◀  No. 5813 Jul 1983 Clue list No. 590  ▶

AZED CROSSWORD 585

FLABELLIFORM

1.  V. G. Henderson: Lewis may be thus described: sadly fallible because McEnroe’s No. 1 (anag. + for M; ref. Wimbledon finalist Chris L.).

2.  Dr E. Young: Shape of Melba ‘frill’? (anag. & lit.; ‘fan’ wafers).

3.  J. H. C. Leach: I create after loud band left – just like a fan (f label l + I form).

VHC

C. Allen Baker: I’m showing spread … excess fat on stomach I must get rid of by drill (flab + (b)ell(y) I + form).

Mrs F. A. Blanchard: Film for all – be prepared! Fans are in such a state! (anag.).

R. Caffyn: Some birds, seen from behind, are fat – film role’s unlikely (flab + anag.).

E. Chalkley: Like a fan club film of Bela Lugosi’s beginning and ending in horror? (anag. incl. L, r).

N. C. Goddard: Like a splayed hand that gets life from ball if spun? (anag.; ref. cricket).

S. Goldie: Moulin Rouge girl turned up to one party dressed in style – in a fan (Lab. + fille (rev.) in form).

B. Greer: Like a hand of cards? I’ll be playing, notwithstanding cheat’s around (anag. + for, all in flam).

J. F. Grimshaw: Excess fat? Then take up difficult spot of exercise beneficial to reduction of mass, like some him vaulting perhaps (flab + ill e (rev.) + form; fan vaulting).

D. V. Harry: Crêpe I’ll flambé, beneficial to inside. Like a slice? (for in anag.).

A. W. Hill: Following marker, after making about turn marines fanned out (f label LIFO RM).

C. W. Laxton: Having a regular spread? That’s what Bunter has – ‘Put out more! Fill up inside!’ (flab + fill (rev.) in anag.).

H. W. Massingham: Fallible changes in criminal record – like open coolers? (anag. in form).

L. May: Aging beauty consuming fillet beef endlessly is spreading around the middle (label + lif(e), all in form; beef = rigour).

J. J. Moore: Radiating outward in divergent folds, the onset of bombing will have destroyed all life-form around (b in anag.).

C. J. Morse: Feminine indeed!, cry I: feminine or masculine, all fans look like this (f la! bell I f or m; ref. unisex pop-fans).

T. W. Mortimer: Like a wedge of cake perhaps, ruinous for fallible slimmer’s middle (anag. + m).

R. F. Naish: High life ball for maiden’s debut – like what Lady Windermere held? (anag. + for m; ref. ‘L. W.’s Fan’; high = drunk).

F. R. Palmer: Description of title of Oscar? Label for film that’s exceptional (anag.; ref. O. Wilde, ‘Lady Windermere’s Fan’).

R. J. Palmer: What could describe spread wing in shape? (flab ell i’ form, & lit.).

R. F. Pardoe: I’m like a bat’s-wing flame almost or bell flattened (anag. incl. flam(e); flattened = knocked about).

S. L. Paton: What’s customary to veil the Parisian charmer provided for English may be —— (la belle with if for E, all in form, & lit.).

A. Scott: Shape of leaf (left, and right, limb spreading out) (anag. incl. l, r, & lit.).

R. C. Teuton: What’s leading lady in marvellous film-role unfurled? It’s fan-shaped (l in fab + anag.).

HC

D. R. Appleton, M. J. Balfour, M. Barley, R. C. Bell, C. Brougham, Rev C. M. Broun, E. J. Burge, D. P. Chappell, W. H. C. Cobb, Mrs D. M. Colley, G. P. Conway, G. Cuthbert, R. Dean, D. M. Duckworth, A. D. Foote, Mrs D. Foster, S. J. French, F. D. Gardiner, D. A. Grassland, R. R. Greenfield, P. F. Henderson, R. J. Hooper, W. Jackson, R. E. Kimmons, F. P. N. Lake, P. W. W. Leach, J. C. Leyland, C. J. Lowe, R. K. Lumsdon, Dr R. A. Main, W. F. Main, L. K. Maltby, H. S. Mason, D. P. M. Michael, Dr E. J. Miller, C. G. Millin, W. L. Miron, T. J. Moorey, A. C. Morrison, H. B. Morton, D. S. Nagle, R. O’Donoghue, L. Paterson, W. H. Pegram, G. Perry, B. A. Pike, Mrs L. E. Pimlott, R. F. Ray, D. R. Robinson, T. E. Sanders, M. D. Sanderson, W. J. M. Scotland, D. P. Shenkin, Mrs E. J. Shields, W. K. M. Slimmings, F. B. Stubbs, Mrs M. P. Webber.
 

COMMENTS
About 360 entries, almost no mistakes. An unexpected number were puzzled by my due to TEME (‘You can see old crew here – or young one!’). This referred the obsolete spelling of TEAM and to the River Teme, a tributary of the Severn and, I thought, a very familiar old crossworder’s standby. Whether or not young crews row along it I have no idea but it seems a reasonable hypothesis. A few also failed to understand the LEVITE clue. ‘…One moving from middle of road quickly’ was meant to indicate L(AN)E + VITE with an ‘& lit.’ reference to the parable of the Good Samaritan. ‘Lane’ for ‘ road’ would have been clearer and better perhaps. And while we’re on the subject of obscure clues my FAUN clue a few weeks ago also appears to have defeated some (‘It’s afternoon for players, afternoon in sport’). The definition part (first 4 words) refers to Debussy’s L’Après-Midi d’un Faune, surely one of that composer’s best-known works. ‘It’s’ here = ‘ It has’, of course.
 
Well, FLABELLIFORM was a rather open incitement to naughtiness, I admit. As a word it is replete with fleshy innuendoes and ‘fanny’ as a definition is almost irresistible (meaning that I’m sure I wouldn’t have been able to resist it!), provided it is realised that it doesn’t actually mean ‘like a fan’ and therefore that some indication of this is necessary to show that the clue-writer knows he is ‘bending’ language a bit or making a pun (see perpetrate in Chambers, incidentally!). By and large this was done and you were all much more careful than usual to indicate that the clue-word was an adjective.
 
I must be brief this month and must close with a quick apology to Mr D. R. Robinson who should have taken his place in the Honours List last month along with those on 5 points (1 prize, 3 VHCs). I had him recorded but he got unaccountably dropped in the transcription.
 

 

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