XIMENES CROSSWORD No. 189

SALTIRE

1.  D. J. Furley (WC1): The charge for arms has put the pound into a sharp depreciation (L in satire; heraldic mngs. of charge & arms).

2.  Cdr H. H. L. Dickson (Fareham): Rate is very ragged, around fifty, and both strokes are leaning sideways! (L in anag. of rate is; ref. cross on saltire, and rowing).

3.  F. B. Stubbs (Marple): Part of our universal flag ((univers)sal + tire, & lit.; saltire part of Union Jack).

H.C.

E. S. Ainley (Harrow): That spunky gal with the old-fashioned dress—piquancy and passion are ordinary, you’ll find, in her. (Sal + tire³; salt + ire; heraldic mng. of ordinary (n.); her. =  heraldry; ref. song ‘Pollywollydoodle’).

C. A. Baker (Wishaw): Arms-cross! Bend—right … over … bend—left …! Try it fifty times outside on rising. This develops the bearing (it L in eras (all rev.); heraldic mngs. of arms, bend, bearing).

J. A. Blair (NW9): Sign of the cross connected with a fisherman (salt + ire, & lit.; ref. St. Andrew).

W. J. Duffin (Hull): Little Sarah needs a rubber hoop to look anything like ordinary: two bends in her. (Sal + tire; heraldic mngs. of ordinary (n.) and bend; her. = heraldry).

E. J. Fincham (N16): An ordinary charge will result, if overcharge leads to anger (salt (sl.) + ire; heraldic mngs. of ordinary (n.) and charge).

R. J. Hall (Redbourn): Start looking in the Union flag for me (l in SA, tire, & lit.; Union of South Africa; saltire part of Union Jack).

R. W. Hawes (Cranbrook): To charge too much leads to a strong resentment and makes one cross (salt (sl.) + ire).

J. Hardie Keir (Galashiels): Tirl aboot in sic Hielan’ fashion, an’ ye’ll mak’ the Scots Cross! (anag. of tirl in sae (so, Scot.)).

C. Koop (Ferring): A sinister figure appears, crossing Right. It’s Lear—quite mad! (anag.; heraldic mng. of sinister; ref. King Lear, IV:6).

T. W. Melluish (SE24): One of the Herald’s charges in spreading ridicule about the Left (L in satire; ref. Daily H. newspaper; heraldic mng. of charge).

R. Postill (Jersey): See ’ow much yer’ve got to pay on a season? Makes yer cross! (salt + ’ire (hire)).

E. R. Prentice (Clifton): X looks like an awful trial on Sunday, and there’s a bit of Everyman to finish (S + anag. of trial + E).

E. J. Rackham (Totton): First a bend one way, then a bend the other—enough to make dorsal extremity grow weary! ((dor)sal + tire; heraldic mng. of bend).

T. E. Sanders (Walsall): To cure anger needs a X from her. (salt ire; her. = heraldry).

Mrs E. M. Simmonds (Cookham Dean): An ordinary, plain X, but art lies in its construction (anag.; heraldic mng. of ordinary (n.)).

E. T. Smith (Leicester): I show keen resentment following overcharge. I am altogether cross (salt (sl.) + ire).

M. A. Vernon (N4): To overcharge leads to resentment, making the Scots cross! (salt (sl.) + ire).

M. Woolf (N. Wembley): X is enough to make the ordinary realist barmy! (anag.; heraldic mng. of ordinary (n)).

RUNNERS-UP

J. Barrow, J. W. Bates, A. J. Bisset, A. N. Clark, P. M. Coombs, G. Davis, Mrs D. M. D’Eath, Mrs N. Fisher, Rev B. Foley, B. Franco, B. Freedman, A. B. Gardner, S. B. Green, R. R. Greenfield, L. Johnson, J. Jones, G. G. Lawrance, D. P. M. Michael, C. J. Morse, Mrs E. K. Mumford, I. M. Newall, F. E. Newlove, E. G. Phillips, Mrs M. G. Porter, Maj J. N. Purdon, Mrs E. Shackleton, F. N. Shimmin, J. A. L. Sturrock, G. B. Tower, H. S. Tribe, R. Wells, W. D. Wigley, G. H. Willett, R. F. Zobel.
 

COMMENTS—359 correct and scattered mistakes—not very many. The entry was well up to standard. I don’t often offer a straightforward anag. like realist: it didn’t lend itself well to treatment and produced few interesting clues. Skilful use was made of her. (cf. ant. in a recent prizewinner). My abbreviation—X—was much used: I hope I have dispassionately chosen the best! Among so many sound clues, the often quoted unsoundnesses begin to stick out more than they used to, which is all to the good. Here are two—I hope I don’t repeat myself often enough to be boring, but it may still help those who haven’t grasped the points and also newcomers:— 1. Incorrect syntax for pronouns. “Cross between a sailor and an engineer, I am.” “I” in this case is, the letter I: “I is” is required. Try “I must be,” etc. 2. Clue to a clue. “The apostle sounds annoyed. …” i.e. “St. Andrew’s cross.” This is not fair: it’s a clue to “St. Andrew’s cross” and “St. Andrew’s cross” is a clue to “saltire.” Clues that don’t include a definition at all are, I think, almost extinct: good!
 
I hope former prizewinners have all applied for their book-plates, which are now being issued. I’ve got one too, and have stuck it in the cover of my Chambers’s!