AZED CROSSWORD 1871

FAIRY GOLD

1.  C. A. Clarke: Cause of inflation unknown, government in collapse, money becoming worthless (air y G in fold).

2.  C. J. Morse: What’s capital in El Dorado? Should I go for that, it might become faded glory (anag. with I for E D, & lit.).

3.  T. J. Moorey: Sugar in withering form does love firing lady in cast (anag. incl. 0 less in; ref. Alan S. in ‘The Apprentice’).

VHC

M. Barley: Money changing ultimately into what’s dry and wrinkly (i.e. leaves) (y g in fair + old(i.e.), & lit.).

J. G. Booth: False notes coming from loud and riotous goliardy (f + anag.).

D. A. Campbell: Just yen, or funny money? (fair Y gold; or²).

Mrs M. J. Cansfield: This changes into dry foliage – no end of change? (anag. less e, & lit.).

P. Cargill: Luxuries like castles in Spain? Dago firmly condemned squandering money (anag. less M; dago, offensive).

N. C. Dexter: What use such money if a grand or £500 end in leafy withering? (anag. of if a g or LD y, & lit.).

V. Dixon: It makes one mistakenly glory, taken in by a fleeting fancy (I + anag., all in fad, & lit.).

A. G. Fleming: Following breeze, year’s first, good and early, windfall (f air y g old).

Dr I. S. Fletcher: This root of evil, dry foliage after transformation? (comp. anag. incl. e, & lit.).

R. J. Heald: Faldo dropping a shot admits Open golf prize proving elusive (airy G in anag. less a; NATO alphabet).

P. F. Henderson: Specie that’s specious, turning dull with a capital D! (fair + logy (rev.) + D, & lit.).

J. C. Leyland: If a ‘Del Boy’ hints of getting rich quick … could this be result? (comp. anag. incl. g r, & lit.; ref. ‘Only Fools and Horses’).

M. A. Macdonald-Cooper: Pelf, when penniless, or ——? (fairy + gold, & lit.; i.e. pelf less p = elf; or²).

P. McKenna: Blond Tory finally with good grip in ’Ackney means to come as a surprise (fair y g ’old; ref. Boris Johnson).

C. G. Millin: This money, elfin initially, changes into dry foliage (comp. anag. incl. e, & lit.).

C. Ogilvie: Ersatz bread, unpleasantly gray if past the sell-by date (anag. + old).

D. Parfitt: Deceptively gifted scratch golfer with a ‘DIY’ swing, striking centre of green (anag. less e; scratch = cash).

P. L. Stone: Bligh’s heart pounding throughout mutinous day for Bounty, one imagines (anag. of (B)lig(h) distributed through anag.).

J. R. Tozer: Tidy yard or it could soon be all dead leaves (fair y gold; or²).

HC

T. Anderson, W. G. Arnott, D. Arthur, D. & N. Aspland, M. Barker, R. Bates, R. E. Boot, C. Boyd, A. W. Brooke, C. J. Brougham, E. J. Burge, A. & J. Calder, B. Cheesman, M. Coates, N. Connaughton, E. Cross, R. Dean, W. Duffin, R. Gilbert, R. Griffin, J. F. Grimshaw, D. V. Harry, P. Heffernan, M. Hodgkin, Mrs P. E. Howe, Dr D. S. Hubble, Mrs D. B. Jenkinson, Mrs S. D. Johnson, Mrs S. G. Johnson, M. Livermore, W. F. Main, J. R. C. Michie, R. S. Morse, Ms J. Norman, D. J. R. Ogilvie, F. R. Palmer, R. Perry, A. Plumb, Dr T. G. Powell, D. R. Robinson, S. Saunders, N. G. Shippobotham, N. Simpson, A. Streatfield, Mrs A. Terrill, R. C. Teuton, D. H. Tompsett, Ms S. Wallace, A. J. Wardrop, R. J. Whale, A. Whittaker, G. H. Willett, A. J. Young, R. Zara.
 

Comments
212 entries and no mistakes, except of course for my careless misspelling of NESKHI, a case of the eyes seeing what they want to see rather than what is actually there. I apologize for the puzzlement this must have caused, and am grateful to those who expressed sympathy or said they would probably have made the same mistake. My bacon is saved to some extent by the fact that the OED does give NESHKI as a variant spelling, as well as several others, but if I’d realized what I was doing I would certainly have mentioned this.
 
Favourite clue was ‘Like a demanding madame, taxing energy three times – that’s awful!’ (EXIGEANTE), just ahead of ‘What’s a Celtic sweeper up to, getting leg under ball in waterlogged pitch?’ (SOOPING), and 23 clues receiving at least one mention. By general agreement it was a relatively straightforward puzzle (the above hiccup excepted) and a popular clue phrase, though not one that seems to have found its way into other dictionaries. Scottish fairies, perhaps.
 
There were plenty of good ideas on display this month. In response to one query (which comes up from time to time) I have no objection at all to your using the same definition in your clue as the one I give you, if that suits your preferred wording. An interesting matter to do with punctuation came up in the following submission: ‘This source of wealth may wither fail and go dry’, accompanied by the explicit note, ‘no comma after “wither”’. I accept that the absence of a comma is important for the cryptic reading of the clue to work, but it is surely essential for the surface reading. Without it the clue reads very oddly indeed. I am no great lover of the comma, which is often inserted unnecessarily in prose one reads, but its omission here seems to me downright misleading for the reader.
 
My thanks to those (relatively few) who responded to my questions about the slip format, often with carefully considered views. Perhaps predictably, the survey was inconclusive, those for and against receiving it by email being split more or less 50-50. I’ll give it another month or two before instituting any change, but it looks as though we should continue the existing procedure for those willing to pay the full subscription and increase the number of those who would prefer the electronic method, for whom the slip would be supplied as an email attachment in the current layout, possibly at a reduced price.