XIMENES CROSSWORD No. 894

WITENAGEMOT

1.  M. Woolf: Wessex leaders used to hold it; beginning of Norman era saw its end (it in We + N age mot, & lit.).

2.  A. Lawrie: A diet’s just the thing to be imposed on somebody that’s gone up about a stone in weight (it + a gem in one (rev.) all in wt.).

3.  L. F. Leason: The grouping of bishops, king’s pawns, etc., once called for deliberation: now I get mate after a few moves (anag.).

V.H.C.

C. Allen Baker: If one X puts on a stone (to an already round figure!) in weight, the answer is—diet! (I ten a gem o in wt.).

J. T. Catlow: Bishops exercised their authority here, e.g. mate in two moves (anag.).

D. L. L. Clarke: A meeting peculiarly engrossed in old English know how (anag. in wot, & lit.).

A. J. Crow: Law was laid out in the rough game I went to (anag.).

J. A. Fincken: Harold was our last choice and we got in, mate, for a radical change! (anag.; Harold I).

K. Gibson: The king is no longer served by bishops, knights, etc. on this board; e.g. mate in two moves (anag.).

S. Goldie: Scrappy game I went to—wasn’t it King’s Old Boys and a representative district team? (anag.).

Sir S. Kaye: Salt’s out! A number end up going in for this old diet (ten + omega (rev.) in wit).

A. F. Lerrigo: Sort of old national diet in which meat and wine got cooked together (anag.: cook, intr. vb.).

H. Lyon: Time we got an old-style Government? Not exactly! (anag.).

Dr T. J. R. Maguire: The thing that influenced Harold? Shaky ménage, it being held by, roughly, two (anag. in anag.; thing¹; Harold I).

Mrs E. McFee: Moot point gets a meeting excited and ’eated (W + anag.+ ’ot).

C. J. Morse: Tory leader with new image to upset Harold’s advisers (T + anag.; ref. Harold I and H. Wilson).

T. N. Nesbitt: High time we got an old-fashioned lot of rulers! (anag.; high = drunk).

F. E. Newlove: We met, got in a huddle; assembled before Parliament; went right up to Harold! (anag.; huddle, intr. vb.).

R. Postill: High time we got an effective government such as we used to have (anag.).

T. E. Sanders: Harold’s advisers once wanted a meeting between the two to be arranged (anag. in anag.; Harold I).

Dr W. I. D. Scott: Dissolution of old parliament could result in a surprising win. Get a book up (anag. + tome (rev.)).

H.C.

C. J. Anderson, A. J. Bisset, Dr A. E. Brafleld, R. Brain, J. A. Bulley, Mrs J. Chalkley, J. H. Cleary, A. E. Crow, N. C. Dexter, Cdr H. H. L. Dickson, J. H. Eyre, G. E. Fallows, Mrs N. Fisher, Mrs E. Franklin, P. D. Gaffey, F. H. W. Hawes, N. L. Hindley, E. M. Hornby, F. G. Illingworth, L. Johnson, R. E. Kimmons, F. P. N. Lake, G. G. Lawrance, J. H. C. Leach, J. P. Lester, Mrs B. Lewis, J. L. Mackie, Mrs W. J. Mahood, T. A. Martin, E. McNeal, E. L. Mellersh, C. G. Millin, P. H. Morgan, N. O’Neill, E. G. Phillips, K. Pomagalski, Mr & Mrs A. Rivlin, R. A. Russell, Mrs E. Shackleton, R. W. Shearing, Mrs E. M. Simmonds, W. K. M. Slimmings, S. Sondheim, F. B. Stubbs, J. W. Taylor, E. F. Watling, Mrs M. P. Webber, J. F. N. Wedge, T. G. Wellman, Rev C. D. Westbrook, P. G. Williams.
 

COMMENTS:—The smallest entry for some time—about 300: not many mistakes. A few people quarrelled with Otnit, from Wagner’s Ring, but very few got the unchecked letter wrong: I always give a clear subsidiary clue to such unfamiliar allusions. The chief cause of trouble in the unsuccessful entries was unsound indications of anagrams. I cannot admit the attachment of a noun to the anagram as fairly indicating mixture. There were dozens of these, e.g. “It’s time we got an arrangement”, “I’ve got a new constitution”, “Maybe it met on wage revision”, “Aim to get a new assembly”. These don’t say what they mean. A few other examples of unsound wording may be helpful. “A sense” is quite impossible as an indication of the verb wot=sense: one doesn’t put “a” in front of a verb. “Premier Wilson” most definitely cannot indicate W, the first letter of Wilson: could “premier cat” indicate C? “Westminster opening” is, perhaps, not quite so bad, but it is still unsound. So is “an early start” for E. Every word in a sound clue says what it means.
 
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