AZED CROSSWORD 2603

TERAS def. PRATT

1.  Dr S. J. Shaw: After dismissing jolly, Starmer’s ordered to reveal what could lie behind dreadful Labour experience (behind; anag. less RM; ref. ‘beergate’).

2.  D. F. Manley: Growth not healthy, Sunak rated ‘duff’, and UK drifting apart? (duff; anag. less anag.).

3.  M. Lloyd-Jones: Bunter’s putting away buns regularly, waist a frightful sight (buns; (Bun)ter(‘s) + alternate letters).

VHC

T. Anderson: Is term for spot on arse that festers a carbuncle? (arse; t + anag).

D. K. Arnott: Monster bum terminal to chair seat (bum; anag. incl. r).

D. & N. Aspland: Term covering Kim’s rear: a singular monstrosity (rear; anag. less m + a + s; ref. K. Kardashian).

T. C. Borland: Freak wave astern, passing rear (rear; anag. less n).

A. G. Chamberlain: Behind misshapen ears, what’s leading on Titania? Something monstrous (behind (= causing); anag. incl. T; ref. AMND).

C. A. Clarke: Well-known model twerking arse – it’s grotesque (arse; T + anag.).

W. Drever: What’s obscene term for fundament? Arse possibly! (fundament; t + anag.).

Dr I. S. Fletcher: Being that’s disfigured at centre and rear of uterus? (rear; anag. incl. er, s, & lit.).

H. Freeman: ‘Monstrous carbuncle’? Prince stands behind heartless tirade (behind; t, e + ras; ref. comment by P. Charles re National Gallery redevelopment).

S. D. Griew: Monster slice of rump steak not quite digested (rump; r + anag. less k).

R. J. Heald: Outrage at supermarkets when rump steak supply runs out – it’s monstrous! (rump; anag. less anag.).

P. F. Henderson (New Zealand): Rat with second tail in place, possibly (tail; anag. incl. s, e, & lit.).

P. McKenna: Gorgon or similar one is behind utter dread’s original threesome (behind; ter(ror) + a + ’s).

C. G. Millin: Monster behind deployment of evil Russian soldiers and tanks primarily (behind; anag. of first letters).

R. S. Morse: Monster assuredly can cover it (can; hidden & lit.).

A. J. Shields: Monster rear of Bunter’s stuck in collapsed seat (rear; r in anag.).

P. L. Stone: Distressed at this, the poor girl – could be that large posterior wobbling (posterior; comp. anag.).

J. R. Tozer: Bottom, perhaps – with funny ears after a bit of trickery? (bottom; t + anag.; ref. AMND).

G. H. Willett: A stern note in absentia distressed prodigy (stern; anag. less n).

HC

D. Appleton, M. Barley, C. J. Brougham, Mrs S. Brown, Dr J. Burscough, J. A. Butler, D. Carter, T. Clement, P. Coles, E. Dawid, J. Grimes, J. Hood, J. C. Leyland, Dr R. A. Main, P. W. Marlow, J. R. C. Michie, T. J. Moorey, T. D. Nicholl, G. O’Neill, J. Pearce, D. Price Jones, S. Saunders, I. Simpson, P. A. Stephenson, R. C. Teuton, J. Vincent & Ms R. Porter, Mrs A. M. Walden, A. J. Wardrop, R. J. Whale, Ms F. Williams, K. & J. Wolff.
 

Comments
A lowish entry (117) for what was none the less widely welcomed as the return of an old favourite. The last WN competition puzzle was No. 2,305. Few mistakes were spotted, mostly the result of failing to identify PRATT as the word to be defined in your clue to TERAS. I chose this pair largely because they both offered a wide range of definitions - too many perhaps - with ‘arse’ also begging to be used in some way, though quite a few avoided it in the interests of maintaining decency, though such vulgarisms surely raise few eyebrows these days.
 
Constructing WN puzzles is a prolonged process. The grid should ideally contain equal numbers of words of different lengths, and I try to select words which seem to offer a reasonable range of different one-word definitions. This may create unforeseen problems at the cluing stage, and as this proceeds to the last few, the Procrustean demands of the format become ever more challenging. So you may have to wait a while before the next WN turns up, whether or not it’s a competition puzzle!
 
We have a new Azed Instant Victor Verborum Cup, to replace the one which was mysteriously lost in the post during the last of its many journeys from one first prize-winner to the next. The new cup has been generously paid for by Chris Brougham, and I hope to present it to the current winner at the Azed lunch on 28 May, when I and my family look forward to welcoming many of you. As it happens, that day will appropriately be the 50^th anniversary of the first presentation of the previous cup donated by David Tompsett for Azed No. 10 in May 1972. (My thanks to JRT for spotting this.)