AZED CROSSWORD 250

Stands the church clock at ten to three? (Anagram)

1.  R. V. Dearden: To CCL then! – He’s the hardest nut to crack!

1.  H. W. Massingham: To CCL then! – He’s the hardest nut to crack!

3.  J. D. Moore: The rack? Doesn’t hurt! The CCL Contest? Ah. …

VHC

C. Allen Baker: Don’t chestnut arches clothe the track? (ref. poem lines).

Rev C. M. Broun: CCL tortured thee? A Scotch, then? Thanks!

J. M. Brown: Crack CCL: then steer to the thousandth.

C. O. Butcher: No. CCL hatched: court thanks the setter.

Mrs M. J. Cansfield: Thou setter! CCL bath concerted thanks!

E. Chalkley: That Contest result – No H.C. – check hatred!

A. J. Crow: Reaches CCL. Thanks! – the truth. On to D etc.!

A. Dyson: Check hands or test ratchet – then clout!

B. Franco: Notch CCL thanks due to the arch-setter.

F. D. Gardiner: Token? That chance doth stretch cluers!

H. J. Godwin: Record CCL! Thank one that setteth such!

J. J. Goulstone: The cluer concocteth hard test – thanks!

J. E. Green: Crack CCL, then steer to the thousandth.

G. B. Greer: Let’s check that thousandth corner etc. (i.e. 4 per puzzle).

G. Johnstone: Thus notch CCL and cheer that setter. OK?

N. Kemmer: Hard knot – eh? Count CCL – that’s the secret!

Miss I. M. Kemp: Ten to ten! Has the church clock started?

R. E. Kimmons: Re CCL, thank the setter, hand out scotch!

Mrs M. Kissen: One cracked CCL – that’s the honest truth!

C. Loving: Cheat! The churls don’t stock the nectar! (ref. last line of poem).

Mrs S. M. Macpherson: Clutched short chance to thank setter.

D. F. Manley: He’s notched CCL – utter treat – och thanks!

L. May: Can the crush to the CCL do thank setter?

M. Metcalf: Thanks, hard clue setter! On to CCC, heh?

C. G. Millin: Notch CCL due, thanks to the arch-setter.

W. L. Miron: CCL hard – thank setter – unto thee, Scotch.

J. J. Moore: The lands catch? O.K., let’s correct the nut.

C. J. and R. S. Morse: The nuts hated CCL, tho’ not the crackers.

A. J. K. Moult: Thanks to the d… setter, our ‘CCL’th’ chance.

F. E. Newlove: CCLth? Shucks! He can’t retreat – on to the D!

Rev R. D. Newman: ‘Ratchet notch stuck!’, chortles the Dean.

R. J. Palmer: O thank setter! He hath constructed CCL.

A. J. Redstone: ’Struth, setter at CCL, eh? O.K., can he notch D?

E. R. Riddle: Do thank the arch-setter – the count’s CCL.

T. E. Sanders: Shred to clutch chance to thank setter.

W. K. M. Slimmings: Thence hatch’d CCL … Our thanks to setter.

Brig R. F. E. Stoney: There her hands, etc., stuck, tho’ not at CCL?

J. B. Sweeting: CCL ‘Do’ – Steak; tart. The Scotch runneth, eh?

L. E. Thomas: No, the hand stuck. Let’s catch the rector!

J. A. Tyrrell: Our CCL’th chance – thanks to the d—— setter!

Dr E. Young: Cheer! Test no. CCL hatched – thanks, tutor!

HC

R. B. Adcock, R. H. Adey, E. S. Ainley, E. Akenhead, Mrs A. L. Anstead, F. D. H. Atkinson, Dr J. M. Bennett, P. Berman, C. J. and M. P. Butler, R. M. S. Cork, J. W. D. Cunningham, R. Dean, P. Drummond, M. A. Elder, P. S. Elliott, J. Emerson, Mrs W. Fearon, J. A. Fincken, A. G. Fleming, A. L. Freeman, M. S. Girling, N. C. Goddard, C. M. Halton, A. Hodgson, E. M. Hornby, A. B. Jones, G. Jones, P. M. Kelly, J. R. Kirby, M. D. Laws, S. M. Mansell, D. P. M. Michael, Dr R. G. Monk, D. A. Nicholls, M. L. Perkins, C. J. B. Powell, P. H. Rhodes, N. Roles, M. G. Rupp, Miss J. M. Sanders, W. J. M. Scotland, M. D. Speigel, F. B. Stubbs, J. G. Stubbs, J. B. Sykes, G. A. Tomlinson, D. H. Tompsett, G. H. Willett, A. H. Wright, Dr R. L. Wynne.
 

COMMENTS
Just over 350 entries, the commonest mistake (and that quite common – about 50 entries) being EVOKE for EMOVE (sv. EMOTION in C). Apart from the fact that ‘O.K.’ would never do as a definition of ‘more’, to evoke is not really to ‘stir feelings (feedings) in’ so much as to ‘stir feelings of’. There were other mistakes but these largely resulted from failure to remember that there were the same number of misprinted clues across and down, half in each case. I also unwittingly caused a bit of trouble with LIKEST and the assertion that every word in the puzzle was in Chambers. Few dictionaries give all verbal inflections, comparison of adjectives, plurals etc. and my note was simply meant to imply that the basic words were all there in C. In view of the archaic termination of LIKEST this was perhaps unnecessarily misleading and I’m sorry. No one got it wrong.
 
Well – another milestone reached, and a regular ego-trip this one turned out to be! If the list of clues quoted above seems immoderately complimentary, I must blushingly confess that by far the majority of clues submitted were along these lines. It’s most gratifying to know that one’s weekly efforts to divert and entertain are so much appreciated, and I press on accordingly with fresh vigour and, I hope, inspiration. The inspiration for ‘2.50’ came out of the blue one day months ago when I was idly wondering what special dish to set before you all to mark the occasion. When Rupert Brooke and Grantchester both turned out to have twelve letters the temptation to bring them in too was irresistible, Making it a ‘Misprints’ puzzle rendered my task easier and yours correspondingly harder though I suspect that the diagonals fell into place pretty quickly. Only one other line of 32 letters in the poem was picked on by competitors, viz. ‘Oh! there the chestnuts, summer through’, but I couldn’t see that there was anything particularly ‘timely’ about that. There was also a bit of good-natured grumbling about long anagrams and while I sympathise up to a point, it s not something I inflict on you more than once in a while, and it is a great leveller, giving a chance to those who feel the same way about composing normal cryptic clues.
 
As I write, the dinner organized to mark Azed No. 250 is still a week away. I look forward to meeting the guests, most of them for the first time, and shall report on the evening in the next slip. To all the solvers who won’t be there may I return good wishes and thanks for continuing to make the Azed series such a rewarding pastime.