AZED CROSSWORD 869

HOLD-UPS

1.  Dr J. Burscough: Bush-whackers may take stick to President in United States shortly (hold + P in US).

2.  P. F. Henderson: Heists plus road works, I assert, will satisfy such! (comp. anag. & lit.).

3.  E. A. Clarke: They certainly show flying has limits! (up in holds, & lit.).

VHC

M. Barley: See us set about a spot of plunder and be off? (p in (be)hold us, & lit.).

Rev Canon C. M. Broun: Should lead to passengers being unhappy (anag. incl. p, & lit.).

E. Chalkley: A senior citizen with cries of encouragement set about the muggers (old in hups).

Dr V. G. I. Deshmukh: Jams, preserves fully bottled (up in holds).

N. C. Dexter: Going round on horseback, they’d make you stop with a rough order for £. s. d. (ho + up in anag. of L s d, & lit.).

C. J. Feetenby: They are familiar in turns to the right (old in hups, & lit.).

Dr I. S. Fletcher: Results of smashes for such as King? (2 mngs.; ref. Billie Jean K. and Tom K., highwayman).

H. Freeman: Lots of mugging in the vac secured degree at university (d up in hols).

J. F. Grimshaw: Hitches what could be handy lifts in Fiestas? (pud² (rev.) in hols).

J. R. H. Jones: Here you have to stop and hand over in cash all except pennies (ho + pud² (rev.) in L s (d)).

M. D. Jones: Preliminaries to hijacking stagecoaches – past success found therein? (old up in h s & lit.).

R. E. Kimmons: Riders out for gold should pedal furiously (anag. incl. p).

D. F. Manley: Half-masked pistol-carriers with intrusive ‘Hand over!’ (pud² (rev.) in hols(ters) & lit.).

H. W. Massingham: Effects of Unionist actions such as involved Mr. Tom King? (2 mngs.: industrial stoppages, robberies; ref. NI Secretary and highwayman).

C. J. Morse: What bras provide for bosoms? —— and pads, in the old days (2 mngs.; pad²).

G. E. Rawlings: Unemployed hoods, left short, might arrange dole money with these (comp. anag. incl. l, & lit.).

H. L. Rhodes: Reformed PLO should look out for hijackers (anag. less lo).

T. E. Sanders: We lie in wait prior to us grabbing a bit of plunder (hold + p in us, & lit.).

A. D. Scott: See waits last Sunday? (hold up + S; waits = carollers).

A. J. Wardrop: Muggings preoccupy the well-to-do (hold ups).

M. H. E. Watson: Eggcup scare, and farming-group suffers ——; delaying tactics required (i.e. hold ‘ups’; ref. salmonella scare).

Dr E. Young: Tobys on stage did, and do, rely on them (2 mngs.; highway robberies, Punch and Judy shows).

HC

F. D. H. Atkinson, J. Baird, M. J. Balfour, Drs D. R. & A. M. Bangham, Dr P. M. J. Bennett, Mrs F. A. Blanchard, J. R. Booth, C. J. Brougham, E. J. Burge, D. A. Campbell, Mrs M. J. Cansfield, A. F. Coles, Mrs D. Colley, K. W. Crawford, D. J. Dare-Plumpton, L. J. Davenport, R. Dean, R. V. Dearden, H. F. Dixon, P. Drummond, R. A. England, C. E. Faulkner-King, E. G. Fletcher, B. Franco, P. D. Gaffey, F. D. Gardiner, M. Goodyear, G. S. Halse, D. V. Harry, R. J. Hooper, J. G. Hull, R. Jacks, Mrs D. B. Jenkinson, G. Johnstone, C. W. Laxton, J. P. Lester, J. C. Leyland, Miss J. S. Lumsden, R. K. Lumsdon, M. A. Macdonald-Cooper, C. G. Millin, T. J. Moorey, A. F. Mylward, D. S. Nagle, R. F. Naish, G. M. Neighbour, F. E. Newlove, F. R. Palmer, R. J. Palmer, C. Pearson, B. A. Pike, D. Price Jones, Miss I. Raab, D. R. Robinson, B. Roe, J. H. Russell, W. J. M. Scotland, D. J. Short, W. K. M. Slimmings, M. Small, Dr N. Smith, P. A. Stephenson, J. B. Sweeting, J. Walton, J. F. N. Wedge, J. B. Widdowson.
 

COMMENTS
505 entries, almost no mistakes, Only one competitor claimed to have spotted my concealed message for New Year’s Day. (For those who didn’t see or read the solution and notes, the initial letters of the clues, across then down, read ‘Azed invites solvers to trace the diagonal’. This, from top left to bottom right, read HAPPY NEW YEAR. Ah well, he will have his bit of fun. ) I thought the slightly awkward wording of one or two of the clues (including the definition for HOLD-UPS) might give the game away, but apparently not. Many of you said the puzzle was nice and straightforward, a welcome change after the rich and full diet around Christmastime. I’m sorry I told you, wrongly, that IXIA wasn’t in earlier editions of Chambers. It is in the 1983 edition though omitted from Chambers Words and this misled me. Anyway, a nice large entry – numbers seem to be increasing slightly of late, despite occasional comments that I’m getting more difficult. I do try to maintain a consistent standard though particular puzzles may find me in a particularly devilish (or saintly) mood.
 
HOLD-UPS proved quite tricky to handle originally. Very many of you essayed anagrams of SHOULD with the extra P dealt with in a variety of ways. Many of these were sound if uninspired (the difference, often, between mention and lack of mention in the lists). I did nor accept wording that included ‘should be’, where ‘be’ had to stand as the main verb in the cryptic reading of the clue. This is not normal current English, surviving only in archaic or dialect use – ‘Here be dragons’, etc – and instructions to me to read it as some sort of subjunctive did not convince. Neither could I accept definitions of HOLD-UPS as things that hold up (braces, suspenders, etc) as distinct from the state or process or holding up (as in CJM’s clue above). There is no evidence for this usage that I could find.
 
I am asked for advice on clue-writing ‘for those of us less expert’, in particular whether one should think outwards from the definition first or play around with the letters in the word first and let the definition come later. I’d say that it’s something of a juggling process between the two and varies according to the word in question, but, speaking for myself, I always look at the dictionary definition(s) first before moving on to consider a cryptic breakdown of its letters. This may suggest definitions which can be used ambiguously (e. g. ‘hitch’, ‘pad’, ‘jam’, in the present instance); it’s then a question of seeing if the cryptic wording of your clue can be contrived so as to carry this ambiguity through easily and effectively. If it can’t or the wording becomes unnatural or strained, scrap the idea and look for another one. I have said elsewhere that I regard the essential ingredients of a good clue to be accuracy, wit and economy. If you can achieve all three you’re almost bound to gain mention in the slips. Add in the elusive miracle ingredient, originality, and you’ll have a winner, like as not.