AZED CROSSWORD 840

SONDE

1.  H. J. Bradbury: Red nosed? This may indicate high winds – or low bars! (anag.; red² vb., bar^1,2).

2.  C. J. Brougham: What signals us under the weather the earliest signs of depression? (’s on de, & lit.; on = tipsy).

3.  C. J. Feetenby: Leaders in summit on nuclear disarmament evidently met man’s high hope for better understanding (first letters).

VHC

D. G. Bousfield: Edison, but not I, might have invented this contrivance (anag. less I).

E. J. Burge: This provides material for what can be done crudely with a bit of seaweed (anag. incl. s, & lit.).

Mrs D. M. Colley: E.g. Noah’s dove? Better have go with this! (comp. anag. & lit.).

S. C. Ford: It affects what’s done after last item of news (s + anag., & lit.; i.e. TV weather forecast).

R. R. Greenfield: Snowed unseasonably, washing out start of Wimbledon – I might have foreseen it (anag. less W).

P. F. Henderson: A variety of weather conditions may register reaction with this (comp. anag. & lit.).

R. J. Hooper: Eminent interpreter of Blue Skies and Stormy Weather? Song-writer wants him (Sond(h)e(im)).

F. P. N. Lake: Weather reporter doesn’t fancy doing without it! (anag. less ’t).

M. A. Macdonald-Cooper: Doesn’t it sometimes cast storming? (anag. less ’t, & lit.).

C. J. Morse: Device that might have saved Icarus weighs on Dedalus’s heart (hidden).

T. W. Mortimer: Movements of air on e.g. Andes’d produce a reading with this! (comp. anag. & lit.).

F. E. Newlove: Weather-prophet sees Wimbledon’s first half washed out, rest redrawn (anag. of (Wimbl)edon’s).

F. R. Palmer: Meteorologist’s guide to damage done by onset of storm (s + anag.).

P. J. Peters: Northerly produced red nose, extremities dropping off. I could have predicted that! ((r)ed nos(e) (rev.)).

T. E. Sanders: It signals about measurement of temperature in the limits of space (on d in s, e, & lit.; d = degree).

W. J. M. Scotland: This, with air to ground radio, notes storms (comp. anag. & lit.; cf. radiosonde).

D. H. Tompsett: Stratocruiser’s heading is set with bit of data captured by one (S + d in one, & lit.).

Mrs J. Waldren: Weather balloon or rocket maybe – doesn’t it muddle a little bird taking off? (anag. less tit).

A. J. Wardrop: Fish perhaps benefits from this: being lightly done on top of stove (s + anag.; ref. Michael F., weatherman).

A. C. Wilson: Ionosphere devices could provide service with this – I hope (comp. anag. & lit.).

W. Woodruff: Aids met at high level as part of discussions on detente (hidden).

HC

S. Armstrong, M. Barley, Mrs F. A. Blanchard, Rev Canon C. M. Broun, W. G. Burnside, D. A. Campbell, Mrs M. J. Cansfield, C. A. Clarke, M. Coates, A. G. Corrigan, N. C. Dexter, C. M. Edmunds, R. A. England, P. D. Gaffey, F. D. Gardiner, J. Gill, S. Goldie, B. Greer, P. W. Grimsey, D. V. Harry, R. Jacks, M. S. Taylor & N. C. Johns, A. Lawrie, J. C. Leyland, C. J. Lowe, R. K. Lumsdon, L. K. Maltby, D. F. Manley, H. S. Mason, H. W. Massingham, J. F. McKee, J. R. C. Michie, C. G. Millin, J. J. Moore, T. J. Moorey, F. Moss, J. J. Murtha, D. S. Nagle, R. F. Naish, D. F. Paling, R. G. Pentney, R. Prebble, D. Price Jones, A. G. Ray, E. R. Riddle, D. R. Robinson, H. R. Sanders, L. G. D. Sanders, A. D. Scott, A. J. Shields, W. K. M. Slimmings, F. B. Stubbs, J. B. Sweeting, J. Treleaven, D. A. T. Wallace, P. H. Watkin, Mrs M. P. Webber, R. A. Wells.
 

COMMENTS
363 entries for a harder-than-average puzzle, to judge from your comments. Two with GREEK for GREEN (‘Sage – or the opposite?’) contained the only errors. Mine apart, that is. My spelling of GALACTAGOGUE was pure carelessness – a case of seeing what one wants to see, not what is there. The -OGOGUE spelling looks and feels acceptable, but as an ex-classicist I should have realized that it contradicts the etymological formation of the word (from the Greek word agogos) as in demagogue, synagogue, etc. My embarrassment is slightly eased by the fact that ‘my’ spelling of the word is given as a variant form in Webster’s Third New International Dictionary) so it wasn’t a pure solecism. And I was touched by the comments from competitors who assumed that Chambers was at fault, not I! Anyway I’m sorry for the trouble it must have caused and relieved that I didn’t give it to you to clue.
 
SONDE (variously described as ‘a real brute’ and ‘the best clue-word we’ve had for months’) proved quite tricky to handle with originality. Many clues submitted were of the hidden variety, understandably (it would make an excellent Printer’s Devilry word); the main trouble with these is that they tend to be rather obvious, not in itself a heinous crime but an important factor when in competition with others. And may I repeat yet again that I do not approve of excess verbiage in hidden clues, added simply for extra ‘colour’ or (worse still) merely to put the solver off the scent. The unfortunate Mr Fish and his faulty weather prediction (will he ever live it down, poor man?) came up quite often, usually with his name as first word in the clue. Nobody really managed to continue the fish theme effectively through the rest of the clue, however.
 
I tended to be liberal in accepting at times rather vague definitions of SONDE since Chambers’s ‘any device…’ seems particularly non-committal. Chambers Dictionary of Science and Technology (1974 edition) is a bit more specific: ‘Small telemetering system in satellite, rocket, or balloon’. To me a ‘system’, whatever its size, is a more complex thing than a ‘device’, but this may be just lexicographical nit-picking. Do we have any professional metmen in our midst (not tiros but Tiros!)?