Correct word

Would palatized work ?

Dutchy, the clue seem more present tense than past tense to me.

Is there money on this?

Just post it to me.

The American spelling would be with a z. However, it's very unlikely that the puzzle would give part of the answer in the clue, so I doubt that velarize is correct.

I think that Lion Tamer is on the right track. However, I checked my dictionary, and the word is palatalize--9 letters. The definition works.

Thank you LionTamerX, dadpad and Roberta for your input.

These are the letters I have from the word and made me think of "velarize (s) or (d):
?e?a?i?e?

Yes dadpad there is a prize, no money, but a handy Atlas of Australia just what you need I suppose.

Dutchy, The clue is an infinitive. The answer must also be an infinitive. Are you certain about that e? Also, the word you've shown is 8 letters, not 9.

Hi Roberta.

As I understand it, infinitive is a form of a verb with no reference to a particular tense, person, or subject. In English , an infinitive is usually preceded by the word "to", as is the case here in 'to pronounce with velar articulation."

Like I said in my first posting, the word I have is 'velarize', what I don't know is, and what I would like to know, do I write the addidtional letter as an "s" or an "d" to make it a 9 letter word ,which is what they are asking for. In short is it "velarizes" or "velarized"?

(Roberta although I show an 8 letter word, I did include the letters 's' and 'd' to use either to make it a nine letter word. I trust you can follow me. )

I follow you Dutchy. But I don't think you're following me. If you add a d or an s, the word is no longer an infinitive. Velarizes and velarized are both conjugated verbs--not infinitives.. Also, as I mentioned earlier, no crossword puzzle I've ever done would have velar as a clue for velarize.

Honest, Dutchy, I wouldn't steer you wrong on this. I've done hundreds and hundreds of crossword puzzles (mostly American and a few British).

Are you sure about the e going in the other direction?

Thank you for your clear explanation Roberta, I guess I have to keep searching for another word as the letters that I have are correct.

I have a couple of weeks up my sleeve, so have ample time, to do some more research. In the meantime any help is still very welcome.

I dont usually do crosswords but this has me intriged. Whats the down clue that give you the first e Dutchy?

Hi DadPad

These are the clues and answers that gave me the letters I have:

18a The fourth largest lake in in the world, in sw Russia lying between Kazakhstan in the north and Uzbekistan in the south (4,3) the answer I have is 'aralsea' which gives me the first "E"

23a Lake in West Africa, located in a country of the same name, surrounded by Libya, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan, Cameroon and the Central African Republic (4,4) the answer I have is 'lakechad' which gives me the letter "A"

27a An imaginary creature of Aboriginal legend, said to haunt rushy swamps and billabongs (6) the answer I have is 'bunyip' which gives me the letter "I"

29a A serpentine ridge of gravelly and sandy drift, formed by the streams under or in glacial ice (5) the answer I have is 'esker' which gives me the letter "E"

These 4 letters is all I can get as the remaining squares are all blanks, so what I have is this: ?E?A?I?E? I have to make the word fit the clue as stated in my firt post "to pronounce with velar articulation"

Any help would be appreciated.

Duchy
Answer for velar articulation could be "voiceless".
Velar articulation means a double stop and it can be silent. This gives you the nine letters you are after but I don't know whether it will fit in with your answers within the crossword.
Hope this helps,
Ragdoll.

Thanks for your submission ragdoll, but as you can see in my previous posting 'voiceless' won't fit the criteria.

I've been dredging up my phonetics training but to no avail. A velar plosive would be k or g - pharyngeal, glottal or guttural sounds - and the French R is velar. But a sound word like 'growl' or 'gargle' won't fit in your squares. Nor will something like 'darken' which one would use of velar L.

One thing does seem clear, that it can't end in s or d, since the clue is an infinitive, as the other posters have said. So one must cast around for alternatives!

Thank you Clary for your elaborate submission. Will look forward to next month solution to this query.

This talk is so ineluctably unutterable it's the most ineffable I have ever heard - velarises indeed - give me back my 45 minutes or else.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velar_consonant

We have studied every relevant dictionary, including the one you mentioned epenthesis, to no avail. Your eloquent use of periphrastic words did not elucidate the answer either.

Thanks Dutchy for sending me the offending puzzle.

I think, given the amazing obviousness of all the other clues I've seen (eg abessive whose clue is 'from the Latin abesse') it just has to be velarised or velarized, and you have to assume a sort of abessivity on the part of the compiler who put 'to' in the clue.

Nope, Dutchy. If the clue is "pronounced," then the answer should be "velarized." (Same tense as the clue.) However, the sloppy puzzle-making here makes me wonder. If the person on the phone said that velarizes is right, then so be it.