AZED CROSSWORD 349

ODDCOMESHORT

1.  D. C. Williamson: To shed more cost I’d settle for ties made with this (comp. anag. & lit.).

2.  F. R. Palmer: Cheap piece, not even getting engaged before getting into bed (odd + mesh or³ in cot).

3.  D. F. Manley: Description of one amounts to ‘end of cloth, fragment’ (odd comes h ort, & lit.; to = beside).

VHC

Mrs E. Allen: Ruin decor, moths do – there’s not much left (anag.).

Mrs K. Bissett: Bit of stuff arrives tightly clothed in what’s descriptive of three piece (odd ‘comesh’ ort; i.e. drunken pron.).

A. G. Bogie: Rum issue failing to go round leads to scrap (for clipper or cutter?) (odd come short).

E. J. Burge: What’s left over after party is returned – Medoc (somewhat drunk) and a little gin, perhaps? (do (rev.) + anag. + short).

Mrs M. J. Cansfield: A mixture of smooth and corded material useful for patchwork (anag.).

Mrs H. E. Clark: Not enough to make a skirt, not even to turn out mini (odd come short).

C. A. Clarke: Not paired off right after amorous murmur about engagement – I might be left on the shelf (odd + mesh in coo + rt.).

A. L. Dennis: Casual approach not reaching green – it’s a bit left (odd come short).

N. C. Dexter: Superfluous bit after having some edges of cloth cut up (odd + anag. incl. c, h + ort, & lit.).

R. A. England: A hangover, before neat rum issue! (odd come + short; hangover = leftover, see OED).

A. S. G. Fish: What’s left for consumer after extraordinary company clearance in net? Not much (odd Co. mesh ort).

R. P. C. Forman: Any tailor will make ordinary coats tho’ seldom with ——s (comp. anag. & lit.).

S. Goldie: Not much material left – not even to yield old mini? (odd come short).

W. Islip: Rum issue neat? A small amount for me (odd come short).

A. H. Jones: This won’t make a jacket, not even with reduced chest room (odd + anag.).

R. E. Kimmons: A little bit of navy drill with rum issue straight after? (odd come short).

A. D. Legge: Not much left – not even a third of the coffee – thermos defective (odd + co(ffee) + anag.).

J. D. Lockett: Peculiar approach shot circling right, ends up as a bit left (odd come + r in shot).

C. J. Morse: Rum issue curtailed – not much left (odd come short).

J. P. O’Neill: Unusual! ‘Tip before tea’ we hear – and what is served up is a left-over (odd + ‘cumshaw’ + T; ‘tea’).

R. J. Palmer: Doc’s mode with management leads to winger finally getting in vehement scrap (anag. + r in hot; ref. T. Docherty, W. Morgan).

Dr W. I. D. Scott: Just a bit strange – realignment of E. M. S. three, causing a split in the ranks (odd + anag. in cohort; ref. European Monetary System; i.e. 3 letters).

Brig R. F. E. Stoney: End of bolt that’s slightly cracked is bound to fail (odd + come short).

D. H. Tompsett: A small rum – neat – holds courage! (come in odd short; courage interj., small n.).

G. R. Webb: Company become engaged in uneven scrap – there’s not a lot left (Co. mesh in odd ort).

J. F. N. Wedge: A little over excited so doctor had me less active (anag. less a).

HC

C. Allen Baker, M. J. Balfour, Rev C. M. Broun, J. E. Brown, A. J. Bulman, E. Chalkley, D. P. Chappell, G. H. Clarke, M. Coates, R. M. S. Cork, Capt D. A. Craddock, Mrs M. P. Craine, P. Drummond, Mrs W. Fearon, D. R. Forster, J. D. Foster, F. D. Gardiner, C. C. M. Giffin, J. Gill, I. Gilmore, Mrs K. Goodwin, J. E. Green, Dr J. F. Grimshaw, M. J. Grocott, D. Harrison, C. Havill, Mrs P. C. Hawker, P. F. Henderson, S. Holgate, R. J. Hooper, F. P. N. Lake, A. Lawrie, P. W. W. Leach, C. Loving, C. J. Lowe, B. Manvell, H. W. Massingham, C. G. Millin, T. J. Moorey, A. C. Morrison, R. A. Mostyn, F. E. Newlove, W. H. Pegram, H. L. Rhodes, E. W. Richart, E. R. Riddle, C. W. Robins, B. F. Russell, H. R. Sanders, T. E. Sanders, Sir David Serpell, N. E. Sharp, D. P. Shenkin, C. C. D. Shute, Mrs B. Simmonds, W. K. M. Slimmings, F. B. Stubbs, Dr G. A. Styles, M. J. Suckling, L. E. Thomas, E. Tingle, L. J. Wayman, M. Woolf, and one unsigned entry from Carleton, Penrith.
 

COMMENTS
About 420 entries, no mistakes. I’m delighted to welcome all the new competitors, of whom there was a fair crowd. The standard of all entries this month was very high – most encouraging. Perhaps, though, it’s time I pulled out a random sample of clues that did not find favour, with an explanation of why not. ‘0; 500; 600; 0; 1000; 2.71828;… Needs completion. What’s left?’ I confess that I’m put off by a long string of numbers to define letters, especially when they include the more recondite mathematical formulae. There’s nothing actually wrong with this clue but it doesn’t mean much – the sequence is random and therefore dull. ‘What’s left when rum comes home, right for me.’ I find ‘when’ superfluous and/or ungrammatical. Otherwise the clue’s OK if (again) a little aimless. ‘Och me dod! Orts! Minced – they’re only leftovers.’ Plural definition of singular noun. ‘Left over amount, it is.’ Almost good, as an attempted ‘& lit.’. ‘It is’ is a definition of ‘short’, ‘it’ (or preferably ‘It’) being short for Italian (vermouth); but what the clue-writer means is ‘like it’ or ‘what it is’. The grammatical hiccup in his sentence is awkward and (by me) unacceptable. ‘Mod clothes do have unorthodox appearance. What’s left should be right!’ Nearly excellent, in fact I had it earmarked for honourable mention until I noticed that the second half of the clue is doing double duty: telling the solver to change L into R in the foregoing anagram and defining the answer. I don’t see that it can do both unless the clue as a whole is an ‘& lit’, which this one isn’t. Perhaps the author hoped that his exclamation mark would do the trick with me. Sorry! ‘Scrap of smooth corded material’. This anagram was pretty popular; this way of indicating it was not (with me). ‘Smooth corded material’ cannot in my book accurately claim to tell the solver he must use ‘smooth corded’ as material for an anagram. A solitary noun used in this way very rarely does the job of anagram indicator effectively. See Mrs Cansfield’s clue above for a neat way of getting round the problem. That’s my point, really – there always are ways of rewording clues to render unsoundnesses sound. It’s a question of recognizing the original unsoundness in the first place.
 
I must close in haste. Our second son Ned (Edmund) was born on 9 December so I’m very busy at home. My wife (who is very fit) and I thank all of you who sent cards and greetings. We both return warmest felicitations for 1979 to you all.