herculis

[Aquagility]

Here we go again. 24a. A tobacco pipe made from the root of the tree heath (5). Briar or Brier?

She always manages to slip one in!

[Strix]

I'd go with Brier as the plants, my dictionary tells, that it comes from are sweetbrier and greenbrier.

[JMR27]

I agree with Strix. Chambers has "brier or briar meaning a tobacco pipe". Brier is listed ahead of briar so I'd go with that.

[Aquagility]

I agree with you both, but Google has Brier pipe 234K, Briar pipe 397K. Confusing!

[sincnoel]

collins has briar as the preferred spelling. but i think either is acceptable.

[Aquagility]

Sincnoel, you raise an interesting question. Do you mean that the published solution could be either word, or that either word would be acceptable. Or even that both words would appear in print (I've never seen that).

Let's kick this one around a bit.

[novalis]

Chambers gives brier as first preference.

[geo0939]

Going by 1940s primary school spelling it was briar. I have a theory that alternate spellings such as this (brier)become acceptable after a period of common usage ie: bad spelling ,lol.

[geo0939]

I must add that it would be a strange setter who would stick to one spelling without giving a more definite clue.

[Aquagility]

Agreed, geo0939, but I am far from convinced that the publishers will ever accept alternative solutions.

[johnalex]

According to Google (using quote marks):

"Brier Pipe" . . . . WEB 1030 . . . . . UK 33
"Briar Pipe" . . . . WEB 50900 . . . . UK 1720

(For those of you who are not sure when to use quote marks this is the way to search for a group of words or numbers as one block of characters, ie with no separators.)

[Aquagility]

Thanks for that useful tip, johnalex. It seems that Google still prefers Briar when linked with Pipe.

[geo0939]

And thus Google, the lawmaker, has decreed, and it is so.

[Aquagility]

Thanks to you all for your answers and views. I'm going to defy all (well, nearly all) logic, and go for Briar - simply because it looks right to my eye.

[salopian]

As an ex pipe smoker I always spoke and used briar pipes.

[Prescott]

I would certainly go with briar