AZED CROSSWORD 2378

PROPOSAL

1.  J. C. Leyland: Rough loo paper’s leaving one’s rear tender (anag. less e).

2.  M. Lloyd-Jones: Bid for bone china cups (pro + os in pal).

3.  M. Barley: What’s made by prince with ring, ending in betrothal after positive answer? (Pr. + O + pos. + a + l, & lit.; ref. Prince Harry).

VHC

T. Anderson: This made improperly – appals D. Moore? (comp. anag. & lit.; ref. film, ‘Indecent P.’ starring Demi Moore).

D. & N. Aspland: Forward girl gets hold of a ring – to make this? (O in prop + Sal, & lit.).

Ms K. Bolton: You’ll see resort of Sapporo with JAL’s ultimate ‘special offer’ (L in anag.).

Dr J. Burscough: ‘Put a ring on it’ suggestion of lady captivating Romeo (R in pop O SA l, & lit.).

S. L. Claughton: Forward little girl after ring makes this (prop + O Sal, & lit.).

Ms L. Davis: Cycling to the point before a spot of lunch is the plan (apropos cyclically + l).

W. Drever: Beethoven’s sixth – quiet ‘Pastoral’ work, without a tense overture (anag. incl. o, p, less a, t).

Dr I. S. Fletcher: Stays single keeping ring with one rejected? (O in props + al(one), & lit.).

H. Freeman: See beleaguered leader of Poms endlessly slam poor pitch (anag. incl. P less m; ref. recent Ashes series).

R. Gilbert: A lesion primarily associated with leg bone; bending of the knee often precedes it (prop os + a l).

J. Grimes: Presentation of prize ring with jewel embodying special love that’s returned? (PR + s, 0 (rev.) in opal, & lit.).

R. J. Heald: Prince finds love: Meg and Harry both losing their hearts leads to this (Pr. + 0 + pos(H), (H)al; posh² = halfpenny).

B. Lovering: What’s appropriately moving a belle’s heart? (apropos with a moved + l, & lit.).

D. F. Manley: What may be enacted with welcoming arm extended and leg bent also? (prop + anag.).

D. J. R. Ogilvie (USA): Stay shaking also tender from bended knee? (prop + anag.).

R. J. Palmer: Going after Prince Harry soap role cut short for this (P + anag. less e, & lit.; ref. Meghan M, former soap actress).

Dr S. J. Shaw: Plan to proceed with sin in novel format is ‘Indecent ——’ (comp. anag. & lit.; ref. Jack Engelhard’s 1989 novel).

P. L. Stone: Pair opposite showing spades not clubs in complex Acol bidding (pr + op. + anag. with S for C).

J. R. Tozer: What Swift called ‘modest’ is forward and also outrageous (prop + anag.; ref. Jonathan S., ‘A Modest P.’).

Mrs A. M. Walden: Old maid in Morningside almost flipped after a forward suggestion (prop + o + las(s) (rev.)).

A. J. Wardrop: Reason for partner accepting ring and beginning to swoon? (pro (n) + O s in pal, & lit.).

A. Whittaker: Bid for mate that involves one ring, then a second (pro + O, s in pal, & lit.; engagement/wedding rings).

Dr E. Young: Carrying round stage furniture a man short, does one ask for a hand? (O in props + Al(an)).

HC

D. Appleton, P. Bamber, J. Bielawski, T. C. Borland, Mrs S. Brown, A. & J. Calder, A. Chamberlain, W. J. Dady, M. Davies, V. Dixon (Ireland), C. M. Edmunds, G. I. L. Grafton, A. & R. Haden, Dr C. P. Hales, D. Harrison, J. R. Howlett, G. Johnstone, D. R. Jones, E. Looby, C. Loving, M. Lunan, W. F. Main, M. McMahon, J. R. C. Michie, K. Milan, C. G. Millin, Dr P. W. Nash, T. D. Nicholl, M. L. Perkins, S. Randall, C. W. Reid Dick (Germany), T. Rudd, N. G. Shippobotham, C. Short, R. C. Teuton, P. Tharby, N. Warne, R. J. Whale, G. H. Willett, K. & J. Wolff.
 

Comments
194 entries, more than a handful having STRAP for STROP, for which I can see no justification. Favourite clue (of 13 nominated): two stood out well above the rest, ‘Tea for one, all but the last muffin’ (CHAPERON) two ahead of ‘Savage (female?) may be addressed thus rudely, or in unctuous fashion’ (OILILY). The latter was a bit cheeky, as I’m not sure Paul O’Grady still does his drag act as Lily Savage, but I couldn’t resist it. Apologies to bemused younger solvers, but there’s always Google. Talking of which, I was a bit surprised how many said they’d not previously come across Simone Weil and (especially) the Battle of Plassey, one of Clive of India’s most famous victories (helped, it’s true, by the duplicitous behaviour of a large section of the opposing army). And on the subject of encyclopaedic knowledge, Dr Burscough (VHC above) writes, in reference to his clue, ‘You will no doubt recall that “Put a ring on it” was the subtitle of Beyoncé’s 2008 chart-topper “Single Ladies”’ Flattering, but erroneous. I am woefully ignorant where popular music is concerned.
 
Lots of nice ideas for PROPOSAL, with ‘& lit.’ clues well to the fore and plenty of references to the royal engagement, as was to be expected. Mr Leyland’s first prize-winner, which falls into neither of these categories, is a real gem (shades of Bronco?). It raised a question in my mind about his use of the word ‘tender’, which Chambers labels ‘US’ as a meaning of PROPOSAL. I would dispute this, not least because it defines TENDER, among other senses, as ‘an offer or proposal’, with no geographical marker.
 
Since the last competition news has reached me of the death of Mary Macnutt (Ximenes’ widow) at the age of 100, after she’d outlived him by an astonishing 47 years. Though she was a special (and very lively) guest at one of the Azed lunches, I had lost touch with her in recent years and never knew her well, though my wife still remembers the Macnutt family from her childhood at Christ’s Hospital School, where her father and X both taught.