XIMENES CROSSWORD No. 70

GARBAGE

1.  S. B. Green (NW10): Does half-crazy Robert Browning say “Grow old along with me”? Refuse completely! ((ga-)ga + R.B. + age; ref. poem ‘Rabbi Ben Ezra’).

2.  F. L. Usher (Leeds): The lights are bad and it takes a long time to dress (garb age; lights = offal).

3.  C. Koop (Ferring): Cattle truck? Rubbish! It’s those beastly tubes that are unfit for use (cryptic def.; truck = rubbish, tubes = bowels).

H.C.

Dr G. R. Aspinwall (Marsden): Refuse to get dress which has not got the New Look (garb + age; ref. Dior’s New Look, 1947).

P. M. Coombs (Burgess Hill): Rubbish bin the place to put one’s car these days (b in garage; bin = b in; ref. petrol rationing, introduced in 1948).

E. H. Evans (Newport): Don’s heading for a century! It’s rubbish to say otherwise! (garb + age; D. Bradman, cricketer; garb, don vbs.).

T. E. Faber (Cambridge): The Times is the worse for wear. It’s become not worth reading (garb + age).

I. C. Gilchrist (SE23): Refuse to boast how old one is (brag (rev.) + age [published clue missing ‘about’?]).

W. E. Green (UIverstone): Refuse to have the Austin baby born at home (i.e. b in garage; type of car).

E. M. Hornby (W2): Let’s put the bus away and leave it; it’s no good (b in garage; let us leave bus = b).

T. W. Melluish (SE24): Refuse to put on period costume (garb + age).

D. P. M. Michael (Newport): It may be rubbish, but Genesis suggests this followed the Age of Innocence (i.e. Garb Age; ref. Adam and Eve).

G. M. Neighbour (Cambridge): In this country the work of a revolutionary artist ahead of his time might be called tripe (RA (rev.) in GB + age).

Rev E. B. Peel (Fleetwood): Changing gear with clutch in shows guts (bag in anag.; cattle guts).

H. Rainger (SW3): Refuse to tip when your luggage is carried into the station (bag in gare).

L. D. Wakely (SW19): Refuse bin where a car should be (b in garage; bin = b in).

W. R. Watson-Smyth (Ashford): Refuse to be years behind the fashion! Abdominal padding is coupon-free! (garb age; offal not rationed).

Comments:—207 correct—tribulation caused by the N.W. corner in general and by Memel in particular—also by Stryver and waukrife. Klaipeda, the other name of Memel, proved unexpectedly elusive: the Enc. Brit. or the Times Atlas would have served—and X’s authority was much less bulky than either (Mel was the cartoonist referred to). The second part of Stryver’s clue was intended as a warning against the spelling mistake. Waukri-F.E. puzzled those who did not know [former Lord Chancellor] Lord Birkenhead as “F. E.” (Smith). The “jumper” trap was another surprise for the innocent fawn! So was “deblai” for 23—a cruelly apposite anagram. One can see now that it was an especially hard puzzle: “Some fawn!” commented one solver!
 
The general standard of clues submitted was not quite as high as usual, though there were some very good ones; for once X. was wondering in the end which to include instead of which to leave out. Perhaps competitors were exhausted by the NW corner, or perhaps the word set was too easy: it certainly was not too hard. Much luggage was left in French stations: Greta often lost nothing by revealing her age. Clues resulting from these ideas were apt to be too easy: Mr Rainger added distinction to the first and boldly left out “French”—questionable, but it just passes. The “New Look” became rather monotonous—not an attractive cliché, but one fears we may hear more of it. Two H.C.s use “bin” for “b in”: questionable again, but they too just passed.
 
Some runners-up:—E. P. Barrett, H. A. Barrington, G. H. Clarke, R. G. Collins, Brig W. E. Duncan, C. E. Gates, Maj A. H. Giles, Mrs M. Kidner, G. G. Lawrance, J. P. Lloyd, R. C. Macfarlane, R. Macleod, F. E. Newlove, J. A. Plowman, Mrs D. A. Reid, N. Roles, Mrs E. Shackleton, W. K. M. Slimmings, J. F. Smith, O. Carlton Smith, Miss R. Speight, J. Thomas.