AZED CROSSWORD 559

EMBASE

1.  D. V. Harry: Ill-placed beams hit head on entry? Then stoop (anag. + e; stoop vt.).

2.  B. Greer: Dishonour, since given a hiding in Ashes, after two conclusive losses (as in embe(rs)).

3.  C. A. Clarke: Take down embassy flag having been expelled (embas(sag)e).

VHC

F. D. H. Atkinson: Ashes half gone while England’s leader’s humble (emb(ers) as E).

E. J. Burge: Bees excited with jam when top’s removed – there’s cause to go to pot! (anag. incl. (j)am).

N. C. Dexter: Humble pie of deer’s entrails ma’s beginning to bake (anag. of (d)ee(r) ma’s b).

Dr I. S. Fletcher: British Airways seem in trouble – make private again, perhaps (anag. incl. BA).

F. G. Illingworth: Demote can be clued as ‘Doctor involved in what comes from détente’ (i.e. MB in ease).

D. J. Mackay: For lower case, compositor’s first going for his measurement book (case with em b for c).

D. F. Manley: Energised leader of Enterprise beams down (anag. incl. E; ref. Star Trek; down vt.).

S. M. Mansell: Lower charge of H.E. loses gas on recoil (embassage less gas (rev.); HE, 2 mngs.).

D. P. M. Michael: Lower 5th and 6th in Assembly disturbing peace (m b in ease).

C. J. Morse: Ambassadors wanting to yield under pressure, and what Mrs T would do to them (embas(sag)e; ref. PM’s contempt for F.O. re Falklands, etc.).

R. A. Mostyn: Bring down last piece of tree decoration about 5th of January – end of Christmas (e + a s in MBE).

J. J. Murtha: See Mab rock Bottom (anag.; ref. MND; bottom vt.).

R. F. Naish: In translation ‘beam’ ’s the ultimate in bizarre – ‘lower’ ’s what the word means! (anag. + e; cf. lour).

F. R. Palmer: See Mab rousing take to what? Bottom (anag.; ref. MND; bottom vt.).

R. J. Palmer: M. Foot – and what he would like to do to the Government (em base; Michael F.).

G. Perry: To bring down Maggie’s last as well as first essential – Foot (e M base; M. Thatcher, Michael F.).

T. E. Sanders: M. Foot says what he wants to do to the Government (em base; Michael F.).

F. B. Stubbs: Space on the ground floor (em + base; floor vt.).

L. M. Sturges: Bring about the end of one when held in honour (e + as in MBE).

J. B. Sweeting: Reduce in comfort, see the doctor (MB in ease).

P. Thacker: Lower Case, capital replaced by half type (Case with emb(lem) for C).

L. E. Thomas: Run down a bit perhaps, but one has still to ring the doctor (MB in ease).

R. J. Whale: Take down, as in a decoration, following end of Yuletide (e + as in MBE).

G. H. Willett: Space unit to mission-control – negative apply booster (em base).

HC

C. Allen Baker, Dr J. K. Aronson, D. Ashcroft, Mrs G. M. Barker, M. Barley, Mrs A. Boyes, Mrs A. R. Bradford, E. W. Burton, D. L. L. Clarke, P. R. Clemow, C. M. Edmunds, P. S. Elliott, O. M. Ellis, D. Fairburn, B. Franco, P. Gale, F. D. Gardiner, P. George, S. Goldie, J. J. Goulstone, J. F. Grimshaw, G. W. Hartshorn, P. F. Henderson, V. G. Henderson, A. J. Holdstock, R. J. Hooper, R. Jacks, W. Jackson, B. C. James, Mrs D. B. Jenkinson, G. Johnstone, A. H. Jones, C. L. Jones, R. E. Kimmons, M. Kissen, F. P. N. Lake, A. Lawrie, M. D. Laws, C. W. Laxton, J. P. Lester, Dr R. MacGillivray, W. F. Main, L. May, G. D. Meddings, F. Moss, D. S. Nagle, J. O’Hagan, N. O’Neill, L. Paterson, W. H. Pegram, Miss I. M. Raab, R. F. Ray, E. R. Riddle, D. R. Robinson, N. Roles, N. E. Sharp, W. K. M. Slimmings, P. D. Smith, M. J. Suckling, I. Torbe, D. V. B. Unwin, A. J. Wardrop, J. F. N. Wedge, Dr R. L. Wynne, Dr E. Young.
 

COMMENTS
413 entries, no mistakes that I spotted. A steady, unexceptional sort of puzzle after the excitements (?) of two specials in a row, and a (deliberately) rather unexciting word to clue, of the kind that I have to grapple with four or five times in every puzzle – meaning: vague, component letters: uninspiring, ‘fracturability’: unpromising. In short a challenge to inspiration and therefore an excellent test for gifted clue-writers. I hope those whose clues did not make the quoted lists will understand why when confronted by those that dsd, but it may be an appropriate occasion to pick at random on a few unsuccessful clues and to explain why they did not find favour. Here goes. 1. ‘When master’s away a Fellow has much diminished weight. It’ll bring him down a peg.’ Much to criticise here, I’m afraid. The explanation is as (weight) in Member less Mr. Fellow = Member is stretching things a bit; I don’t like has = contains; as a weight an as did not diminish (according to C); but my major criticism it that the definition part (It’ll … peg) can only lead to a noun, corresponding to either it (what?) or him (whom?). 2. ‘Asunder below sea-level d’s … next after ’ell its lower.’ There is a fiendish mind at work here but it’s gone far beyond any rules of grammatical soundness (including the omission of the apostrophe in ‘its’) so that the clue does no more than hint at the answer in the vaguest of ways. Asunder is not the same at A’s under. B low and C level only sound like below and sea-level, and the solver deserves to be told that. Etc., etc. 3. ‘Lower forms assemble domes using plans.’ Explanation: anag. of ‘assemble domes’ less ‘models.’ This is the return of the dreaded indirect anagram, with an element of the composite anagram thrown in. Whether or not ‘using’ is a fair synonym for ‘dispensing with’ (which I would dispute)! regard it as unfair to expect the solver to discover a synonym of ‘plans’ which he has then to remove from the larger anagram to form the word defined (‘lower’). I would even regard it unfair if ‘models’ replaced ‘plans’ in the clue since the letters of ‘models’ do not occur in their correct order in ‘assemble dome’. An amended, acceptable (if not necessarily prize-winning) version of this clue might read ‘Lower forms assemble dome without flexible models.’ 4. ‘Me a sailor? I must have come up from below decks! ‘Explanation: me (rev.) + base (i.e., salt). Yes, I know a salt is a base (chemically) and a salt is a sailor, but that can never justify defining a base as a sailor. The wording to indicate that ‘me’ must be reversed is also suspect, and once again the definition part of the clue (the last three words as I read it) do not indicated verb, and never could. 5. ‘Well directed energy beams might bring them down.’ The first four worth indicate the anagram reasonably enough; the last four worth supposedly contain the definition – but how can they? And who are ‘them’? And why the element of uncertainty suggested by ‘might’? ‘Bring down well-directed energy beams’ would be a passable if uninspired clue using this basic idea.
 
I hope these few examples give some guidance to those who seek it. The majority of my examples are from quite seasoned campaigners, which suggests that bad old habits die hard. Let me end with a few basic points I always look for in judging clues, the absence of any one of which immediately indicates a flaw. Make sure your due contains (i) as accurate a definition as possible, including a clear indication of part of speech; (ii) a cryptic treatment of each and every part of the answer; (iii) nothing else, i.e., no mere padding or functionless verbiage. (i) and (ii) may be the same thing: that is what is meant by an ‘& lit.’ due.