AZED CROSSWORD 1672

IMPASTOS (Spoonerisms)

1.  C. J. Brougham: Derby ought to let in tearaway equine (dauby art; to in imp ass).

2.  N. Connaughton: Piers heavily tainted when taken in by rogue photos? Not half! (tiers … painted; as in imp (pho)tos; ref. P. Morgan).

3.  T. D. Nicholl: No day so damp; it’s unusual – hence layers of dew (dense … hue; anag. less d).

VHC

D. Arthur: They’ve hatched clues, on retirement: a drunk, an idiot, and me! (clatched hues; sot sap mi (all rev.); me²).

J. R. Beresford: One twitching spots first pair of mallards, hears of smew (smears of hue; I + anag. incl. ma).

Rev Canon C. M. Broun: Saint played on devil on a drunken fellow’s back (paints laid on; imp a + sot’s (rev.)).

E. J. Burge: Tough for the state when bombing stops aim (stuff for the Tate; anag.; ref. plans for new government in Iraq).

G. Cuthbert: Techniques of tart with emperor: ‘I’m tops, dancing with sex appeal’ (art with tempera; I’m + anag. incl. SA).

T. J. Donnelly: Lobby glares resulting from one MP’s admitting ‘wild oats’ (globby layers; anag. in I MP’s).

H. Freeman: Bricklayers using this’ll initially stop making Tower of Pisa wobble! (thick layers using bristle; anag. incl. s, m, T, o).

J. P. Guiver: Ales, perhaps, providing relief in lawyers having to break endless deadlock (oils … layers; to in impass(e)).

R. Hesketh: Mission’s tedium’s over, so I’m excited about it (Titian’s mediums; past in anag.).

J. C. Leyland: What wouldn’t go down well with Strine folks? It’s a Pom’s whingeing (fine strokes; anag.).

R. K. Lumsdon: Ginger tom passing, up to no good, orbs darty (daubs arty; anag. less ng).

D. F. Manley: Outstanding ears contributing to smart miss, a top model (smears … art; anag.).

C. J. Morse: I’m dad to returning boozers, generously dubbed ‘callers’ (daubed colours; I’m pa + sots (rev.)).

M. L. Perkins: Pints in pails – as served in one million decorated pots (paints in piles; as in I m + anag.).

G. Perry: Keats on dope? That’s amiss – pot not in order! (coats on deep; anag.).

D. A. Simmons: Bints tilt up tams adjusted with poise, mostly (tints built up; anag. incl. pois(e)).

J. R. Tozer: OT (passim) is about raised and humbled Jews? (jumbled hues; anag.).

A. J. Wardrop: I’m to change, embracing Tony (not half), Ken emotes (many coats; I’m + To(ny) in pass; ref. T. Blair, K. Livingstone).

G. H. Willett: One on top of another, dollops of ale point to being in endless jam (oil paint; to in impass(e)).

Dr E. Young: Coin pi mots, as Saint Paul heaped on them? (paint’s all; anag.).

HC

D. Anderson, D. Appleton, M. Barley, P. Bartlam, E. A. Beaulah, T. C. Borland, Dr J. Burscough, B. Burton, C. J. & M. P. Butler, A. G. Chamberlain, M. Coates, M. J. Corlett, E. Cross, N. C. Dexter, V. Dixon, C. M. Edmunds, A. S. Everest, A. G. Fleming, M. Goodliffe, R. R. Greenfield, C. R. Gumbrell, R. Haddock, D. V. Harry, J. Hastie, P. Heffernan, M. Hodgkin, G. Johnstone, T. J. Moorey, D. J. R. Ogilvie, D. Price Jones, W. Ransome, D. R. Robinson, H. R. Sanders, D. P. Shenkin, N. G. Shippobotham, P. L. Stone, C. W. Thomas, K. Thomas, Mrs J. E. Townsend, M. Wainwright, Ms S. Wallace, M. H. E. Watson, R. J. Whale, P. O. G. White, D. C. Williamson, A. J. Young.
 

Comments
Though many said how much they enjoy Spoonerisms, this puzzle attracted a disappointingly low entry — only 158, though with very few mistakes, mostly DREG for AREG. A handful also misunderstood the instructions about the type of clue required, in different ways, e.g. ‘Works presented influence of inventions aimed at breaking endless deadlock’, where the ‘definition’ implies a Spoonerism (‘pull of figments’! ‘full of pigments’) instead of containing one. This type of puzzle requires a cool head, and I guess that even with that it presents quite a challenge. It was the tenth I’ve given you (all but one a competition puzzle) since I dreamt it up for No. 314 back in April 1978. I’ve always asked you to submit a clue which contains a Spoonerism because although these are more difficult to compose than the other kind they are really what the puzzle is all about. I asked you to clue IMPASTOS (I know — another plural, another foreign word) because it seemed to me to offer a reasonably wide range of approaches to a definition while at the same time having a friendly set of letters. I hope those who said how hard they found the business of finding a decent Spoonerized definition will see what was possible from the clues quoted, all of which show considerable ingenuity. My favourite Spoonerized definition was actually Mr Freeman’s; he didn’t get a prize because his having to resort to initial letters was a weakness. (I also-have a. feeling that impasto is not as a rule applied with a brush, but maybe that’s getting too technical.) A fault which occurred in quite a number of clues submitted was the failure to observe that the plural ‘–s’ is voiced (i.e. a ‘z’ sound), so it cannot really become unvoiced when transferred in a Spoonerism. Some of you also queried my attitude to various regional pronunciations. If I recognized these I tended to treat them as acceptable variants. Favourite clues of mine this month were those to INION (‘Hump in bed, doubly alight, filled with love’) and SHOWSTOPPER (‘One making purchases in Cotswold town appears with hat’), with seven nominations each; in all 28 got at least one mention.
 
Next month’s competition will be the last in the yearly Azed cycle (assuming that we aren’t messed around again by the postal service), and the slip will include the annual honours list. My trusty statistician Mr Ron Dearden has told me he cannot continue to act as score-keeper. I don’t blame him — he has earned a rest after many invaluable years. If any of you feels willing to take his place and has an aptitude and/or fondness for statistics, please let me know. The job is unpaid, I’m afraid.
 
And a final apology to Mr Manley for having omitted a crucial ‘e.g.’ from his prizewinning clue in last month’s slip. His clue should have read (as it did in the announcement in The Observer): ‘Jericho walls being demolished – it could be e.g. —— Josh blew’.