AZED CROSSWORD 978

DOUBLE-CENTURY

1.  T. W. Mortimer: Could it be articulated as ‘duel tun by Croe’? (anag. & lit.; ref. M. Crowe, NZ cricketer).

2.  T. J. Moorey: Name cleared, Ben could yet run shattering 200 (anag. less n; ref. B. Johnson, sprinter).

3.  R. E. Kimmons: Beer cloudy, tun’s off – here’s a sherry (anag.; Domecq brand name).

VHC

D. Ashcroft: Mozart’s Tenth score, to be uncrudely played (anag.; ref. bicentenary of M’s death).

Mrs P. C. Carmichael: Words in Scrabble counted by rule 5 score twice (anag.; 5 × 20 × 2).

N. C. Dexter: Current span of the newspaper cultured Boney once conned? (anag. & lit.; ref. Observer bicentenary, dates from Napoleonic era).

Dr I. S. Fletcher: Feat by such as Fletcher made cruel Bounty master quit at sea (anag. less MA; ref. F. Christian and Keith F., cricketer).

H. Freeman: Clue: English tour with none scored by Don must be bad! (anag. incl. E less 0, & lit.; ref. Don Bradman).

R. R. Greenfield: Runs clouted by me? Possibly, with boundaries seen in my dreams (anag. less m, s, & lit.).

D. V. Harry: Record score of fours and sixes – get out the sherry (20 × 4 + 20 × 6; Domecq brand name).

R. W. Hawes: Compilation of extremes of courage and tenacity and run after run (double + anag. of c, e, t, y run, & lit.).

R. J. Hooper: M’s fifth rule: Bond will get into trouble with cutey (anag.; i.e. 1000 ÷ 5; ref. James B.).

J. C. Leyland: A cc or two of filling for denture plugs hollowed out cavity (double + (d)entur(e) in c(avit)y).

A. Logan: Mixing Cure, loud – by 10 cc? (anag. incl. ten; pop groups; mix = produce different version of).

R. K. Lumsdon: It would be a change for one to be run – clouted by England’s opener (anag. incl. E, & lit.!).

G. D. Meddings: ‘Two Ton’ Tony/Bruce duel rearranged (anag.; ref. former heavyweight boxers T. Galento and B. Woodcock).

R. S. Morse: A score by 10 cc – rock beyond culture! (anag., 2 defs.; 20 × 10).

F. R. Palmer: Jazzy tune could be frame for really terrific score (anag. + r, y).

D. Price Jones: Edited by cultured one for two hundred years (anag.; ref. Observer bicentenary).

T. E. Sanders: Could number ten score one by cultured play? Most unlikely (anag.).

W. J. M. Scotland: Smash ‘Jury’ tipped – could be 10 cc? (anag. incl. ten less J; ref. Juke Box J.).

M. C. Souster: A great score by one with cultured batting (anag.).

Dr I. Torbe: One by cultured batting can make this score ten times (anag.).

A. J. Wardrop: What coarse cricketer, especially, might relish – knock by cultured one (anag.).

HC

M. Barley, E. A. Beaulah, J. R. Beresford, C. J. Brougham, Rev Canon C. M. Broun, E. J. Burge, B. Burton, C. J. & M. P. Butler, P. S. Elliott, G. & J. Ferris, B. Franco, N. C. Goddard, P. F. Henderson, R. F. A. Horsfield, G. Hughes, J. F. Jones, J. H. C. Leach, D. J. Mackay, D. F. Manley, P. W. Marlow, H. W. Massingham, C. G. Millin, C. J. Morse, H. B. Morton, R. F. Naish, G. M. Neighbour, Mrs P. Norman, S. J. Paton, Mrs E. M. Phair, R. Phillips, J. T. Price, C. Reed, H. L. Rhodes, H. R. Sanders, W. K. M. Slimmings, P. L. Stone, P. D. Stonier, R. I. Sutherland, J. B. Sweeting, R. C. Teuton, K. Thomas, A. P. Vincent, R. A. Wells, J. P. A. Wildey, G. H. Willett, D. Williamson.
 

COMMENTS
324 entries, and no mistakes that I spotted. Quite a tough challenge, by general consensus. I think ‘Letters Latent’ always is, since for the less common words it is sometimes impossible to confirm one’s solving of the clues until the message has been discovered. If it’s any comfort I find the construction of an LL diagram exceptionally taxing. There is always the temptation to try and build in words with more than one latent letter – satisfying for me but probably making solving harder. Having worked in CHEESE-TASTERS with four latent E’s I was then faced with a real brute to clue – a lone vowel flanked by eight consonants. Thank heaven for Christmas trees! I was also thankful to find evidence for IDENTICALS and INCRETION, both of which I’d have avoided if I could. One final comment on the grid itself has to do with my definition of LYSED, i.e. ‘taken out of crisis’, which in deepest ignorance I based on the Chambers definition of LYSIS. A regular competitor suggests that, lysis and crisis being distinct patterns of disease, the one cannot necessarily imply a movement away from the other. I’m quite open to correction on this and hope my clue didn’t cause undue difficulty by its vagueness (and possible inaccuracy).
 
Some of you were unaware of The Observer’s bicentenary celebrations, but I thought I’d get my tribute in early. The 200 years will actually be reached in December, I think, but the paper will be making much of it throughout the year. It is certainly something to shout about and I’m proud to be part of such a distinguished tradition. Knowing my weakness for cricketing allusions many of you assayed cricketing clues. No harm in that at all, except that many submitted clues which could lead equally well to TWO HUNDRED, TWO HUNDRED YEARS/RUNS, etc. The best clues lead uniquely to their solutions. That said, DOUBLE CENTURY yielded an unexpected abundance of anagram possibilities, the best of which are on display above. There was also a high degree of soundness in cluing generally, which is always good to see.