XIMENES CROSSWORD No. 1041

TEA-LEAD

1.  R. Postill: Conservative film about what we brew; Heath admits beer unsuitable for children (ale A in Ted; ref. Edward H.; A, film classification).

2.  Sir W. Slimmings: Spread round a field, it may save crop going to pot (a lea in ted).

3.  A. B. Gardner: Spread abroad as wrapping for traditional English brew, one we must import (ale a in ted, & lit.).

V.H.C.

R. H. Adey: Packing for what, without intoxicating, will cheer, perhaps elate, a driver’s head (anag. + a d).

C. Allen Baker: Early stages of trials expose a deal wrong in a certain liner (t, e, a + anag.; ref. QE2’s faulty turbines).

J. Crowther: I’m for keeping the char dry—the flaming old faggot’s pinching the booze (ale in tead).

J. Gill: A long length of cotton spread round; it protects the chest (a lea³ in ted).

F. G. Illingworth: Liner trouble dealt with inside of a year? (anag. incl. (y)ea(r); trouble, vb. trans.; ref. QE2’s faulty turbines).

L. F. Leason: Extra protection for China? That could make Mao’s heart elated (anag. incl. (M)a(o); ref. US/Chinese rapprochement, 1969; China tea).

Mrs B. Lewis: Our char’s chest-protector is one featured in the TV commercial (a in tele-ad.).

D. P. M. Michael: TV commercial about a blend that might include China or Ceylon (a in tele-ad.; blend of lead & tin).

C. J. Morse: I’m attached to bare chests and get elated about a bust (anag.).

F. R. Palmer: It provides the source of a beverage with a dry surrounding (ale + a, in ted, & lit.).

Mrs N. Perry: Drink to live, in case it is a strengthener (tea lead; lead = live, vbs. trans.).

E. J. Rackham:: Take a drink and go ahead. You’ll soon see the “silver” lining (tea lead).

T. E. Sanders: Something that protects chests against the damp—one may be seen in short television commercial (a in tele-ad.).

Brig R. F. E. Stoney: What does the lining protect? The answer’s in a TV commercial (A in tele-ad. & lit.).

J. G. Stubbs: I keep the dead leaves from the wood, spread out in the sun to dry round a meadow (a lea in ted).

G. R. Webb: Drink and drive—though only a cart—and it’s sure to end in a case (tea lead; court case).

H.C.

C. J. Anderson, F. D. H. Atkinson, J. W. Bates, Mrs F. Begg, T. E. Bell, Mrs K. Bissett, B. W. Brook, C. O. Butcher, Mrs L. Cave, P. M. Coombs, A. J. Crow, R. Dehn, A. L. Dennis, Cdr H. H. L. Dickson, A. S. Everest, J. A. Fincken, Mrs N. Fisher, J. Fryde, F. D. Gardiner, S. Goldie, R. M. Greenhalgh, S. Holgate, J. G. Hull, J. E. Jenkins, Sir S. Kaye, T. H. Keeley, R. E. Kimmons, J. R. Kirby, A. Lawrie, A. D. Legge, Dr T. J. R. Maguire, A. A. Malcolm, H. W. Massingham, B. J. McCann, Mrs E. McFee, T. W. Melluish, F. E. Newlove, Dr J. D. Ogilvie, S. L. Paton, G. Perry, Charlotte Lady Reay, Mrs K. M. Russell, W. Spendley, J. R. Stocks, F. B. Stubbs, J. B. Sweeting, J. W. Taylor, E. W. Webb, J. F. N. Wedge, G. H. Willett, Mrs M. R. Wishart.
 

COMMENTS: About 350 entries, very few mistakes. I must add here to my apology in the paper for that disastrous “baillee.” I am terribly sorry about the amount of time it must have wasted and about the number of possible competitors that it must have deterred from entering. The general reaction was far too kind to me, many people saying that they must be at fault. It arose from a misprint in Chambers’s Crossword Aid; it’s my normal practice to verify every unfamiliar word there, but this time I must have failed to do so; I can’t remember the occasion, as I composed this puzzle a long time ago—it was one of those axed during the strike period, and I had passed the proof then, several months ago. This is no excuse; I ought to have taken the chance to check it again; I can only hope … but I’m terribly human!
 
A not very inspiring word produced some excellent clues. I hardly dare mention the word “unsound” this time, but I must refer to one decision that I made—I couldn’t accept the view that a tea-chest is a caddy; surely the one is a large packing-case, the other a small receptacle for storage. And I must explain the clue to CHINE, which seems to have puzzled several people. I thought it was a familiar fact that when knights were bold they frequently cleft each other to the chine, in the lists and no doubt elsewhere.
 
My last word must be “SORRY!”