programme is to be broadcast, but as I recall it the first one in the new year, so please scan your Radio Times or the daily press for it. It sounds well worth listening to.
 
And finally, my sincere thanks for all the Christmas cards and greetings I’ve received from Azed solvers. Your good wishes are very much appreciated by me and my family, who join me in thanking you and wishing you all a very happy Christmas and all the best in 1998.