XIMENES CROSSWORD No. 154

RABBIT

1.  T. E. Sanders: Saving up a little does multiply it quickly (bar (= except) (rev.) + bit; does = females).

2.  D. P. M. Michael: A B.R. casualty—got teeth into bun! (anag. + bit; ref. British Railways catering).

3.  P. M. Newey: He doesn’t play games well: you don’t know him if you say he does (2 mngs; i.e. does are shes).

H.C.

C. A. Baker: Save up: a little in the bank will soon multiply (bar (= except) (rev.) + bit).

J. W. Bates: Tail-ender, but good for the odd hat-trick! (2 mngs; ‘r. out of a hat’).

Maj H. L. Carter: Something that does produce a poulette du garenne for restaurateurs! (cryptic def.; does = females; euphemism for r. on menus).

J. C. Chavasse: Quick in the field, and does maintain his speedy delivery—otherwise a poor player (2 mngs; does = females; ref. cricket).

G. Cordery: Inside scratch? Some yarn, he’s a hopeless player (abb in rit; see Chamb.; ref. golf).

L. E. Eyres: Master at tennis? No, indeed, he’s not got beyond the initial stage (Rabbi + t(ennis), & lit.).

Mrs N. Fisher: Bunting’s out for me and the band’s turned up. The boring part comes after (bar (rev.) + bit; ref. rhyme ‘Baby Bunting’, “gone to fetch a r. skin”).

A. R. Fraser: Harvey unfit to play in Tests—problem for Australia (3 mngs.; ref. Neil Harvey, cricketer, and play and film ‘Harvey’).

S. B. Green: Let up a little for me! (bar (= let) (rev.) + bit, & lit.; i.e. poor player).

J. P. Lloyd: Game I may be, but no ‘gamesman’—though Potter made one of my family famous (2 mngs.; ref. Stephen P., ‘Gamesmanship’ and Beatrix P., ‘Peter Rabbit’).

C. C. McInroy: What a yarn! Scratch round for twenty-four-handicap man? (abb in rit; ref. golf).

F. E. Newlove: Shut up a little! You can have a muffin OR a bun. (What breeding!) (bar (rev.) + bit; muffin = fool at games).

R. Postill: A hopeless bat perhaps has the makings of a first-class bowler (2 mngs.; felt for hats).

G. W. Pugh: A 24-handicap man? Forget the yarn: he’s scratch at St. Andrews (i.e. rabbit less abb = rit; ref. golf).

W. Rennie: Round in say 99. The doctor to a tee! (rabbi + t; ref. golf).

H. B. Ridley: Green on the courts, and courts on the green! (2 mngs.).

A. Robins: Harvey is a poor batsman? Confound it, he gets his scores at a phenomenal rate! (3 mngs; r. = confound!, gets = begets; ref. Neil Harvey, cricketer, and play and film ‘Harvey’).

E. O. Seymour: An heroic success at multiplication can be a game failure in addition (2 mngs.; m. = reproduction).

Mrs E. S. G. Sheehan: A poor player; still, if he keeps off the gin and knows the part backwards, he may yet get the lead (2 mngs.; gin = trap = part (rev.); lead = shot).

F. G. Simms: My stock is unlimited and I often break the bank, but seldom have I three figures to my name (2 mngs.; stock = family; century in cricket).

W. K. M. Slimmings: One that does produce something out of a hat occasionally! (cryptic def.; i.e. poor player; does = females; ‘r. out of a hat’).

Dr D. W. Williams: Good runmaker and has makings of a fine bowler, but not worth his place in the field (double mng.; ref. felt for hats and cricket).

RUNNERS-UP

E. S. Ainley, Mrs Begg, F. A. Clark, D. L. L. Clarke, A. E. Clayton, Rev H. J. Crees, T. N. Dowse, Brig W. E. Duncan, W. Eite, S. R. Gibbs, P. G. W. Glare, S. Goldie, C. D. Harding, R. W. Hawes, H. C. Hills, H. J. Howells, R. N. H. Hughman, L. R. Huxtable, B. J. Iliffe, Mrs Jarman, L. W. Jenkinson, C. V. Jones, J. Jones, C. Koop, G. G. Lawrance, R. H. Lemon, T. W. Melluish, E. G. Phillips, Mrs M. Porter, E. J. Rackham, H. Rainger, D. W. Reeds, E. W. Richart, B. Rowbotham, J. L. Ruddle, A. E. Smith, R. I. Sutherland, R. G. Tate, A. H. Taylor, L. E. Thomas, E. W. Tulloch, H. D. Wakely, J. F. N. Wedge, Sqn Ldr G. Wright.
 

COMMENTS—389 correct and scattered mistakes: no clue stood out as a cause of trouble. The word set had many possibilities, of which competitors took full advantage. The noun “does,” especially, provides a very pretty deception, likely to cause an agreeable sensation to the solver when the penny drops. No room for more comments, since the end of a period calls for an honours list—one which shows unusually high scores because of the three monthly competitions when six third prizes were given; also I want space to answer a solver’s heart cry, which may conceivably voice the misconceptions of others as well.
 
He and some faint-hearted friends of his appear depressed by what they believe to be the existence of a “regular gang” which monopolises the awards. This, frankly, is rubbish, as is proved by the 788 different names which have appeared in the lists of H.C.s, 213 of them being at one time or another prizewinners. Some gang! 788 is about double the size of an average entry! Even if the “gang” is taken to consist of winners of more than one prize, the number is as large as 77: on the other hand the “smart Alecs” (the complainant’s regrettable term) who really have won enough prizes to cause possible alarm, if they were numerous, are in fact so few—for I take it that winners of fewer than ten prizes in nearly 150 competitions could hardly be alarming—that between them they account for less than a fifth of the total prizes won. Perhaps they alone are the “gang”: if so, their off-days—and often they aren’t even runners-up—seem to leave plenty of chances for others, enough, indeed for over 80% of the prizes to go to “non-gangsters,” and for nearly 30% to go to single winners. It is worth remembering that one tends to notice a recurring name and not to notice how many unfamiliar names accompany it. So let the faint-hearts cheer up!
 
HONOURS LIST (last 13 competitions):—S. B. Green 3 prizes, 6 H.C.s: F. E. Newlove 2-6: Mrs. Jarman & C. Koop 3-3, R. Postill 2-5: T. E, Sanders 3-2: E. S. Ainley 2-3, C. A. Baker 1-5: Mrs Fisher 2-2. Consolation Prizes: F. L. Constable, G. G. Lawrance, Rev. E. B. Peel, J. S. Young (4 H.C.s). Runners.up (3): J. H. Dingwall, C. E. Gates, C. J. Morse, E. R. Prentice, E. O. Seymour, J. F. N. Wedge.