XIMENES CROSSWORD No. 168

PIPS (Misprints)

1.  Mrs J. H. C. Lawlor: Married by the Captain, on deck, we are, content of heart and hopeful of issue in due season (carried; 3 mngs.; deck = pack of cards).

2.  C. J. Morse: Trulls like nestling on officers’ shoulders (trills; 2 mngs.).

3.  C. A. Baker: Stones that may be projected by people in glass houses! (protected; cryptic def.).

H.C.

A. C. Angel: Officer’s stare refuses membership (stars; 2 mngs.).

P. R. Best: Ill rumours precede the news (humours; 2 mngs.; time signal).

P. M. Coombs: They are in The Grange, Bramley, playing cards (Orange; 2 mngs.; B. Seedling apple).

J. H. Dingwall: Spits on dice and defeats rival (spots; 2 mngs.).

H. H. Elliott: “The Sign of Four” (Radio Version) (hour; cryptic def.; time signal).

J. H. Gawler: Raspberry seems all you’re likely to get if you take exception to partial nudity in pin-ups! (seeds; pin-ups less nu(dity)).

S. B. Green: We’re broadcast from time to time in a radio postscript (ratio: pi p.s.; time signal).

W. E. Green: Sent from home at six, tight at seven and home at eleven (light; cryptic def.; time signal, BBC radio stations).

P. J. Higgins: Discover the favourite spots of gamblers and twisters and you’ll get them in a jam (twitters; 3 mngs.; playing cards).

F. G. Illingworth: Broadcast heard in most homes, though not switched on in the majority! (stitched; Major in Army, time signal).

T. W. Melluish: Fig leaves theme on the wrong side of grandpa’s plate (these; cryptic def.).

J. G. Morris: Beats—in many an ample heart, perhaps (apple; 2 mngs.).

F. E. Newlove: All clubs have these: they become perfect bores—singularly depressing! (cores; become = befit; 3 mngs.).

A. P. O’Leary: Practice in the field: captain threw sub. one or two shoulder high (three; cryptic def.; military ranks).

Rev E. B. Peel: Sign of Four—five for Colonel Openshaw (hour; ref. ‘Five Orange Pips’, Sherlock Holmes; time signal).

C. P. Rea: Heeds timely advice (seeds; 2 mngs.; time signal).

E. O. Seymour: Get details of hourly service, run to time, from the A.B.C. (B.B.C.; cryptic def.; time signal).

J. Thompson: Our agency has set right many a match gone wrong: a card will find us (watch; 2 mngs.; time signal).

RUNNERS-UP

W. J. D. Annand, J. A. Blair, G. Bowness, Sgt C. M. Brown, F. A. Clark, A. E. Clayton, Mrs W. A. Clegg, A. V. Crannigan, Mrs Crawford, Cdr H. H. L. Dickson, Miss L. Dowler, W. J. Duffin, T. Dwyer, M. G. Ellis, R. Finlayson, Mrs N. Fisher, Miss J. M. Forsyth, A. B. Gardner, C. E. Gates, D. Godden, S. Goldie, C. T. Hatten, J. J. Holloway, H. J. Howells, T. O. Hughes, R. D. Jones, C. Koop, G. G. Lawrance, K. F. Lawton, Mrs L. M. Lewis, J. P. Lloyd, N. McMillan, D. P. M. Michael, H. C. Munnings, M. Newman, D. A. Nicholls, Rev H. D. Owen-Brown, T. R. Pidgeon, E. J. Rackham, A. Rivlin, N. Roles, A. J. C. Saunders, S. P. Shanahan, Mrs E. M. Simmonds, W. K. M. Slimmings, J. F. Smith, O. Carlton Smith, A. J. Souter, Mrs A. L. Stevenson, R. D. Strachan, L. E. Thomas, H. T. R. Twyford, J. Walton, T. G. Wellman.
 

COMMENTS—364 correct and very few mistakes. I ventured on this deception in the hope that the moment of discovery would be an enjoyable one: the chorus of kind words has justified my hope. I was interested to read how many solvers got the idea from sources other than the clue in heavy type: I only added the heavy type as so afterthought (cold feet!) and I now rather regret it. Very few competitors failed to take the hint to send misprint clues: two unfortunately sent clues to ERRATUM and two to MOSS. One acute solver asks whether I thought of the idea while working out a clue to ERRATUM. Actually I thought of it when, with about two- thirds of the diagram completed, ERRATUM found its way in. Another solver writes “How you must have chuckled as you wrote your apology for [clue to TREES in] 167!” I didn’t chuckle, but I did reflect on the extreme inappropriateness of that moment for the intrusion of an unintended misprint! But how many of you noticed another one—fortunately not so serious—in No. 168? Only six solvers pointed out that “process” appeared as “proccss” at 19. Further, one solver suggests a full stop after “Eros” to square with “Bros.”: I absolutely agree! Such things “come not single spies,” but I do hope we’ve done with them now for a bit!
 
A good entry gave me some hard choices between ingenuity and simplicity, with solubility to remember. One beautifully neat clue that had to go on grounds of difficulty was “Heads or tails?” (fails: heads = just beats). Some of you will probably prefer one of the shorter clues to the winning one; but I think the completeness and harmony of the picture, in which three different meanings are blended, justifies its length and earns its place. ln case you are worried, as I was, by Mr. Baker’s definition, see “grape-stone” in Chambers. Whether you agree with my order of prizewinners or not—I should put Mr. Newlove fourth—I think you will get some good laughs among the 21 selected.