AZED CROSSWORD 2248

WAISTLINE

1.  M. Hodgkin: With consumption of endless fibre I decrease in size? (istl(e) I in wane, & lit.).

2.  I. Simpson: A bit of you, this eg could be shaped by eating wisely (comp. anag. incl. y, & lit.).

3.  D. F. Manley: How, primarily, this gets reduced – with eating less? (comp. anag. incl. h, & lit.).

VHC

D. Appleton: Grotesquely it’s 50″ – misery for a kiltie holding that in (anag. + L in(ches) all in wae, & lit.).

D. K. Arnott: Fancy it’s expanding with beer drinking at home (anag. in w ale containing in, & lit.).

M. Barley: Not exactly lean, is it, when one’s put on weight? (w + anag., & lit.).

J. G. Booth: Girth’s extent? Unconstrained it was 50 inches before the start of exercising? (anag. + L in. e).

T. C. Borland: Change to ‘lite’ was after gaining inches here? (in. in anag., & lit.).

N. Connaughton: Is it a new shape around fifty? (L in anag. & lit.).

C. M. Edmunds: What one fears the spread of is a new & lit craze (anag.).

P. Evans: Swig endless ale and in time spreading occurs here (anag. less g incl. t, & lit.).

J. Fairclough: Is Lent a way I transform this? Ay! (comp. anag. & lit.).

J. Grimes: What chips one eats endlessly will ultimately ruin? (anag. incl. I less n, & lit.).

R. J. Heald: A swelling eater given half portion of dinner may reduce enlarged —— (comp. anag. incl. din, & lit.).

R. Hesketh: Moving a wine list one’s found under the breadbasket, perhaps (anag.).

G. Johnstone: It was tight with little latitude in middle of whalebone (l in anag. + in e, & lit.).

J. C. Leyland: Given extremes of expansion was it L. Pavarotti’s ultimate undoing? (anag. incl. e, n, i, & lit.).

J. Liddle: Dress I slit anew to reveal where skirt meets bodice (anag.).

W. F. Main: With increasing maturity this could expand a wine list supply (anag.).

T. J. Moorey: Was it trimmed by cutting back on alcohol and eating primarily? (anag. + in in l, e, & lit.).

R. J. Palmer: One wanting its length reduced must cut booze (a + anag. incl. l in wine, & lit.).

N. G. Shippobotham: In women’s dress design you’ll find it’s variable! (anag. in w A-line, & lit.).

R. C. Teuton: Eating well, as I do, is this spreading with old age? (comp. anag. & lit.).

The Rt Revd D. Thomson: A wine list ruined diet target (anag.).

Mrs A. M. Walden: Women lie – it’s an awkward fact that a dressmaker needs to know (w + anag.).

A. J. Wardrop: It’s cunningly concealed in wide, full-skirted style of clothing (anag. in w A-line, & lit.).

HC

M. Barker, M. Barnes, Dr J. Burscough, C. J. Butler, C. A. Clarke, M. Clarke, Mrs L. Davis, W. Drever, Dr I. S. Fletcher, G. I. L. Grafton, Dr C. P. Hales, D. V. Harry, L. M. Inman, Ms A. Jeevendrampillai, M. Lunan, M. A. Macdonald-Cooper, N. MacSweeney (Ireland), K. Manley, J. McGhee, P. McKenna, C. G. Millin, C. J. Morse, T. D. Nicholl, R. A. Norton, D. J. R. Ogilvie (USA), S. J. O’Boyle, S. Randall, W. Ransome, P. Sant, A. D. Scott, Dr S. J. Shaw, B. Solomons, P. A. Stephenson, P. Taylor, K. Thomas, J. R. Tozer, J. Vincent & Ms R. Porter, Ms S. Wallace, A. Whittaker, J. S. Witte.
 

ANNUAL HONOURS LIST (13 competitions)
 
1. M. Barley (3 prizes, 9 VHCs); 2. T. C. Borland (4, 5); 3 (equal). D. F. Manley (2, 8), R. C. Teuton (2, 8); 5 (equal). R. J. Heald (2, 6), J. R. Tozer (1, 8), A. J. Wardrop (1, 8); 8. Dr S. J. Shaw (2, 5); 9. P. L. Stone (2, 4); 10. T. J. Moorey (0, 8); 11 (equal). T, Anderson (1, 5), D. Appleton (0, 7), D. K. Arnott (1, 5), J. C. Leyland (3, 1), Dr E. Young (0, 7); 16 (equal). D. V. Harry (1, 4), C. J. Morse (0, 6), G. H. Willett (0, 6); 19 (equal). V. Dixon (1, 3), R. Hesketh (0, 5), M. A. Macdonald-Cooper (1, 3), P. W. Marlow (0, 5), N. G. Shippobotham (1, 3), L. Ward (1, 3); 25 (equal). J. G. Booth (0, 4), W. Drever (1, 2), C. M. Edmunds (1, 2), Dr I. S. Fletcher (0, 4), G. I. L. Grafton (0, 4), M. Hodgkin (1, 2), C. G. Millin (0, 4), P. A. Stephenson (1, 2), P. Taylor (0, 4), J. Vincent & Ms R. Porter (0, 4). Mrs A. M. Walden (0, 4), Ms S. Wallace (0, 4), R. J. Whale (0, 4).
 
CONSOLATION PRIZES
 
T. J. Moorey, D. Appleton, Dr E. Young, C. J. Morse, G. H. Willett, R. Hesketh, P. W. Marlow, J. G. Booth, Dr I. S. Fletcher, G. I. L. Grafton, C. G. Millin, P. Taylor, J. Vincent & Ms R. Porter, Mrs A. M. Walden, Ms S. Wallace, R. J. Whale.
 
Comments
 
189 entries, a handful with QUITCH for QUATCH. 14 clues received nominations as favourite, the winner by a wide margin being ‘A pointilliste may spatter tile with these’ for OIL-PAINTS, with ‘Sleep that’s rapid coming upon the old’ (SHUT-EYE) a long way back in second place, in a puzzle that seems to have been about average in terms of difficulty. With entries for No. 2,250 already coming in, I must be brief this month. I shall say more in the next slip about the lunch at Wolfson College on 18 July to mark this latest Azed milestone. Enough to say here that it was a truly memorable occasion for me and my wife Alison, blessed by ideal weather.
 
WAISTLINE proved unsurprisingly popular, crying out as it did for ‘& lit.’ clues, which you duly served up aplenty. See above for the best. Judging the entry was like savouring the varied delights of a good meal. My thanks to all the cooks, certainly not too many. I managed to finish judging this puzzle in time for the Wolfson lunch and was able to announce the prizewinners and also the name at the top of this year’s honours list. Many congratulations to Mark Barley for again reaching this position, after a consistently good year. He was presented with the silver salver from Jeremy Morse, last year’s winner, and both spoke tellingly of the fine tradition it represents. My congratulations also to all the others on the list. The shifting fortunes of the leading contenders from year to year illustrate just how close a contest it always is. And my sincere thanks, as always, to Martin Perkins for keeping the score.