AZED CROSSWORD 640

MACHETE

1.  W. J. M. Scotland: The jungly mass one cleaves? (anag. in m ace, & lit.).

2.  F. D. Gardiner: English replaces Kurt’s original in this version of ‘Mack the Knife’ (anag. with E for K; ref. K. Weill’s music in ‘The Threepenny Opera’).

3.  C. J. Lowe: A small mark on the ace, well shuffled – it can certainly assist in the cut! (m + anag.).

VHC

Mrs F. A. Blanchard: Alter he-cat with me?! (anag. & lit.).

C. J. Brougham: Weapon clearing the wild? (anag. in mace, & lit.; clear = jump over).

Rev Canon C. M. Broun: This sword might have hewed M. Castro in pieces (comp. anag. & lit.).

M. Coates: Odds for hockey team reduced – it scores heavily in America (anag. incl. alternate letters; ref. Olympics).

Dr I. S. Fletcher: Solution for cheat wandering within confines of maze? (anag. in m, e, & lit.).

R. R. Greenfield: In West Indies I slash one caught hard inside the boundary (a c H in mete).

J. F. Grimshaw: Have longing for one in South American bush? (ache for a in maté, & lit.).

R. J. Hooper: Help for Cuban peasants cutting through bush (Che in maté, & lit.; C. Guevara).

Mrs D. B. Jenkinson: I’ll cut down the sugar and throw the cream right out (anag. less r).

J. H. C. Leach: Teach me to cook – I’ll produce great chops (anag.).

D. F. Manley: South American guerilla’s cutting companion? (Che in mate, & lit.; C. Guevara).

H. W. Massingham: Primary factor in clearing the ground in exotic West (c + anag., all in Mae, & lit.).

L. May: Will tame hectares, getting rid of choking weeds (anag. less tares, & lit.; will²).

Dr E. J. Miller: Guerilla’s bush-cutter (Che in maté, & lit.; C. Guevara).

W. L. Miron: Variation in E: ‘Mac the Knife’ (anag.; ref. ‘Threepenny Opera’).

J. D. Moore: To make matches could involve pine whittled down by one ((a)che in mate, & lit.).

J. J. Moore: Mack, once called ‘knife’ (mac hete; ref. ‘Threepenny Opera’).

F. E. Newlove: With me, a few cuts of the cane produce results – teach ’em to work! (anag.).

R. J. Palmer: Hack the cane – not half – with me (anag. incl. ca(ne), & lit.).

H. R. Sanders: What for Latin is a tree-cutter (che (It.) in maté, & lit.).

F. B. Stubbs: Club split on admitting the flamboyant blade (anag. in mace).

HC

K. Aaronovich, C. Allen Baker, D. R. Appleton, M. J. Balfour, E. A. Beaulah, A. G. Bogie, J. M. Brown, C. J. & M. P. Butler, S. Butterworth, E. Chalkley, J. H. Chinner, F. Craig, N. C. Dexter, D. M. Duckworth, C. M. Edmunds, O. M. Ellis, A. L. Farr, D. A. Ginger, P. Heap, P. F. Henderson, J. P. H. Hirst, M. Jellis, A. H. Jones, F. P. N. Lake, A. Lawrie, A. Logan, Rev W. P. Manahan, S. M. Mansell, H. S. Mason, Rev M. R. Metcalf, C. J. Morse, R. A. Mostyn, R. F. Naish, Mrs S. M. Odber, F. R. Palmer, R. F. Pardoe, W. H. Pegram, C. P. Rea, A. J. Redstone, E. R. Riddle, T. Russell, L. G. D. Sanders, W. K. M. Slimmings, Dr G. A. Styles, M. S. Taylor, L. E. Thomas, D. H. Tompsett, A. A. Vinson, G. H. Willett, L. C. Wright.
 

COMMENTS
309 entries, no mistakes. No serious difficulties either, to judge from your comments, or lack of them. For many it seems that the four peripheral 12-letter words were the last to be solved and this will have made the central block that much more difficult to complete.
 
MACHETE offered plenty of scope though Ché Guevara was the most popular theme by far, understandably, and for that reason only the most cleverly worded clues using him reached the lists. (Note: for strict accuracy he wasn’t (at least originally) a Cuban, and Ché was only a nom de guerre, his given name being Ernesto.) I still had some difficulty arriving at the list of quoted winners and runners-up. I was much drawn to Mr J. D. Moore’s clue above but in the last analysis was unhappy about ‘could’ which suggests too indefinite a possibility for the cryptic reading of the clue. Nice, original idea though.
 
I am asked at regular intervals what my attitude is to referring to inanimate objects as ‘I’ or ‘me’ in clues. As I should have thought my own use of this device from time to time would indicate I can see nothing objectionable in it though I think it offends some. I see it as the solution apostrophising the solver through the wording of the clue, in the manner of acrostics or conundrums beginning ‘my first is…’, and a perfectly acceptable use of the first person singular.
 
This slip is late because I have been in the US, primarily as guest speaker at the US National Open Crossword Championship Final, an event at which I was treated with typical American hospitality and listened to with rapt attention. Although the competition was based on standard American non-cryptic puzzles, almost all the finalists were familiar with British conventions of cryptic cluing and there is growing interest, as yet inadequately catered for, in the sort of puzzles (of whatever standard) we take entirely for granted.
 
Finally, the chopping and changing of the post code for competition entries over recent months has been caused by an experiment with the post office intended to ensure prompter delivery but in fact having the opposite effect and now, I sincerely hope, abandoned for good.