AZED CROSSWORD 2395

PURITANISM

1.  Dr P. W. Nash: Cooking turnips, I am following the precepts of Oliver (anag.; ref. O. Cromwell, Jamie O.).

2.  L. Ward: Trundling up stair in courtroom ultimately gets you thinking of Ironside (anag. + m; ref. former TV series starring Raymond Burr as a wheelchair-bound lawyer).

3.  J. Grimes: What makes pi furious with naturism? (anag. & lit.).

VHC

M. Barley: With it, there’s an element of severity displayed in religious ritual (anag. incl. s in Purim, & lit.).

M. Barnes: Trump is in a spin – it generates drama in The Crucible (anag.; ref. Judd Trump, snooker player & Arthur Miller play).

T. C. Borland: One repressed, prim aunt’s bent? (I in anag., & lit.).

Dr J. Burscough: Protestant precept, pietist extremes of which Arminius reformed (anag. incl. p, t).

V. Dixon (Ireland): Russia’s leader Putin aims athletically for strict self-control (anag. incl. R).

R. Gilbert: Sally, equivocal about object of education, is first to mention what influenced Milton and Bunyan (Rita in pun + is m; ref. play/film, ‘Educating Rita’).

R. J. Heald: Oddball up in arms about informal sexual activity displays this? (it in anag., & lit.).

P. F. Henderson (New Zealand): What’ll have you madly up in arms about sex? (it in anag., & lit.).

J. C. Leyland: Stormy Daniels? One Trump, in short, lied about being silenced, professing high morals (anag. incl. i’ less anag.).

E. Looby: What may be up in arms about sexual activity? (it in anag., & lit.).

B. Lovering: Anti-establishment movement with beginnings in underground pamphlets, invective signed ‘Martin’ getting distributed (anag. incl. u, p, i, s; ref. Martin Marprelate).

D. F. Manley: Rump – it is an improper system for God-driven Cromwell (anag.; ref. 1653 Rump Parliament).

P. W. Marlow: A must in prig with no end of pontificating, possibly? (anag. less g, & lit.).

P. McKenna: In the course of Reformation this could find you up in arms about sex (it in anag., & lit.).

C. G. Millin: Protestantism originally, minus a rite that’s cut for reformation (P + anag. less e, & lit.).

T. J. Moorey: Sir, I’m put out, having to accept adult term for women and believing obscenity wrong (a n in anag.; ref. AZ’s inclusion of PUNANI).

T. Rudd: ‘Take one Prism, aunt and handbag …’ – instruction in The Importance of Being Earnest? (anag. incl. I; handbag vb.; ref. Aunt Augusta, Miss Prism, etc in TIOBE).

Dr S. J. Shaw: Framework of ideals adopted by prim aunt possibly? (i, s in anag. & lit.).

I. Simpson: First off, Trump ain’t about to embrace this (not half) ((th)is in anag. less T, & lit.).

P. Tharby: Prince having same-sex relationships, accepting it’s anathema for Royalists? (P + it in uranism).

Mrs A. M. Walden: Belief in morality in Trump’s America is endlessly confounded (anag. incl. A less s).

Ms S. Wallace: Agitated, I’m up in arms – time for end of grim austerity (anag. with t for m).

A. J. Wardrop: What gets you up in arms, possibly about sex? (it in anag. & lit.).

HC

T. Anderson, D. Appleton, D. & N. Aspland, M. Barker, Ms K. Bolton, J. G. Booth, R. Bowden, H. J. Bradbury, C. J. Brougham, J. Brown, J. M. Brown, Mrs S. Brown, J. A. Butler, D. Carter, C. A. Clarke, S. L. Claughton, Dr P. Coles, P. Crossley, E. Dawid, W. Drever, C. M. Edmunds, A. S. Everest, Dr M. Ewart, P. Finan, Dr I. S. Fletcher, H. Freeman, G. I. L. Grafton, J. P. B. Hall, A. H. Harker, M. Hodgkin, C. & S. Hosker, E. C. Lance, M. Lloyd-Jones, C. Loving, L. Marzillier (USA), A. D. Mitchell, T. D. Nicholl, C. Ogilvie, D. J. R. Ogilvie (USA), S. J. O’Boyle, M. O’Donoghue, R. J. Palmer, M. L. Perkins, Ms F. Plumb, M. Price, W. Ransome, N. Roper, M. Sambell, P. A. Stephenson, P. L. Stone, R. C. Teuton, J. R. Tozer, A. Vick, J. & R. Vincent, J. D. Walsh, R. J. Whale, G. H. Willett, Ms S. Wise, Dr E. Young, R. Zara.
 

Comments
204 entries, no mistakes. Seventeen clues received one or more votes as your favourite, the winner by a very long way being ‘Meant for a spin with Daisy initially on board? It was’ for TANDEM, with ‘More than one as ‘s’ in e.g. “Greensleeves”’ (AESIR) a distant second. (JRT reminds me that Ximenes set DAISY as a competition clue word way back in 1958, some entries for which were inspired by the song that my TANDEM clue exploited.) I apologize to those I offended or shocked by including PUNANI in the grid. A few expressed their unhappiness over this, while a further few registered approval, two even voting it best clue. If I’d checked the word’s meaning while constructing the grid I would have steered clear of it. As so often I took it straight from Chambers Words, an invaluable tool when grid-filling. There’s a clear moral to be learnt here.
 
It was a good entry generally this month, helped no doubt by a promising word. The longer-than-average HC list testifies to this. Anagrams that included TRUMP or PUTIN were understandably hard to resist, and The Donald’s shenanigans with the opposite sex also turned up quite a lot. He is a gift for clue writers, clearly.
 
My wife and I were delighted to see so many regular solvers at the recent memorial service for Colin Dexter in Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, and the reception afterwards in the Oxford town hall. It was a memorable event, wonderfully well planned and organized, which did full justice to Colin’s varied talents and enthusiasms and formed a fitting tribute to a remarkable character.