Results Information   See results

We finished 2018 with a very close run contest, with Don Manley squeaking home by a mere point! Perhaps the different approach from the other contenders made the difference, so well done Don! His first win for a while and good to see him back on top of the pile!
 
Tough luck to Pete Milne who was that mere whisker behind – his second podium in a row rounding off a fine year for him.
 
Bhalchandra was even closer in third – just a half point the difference! Bhalchandra has been having a fine run of form – one to watch in 2019?
 
Tom Borland completed his excellent year with yet another top 5 finish! Steve Randall completes the podium with very similar wordplay to Tom. Another who scores two top 5 finishes in a row.
 
And that completes another year of fine competition…
 
ANNUAL RESULTS 2018
 
…hearty congratulations to Tom Borland who is one of our most comprehensive winners of the Annual Competition ever – a superbly consistent year and a well-deserved victor!
 
Congratulations to the chasing pack of David McKie, Pete Milne, Satyen Nabar and Steve Randall who along with everyone else who took part this year have contributed much entertainment – thanks to all and good luck for 2019!

Voting Information

Voting is open until Midnight UK time on Sunday 20th January.
 
Please award FIVE points maximum to the clue you judge best: FOUR points for second, THREE for third, TWO for fourth, down to ONE point for fifth; but otherwise you may distribute your votes as you see fit including ½ marks for split voting – as long as you award no more than 15 points IN TOTAL and no more than 5 points to any one clue…
 
…and of course you may NOT VOTE for your own clue!
 
COMMENTS:
 
Your comments in general and on individual clues, however much or little you write, are always most welcome! Please remember that if any particular clue or clues do not find favour with you, it is more helpful to offer constructive criticism – many of our members are keen to learn and hone their clue writing skills through our competition – feedback may be useful for their future efforts!

Entry Information

For this year's XMAS SPECIAL I am giving you some TURKEY and the chance to attempt a clue type that we visit occasionally, WRONG NUMBER. For this challenge you need to compose a clue to TURKEY(6) which also contains a ONE-WORD definition of STONES(6).

A WRONG NUMBER clue is actually a standard cryptic clue to the main word (TURKEY in this case), but in addition ONE word of this clue also defines another "key word" (STONES in this case).
 
NB, THE ONE-WORD DEFINITION OF "STONES" MUST ACTUALLY FORM PART OF THE CRYPTIC CLUE TO "TURKEY", I.E. NOT TO BE REGARDED AS EXTRA, OR REDUNDANT TO YOUR CLUE FOR "TURKEY".
 
By way of example here is a winning clue of this type from the Azed archives for the combination MAVIN (THONG):
 
Bird having to strip is in the buff (5)
 
EXPLANATION: MAVIN given by "mav(is) + in"; with "strip" also providing the one-word definition of THONG
 
It would be helpful to structure the explanation of your clue so that it is clear which word is providing the additional definition; so in the case of our example:
 
mav(is) + in; strip
 
Remember that whilst you are composing (and pondering) your clue effort, the entry interface allows you to "Save but don't submit". But even if you "Submit this clue" you are still able to amend – or even retract – your entry right up until the end.
 
BUT DON'T FORGET TO CLICK THE "SUBMIT THIS CLUE" BUTTON BEFORE THE CLOSING DATE!