AZED CROSSWORD 622

SIMP (Printer’s Devilry)

1.  S. Goldie: A/erial is mended, as tone was being lost from the set in The Crown (ref. ‘the Jewel in the Crown’).

2.  C. Allen Baker: ‘I’ve got no bra,’ s/aid sweet Fanny Adams.

3.  E. J. Burge: ‘Alert! Wa/r events’ – Extra (ref. Wasim Bari, Pakistan wicket-keeper).

VHC

Mrs B. M. Aze: Particular/ly devilish printer at work? Remember the date (ref. April 1st puzzle).

M. Barley: ‘A squa/re (“T” one) might describe a ruler in appearance only’ (quasi-mpret).

Mrs F. A. Blanchard: Azed – swell! Pleasing joke/r, one to fall for!

R. Brain: Azed! Make su/re category details superfluous.

Rev Canon C. M. Broun: Rage of solver scan, before ‘Cast forth i/re! Sent in (gasp!) done’ (… as PD one).

C. A. Clarke: ‘Home Secretary maintains Metropolitan Police for m/artial law enforcement’ (agency).

L. J. Davenport: April hoaxe/r, one to be deceived by. More fool me!

M. Freeman: Are catchers and keepers of strays kind to be ast/ounded?

V. G. Henderson: A vine work/er using the biggest clod today (ref. ambiguous ‘sort of gull’).

G. Johnstone: Lacking bra I n/uzzled and fooled.

M. W. Knight: A mind like Azed set cadd/ish tricks on 1st April.

Dr R. Liddle: Once I’d discovered the A.P.R., I lazed; was plain idle – s/et us to give it one hundred per cent!

D. F. Manley: ‘I’ll do the dish!’ – e/ater giving mate rarest day.

B. Manvell: Such manner/ly behaviour has been well taught.

C. G. Millin: The stripper looks good to me, and the audience so und/ressed as well!

T. J. Moorey: ‘Diner’s car – d/ress according’ – Toad (ref. Diners Club payment card).

R. J. Palmer: Some times wasted at work a/re occupied with Azed.

D. R. Robinson: Azed must be thinking: I’m enjoying this simple g/ulling.

Dr R. C. Ross: See M/ass in G flat – using a strict ear.

W. J. M. Scotland: ‘Cripes, cha p/ot’s t’oolong!’ sniffs Bunter. ‘Bag’s some help’

J. G. Stubbs: Did Botham’s bouncers make wa/r o’ test in Pakistan? (ref. Ian B. and Wasim Bari).

K. Thomas: Does effect of fin/e last – urge on in straight course?

V. C. D. Vowles: You can tell I’m a Cambridge man, co/unting from the wrong end!

Dr E. Young: Anoxi/a led on to a revolving bar at the banquet!

HC

F. B. Anderson, W. G. Arnott, D. W. Arthur, G. H. Booth, A. Brash, R. S. Caffyn, E. Chalkley, Mrs M. P. Craine, A. L. Dennis, N. C. Dexter, E. G. Durham, G. J. Edwards, P. S. Elliott, C. J. Feetenby, D. S. Fielker, O. H. Frazer, J. F. Grimshaw, I. D. Hall, P. J. Heap, P. F. Henderson, Mrs J. Higgins, W. Islip, B. Jackson, W. Jackson, B. C. James, A. H. Jones, R. E. Kimmons, F. P. N. Lake, A. Lawrie, J. G. Levack, R. K. Lumsdon, M. A. Macdonald-Cooper, Dr R. A. Main, W. F. Main, L. K. Maltby, H. W. Massingham, W. L. Miron, D. S. Nagle, F. E. Newlove, F. R. Palmer, G. Perry, Mrs E. M. Phair, Mrs A. G. Phillips, B. A. Pike, D. Price Jones, T. E. Sanders, G. L. Scullard, W. K. M. Slimmings, Mrs I. G. Smith, J. Smith, A. P. Vincent, J. Walton, M. H. E. Watson, J. Webster, D. G. Weir, R. J. Whale, M. R. Whiteoak, G. H. Willett, S. Woods, R. F. Zobel.
 

COMMENTS
About 280 entries, with no except three wimps and a pimp. I’d foreseen the possible ambiguity presented by WIMP but decided that a foolish and gullible person isn’t really the same as an ineffectual one, especially not in the context of the puzzle. The idea for the April fool was not original. As some of the Old Guard remembered, vaguely or with painful clarity, Ximenes perpetrated something very similar for No. 379, by my calculation in 1956 and therefore long enough ago to warrant a fresh airing (though X’s was not a competition puzzle). The point of the joke of course is, for the benefit of those who still feel I cheated, that the preamble suggested but nowhere actually said that it was a P.D. puzzle. A few competitors took the thing a stage further and submitted a normal clue to SIMP, but this was being unnecessarily tortuous as the instructions were unambiguous on this point. I consciously tried to make the wording of clues more awkward than usual (though not as much as X did) and the 11 × 13 grid was also chosen to mislead. And even though keener solvers were clearly expecting something of the kind and soon tumbled to it, the low entry and honest admissions of those for whom the penny took longer to drop indicated a fair bag of April Fools. The problem for the setter on such occasions is to think of a leg-pull which will amuse and not leave the frustrated solver foaming at the mouth in apoplectic rage. I can only hope I succeeded and beg forgiveness from those who still feel hard done by.
 
SIMP turned out to be more difficult to devil than I’d expected. I’d been on the look-out for a suitable word in meaning and form and stumbled on it when composing the grid for No. 617 (‘Right and Left’) where I was able to use SAMP instead. I wasn’t too impressed by the many clues in the undevilled form of which the ‘s’ of SIMP was an ‘’s’. I also think the point of printer’s devilry is somewhat lost if the sense of the devilled version is the same or nearly the same as that of the undevilled version (e.g. something like ‘this devilishness’ for ‘ this devil’s impishness’). At the other end of the scale devilry run riot can produce clues that are too nonsensical for their own good. And as always there are some entries which make more sense devilled than undevilled, an easy trap to fall into but one to be avoided carefully.
 
Two small points: (i) One solver suggested that in my RIPRAP clue ‘hard core’ should have been ‘hardcore’. According to Chambers he’s right and I admit inadvertence; however I’m relieved to see that the C.O.D. spells it as two words for both meanings, (ii) I think I owe Chambers an apology for suspecting that SADDLE-LAP (in No. 620) is a misprint (for SADDLE-FLAP). Both do occur (as italicised compounds) in the O.E.D., though both are rare and I don’t quite see why C opts for including one rather than the other.
 
Finally, watch out for announcements about a very special competition later in the year. More of this anon.