XIMENES CROSSWORD No. 285

PARALYSES

1.  Mrs E. M. Simmonds: Acts like a number of members: gets especially agitated about salary revision! (anag. in anag. of esp.; numb-er).

2.  F. B. Stubbs: Port with plenty of nuts cures cripples (Pará lyses; i.e. Brazil nuts).

3.  E. S. Ainley (Harrow): Wilts is a sparsely populated (old-world) antithesis of Bucks (anag., 2 defs.; populated (obs) = devastated).

H.C.

Miss A. W. Baldy: Less pay allotted to leaders of Railwaymen’s Association causes members to go on strike (anag. incl. R A).

J. W. Bates: Muffed pass early puts an end to movement (anag.).

Mrs Caithness: Produces an exhibition of still life for which Royal Academy pay less—unfortunately (anag. incl. RA).

A. E. Clayton: Cripples—the outcome of Ypres. Alas! (anag.).

J. Cordery: Mishandling of early pass brings useful movement to a premature end (anag.).

Brig W. E. Duncan: As players become a bit shaky, a bad stroke, or an attack of nerves, does it (anag.).

J. A. Fincken: Stops working organs can’t be players as well (anag.; i.e. can’t well be …).

S. B. Green: A little money improves the condition of cripples (para lyses).

Mrs L. Jarman: Get stops working full out, e.g. vox humana: plays havoc with the ears in parts (anag. of plays ears).

C. J. Lowe: As players lose their form, they cause members to refrain from giving active support (anag.; paralyses pl. n.).

H. Lyon: Mishandled early pass spoils the whole movement (anag.).

C. J. Morse: The number the experts take, one less y (variable), performs the function of any number (par a + anag.; i.e. numb-er).

R. Postill: Produces results such as palsy’s are (anag. & lit.).

O. Carlton Smith: It’s the tricky early pass renders powerless our whole side, maybe (anag.).

M. Woolf: As parleys break down, you’ll see what a rail-strike does! (anag.).

RUNNERS-UP

Lt Col P. S. Baines, C. M. Broun, N. Chignell, A. N. Clark, J. McI. Cruickshank, C. R. Dean, W. J. Duffin, E. G. Durham, J. B. Filburn, Mrs N. Fisher, J. A. Flood, A. L. Freeman, Mrs D. Fuller, Maj A. H. Giles, S. Goldie, C. P. Grant, T. J. Guffick, C. R. Haigh, R. J. Hall, J. G. Hancock, J. J. Holloway, L. Johnson, A. D. Legge, T. W. Melluish, D. P. M. Michael, W. L. Miron, P. H. Morgan, F. E. Newlove, B. G. Palmer, L. S. Pearce, E. R. Prentice, E. J. Rackham, A. Robins, W. I. D. Scott, E. O. Seymour, J. C. W. Springbett, T. L. Strange, A. H. Taylor, J. Thomas, H. S. Tribe, C. T. Tulloch, B. J. Wain, H. D. Wakely, T. G. Wellman, J. S. Young.
 

COMMENTS—278 entries, 235 correct: “matadors” was the common mistake, ignoring the subsidiary clue to -ADORE. The N.W. corner proved very difficult, with some elusive clues, and one dangerous unintended red herring—“amate” for AGREE.
 
The winning clue reminds me of a brilliant use of the “number” idea by “Afrit,” whose recent death robs the crossword world of its outstanding exponent. I have more than once alluded to my immeasurable debt to him: his was a charming personality, and he will be terribly missed. His clue (in a puzzle with clues in rhyming couplets) was: “Is minus power of number positive” (4). Mr. Morse and a few others also used the idea. Mr. Morse very cleverly but without quite the attraction of the winning clue: he would, I think, be fourth and is unlucky, but I could not omit Nos. 2 and 3.
 
The entry was again not large, but it is high time for some more help for unsuccessful competitors by quotation of clues illustrating common faults. Many of them are new competitors and will not have seen earlier slips. 1. No definition. This is quite fatal, but not nearly so common as it was. “Sounds as if some sections of an article contain untruths.” (paras, lies). 2. Difficult indirect anagram. This is apt to be so useless to the solver that it might as well not be there. “Grass, mixed with weaver’s reeds, causes a loss of power.” (para-grass, sleys—but would they help? I doubt if one solver in a thousand would use that part of the clue). 3. Irrelevant words included. Every word must at least be able to have some bearing on the process of solution. “Upset I become paler, says victim Ximenes deprives of power.” Two words completely irrelevant. 4. Inaccurate definition. This is very common. The clue must be able to be read as indicating the part of speech, singular or plural, etc., required. “Motion certainly restricted, but the rubber causes gradual improvement.” “Motion restricted” cannot possibly lead to “paralyses.” 5. Word doing double duty. “Being got up early saps one’s strength.” “Saps” is part of the anagram, but the definition is also incomplete without it: this is inaccurate wording. Incidentally the clue carries the note “& lit.” which is still very often claimed quite erroneously. It should mean that the whole clue is a definition, every word being used, apart from its subsidiary meaning. “Being got up early” has no part in the definition. Compare Mr. Postill’s clue above. I hope these notes may be useful.
 
P.S. I allowed “paralyses” to be a plural noun: C. doesn’t give it, but I can’t believe that he would like “paralysises”!