AZED CROSSWORD 1984

ORWEL(L)IAN

1.  J. Mayhew: This mindset would give Winston remedial ‘correction’ (comp. anag. & lit.; ref. W. Smith, main character in ‘1984’).

2.  J. Grimes: Fan E. Blair won putting out book? (anag. less b, & lit.; fan vb.).

3.  T. C. Borland: George O.’s now struggling with real crux of deficit (anag. incl. i; ref. G. Osborne, G. Orwell).

VHC

D. Appleton: ‘New Labour is missing bus’ explodes follower of Blair (anag. less bus).

D. & N. Aspland: No backtracking about criminal war lie told by Mr Blair? (anag. in no (rev.)).

M. Barley: Novel with ‘E. A. Blair’ on could be such a book (comp. anag. incl. w and a b, & lit.).

C. Barr: Devious lie on war – typical of Blair! (anag.).

J. G. Booth: Troubled New Labour’s missing bus, needing leader of inspiration in style of Blair (anag. incl. i).

N. C. Dexter: Such as Napoleon, say: one the French backed on war spreading round (I le (rev.) in anag.; ref. Stalinist pig character in ‘Animal Farm’).

G. I. L. Grafton: ‘Blairite’ New Labour – it flourished, but has departed (anag. less but).

R. J. Heald: —— novel could match E. Blair’s own, with British society suppressed (anag. less B S, & lit.).

P. F. Henderson: How to represent E. Blair now, after book’s come out? (anag. less b, & lit.).

J. C. Leyland: With Mrs T’s offensive stricken miners lost war, sadly, after 1984? (anag. less anag.; ref. 1984-5 miners’ strike).

M. A. Macdonald-Cooper: Characteristic of Blair, having fabricated lie on war? (anag.).

D. F. Manley: Blair’s New Labour – it flourished, but has gone? (anag. less but).

C. J. Morse: Alias Blairite? But this would confuse it with New Labour (comp. anag.).

R. Murdoch: ‘Like Blair?’ exploded Brown, losing his head. ‘A lie!’ (anag. less B).

A. Plumb: Lie on war motive – like Blair? (anag.; motive adj.).

A. M. Price: Tortuous lie on war, in the style of Blair (anag.).

W. Ransome: Living as down-and-out perhaps, wore out reversed collar (anag. + nail (rev.); ref. Orwell’s ‘Down and Out in Paris and London’).

S. Saunders: Lie on war fabricated by Blair? (anag.).

R. C. Teuton: We adored Animal Farm (famed —— drama/novel) (comp. anag. & lit.).

J. R. Tozer: Fantastic opening for wannabe? A role in Big Brother fits that description (anag. incl. w; ref. ‘1984’ and TV show).

L. D. Urquhart: They saw this could be a new reality show, like Big Brother, possibly (comp. anag.).

R. J. Whale: Follower of Blair, mistaken on war and swallowing devious lie? (anag. in anag.).

F. J. B. Wheen: No backtracking about devious war lie: that’s Blair’s style (anag. in no (rev.)).

S. Whyld: Typical of Blair to engineer war on lie (anag.).

K. J. Williams: Contrived war on lie, like Blair? (anag.).

HC

T. Anderson, D. K. Arnott, D. Arthur, M. Barker, J. Biggin, C. J. Brougham, Rev Canon C. M. Broun, Dr J. Burscough, P. A. Cash, C. A. Clarke, P. Coles, E. Cross, T. Crowther, W. Drever, J. Fairclough, W. P. Field, A. G. Fleming, Dr I. S. Fletcher, M. Freeman, B. Grabowski, V. Henderson, B. Hitman, M. Hodgkin, J. Hood, R. J. Hooper, J. Horwood, G. Johnstone, C. Loving, P. W. Marlow, P. McKenna, G. McStravick, Rev Prebendary M. R. Metcalf, J. R. C. Michie, C. G. Millin, M. L. Perkins, B. Roe, S. J. Shaw, C. M. Steele, R. W. Stephenson, K. Thomas, D. H. Tompsett, Dr A. J. Varney, Ms S. Wallace, A. J. Wardrop, A. J. Young, Dr E. Young.
 

Comments
222 entries, no mistakes. It appears that a few of my corrections at proof stage were not made to the online version (which a number of you use). I try to make sure this sort of thing doesn’t happen, but it’s frustrating when it does, and I apologize. Favourite clue, of 21 mentioned once or more, was ‘Heads don’t bob up and down so much for the most part’ for NOD(D)LES (or possibly NO(O)DLES).
 
The 1984 theme was much appreciated, even by those for whom the penny dropped quite late in the day. As some of you remembered, I gave you ‘Thinkpiece’ for No. 610 on 8 January 1984, in which the diagonals were WINSTON SMITH and GEORGE ORWELL and misprints replaced a definition of ‘doublethink’, which you were asked to clue. After noticing well in advance that No. 1,984 would be a competition puzzle I racked my brains on and off for ages to think of a different idea, until this relatively simple one occurred to me. Given the extra latitude offered by the down answers, in which the extra letter could appear anywhere in each case, construction of the grid was not as difficult as some of you surmised. And I think I can add the idea to the standard canon, even if the Orwell reference has probably now had its day.
 
The constituent letters in ORWEL(L)IAN made references to Blair (Tony and/or Ian) understandably enticing, especially when linked to anagram variations of ‘lie on war’, and many of these made it into the lists. I was not keen on ‘Blairite’ without qualification (such as quotation marks, a question mark or some equivalent means) to mean ‘Orwellian’. The dictionary entry indicates, as one would expect, that ‘Blairite’ as a noun or an adjective can only refer to our former PM. And here are a couple of other ideas I couldn’t accept, despite special pleading from the authors: (i) ‘A role I play with newspeak’ (anag. + n; & lit.). The definition reading is decidedly vague (Just how does an Orwellian play a role with newspeak?), and newspeak = new’s (or news’) peak = n is definitely a step or two too far for me; (ii) ‘Of a viewpoint, it is somehow combining within, WAR elements and those diametrically opposed’ (anag. of WAR + EOL with IN). Even if one accepts that ‘within’ is the same as ‘with in’, which I decidedly don’t (just think of the floodgates!), to arrive at EOL as diametrical opposites of WAR (west/east, alpha/omega, right/left) would surely tax even the cleverest solver. The comma after ‘within’ bothers me too.