Audreus, a Guardian setter for over half a century, has died aged 96. What was it that made her so popular?
“I love silence.”
So went Audreus’s answer to our question“Where do you create your puzzles?” It remains one of my favourite “Meet the Setter” Q&As, chiefly because Audreus’s answers are terse, funny and memorable – much like a good crossword clue.
21acLarge gathering for Tory to give a damn about nothing (9)
[abbrev for Conservative (‘Tory’), then word meaning to swear (‘to give a damn’) surrounding letter which looks like a zero (‘nothing’)]
[CON, then CURSE surrounding O]
1acThey sayamour hurts; I must be wrong (6,3,2)
[anagram (‘must be wrong’) of AMOURHURTSI]
4acBeat downcrone with gammy leg (6)
[synonym for ‘crone’ + anagram of (‘gammy’) LEG]
[HAG + GLE]
10acBig EddyWest takes pupils on the trombone when half-cut (9)
[forename of a famous West + abbrevs for learner (‘pupils’) + half of the word TROMBONE]
[MAE + ‘L’S + TROM]
15acHostelriespopular with Poles (4)
[synonym for ‘popular’ + abbrev. for each of the magnetic poles]
6dChuck, for starters, fish left in neighbour’s garage (5)
[initial letters (‘for starters’) of FISH LEFT IN NEIGHBOUR’S GARAGE]
12ac‘Moi’ gets construed as conceit (7)
[anagram (‘construed’) of MOIGETS]
13acObnoxious creatures primed with lubricant turningbright scarlet (9)
[ term for obnoxious creatures, surrounding (‘primed with’) synonym for lubricant, backwards (‘turning’) ]
[ VERMIN containing backwards OIL ]