AZED CROSSWORD 1836

POSTHASTE

1.  C. J. Morse: Stop getting tanned, abhor catching sun and treat heatspots immediately (anag. + S in hate, anag.).

2.  R. J. Heald: Prompt a thesp lost in play, forgetting line (anag. less l).

3.  T. J. Moorey: Express time after time has boring puzzle not up with the Times (t has + t, all in pose²).

VHC

R. D. Anderson: Manoeuvring thus with car may result in catastrophes (comp. anag. & lit.).

D. & N. Aspland: Disc having slipped, osteopath’s around immediately (anag. less O).

C. J. Brougham: Thesps, acting to thrill, like the clappers (anag. incl. a).

N. Connaughton: Animated Pat’s ethos? (anag. & lit.; ref. Postman P.).

N. C. Dexter: Fantastic start for Hamilton – set to finish in championship as speediest? (anag. incl. H p; ref. Lewis H.).

W. Drever: Rather quick to pass the buck (anag.).

C. M. Edmunds: Like the clappers after a movement, he’s apt to receive a bit of stick (s in anag.; ref. applause at Proms).

Dr I. S. Fletcher: As those working with time pressure? (anag. incl. t P, & lit.).

G. I. L. Grafton: At the double bar start to repeat those parts agitato (anag. less r).

J. F. Grimshaw: Rushed cluing that’s apparent in setting of late puzzle (anag. in pose²).

R. Hesketh: Like a shot, a cut shot, caught by slip (anag. in paste).

D. F. Manley: That’s so variable in turnaround of epistle! (anag. in Ep. (rev.), & lit.).

J. R. C. Michie: Like the progress of the hare that Aesop adapted (anag.).

R. Murdoch: Pot and E stash mixed with speed (anag.).

D. Parfitt: Word indicating lack of movement? Intrinsically, that’s erroneous (anag. in posé, & lit.).

C. M. Steele: Sharpest to move, right away? (anag. less r, & lit.).

Ms S. Wallace: Quick to pass the buck (anag.).

R. J. Whale: A variant to express? Chambers try to include the very latest in English (pos + h in taste).

A. J. Young: South with heart void gets pushed into slam, upset at the double! (anag. less u in paste; ref. bridge).

HC

T. Anderson, W. G. Arnott, D. Arthur, M. Barley, P. Bartlam, D. J. Bexson, Rev Canon C. M. Broun, J. M. Brown, C. Bruton, E. J. Burge, Dr J. Burscough, D. A. Campbell, P. Cargill, B. Cheesman, C. A. Clarke, P. Coles, A. Colston, M. Cooper, E. Cross, D. J. Dare-Plumpton, R. Dean, V. Dixon, T. J. Donnelly, A. S. Everest, W. P. Field, D. Finkel, A. G. Fleming, P. D. Gaffey, R. Gilbert, Mrs E. Greenaway, J. Grimes, M. J. Hanley, D. V. Harry, N. J. Hitchins, M. Hodgkin, Mrs S. D. Johnson, B. Jones, E. C. Lance, A. Lane, J. P. Lester, C. Loving, M. A. Macdonald-Cooper, Ms R. Macgillivray, I. & G. Macniven, K. Milan, C. G. Millin, R. S. Morse, R. J. Palmer, Mrs E. M. Phair, J. T. Price, D. Raine, W. Ransome, D. R. Robinson, D. Sargent, S. Saunders, V. Seth, D. P. Shenkin, N. G. Shippobotham, M. Simes, I. Simpson, B. Solomons, P. L. Stone, A. Streatfield, Mrs A. Terrill, C. W. Thomas, K. Thomas, D. H. Tompsett, J. R. Tozer, Ms C. van Starkenburg, A. Varney, P. P. Voogt, A. J. Wardrop, W. B. Wendt, P. O. G. White, Ms B. J. Widger, G. H. Willett, Ms M. Williams, D. C. Williamson, J. S. Witte, R. Zara.
 

Comments
239 entries, and no mistakes that I spotted, even for C-LIST, difficult perhaps to spot as a 5-letter word, which nevertheless had your favourite clue if the month: ‘Like Big Brother celebs left entombed’. Runner-up was ‘Hour’s comedy on radio, old and new – a killer’ for HITMAN. Tommy Handley’s popular wartime and immediately post war radio show is pretty ancient history now – I’m too young to have listened to it myself – but with its stock characters (Mona Lott, Mrs Mopp, Colonel Chinstrap and others) and their regular catchphrases it was something of a milestone in broadcasting, so I couldn’t resist referring to it. The clue that caused most trouble was ‘Fine key opening ebony box’ (LOGE), using an unfamiliar sense of log as a verb; ‘key opening ebony’ was also a bit elusive for E, if perfectly sound. (Note by the way that I would never use e.g. ‘key’ on its own to clue ‘E’, there being too many other possibilities.)
 
This was an excellent competition overall. POSTHASTE offers a wide range of possible approaches, not least because it can be three different parts of speech, and is a gift for anagram lovers. The longer-than-average HC list indicates how many perfectly good clues were submitted without that extra star quality I’m always looking for. I was not impressed by clues that in their cryptic parts merely defined either of the elements of ‘posthaste’ in their original meanings, i.e. indicating quick delivery of mailed items.
 
I’m a bit behind this month because of holidays, so I’ll be brief. I’m sorry the announcement of the August results was delayed, as is this slip. The same is regrettably likely to happen next month as well.