I found this tricky and needed some electronic help to get the last couple of solutions after spending a few days failing to finish unaided. I thought there was a huge amount of interesting stuff in here, both cruciverbally and factually. Very enjoyable indeed, one of the most interesting AZEDs I have blogged. Thank you AZED.
| Across | ||
| 1 | BUTCH |
Aggressive tough guy clubhouse put behind bar (5)
C (club) H (house) behind BUT (bar) – I wasted a lot of time trying to make this be MACHO |
| 6 | QUAPAW |
American Indian as old man accompanied by wife (6)
QUA (as) PA (old man) with W (wife) |
| 11 | ROULEAUX |
Rubber absent in thickening ribbons (8)
ULE (caucho rubber from the ule tree) and A (absent) in ROUX (thickening) |
| 12 | LYDIA |
‘Lady I converted’ – as Paul said of me in Philippi? (5)
(LADY I)* anagram=converted – Lydia of Thyatira was converted to Christianity by Paul in the city of Philippi. |
| 13 | AGROSTOLOGIST |
A log, roots crumbling with pith – one that’s good on grass? (13)
(A LOG ROOTS)* anagram=crumbling with GIST (pith) |
| 15 | EDENTATA |
Lovely place cheers sloths etc (8)
EDEN (lovely place) then TA-TA (cheers, goodbye) |
| 16 | YEOMAN |
Official’s assistant chaps leaving one ME state for another (6)
YEmen (one Middle East state) missing MEN (chaps) with (for) OMAN (another ME state) – an attendant in a noble household |
| 18 | SPAN |
Bridge partners, past making interference (4)
S and N (partners, in bridge for example) with PA (past) included (making interference) |
| 20 | ANTILOG |
One’s related to another number, almost a contradiction (7)
ANTILOGy (a contradiction, almost) |
| 22 | DUOS |
Couples cheat, becoming linked with you and me (4)
DO (cheat) and US (you and me) becoming entangled (linked) |
| 24 | ENTOIL |
Do this to net and what’s often crude follows! (6)
entoil is to entangle, so tangle NET and follow with OIL (what is often crude) |
| 26 | ECLIPSES |
Cuts out extracts in church office, retiring (8)
CLIPS (extracts) in SEE (chutch office) reversed |
| 28 | SHIP OF THE LINE |
Scuppered the fine Polish man-of-war (13, 4 words)
(THE FINE POLISH)* anagram=scuppered |
| 29 | SLEEP |
Wayne maybe takes strip off back to rest? (5)
maybe Wayne SLEEP (dancer) or PEELS (takes strip off) reversed (back) |
| 30 | DIERESIS |
Pause in verse to strive against, mostly after end (8)
RESISt (to strive against, mostly) following DIE (end) |
| 31 | EROTIC |
Indian staple in our community, like Kama Sutra? (6)
ROTI (Indian bread) in EC (our, European, Community) |
| 32 | SYTHE |
Time, that old reaper, we hear (5)
sounds like (we hear) scythe (reaper) – alternate spelling of sith, an old word meaning time |
| Down | ||
| 1 | BRAKY |
British king riding wild yak, very shaggy? (5)
B (British) then R (king) in YAK anagram=wild – braky is ’overgrown with brushwood or fern’ and shaggy is (of the earth, a hillside etc) ’covered with a rough tangled growth’ |
| 2 | TURCOPOLIER |
Knight Commander, Lieut. or Corp.? Quite wrong (11)
(LIEUT OR CORP)* anagram=quite wrong |
| 3 | CLOW |
Scottish spice? Silly person forgetting name (4)
CLOWn (silly person) missing N (name) – Scots form of clove |
| 4 | HESVAN |
Part of calendar that’s hot, sun in central spot after rising (6)
H (hot) then S (sun) in NAVE (central part of a spoked wheel) reversed – month in Jewish calendar |
| 5 | PATENTS |
Privileges keeping camp in step (7)
TENT (camp) in PAS (step) |
| 6 | QUODLIBETIC |
Like a disputatious philosopher, quite bold when clashing, I see (11)
(QUITE BOLD)* anagram=when clashing then I C (see, name of the letter) – what a marvellous word! I wonder if I will ever get an chance to use it. |
| 7 | ALONG |
Number featured in a record throughout (5)
N (number) in A LOG (record) |
| 8 | ADIAPHORIST |
Liberal theologian benefited on lifting hearts in past (simple) (11)
PAID (benefited) reversed (on lifting) H (hearts) in AORIST (simple past tense in Greek) |
| 9 | WISTARIA |
Climber requiring salt eaten into by sun and air (8)
WIT (salt) containing (eaten into by) S (sun) then ARIA (air) |
| 10 | SATANG |
Sexual allure and pungency, part of Thailand’s currency (6)
SA (sex appeal) and TANG (pungency) – Thai currency, 100th of a baht |
| 14 | PENUCHLE |
Lunch involved in number one card game (8)
LUNCH* anagram=involved in PEE (number one and number two, baby talk for pee and poo) |
| 17 | FLESHER |
Sort of stripper? The lady’s after identity being given a lift (7)
HER (the lady) following SELF (identity) reversed (given a lift) |
| 19 | ODESSA |
Some passed out after upending port (6)
found inside pASSED Out reversed (upending) |
| 21 | ONCERS |
Single services will do them, aces catching edge of court (6)
ONERS (aces) containing (catching) Court (first letter, edge) – people serving one term in the armed forces |
| 23 | EPOPT |
Fish rising on Tees? Only one of them for initiate (5)
POPE (fish) reversed (rising) on T (the letter T, singular of tees) – one initiated in mystic lore |
| 25 | LEESE |
Abandoned miss from part of east Mediterranean (ban lifted) (5)
LEbanESE (from part of East Mediterranean) with BAN removed (lifted) – to leese is to lose (miss). Abandoned indicates that the word is now obsolete. |
| 27 | FLEY |
The Scots are alarmed and run away with English invading (4)
FLY (run away) containing E (English) – to alarm, Scots |
definitions are underlined
Thanks for the blog
15A has an obvious typo:
EDEN (lovely place) then TATA (cheers)
‘Cheers’ is usually ‘Ta’, but in this case is ‘Ta-ta’ (Goodbye)
Thanks for that Norman. I was thinking that it was TA TA (thanks) twice, “cheers” being one of those words that is its own plural. Obviously I forgot to type the second TA.
Thanks for the blog – how else would I know where I’d gone wrong or how to fill in the blanks?