AZED CROSSWORD 1411

LOOK-SEE

1.  R. J. Palmer: A butcher’s odd bits of steak go so well in a pie (anag. of alternate letters).

2.  J. R. Beresford: Butcher’s relaxed about Knight opening for England? (K in loose + E; ref. cricketers).

3.  R. Hesketh: Fashion show making The Observer’s Review? (look see; see, show = usher).

VHC

D. Appleton: Licensee starts to open oloroso keg for nice, slightly fuddled inspection (licensee with o, o, k for anag. ).

Rev Canon C. M. Broun: Survey beauty with the eye of a Rabbie Burns (looks ee).

E. J. Burge: Book missing from library stock discovered in general inspection ((b)ooks in Lee).

E. Cross: Butcher’s unrestrained, bagging a thousand before end of June (k in loose + e; ref. Mark B., cricketer).

N. C. Dexter: Dressing like goose’s? Is good possibly with this gander! (comp. anag.; ref. ‘What’s sauce…’).

V. Dixon: Butcher’s having half of Kosovans destroyed, driven into shelter (anag. of Koso(vans) in lee; ref. Arkan (Z. Raznatovic), ‘B. of the Balkans’).

P. D. Gaffey: Gander right in the middle of ducks in the river (OK in 0s in Lee).

D. Gould: In general, perhaps, sailor dresses all right for inspection (OK in OS in Lee).

C. R. Gumbrell: Gander can remain, with positive flying, around front of skein (loo + s in kee(p)).

J. Horwood: Heads seek supply inspection (loo + anag.).

C. J. Lowe: Butcher’s beginning to kill in unrestrained ecstasy! (k in loose + E).

Mrs J. Mackie: For this they resort to keyholes close to eye (comp. anag. incl. e, & lit.).

D. F. Manley: Butcher’s not fixed opener for England – Knight could be brought in (K in loose + E; ref. cricketers).

T. J. Moorey: Express review has nothing else theatrically overshadowing Oklahoma (OK in anag. incl. 0).

C. J. Morse: Gander needs to go slow keeping right on goose’s tail (OK in lose + e).

D. R. Robinson: Squint features eye lacking what completes focally (looks + e(y)e).

P. L. Stone: Viewing beauty spot in the Glens (looks + ee).

Mrs J. E. Townsend: Survey shows half of Kosovars displaced in shelter (anag. of Koso(vars) in lee; ref. Balkan conflict).

J. R. Tozer: Butcher’s left bone inside of beef. All right to tuck in? (OK in l os (b)ee(f); ref. beef on the bone ban).

A. R. Whelan: A butcher’s hook, or else ’ook, more accurately (anag.; Cockney).

M. Whitmore: Butcher’s abandoned elk and moose (there’s no money in it) (anag. less M).

HC

B. Balfour, M. Barley, Mrs P. A. Bax, Mrs F. A. Blanchard, C. J. Brougham, Dr J. Burscough, B. Burton, C. J. & M. P. Butler, D. A. Campbell, P. Cargill, C. A. Clarke, D. C. Clenshaw, M. Coates, S. Collins, G. Cumming, D. J. Dare-Plumpton, R. V. Dearden, Mrs P. Diamond, A. J. Dorn, A. G. Fleming, Dr I. S. Fletcher, H. Freeman, Mrs M. Gabbutt, D. A. Ginger, N. C. Goddard, R. Haddock, R. J. Hannam, D. Harris, J. Hastie, R. J. Heald, I. A. Herbert, Mrs S. D. Johnson, F. P. N. Lake, J. P. Lester, W. F. Main, P. McKenna, J. R. C. Michie, C. G. Millin, G. Perry, D. Price Jones, C. Ross, A. Roth, J. H. Russell, D. A. Simmons, A. Smith, R. Stocks, J. B. Sweeting, D. H. Tompsett, M. E. Turner, M. A. L. Willey, D. Williamson, W. Wynne Willson, Dr E. Young.
 

ANNUAL HONOURS LIST (13 COMPETITIONS)
1. C. R. Gumbrell (2 prizes, 10 VHCs); 2. J. R. Tozer (1, 9); 3. C. J. Morse (2, 6); 4 (equal). C. J. Brougham (2, 5), N. C. Dexter (1, 7), R. J. Hooper (3, 3), T. J. Moorey (2, 5); 8. R. J. Palmer (1, 6); 9 (equal). M. Barley (0, 6), V. Dixon (0, 6), R. Hesketh (1, 4), D. F. Manley (0, 6),D. Williamson (1, 4); 14 (equal). D. Appleton (1, 3), J. R. Beresford (2, 1), R. Heald (0, 5); 17 (equal). Rev Canon C. M. Broun (0, 4), E. J. Burge (0, 4), E. Cross (1, 2), R. V. Dearden (0, 4), Dr I. S. Fletcher (0, 4), H. Freeman (1, 2), F. P. N. Lake (0, 4), R. K. Lumsdon (2, 0), Mrs J. Mackie (1, 2), P. L. Stone (1, 2), D. H. Tompsett (2, 0), A. J. Wardrop (0, 4). CONSOLATION PRIZES M. Barley, V. Dixon, D. F. Manley, R. Heald, Rev Canon C. M. Broun, E. J. Burge, R. V. Dearden, Dr I. S. Fletcher, F. P. N. Lake, A. J. Wardrop.
 

 
Comments
 
308 entries, with very few mistakes. The clue to GONE gave a certain amount of trouble, mainly (I guess) because of my use of ‘drink’ as a definition for ‘one’, which Chambers supports although it is only probably used in specific phrases like ‘a quick one’. I should also have indicated that GRACE NOTE is two words, my failure to do so being pure carelessness. One or two of you expressed puzzlement over ‘Fidgety Phil’ in my clue to TABLE MANNERS. He occurs in the collection of cautionary tales called Struwwelpeter (‘Shock-headed Peter’), a fascinatingly gruesome publication which first appeared in German in 1845 but was still around, in an English translation, when I was young, though I suspect it is now regarded as too frightening for impressionable young minds. According to Humphrey Carpenter in the Oxford Companion to Children’s Literature (1984), ‘the book has long oscillated between being accepted as harmless hilarity and being condemned as excessively horrifying, morbid, and even a source of trauma to the sensitive child’. As a juvenile thumb-sucker I certainly remember being transfixed by the great, long, red-legg’d scissor-man who came to snip the thumbs off infants with this vile habit. Fidgety Phil’s bad table manners were relatively minor sins in comparison, but he still came to a sticky end wher he pulled the whole table over on top of him.
 
LOOK-SEE proved quite an interesting challenge. It’s one of those words with a range of informal definitions (‘butcher’s’, ‘gander’, ‘squint’, etc) which cry out to be exploited, and Azed competitors needed no second invitation to exploit them. I was less impressed by variations on the ‘double vision’ theme, and attempts to do things with the composer Lab were generally too unfair on the solver.
 
Another year completed (the 27th in the series). Congratulations to all those featuring in the annual honours list above, especially to Colin Gumbrell for retaining his position as No 1, and by a clear three points. To be a prizewinner or a VHC in all but one of the 13 competitions is a remarkable achievement. As ever I am indebted to Ron Dearden for his meticulous scoring, and I’m especially pleased that this year he’s made it into the list himself. According to his calculations the total number of competitors achieving VHC or higher from July 1998 to May 1999 was 126.
 
And finally, for the record, Mr Beaulah’s VHC clue for the April competition was to POSTEEN, not PENTOSE (as I’m sure you all realized). My apologies to him and to you all!