CCCWC August 2017 competition results
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44 clues entered. 36 votes cast (31 competitors, 5 others).
HALFPENNY
A close run thing for the honours this month – barely a halfpenny between the top two contenders! It was John Tozer who ended up just squeezing home with his cheeky little effort! JT is consistently there or thereabouts, but this is his first win for over two years! Welcome back to the top John!
David McKie was the unlucky runner up, just missing out by a mere one and a half points! Another cheeky effort, and I enjoyed the good spot of PENNY being in alternate letters of PREGNANCY!
Third place was tied by last month's winner Steve Randall and John Appleton. Steve used some neat wordplay to create a good surface to his clue and John demonstrated that a simple anagram with a simple deceptive definition can find favour.
Colin Thomas employed that same definition in his clue that completed the podium.
Well done to all – the annual competition has tightened up at the top – all to play for in the remaining months!
| Pos | No. | Name | Clue | Explanation | Points | Merits | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | John Tozer | A beer leads to a pee? Not much change there! | half + penny | 44 | 2 | 3 |
| 2 | 7 | David McKie | Cheap beer? Every so often pregnancy follows! | HALF (pint) plus PENNY – adjectival meaning of little value | 42.5 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | 14 | Steve Randall | Foreign banks help with any dodgy cash | anagram of ForeigN HELP ANY | 33 | 1 | 2 |
| 3 | 17 | John Appleton | Help Fanny out a little bit | HELPFANNY*; def = "a little bit" | 33 | 3 | 1 |
| 5 | 16 | Colin Thomas | Help fan to play with City for a little bit | HELPFAN* + NY; def = 'a little bit' (bit = coin) | 29 | 2 | 1 |
| 6 | 32 | Andy Smith | Old Meg's fifty-fifty odds of pregnancy | Half + alternate letters. See mag3/meg in Chambers | 25.5 | 2 | 2 |
| 7 | 19 | Don Manley | Historical bit shows Henry VIII taking one female after another | Hal+f+Penny | 23.5 | 3 | 2 |
| 8 | 18 | Paul Coulter | Henry and Alf have a little girl, a tiny thing | H+ALF+PENNY (short for Penelope) | 21 | 2 | 1 |
| 9 | 8 | Vinit Wankhede | Cheap foreign banks help any criminal (9) | FN+ANY+HELP anagram Ref. "The Global Laundromat” money laundering scandal involving Russian mafia and Moldovan banks. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/20/the-global-laundromat-how-did-it-work-and-who-benefited | 20.5 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | 20 | Rod Beards | In bird city, flap about a little bit (9) | Anagram of FLAP in HEN NY | 19.5 | 3 | |
| 11 | 3 | A bit of fun with Harry left Penelope tender once(9) | F with HAL to the left PENNY – ie HAL F PENNY; def tender once | 17.5 | 2 | 2 | |
| 12 | 12 | Following personal appearance Lenny Henry performs type of rap | Anag F+PA+LENNY+H(henry, si unit); rap=18c counterfeit halfpenny; ref Lenny H, comedian | 13 | 0 | 2 | |
| 13 | 25 | Magpie delivered by mail? That's years ago | 2 obsolete defs in Chambers. (Ref. the now electronic crossword mag.) | 11 | 1 | 2 | |
| 14 | 35 | One of 200 coppers who all had the makings of a nicker ? | 200 halfpennies (coppers) used to make a pound (nicker). Nicker =one who arrests + ? | 9.5 | 2 | ||
| 15 | 9 | Child's fare? Then write to New York for a small coin. | Child's fare? = HALF; then write to New York = +PEN+NY; definition = a small coin | 9 | 1 | ||
| 16 | 13 | For next to nothing, swan about 50% of the Big Apple? Just the opposite! | Half (Pen) NY | 8 | 0 | 2 | |
| 16 | 41 | Two quarters, and pound by New Year to be a fraction of its earlier value? | HALF(2 quarters)+PEN(pound)+NY(new/year); | 8 | 1 | 1 | |
| 18 | 30 | Note returned by female writer, extremely necessary, as it's not legal tender | 'Note' = lah, which returned becomes HAL, + 'female' = F, + 'writer'= PEN, + 'extremely necessary = NY, 'as' is a link word. Definition = 'it's not legal tender'. | 7.5 | 2 | ||
| 19 | 33 | Old-fashioned mail from Henry following Penelope | Mail (obsolete)= halfpenny. Hal-f-penny | 7 | 0 | ||
| 19 | 37 | Rugby star's name made by 50% contribution to historic win | Leigh Halfpenny; win = old penny | 7 | 1 | ||
| 21 | 10 | Coin in fanny: help quickly! (9) | Direct = coin. anagram of "fanny help"; indicator = quickly. "fanny" used as female genitals as in the UK! | 6.5 | 0 | 5 | |
| 22 | 34 | Once the smallest change for writer in possibly bitter state. | HALF (= possibly bitter) – PEN – NY | 6 | 2 | ||
| 23 | 24 | It's of little value and may produce awful pain – then fly without it. | Anag. PAIN THEN FLY – IT = DEF: It's of little value | 5.5 | 1 | 2 | |
| 23 | 39 | Some money from nearby banks found after entrance to outhouse left ajar (9) | 'Some money' –>def 'nearby banks' –> NY 'entrance to outhouse left ajar' –> HALF OPEN without the 'O' | 5.5 | 1 | ||
| 25 | 11 | Dated mail: 50% by writer with name unknown. | Obsolete word "mail" = Def; half + pen + n + y. | 4 | 1 | 3 | |
| 25 | 38 | Shakespearean snippet: adaptation of play (half of Henry V) with extremes of Fluellen. | Def; anag (adaptation) of PLAY + HENryv + FN (In Henry V, Fluellen was a know-it-all Captain & a stickler for discipline.) | 4 | 1 | 1 | |
| 27 | 29 | Mouldy scratch makes hen flap angrily with noisy wings | HENFLAP* + NY, Mouldy = out-of-date, scratch = money, informal (also corn scattered as a treat for hens) | 3.5 | 1 | 1 | |
| 27 | 36 | Reform NHS panel fully! Lacking heart, short of staff primarily, it's outdated | (NHSPANEL + F…Y – S)* | 3.5 | 1 | ||
| 29 | 4 | A very small part of hard-earned pelf nan spent on pasty way back? | H + PELFNAN* ('spent') + (past)Y; &lit | 3 | 0 | 1 | |
| 29 | 31 | Old coin from middle of safe mixed in with extreme haul copper goes after. | AF + HL anag + penny (copper) | 3 | 0 | ||
| 29 | 40 | The magpie was one just like the chicken, getting in a terrible flap | anag. of flap in henny | 3 | 1 | ||
| 29 | 43 | When doubled up in the past, this would often afford you some relief? | 'spending a penny' | 3 | 1 | 1 | |
| 33 | 15 | Girl chases 2001 computer female. Will says it's not worth the bother. | Girl (PENNY) chases 2001 computer (HAL) female (F). Will says… (DEF) | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| 33 | 26 | Magpie having incomplete wing | HALF + PENNY | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| 33 | 27 | Mail: "With this long ago you could have been 50 per cent wise, perhaps" (9) | Mail (slang for halfpenny, Chambers); allusion to old proverb "Penny wise…" | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| 36 | 42 | Very low value mostly sound Goanese spirit circling Portugal | HAL[e] FENNY around P | 1.5 | 0 | ||
| 37 | 22 | It could be per definition, once ready | per = half penny, once ready (= old money) = half penny | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| 37 | 23 | It is of little value to get City to go after a writer chasing a mid-field football player (9) | Definition: it is of little value Wordplay: NY (city) after (to go after) PEN (a writer) after (chasing) HALF (a mid-field football player) to give HALF PEN NY | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 39 | 6 | Change copper's equal share | Change = small coin; copper = penny | 0.5 | 1 | 2 | |
| 40 | 2 | A bit of a girl? | Bit = a coin, and a bit of Penny could be HALF PENNY | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 40 | 5 | Bi's attracted to the Big Apple: that's some change from the past! | Bi(sexual) abbr. = half of Biro = pen (= half [a] pen) + NY/def. | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 40 | 21 | In part, city inspired writers' group mail once. | HALF (in part) PEN (writers' group) NY (the only city except LA that cruciverbalists seem to recognise!). Nesting keyed by 'inspired'. Mail=obsolete term for halfpennny. | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 40 | 28 | Money back offered and accepted in Wales sounds derisorily low | back: ref. Leigh Halfpenny, RU fullback; derisorily low = def. (as adjective) | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 40 | 44 | With this money from UK, troubled Tripoli, not peaceful at the borders, avoids uncontrolled hyperinflation (9) | Composite anagram Definition : This money from UK (refers to British funds in the surface reading) Anagram of TRIPOLI – P(-eacefu)L with Troubled as anagrind from anagram of HYPERINFLATION with uncontrolled as anagrind | 0 | 0 | 1 |