AZED CROSSWORD 1043

PESTO (Printer’s Devilry)

1.  C. G. Millin: Vaulting above tunnel entrance appears inane, sca/ry (ref. film ‘The Wooden Horse’).

2.  R. J. Palmer: Aids can result from unsafe sex and her/oin – many cases.

3.  Mrs P. Edwards: Re: Porterho/use Blue. Book? Sex tract!

VHC

D. Ashcroft: Ice tending to split co/nes: spells trouble for Walls’!

Mrs K. Bissett: If it’s lo/wer, could be likened to the one that’s leaning.

M. Coates: They made a seconda/ry film after King Kong that was not so good.

A. L. Dennis: You need strong ro/wing boats in rough seas.

N. C. Dexter: Arabia-bound globetrotter expects belly-dancers and ho/uris – providing such entertainment!

S. Goldie: Regular order for wolf-pack, supper is co/ld, off, or ever seeking prey (ref. submarine flotillas).

G. I. L. Grafton: Wi/ves, once with plenty of vim, dampened since fat has accumulated (ref. Vim detergent).

R. R. Greenfield: On election night PM sho/ok off Labour; opposition stumbled.

C. R. Gumbrell: Thatcher won’t be amateur o/pposition if federalists prevail.

P. F. Henderson: Do/cks may be restricted as a result of Customs swoop.

R. J. Hooper: Cartoon mouse producing raspberry ja/m (ref. Tom & Jerry).

A. Lawrie: A good firm ho/uri’s popular with holidaymakers.

J. C. Leyland: Lady of manor would call ‘Right!’ to lo/ver (estover (qv)).

T. J. Moorey: An ice co/ne topping enhances plain brick (Walls).

C. J. Morse: Maybe Marie’s to/o kind: Ian’s exposé’s for real (Marie Stopes).

R. A. Mostyn: Gooch keeps scorer’s pencil busy – shar/pener in constant action!

S. J. O’Boyle: Cooks’ wi/ves to get sparkling rings?

C. Pearson: Always the same weather. Dam/n Bank Holidays!

R. C. Teuton: After atrophy, belligerent crows cra/m a hawk overhead (ref. Crow tribe).

A. P. Vincent: Why can those pi/cked by garden centre be cheaper?

Mrs J. Waldren: Naughty play on TV tonight! I stri/p watching it.

Mrs M. P. Webber: See colleen’s top ga/rment in garden today (ardent O’Day).

HC

C. J. Anderson, M. Bade, Mrs J. R. Barker, P. F. Bauchop, E. A. Beaulah, J. R. Beresford, H. Bickerton, Dr J. M. Bird, Dr J. G. Booth, H. J. Bradbury, Mrs A. R. Bradford, C. J. Brougham, Rev Canon C. M. Broun, E. J. Burge, B. Burton, C. J. & M. P. Butler, Mrs M. J. Cansfield, E. Chalkley, B. E. Chamberlain, C. A. Clarke, E. A. Clarke, Mrs D. Colley, R. M. S. Cork, K. W. Crawford, F. H. Cripps, M. S. Taylor & Ms V. Cripps, D. B. Cross, H. Dazeley, R. Dean, J. Duffill, J. & D. Edgington, M. G. Elliott, P. S. Elliott, L. E. Ellis, R. A. England, S. Errington, E. G. Fletcher, Dr I. S. Fletcher, H. Freeman, N. C. Goddard, B. Grabowski, J. F. Grimshaw, D. V. Harry, V. G. Henderson, J. M. Hutchinson, W. Islip, R. Jacks, G. Johnstone, M. Jones, J. Kearns, E. Lane, C. W. Laxton, J. F. P. Levey, E. Looby, D. J. Mackay, Mrs E. L. Macneill, D. F. Manley, D. Mestel, J. R. C. Michie, D. Mitchell, M. Moran, I. Morgan, R. S. Morse, R. F. Naish, W. Nesbitt, R. Phillips, A. J. Pinel, D. Price Jones, H. L. Rhodes, Mrs E. J. Roberts, D. R. Robinson, R. Rogan, M. Sanderson, R. R. Say, W. J. M. Scotland, R. S. Scott, C. I. Semeonoff, D. P. Shenkin, Mrs E. J. Shields, W. K. M. Slimmings, A. St Quintin, J. B. Sweeting, J. Tobin, D. H. Tompsett, E. Vaughan, G. Wallis, A. J. Wardrop, P. H. Watkin, J. F. N. Wedge, A. J. Whittaker, J. B. Widdowson, G. H. Willett, Ms S. Wise, W. Woodruff, A. J. Young, Dr E. Young.
 

ANNUAL HONOURS LIST (13 COMPETITIONS)
1. D. F. Manley (5 prizes, 4 VHCs); 2. R. J. Hooper (2, 8); 3. C. J. Morse (0, 10); 4. P. F. Henderson (1, 7); 5.(equal) T. J. Moorey (1, 6), Dr E. Young (2, 4); 7. M. Barley (1, 5); 8.(equal) N. C. Dexter (0, 6), J. F. Grimshaw (1, 4), F. P. N. Lake (1, 4), C. G. Millin (2, 2), E. R. Palmer, (1, 4) R. J. Palmer, (1, 4), R. Phillips (0, 6); 15.(equal) D. Ashcroft (1, 3), C. J. Brougham (0, 5), E. J. Burge (2, 1), E. Chalkley (2, 1), V. Dixon (1, 3), R. A. England (0, 5), Dr I. S. Fletcher (0, 5), A. Lawrie (0, 5), R. K. Lumsdon (1, 3), H. W. Massingham (0, 5), R. S. Morse (1, 3), D. Price Jones (1, 3), T. E. Sanders (2, 1), R. C. Teuton (0, 5); 29.(equal) R. R. Greenfield (1, 2), Mrs J. Mackie (0, 4), R. F. Naish (1, 2), S. J. O’Boyle (0, 4), D. H. Tompsett (0, 4), G. H. Willett (1, 2), D. Williamson (0, 4).
 
CONSOLATION PRIZES
 
C. J. Morse, N. C. Dexter, R. Phillips, C. J. Brougham, R. A. England, Dr I. S. Fletcher, A. Lawrie, H. W. Massingham, R. C. Teuton, Mrs J. Mackie, S. J. O’Boyle, D. H. Tompsett, D. Williamson.
 

 
COMMENTS
 
414 entries, very few mistakes. I hadn’t appreciated that this was the second P.D. comp. within twelve months - more than the usual ration, though for most of you, it seems, none the less welcome for that. I don’t think any of my clues in the end proved unfathomable, and though a couple led to undevilled versions whose English was a little bizarre (AMES-ACE and LET ALONE being I think the worst offenders), the sense intended must have been clear enough. PESTO is an uncommonly versatile word for devilling purposes. Not only can it easily be broken at any point and extracted unbroken from longer words (e.g. COPE-STONE, PIPESTONE), it is also perfectly cyclical (PESTO, ESTOP, STOPE, TOPES, OPEST). This latter peculiarity needed to be watched. Some devilled clues submitted could equally well have led to ESTOP, a weakness I felt. With so much variation possible the range of clues submitted was enormous, with the COPESTONE idea emerging as the clear favourite - understandably perhaps with ‘Walls’ and ‘bricks’ waiting to be exploited. Only the best worded and most imaginative of these made it into the quoted lists, but the H.C. list is correspondingly longer than usual.
 
Here I must confess to an oversight, which I realized too late to do anything about it. Mrs Edwards’s clue above won a prize despite my stated preference for P.D. clues in which the breaks before and after the clue word do not coincide with natural word breaks before and after the excision process. The undevilled version of this clue reads: ‘Reporter hopes to use blue book’s extract’, in which PESTO ends at a word break between ‘to’ and ‘use’. Had I spotted this earlier, as I really should have done, it is unlikely that I would have judged it prizeworthy despite its other merits. I hope therefore that Mrs Edwards (and other competitors) will not mind my saying that on this occasion she has been a little lucky. It has at least enabled me to draw attention to this part of the P.D. preamble, which a fair number always ignore or overlook.
 
Another year of competitions comes to a close and Mr Manley wins back the position at the top of the Honours List after coming second to Mr Hooper a year ago. Congratulations to him and to all the others on the list, with apologies to Mr O’Boyle for omitting his consolation prize from the announcement in The Observer. My thanks also to all who compete month after month and for the encouraging/interesting/ flattering/critical comments so many of you send with your entries. And a special thank you to Mr Ron Dearden for once again keeping a running tally of the scores for the list. I hope to give some further statistics compiled by him next month.