Nick: Fairly straight forward Azed this week.
I found nothing too taxing, although there are some gotcha’s unless the clues are parsed correctly. I also correctly guessed the competition phrase in about 60 seconds.
| Across | |||
| 1. | Academy briefly make fun of pathetic fool (7) | ||
| SCHMOCK | SCH(ool)+MOCK | ||
| 6. | Gap-filler in (fleeting) fashion? Scotch preferred (5) | ||
| FAURD | UR in FAD | ||
| *10. | Not working (10, 3 words) | ||
| OUT OF ORDER | competition phrase to clue | ||
| 11. | Mull, according to the locals? Some nonsense about loch (5) | ||
| BLUNK | BUNK around L | ||
| 12. | Topers’ll get drunk thus? (6) | ||
| PRESTO | (TOPER’S)* + sort of &lit | ||
| 13. | Mark a length of timber cut for gum resin (6) | ||
| MASTIC | M+A+STIC(k) | ||
| 16. | Malleable old fool wielded cloth in wet place (8) | ||
| SHOT-CLOG | (CLOTH*) in SOG | ||
| 17. | One in blue, but appearing regularly in scarlet? (4) | ||
| SALT | regular letters of ScArLrT not the usual boys in blue, but the Navy |
||
| 19. | Platform’s humourless face (6) | ||
| PODIAL | PO+DIAL | ||
| 21. | Sort of snowmobile like this grips child getting on briefly (6) | ||
| SKIDOO | (KID in SO)+O(n) | ||
| 22. | Loose covers will be seen to keep this dry (4) | ||
| SECO | hidden: looSE COvers | ||
| 23. | Chap having to work with a head covering (8) | ||
| MANTILLA | MAN+TILL+A | ||
| 26. | Lucky thing ma got rid of children’s mark on ground (6) | ||
| SCOTCH | (ma)SCOT+CH | ||
| 28. | Early Catholic hymn, half cut but with melody included (6) | ||
| MARIAN | ARIA in (hy)MN | ||
| 29. | Brendan’s fellow was such a conventional type, without front (5) | ||
| QUARE | (s)QUARE ref. Brendan’s first play, ‘the quare fellow’ |
||
| 30. | Vocalize about Group Four’s underwater activity (10, 2 words) | ||
| SKIN DIVING | SING around (KIND+IV) | ||
| 31. | Derisive utterance about nothing a boy deflected (5) | ||
| YA-BOO | (A BOY*) around O | ||
| 32. | Blind alley without vegetation skirting pit (7, 2 words) | ||
| DEAD END | DEAD around DEN strange clue using dead in the word play |
||
| … Down |
|||
| 1. | Junior teacher, might one suppose? Somewhat restrained formerly (7) | ||
| SUBMISS | pun, SUB(junior)+MISS | ||
| 2. | Soft drink, one taken after depression (4) | ||
| COLA | COL+A | ||
| 3. | Male binding bird by way of thin cord (9) | ||
| HOUSELINE | HE around (OUSEL+IN) | ||
| 4. | ‘Black’ (offensive) used in colloquialism, untutored (5) | ||
| MUNTU | hidden: colloquialisM UNTUored | ||
| 5. | Part of shell structure – study feature primed with runny oil (10) | ||
| CONCHIOLIN | CON+((OIL*) in CHIN) | ||
| 6. | Dandy holding on to antique shoe appendage (7) | ||
| FORETOP | FOP around (RE+TO) | ||
| 7. | Desert dunes? There’s a sense of sad loss with soak absent (4) | ||
| AREG | A+REG(ret) | ||
| 8. | Nothing in arrêt moved court to apply to the past (8) | ||
| RETROACT | (O in (ARRÊT*))+CT | ||
| 9. | Not a bowler’s wicket? Worry about that – this team member’s vicious! (5) | ||
| DROOG | DOG around RO(run out, as opposed to bowled) reference ‘the clockwork orange’ – see Nadsat |
||
| 12. | Distraught over pupil’s driving (10) | ||
| PROPULSIVE | (OVER PUPIL’S)* | ||
| 14. | ‘Customers right’, refrain among heads of chain-store enterprise (9) | ||
| CLIENTAGE | (LIEN+TAG) in C(hain-store) E(nterprise) | ||
| 15. | Lassie’s to assume a married alias: Balm of Gilead? (8) | ||
| TAKAMAKA | TAK+A+M+A.K.A | ||
| 18. | Pole in difficulty producing old dagger (7) | ||
| POINADO | PO+IN+ADO | ||
| 20. | Playing e.g. L. Hoad he wouldn’t have a clue (7) | ||
| LOGHEAD | (E.G. L. HOAD)* although this clue is obvious and you do not need to know (as I didn’t), L. Hoad is Lew Hoad, an old great tennis player |
||
| 23. | Comfortable sum cunningly invested in well! (5) | ||
| MUMSY | (SUM*) in MY! | ||
| 24. | Chow may end up in this batter (5) | ||
| POUND | ref. dog POUND |
||
| 25. | See Women in Love for this alcoholic (4) | ||
| WINO | W+IN+O | ||
| 27. | Age lost in use of derricks for some fish newly landed (4) | ||
| CRAN | CRAN(age) | ||
| … | |||
I solved this in Sydney from a printout without a Chambers and got it all right. There were several words I didn’t know but which looked plausible. That is what makes Azed so good. You can unravel the subsidiary indication and realise that the answer looks right, quite often through a simple appreciation of etymology. Those who whinge about a crossword containing a word they hadn’t heard of are very often denying themselves the chance to develop their solving skills. And it is why good old Ximenean rules are needed for hard words. Playing fair with the solver is something Azed is a master at!
Couldn’t agree more Mr Manley.
Excellent point from DM.