XIMENES CROSSWORD No. 395

SCALE-ARMOUR

1.  J. A. Fincken: The making of mail bags etc. without a break cures a moral delinquent (anag.; mail²; bags = trousers).

2.  Mrs J. O. Fuller: The carousel swung round to gather power—I was on the old war-horse (arm in anag.; merry-go-round).

3.  C. Kauffmann: You should have some form of protection against the arrow—that is the time-worn lesson in love! (sc. + lear in amour).

H.C.

R. B. Adcock: Just what secures the best coverage in the press, namely, famous king in disreputable love-affair (sc. + Lear in amour; press = battle).

C. Allen Baker: Suez Canal headings … Fear About Egypt’s Leader … Our Defence Being Virtually Doubled (S C + E in alarm + our; ref. Suez crisis).

J. H. Dingwall: Defence admitting of no gaps—which means our putting an end to fears about Egypt’s leader (sc. + E in alarm + our; ref. Suez crisis).

F. H. W. Hawes: Plate-layers—carried on the tender for protection? (cryptic def.).

F. G. Illingworth: Our calm era’s finished—bring out the old battle-dress (anag.; finished = ruined).

Dr D. S. M. Imrie: I’ve got a molar-curse!—needing to he drilled. Plates are the answer (anag.).

D. P. M. Michael: Listener beset by discordant clamours? This seems the best protection against neighbours’ piano-practising children (ear in anag.; i.e. musical scales).

P. M. Newey: L’amour’s to be used with care: no doubt Isolde found it hard on Tristan (anag.).

F. E. Newlove: There’s more than one lame here—our car’s been involved with several of them! (anag. incl. lames; lame² = armour-plate).

A. E. North: Arms singularly fitting in carousel mêlée (arm in anag., & lit.).

S. L. Paton: Chevalier’s strong suit—a bit of scandal together with a lesson in love (sc(andal) + lear in amour).

R. Postill: The Capital of Egypt’s in a panic, but a purge all round could make armament now unnecessary (E in alarm in scour; ref. Suez crisis).

A. Robins: Our “Sovereign” Camera’s Versatile! Its Overlapping Plates could take Shots from any Angle! (anag. incl. L (£1); ref. Angles, Saxons, etc.).

E. O. Seymour: It could have kept our male in the wars without a scar (i.e. anag. incl. scar, & lit.).

W. K. M. Slimmings: If it is breached in rowdy carousel, get a stretcher! (arm (= stretcher) in anag., & lit.).

Miss D. M. Thorne: Martial array of Knights to take up weapons in sporting carousel? (arm (vb.) in anag.).

F. L. Usher: The pangolin has this excellent defence: its diffusion of aroma’s cruel! (anag.).

J. F. N. Wedge: Could put strength into a Carousel presentation and give confidence to the principals (arm in anag., & lit.; ref. musical).

RUNNERS-UP

Mrs C. N. Airey, D. B. J. Ambler, T. E. Bell, J. A. Blair, A. Borshell, V. E. Brooke, P. J. Brusey, Mrs Caithness, Miss E. J. Campbell, Miss H. D. Chapman, R. N. Chignell, A. Christie, A. N. Clark, D. L. L. Clarke, Capt B. P. Connors, P. M. Coombs, Mrs D. M. D’Eath, Dr W. M. Easther, M. S. Y. Fowler, A. L. Freeman, G. P. Goddard, E. Gomersall, C. P. Grant, S. B. Green, F. R. Hainsworth, L. B. Hutchings, V. Jennings, W. H. Johnson, A. H. Jones, H. A. B. Latimer, A. D. Legge, C. J. Lowe, Miss J. S. Lumsden, Dr T. J. R. Maguire, T. W. Melluish, H. B. Morrison, C. J. Morse, K. Ostberg, R. F. Pardoe, G. H. Podmore, T. D. Powell-Davies, E. J. Rackham, G. H. Ravenor, T. E. Sanders, E. B. Stevens, H. G. Tattersall, Miss D. W. Taylor, Mrs C. T. Toseland, H. T. R. Twyford, W. D. Wigley, C. E. Williams, H. F. C. Williams, M. Woolf.
 

COMMENTS—318 entries, 256 correct—the biggest crop of errors for some time. The brief clue to NEAT caused most of the trouble: neither “next” nor “nett” will do. “Next” might be a rather dull answer to “Having finished lower,” but there was no “Having” in the clue: “nett” might just be an answer to “Finished lowest” but not to “Finished lower.” “Neat” = “cow” = “lower” is not new: I didn’t expect it to be so puzzling. There were some enquiries about the clue to ONGAR: I intended “a. = ante (before),” given in C. Quite apart from “a.m.” “A Queen” instead of “the Queen” would have been simpler and perhaps better: I preferred the other, to suggest a definite Queen. (I didn’t mean Queen Anne, as two ingenious solvers suggested!) For Nabal, the boor, see I Samuel 25, 3.
 
The clues sent were of good average standard for a not very easy word: there were many topical ones on the Suez crisis.
 
Will you please note that the next competition puzzle will be one week later than usual, on Sept. 9th, as I shall be away the week before: I hope this will not be upsetting for anyone.
 
Thank you, several solvers, for pointing out the error “1½d.” for “2d.” in the Rules: it was, I think, right last time, but force of habit seems to have caused a reversion.
 
In answer to several requests for a “bulletin,” I am now much better, thank you. A good holiday to all, present, past or future.