XIMENES CROSSWORD No. 360

WRINKLE / EGG-BIRD

1.  J. H. Grummitt: Jet flyer crashes bridge: G.W.R. link with east disorganized: single line remains—verb. sap. (anag. incl. G.; W.R. + anag. incl. E, 2 defs.).

2.  G. Perry: Roughly wrenlike apart from tail tip set on feathered body; this is roughly gull-like (anag. less e; egg² bird).

3.  P. B. Chapman: Oval barracking: I have black looks flying round the ground for bowling wide—begin to leave the crease (egg bird; rink in w le(ave)).

H.C.

Miss R. L. Benn: German leader involved in bridge disaster. The Flyer Line, link between East and West region, blown up (anag. incl. G; anag. incl. E, WR).

Mrs G. Bonsall: This suggests a variety of wrenlike tailless tern with an oval body, commonly female (anag. less e; egg bird).

C. O. Butcher: One connected with the sea swallows nutriment in shell form—its source, a king among shellfish, is the cockle (egg bird; R in winkle (see cockle³)).

Rev B. Chapman: No. 4 in the Kremlin appears to have gone over to the West, completely disguised! It’s hinted he’s been seen flying (this ought to prove it) to the German capital with a woman! (anag. of Kremlin with W for m; e.g. G bird).

C. E. Gates: As for the crease, when Wednesday comes round you’ll find the bowling area a lake: it’s often partly under water according to a bloke attached to the Oval (rink + L in We (abbrev.); egg bird).

C. J. Morse: A depression is forecast: also a ridge, a stormy ridge encircling Great Britain—a rare phenomenon around our shores (3 mngs.; GB in anag.).

F. E. Newlove: A whelk’s slightly meatier than a winkle: bigger, and not half bad for a change, says the wideawake bird! (w(r)inkle, meatier = with more substance, whelk²; anag. incl. (ba)d; Sooty Tern colloquially known as the “wideawake bird”).

Maj J. N. Purdon: To have “Sea Swallow,” a bigger variety, in form by the 1st of December, prune exhibits all over regardless of age—a useful tip (anag. + D; 2 mngs.; ref. racehorse S.S. (sired by Seabiscuit) and song, “No matter how young a prune may be it’s always full of wrinkles”).

E. J. Rackham: Work, nothing less, and a different line are involved. “Know-how” needed. American flying expert to urge British industries on the road (anag. of w(o)rk line; egg BI rd.).

E. O. Seymour: A G.I. left a girl I knew in trouble. That’s a tip to encourage a girl to be a flighty thing at the seaside! (anag. of (GI)rl I knew; egg bird).

Mrs E. Shackleton: Headline—In West latitude English find ice-berg and dig about for something Scott may have marked (rink in W l. E; anag., ref. Peter S., naturalist, and Captain S.).

RUNNERS-UP

C. Allen Baker, P. C. Barclay, V. E. Brooke, Cdr H. H. L. Dickson, F. E. Dixon, Mrs D. M. D’Eath, H. H. Elliott, Mrs N. Fisher, Mrs J. O. Fuller, S. B. Green, D. Henderson, E. G. Illingworth, Mrs L. Jarman, J. W. Jenkins, D. Johnson, D. P. M. Michael, W. L. Miron, P. M. Newey, T. D. Nute, E. G. Phillips, E. R. Prentice, H. R. Sanders, T. E. Sanders, A. J. Souter, H. G. Tattersall, D. C. Thomas, D. H. Tompsett, R. A. Walker, J. F. N. Wedge, T. G. Wellman, I. Young, J. S. Young.
 

COMMENTS.—304 entries, 289 correct. A few, in spite of the clue to LEGION which couldn’t lead to “region,” wrote “Drake”—a possible answer to the clue to BLAKE. Much ingenuity was shown, but a variety of reasons made the lists above short. Many clues were spoilt by redundant connecting words: many were terribly long, others terribly complicated. There were some neat “straight” clues, but this is hardly playing fair in a puzzle of this sort and evades many of the difficulties in clue-writing. In some cases quite unjustified liberties were taken with punctuation. I have stated before that it is my practice to allow punctuation to be omitted sometimes with misleading intent: after all, punctuation is something which a writer supplies to help a reader, and he needn’t be more helpful than he wants to be! But I have never allowed the inclusion of deliberately misleading punctuation: this is quite a different thing and definitely unfair. One otherwise excellent clue ended with “… around pond and lake:—we should go!” This was to lead to “w-rink-L.-e,” but the punctuation makes it quite impossible. Finally I must repeat that I don’t like things like “redhead” for R, “scrag-end” for G and still less “greyheaded” for G. These are inaccurate: “redhead” is not “red’s head.” I’m not very fond of “German leader” for G, though this can be justified as equivalent to “leader of Germany.” But why not write “leader of Germany?” The answer isn’t any more obvious.
 
Many thanks for kind messages, and a happy Christmas to you all.