AZED CROSSWORD 2495

BUNG

1.  J. C. Leyland: Bursting out of stir after screw’s given bribe? (bursting less anag.).

2.  R. J. Palmer: Brian Clough could have become rich with a ——, brown envelopes centrally involved (comp. anag. incl. o, l, & lit.).

3.  T. C. Borland: It might encompass money to procure decorations (bun(tin)g, & lit.).

VHC

M. Barley: Small house with a low shed one’s added on the side (bung(a low)).

A. G. Chamberlain: Tip about nags: the odds should be ignored (even letters).

M. Coates: Square peg in a round hole (3 mngs.; square = bribe, peg = throw).

J. Doylend: Cork tip? (2 mngs.).

Dr I. S. Fletcher: Roger, perhaps, around middle of court striking a back-hander (u in b(a)ng; ref. R. Federer).

R. J. Heald: Tap sealing butt of Mâcon? (n in bug, & lit.; tap = listening device).

P. F. Henderson (New Zealand): Unknown amount I handed out in bribing? (bu(y I)ng, & lit.).

D. C. Jones: A low rent from a small property and Sheila’s bankrupt (bung(a low)).

P. W. Marlow: Cork flags with time at the crease spent (bun(t in)g; ref. Dominic C.).

A. Plumb: Sheila’s bust drooped, swapping height for breadth (hung with b for h).

W. Ransome: Victorian bust cast, but unfinished: no good (bu(t) + ng).

T. Rudd: Gubbins you could force into bottle’s top, is it? (comp. anag. & lit.).

Dr S. J. Shaw: Viral disease confines an indefinite number for present, with conditions attached (n in bug; ref. COVID-19 ‘lockdown’).

I. Simpson: What’s essential for one to stop virus? Soap (n in bug).

R. C. Teuton: It stops Cooper’s output, that’s what’s annoying about magician’s end (n in bug; ref. the late Tommy C.).

J. R. Tozer: What’ll stop barrel roll ending in prang? (bun + g; ref. aerobatics).

J. Vincent & Ms R. Porter: Tips from Boris: use neutralizing germicide – one can grease palms with this (first letters).

A. J. Wardrop: Mite pocketing a bit of necessary – one of Bill S’s dips? (n in bug; ref. B. Sikes).

R. J. Whale: Small advances from ATM, good way to control flow of liquid assets? (i.e. B, U, N + g).

M. Whitmore: What can stop a triumphant display? Losing can! (bun(tin)g).

HC

D. Appleton, T. Blakeson, J. G. Booth, C. J. Brougham, P. Cargill, C. A. Clarke, N. Connaughton (Ireland), Ms S. Curran (France), Ms L. Davis, W. Drever, C. M. Edmunds, Dr M. Ewart, J. Fairclough, G. I. L. Grafton, M. Hodgkin, T. Jacobs, B. Jones, J. Kitchen, J. P. Lester, M. Lloyd-Jones, D. F. Manley, K. Manley, P. D. Martin, L. F. Marzillier (USA), J. McGhee, P. McKenna, J. R. C. Michie, K. Milan, T. J. Moorey, D. Price Jones, S. Randall, C. W. Reid Dick (Germany), A. J. Shields, C. Short, P. A. Stephenson, P. L. Stone, P. Tharby, Ms S. Wallace, L. Ward (USA), T. West-Taylor, K. & J. Wolff.
 

Comments
141 entries, no mistakes – a respectable postbag in the circumstances. And I must say at once how heartened I was by your many messages of good cheer in what for all of us are unfamiliar and difficult times. At least the current fine weather goes some way to alleviating the prevailing gloom. My wife and I have also been bowled over by all the generous offers of help we’ve received from younger neighbours willing to shop for us and carry out similar errands.
 
A short word to clue for a change, and a friendly one at that, with its wide range of senses. (The fact that several of these were obsolete and/or of restricted geographical use did, I felt, need flagging in some way in clues that used them. When these consisted of a string of definitions with no such qualification the results were no more than adequate in a generally high-quality entry.) The most popular idea was, inevitably, the pandemic, typically exploiting n in bug in some way, with not much to judge between their varying wording. 13 clues received votes as your favourite of the month, with most going to ‘Clever? It shows dash when you do’ for CUTE, just ahead of clues to CAMPCRAFT and REEDEN. (The latter puzzled some, and amusingly enough it took me a while to remember what I’d figured it had to do with Milton when he ‘wrote this’ – yes, of course, ‘re Eden’!
 
I’m sorry that The Observer has had to announce that, in common with other papers they have had to stop sending out prizes for their crosswords. This is because most of their staff are now working from home. The crosswords themselves will of course continue to appear as long as the paper does (fingers crossed) and the Azed annual honours list, along with these ‘slips’, will not be affected. Because of likely postal delays I am willing to accept for the time being email entries for the competitions from overseas. The address, which will appear with the monthly Rules and requests, is jcrowther2000@hotmail.com. Keep well.