TARRADIDDLE
1 C. J. Brougham: Take in salt with one? Do! (r in tar a + diddle, & lit.; ref. ‘take with a pinch of salt’).
2 T. Rudd: Some such, we’d fancy, did Edward Lear’s tome provide (comp. anag. & lit.).
3 Dr S. J. Shaw: Seafarer heading for adventure departs in a sieve ‒ that’s nonsense! (tar + a d in riddle; ref. Lear’s Jumblies).
VHC
M. Barley: Entries to this Azed puzzle will be full of excellent invention (t A + rad in riddle).
Ms K. Bolton: Riff’s beginning in drum roll ‒ time for soft American jazz (r in paradiddle with t for p).
T. C. Borland: Double Dutch left in errata I’d mistyped? (DD + l in anag., & lit.).
Mrs S. Brown: Tad lardier having consumed piece of delicious boiled gammon (d in anag.).
W. Drever: It’s pure fantasy to find that rare and gilded clue regularly! (alternate letters).
J. Grimes: Popeye possibly on screen introducing commercial for spinach in Disneyland (tar + ad in riddle; see spinach in Merriam Webster).
R. J. Heald: A spoilt Labrador regularly tucked into trifle, becoming plumper (a + anag. of alternate letters, all in tiddle2; see also plump2).
J. Hood: ‘Harry uncovered’ trailer seen during kiddies’ wee bit of nonsense (arr ad in tiddle).
M. Lloyd-Jones: What George W couldn’t tell his father, bored by Republican farewell do (R in ta-ra diddle; ref. Georges Washington and Bush).
D. F. Manley: Being afloat with sieve, encapsulating one Edward’s ultimate bit of nonsense? (tar + a, d in riddle; ref. Jumblies).
R. Pinnock: Led astray after artist engaged in Art Nouveau took off pants (RA in anag. + did + anag.).
S. Saunders: For pork pie (small), add lard cured with nitre, omitting pinch of nutmeg (anag. less n).
I. Simpson: Radar failing to go around ‒ it doesn’t give the true picture (anag. in tiddle).
R. C. Teuton: Improper larder raid carried out ultimately leaving Bunter’s rear end a little plumper (anag. incl. d, t, less r).
J. Vincent & Ms R. Porter: What makes mariner ultimately dread tidal waves? A whopper (anag. incl. r).
Mrs A. M. Walden: Sailor’s afraid to go after spending penny in bunk (tar + rad + (p)iddle; see bunk3).
Ms S. Wallace: Tricky trade deal starts to irk disgruntled Remainers ‒ no energy for such nonsense (anag. incl. i, d, r, less E).
L. Ward (USA): Pork pie recipe requires lard ‒ add it in pieces with end of knife (anag. incl. r + e).
A. Whittaker: How do we start this Azed? Take our time when snared in cryptic clue nonsense (t, a, r + AD in riddle).
K. & J. Wolff: Folly in tragedy’s opening ‒ a king, Lear, furious about three daughters riven by a suggestion of inheritance (t a R + i in ddd in anag.).
HC
P. B. Alldred, D. & N. Aspland, M. Barker, Dr J. Burscough, A. G. Chamberlain, T. Clement, M. Coates, T. Coates (Australia), P. Coles (Ireland), W. M. Duggan, P. Finan, Dr I. S. Fletcher, R. Gilbert, A. H. Harker, L. M. Inman, P. Jenkinson (Switzerland), D. C. Jones, P. W. Marlow, L. F. Marzillier (USA), P. McKenna, C. G. Millin, T. J. Moorey, A. M. Price, W. Ransome, Dr J. B. Reid, A. Roberts (New Zealand), A. J. Shields, N. G. Shippobotham, P. A. Stephenson, P. L. Stone, T. West-Taylor, A. J. Young.
Comments
With barely two-thirds of the average entry reaching me, I concluded that the postal strikes had badly affected the competition and therefore it was only fair not to award prizes in the normal way. Apologies to all concerned, and I hope, maybe forlornly, that the Christmas competition will not be similarly spoilt. Meanwhile, there are enough good clues above to savour for a word that perhaps failed to yield quite the variety of inventiveness one might have hoped for. Your favourite clue was, perhaps unsurprisingly, ‘Azedders battling for preferment? It’s an old conspiracy’ for COMPLOT, from 16 mentioned at least once.
Brian Head, who deals with subscriptions to the Azed Slip, has apologized for the fact that a technical hitch caused the wrong text to appear in last month’s slip. The correct version will be sent to subscribers along with this one. (The annual subscription, Brian reminds me, is now £20, not £16.)
My warmest thanks to all of you who sent Christmas cards and seasonal good wishes to me and my family. Let us hope that the coming year brings happier times in a world beset by so much suffering.