AZED CROSSWORD 247

FLIVVER

1.  J. R. Kirby: Is a battered rifle loaded with caps of Victorian vintage an ‘old banger’? (Vv in anag.).

2.  Rev C. M. Broun: Noisy and liable to blow up, with little speed in it? Right! (f + v in live + r, & lit.; v = velocity).

3.  Mrs E. Allen: This is a flop – not half! No good comes from revving up (fl(op) + revvi(ng) (rev.), & lit.).

VHC

C. Allen Baker: Plane in which the onset of repeated vibration is inevitable (v, v in flier, & lit.).

A. L. Dennis: No dice could be made to show 2 fives in quick train (V V in flier; n. d. = failure).

G. B. Greer: Jerry Ford’s failure? (2 mngs.; i.e. jerry-built; ref. Gerald F. and carmaker).

W. Jackson: Patriotic gestures in the pilot’s mess (V, V in flier; ref. V signs).

A. Lawrie: In this an airman might carry ten, if split into two parties (V V in flier, & lit; 10 = V + V).

M. D. Laws: Dud would need added range, I suspect, to compose ‘Fringe’ revival (comp. anag.; suspect adj.; ref. Dudley Moore, ‘Beyond the Fringe’).

A. D. Legge: It’s comparatively slow on the road – very, very fast in an express train (v v in flier; fast = fixed).

D. F. Manley: What makes female enjoy life, having bottom pinched? Very short mini perhaps (f liv(e) ver(y); Mini car).

H. S. Mason: Flop viva dropping vowels in flutter (v(i)v(a) in flier; flutter = gamble).

D. P. M. Michael: I’ve almost knocked over Vicar following female learner’s tin Lizzie (f L + I’v(e) + Rev (rev.)).

C. J. Morse: ‘Floruit 4 & 5 Qu. Eliz.’ might describe Morris Minor (Fl. IV V ER).

F. E. Newlove: Flipping kite’s a flop! (2 mngs.; kite = aircraft).

R. J. Palmer: What a gamble holding a pair of fives could be? (V V in flier, & lit.; ref. poker).

C. P. Rea: Little volume and very little of value in an airman’s this! (v v in flier, & lit.).

A. J. Redstone: Robin illustrates it aptly – even without verses inside (v, v in flier, & lit.; ref. Reliant R.; misleading ref. to Xmas card).

D. R. Robinson: The character leading visibly twice in an unfair start is a flop (v v in flier).

T. E. Sanders: For a banger about five foot long I’ve a short recipe (V in f l I’ve + r).

W. K. M. Slimmings: Maybe its pilot is stuck with signs of derision? (V, V in flier, & lit.; i.e. V signs).

F. B. Stubbs: See five in a Tiger Moth, perhaps – that’s as much as this can take (v V in flier, & lit.).

D. C. Williamson: A twopenny runabout requires £5 ÷ 5 ÷ 50 (L and V in fiver; sum gives 2p).

P. J. Woods: Airborne one’ll have limited velocities (v, v in flier, & lit.).

HC

F. D. H. Atkinson, M. Barnes, A. G. Bogie, C. O. Butcher, R. S. Caffyn, D. P. Chappell, C. A. Clarke, M. A. Cooper, Mrs M. P. Craine, A. J. Crow, R. Dean, J. H. Dingwall, J. R. du Parcq, J. A. Fincken, Rev S. W. Floyd, B. Franco, A. L. Freeman, S. Furey, F. D. Gardiner, S. Goldie, H. Hancock, A. Hodgson, S. Holgate, R. J. Hooper, E. M. Hornby, J. M. Houghton, G. Johnstone, G. Jones, J. C. Leyland, H. R. Lockhart, J. D. Moore, J. J. Moore, A. J. K. Moult, F. R. Palmer, I. Paterson, Mrs E. M. Phair, N. Roles, H. R. Sanders, W. J. M. Scotland, J. G. Stubbs, J. C. P. Taylor, L. E. Thomas, G. A. Tomlinson, D. H. Tompsett, Rev K. R. Upton, G. C. West, Rev C. D. Westbrook, R. J. Whale.
 

COMMENTS
About 360 entries, with a few mistakes, the most common being SHOALS for SHOALY. The clue was: ‘It’s dangerous to shipping, with craft protecting hold’, SLY being indicated by ‘with craft’, not ‘craft’ alone which would not do for an adjective. There’s no way I can see that SHOALS would fit the clue, especially with ‘It’s’ at the beginning of it. There were also some competitors who unaccountably had PHALLIC for PHALLIN.
 
On the whole it was an enthusiastic entry for a difficult word. The temptation to use vv in flier in some way was understandably strong. Indeed I would probably have used it myself. The secret to success is of course to use it (or whichever approach you have decided upon) more cleverly than the rest. This may be achieved in a moment of brilliant inspiration or by dint of painstaking experimentation with words and word order. I offer no instant solution to the problem; I only suggest that plenty of respectable clues submitted would achieve the mention their disappointed authors hope for with an added dash of – what? humour, perhaps, subtlety, bedevilment? I don’t mean complexity necessarily. A clue does not improve in my eyes with greater impenetrability. Clues should be devised to be solved. The compiler must never win, only provide a fair fight and be a good loser.
 
The question of abbreviations cropped up again this month. As you see above I accepted ‘f = female’ although it isn’t in Chambers. I didn’t accept F = Fellow since the entry in Chambers clearly suggests that it is only used in groups of initials like FRCS. I hope this doesn’t seem like wilful perversity. There are a number of abbreviations in common use not recognized by Chambers, e.g. H for hot (on taps) and K for King (on cards) and some of those included always strike me as questionable. Short of drawing up a definitive list, I can offer no ready guide to those in two minds. Since recourse to abbreviations is more often than not a less than wholly satisfactory way of dealing with a word, I would simply say, ‘If in doubt, don’t.’
 
Finally a word of advance warning. The lay-out of the puzzle will change from February 1977. A reduction in size of both diagram and clues seems inevitable to make more space for other editorial matter (not advertising, I’m told). I’m battling to ensure maximum legibility and have my fingers crossed. If in the event any of you seriously object, please say so.
 
And a very happy New Year to you all!