CCCWC October 2021 competition results
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65 clues entered. 51 votes cast (48 competitors, 3 others).
YO-YO
Well it was another close run contest this month, with the lead yo-yoing back and forth between two front runners and the result is…a tie!
Congratulations to Anthony Nanini and S. Sreeni who shared first place. Being a cricket fan I appreciated the surface reading of Anthony's clue and S.Sereni's effort was one of those 'almost' &lits, cleverly executed. Anthony last appeared at the top of the list back in 2016, S.Sereni was there in December 2019.
Hearty congrats to Jane Fitzpatrick, who after a few years of competing achieves her first podium placing in 3rd – a well-structured clue that disguised the often obvious last letters device.
John Hood took fourth place with a clue very similar to one of the joint winners, although his effort was fully &lit – John's second podium of the year.
The final spot went to Vinit with another alternate letters clue, that's Vinit's first podium of this year.
Well done and thanks to all, now on to SOUSAPHONE!
| Pos | No. | Name | Clue | Explanation | Points | Merits | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 35 | Anthony Nannini | Spinner Lyon , with covers removed, takes Yorkshire openers | Spinner = def, Lyon with covers taken off = yo, Yorkshire openers = Yo Ref Australian test spinner Nathan Lyon | 50.5 | 1 | 6 |
| 1 | 38 | S.Sreeni | Synonym of “evenly fluctuate” (2-2) | Even letters (evenly) in s(Y)n(O)n(Y)m(O)f. Definition: Fluctuate (v). Whole clue could be an extended definition too | 50.5 | 4 | 5 |
| 3 | 26 | Jane Fitzpatrick | Many who try to take finals go through ups and downs | 'take finals' is the instruction relating to the previous words: verb yo-yo = fluctuate or 'go through ups and downs' | 37.5 | 3 | 4 |
| 3 | 39 | John Hood | Synonym of regularly coming and going | (s)Y(n)O(n)Y(m) O(f) &lit | 37.5 | 2 | 4 |
| 5 | 23 | Vinit Wankhede | Kind of diet my body so regularly rejects | mYbOdYsO. | 36 | 3 | 3 |
| 6 | 9 | Richard Saunders | Double helping of starters for you? That sort of diet will rebound | YO(U) YO(U) That sort of diet = yo-yo diet | 31.5 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | 22 | Charlie Oakley | It's thrown when walking the dog | Cryptic definition. 'Walking the dog' in this case is the yo-yo trick rather than a perambulation with a pet. | 26.5 | 1 | 3 |
| 8 | 63 | Myrtilus | Why do, say, cockapoo tails swing to and fro? | Tails, i.e. last letters of [wh]Y [d]O [sa]Y [cockapo]O | 23.5 | 2 | 2 |
| 9 | 61 | Tony Harker | Two lads lost their heads over this toy. | (B)OY(B)OY reversed. | 22 | 4 | 1 |
| 10 | 32 | Bhalchandra Pasupathy | Plaything doubling back, bouncing time and time again! | reversal of (t)OY (t)OY; &lit | 21 | 1 | 3 |
| 11 | 10 | End of lanky old Willey’s last over produces swing and bounce | Y=End of lanky, O=old, Y=Willey's last, O=over. Two defs: swing & bounce. Refers to England cricketer David Willey | 20.5 | 1 | 2 | |
| 12 | 13 | Go back and forth, beginning in Yokohama and back to Tokyo | YO is the beginning of "Yokohama" and the back of "Tokyo". Def = "Go back and forth" | 18 | 1 | 2 | |
| 13 | 24 | Ma raised two sons without boundaries (2-2) | Def: Ma (the cellist Yo-Yo Ma), two sons without boundaries = (-b)OY(-s) (-b)OY(-s), raised two sons without boundaries = YO YO | 17 | 1 | 3 | |
| 14 | 18 | Hyponym of 'intermittently popular toy' | hYpOnYmOf. Semi-&lit if you're willing to accept 'intermittently popular toy' as a hypernym for 'yo-yo' | 16.5 | 2 | 3 | |
| 14 | 30 | Pair of old Y-fronts concealing what goes up and down. | Y+ o, Y+ o. Def: what goes up and down. | 16.5 | 1 | 5 | |
| 16 | 27 | Ma’s entertainment for kids | Double meaning: Ma (ie cellist Yo-Yo) = entertainment for kids (yo-yo) | 16 | 3 | 2 | |
| 17 | 43 | Timeless toy repeatedly making a comeback? | (t)oy + (t)oy reversed & lit. | 15 | 0 | 3 | |
| 18 | 40 | Throughout the Andes I repeatedly go up and down | Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela all have Spanish as an official language; I=YO (in Spanish); repeatedly=twice; "go up and down"=def (as verb) | 14 | 4 | 3 | |
| 19 | 64 | "Why oh why", we hear, primarily of American fool | Def = "American fool"; Homophone (YOY) + O[f] | 13.5 | 2 | 1 | |
| 20 | 5 | Cellist's first toy? | Yo Yo, as cellist Ma's first name. | 12 | 1 | 3 | |
| 21 | 44 | Timeless toy, returning repeatedly | (T)OY rev., repeatedly | 11 | 1 | 2 | |
| 21 | 62 | What may be projected to fall in revolution? | Cryptic definition, projected = thrown outwards, Chambers confirms revolution=rotation | 11 | 1 | 2 | |
| 23 | 55 | Toy that goes up repeatedly after thread at the top is pulled (2-2) | (-t)OY <<, twice ("repeatedly"). Deletion of t: "… after T(hread) at the top is pulled". Reversal: "… that goes up". Definition: &lit. | 9.5 | 2 | 3 | |
| 24 | 14 | Going up and down, the solver misses the last vowel twice | YOU – U twice | 8.5 | 1 | 2 | |
| 25 | 4 | Bounce back from Year Zero, not once but twice | (Y + 0) x 2 | 8 | 0 | 1 | |
| 25 | 12 | Frisky toy boy, no thoroughbred, but one providing satisfying ups and downs | Frisky = anagrind; toy boy no thoroughbred = (t)oy (b)oy anagram fodder minus tb (used widely in equine sports and horse sales); but = link word to def; one providing satisfying ups and downs = def (satisfying = entertaining). | 8 | 2 | 3 | |
| 25 | 36 | String- player makes dashing appearance in Tokyo-Yokohama | String-player (def) = Yo-Yo (Ma); “dashing appearance in” = hidden word indicator, literally “dashing” | 8 | 1 | 3 | |
| 25 | 53 | Toy, released time and again, swings back up (4) | &lit: (t)OY OY<< Down clue. | 8 | 1 | ||
| 29 | 51 | Toy boy spins endlessly? | rev of 'toy boy'(spins)='yob yot', then last letter deletions (endlessly)= yo(-b) yo(-t); &lit | 7.5 | 1 | 2 | |
| 30 | 60 | Turkey embryo yolk envelops | hidden; turkey, yo-yo = fool | 7 | 1 | 3 | |
| 31 | 25 | Ma starts yelling out your orders | Cellist Yo-Yo Ma. first letter (starts) of yelling out your orders | 6.5 | 0 | 4 | |
| 31 | 42 | Timeless plaything repeatedly spun around? (2-2) | Reversal of [t]OY[t]OY / &lit | 6.5 | 2 | 1 | |
| 31 | 59 | Toy you used twice – no fun essentially | YOU + YOU without (f)U(n) | 6.5 | 1 | 1 | |
| 34 | 47 | Timeless toy you endlessly spun? | (t)OY YO(u) anagram ('spun'); &lit | 6 | 1 | ||
| 35 | 16 | Hey – you dropped something, Ma! | Hey=YO, + YOU minus the U. Defn = Yo-Yo Ma, world famous cellist. | 5.5 | 1 | 1 | |
| 36 | 2 | After cutting consumption, toyboy's back to half his former size! | After cutting consumption = delete TB; toyboy = fodder; back = reversal indicator; half his former size! = TOY = definition | 5 | 0 | 4 | |
| 36 | 3 | American cellist leaves mother for such plaything? | YO-YO MA (American cellist) minus (leaves) MA (mother) leads to YO-YO (plaything) | 5 | 0 | 2 | |
| 36 | 41 | Timeless amusement, which repeatedly turns up! | [t]OY reversed twice (down clue) &lit, ref yo-yo’s motion | 5 | 2 | 1 | |
| 36 | 50 | Toy boy loses his head and falls head over heels again(4) | Definition = TOY: boy loses his head = OY: falls head over heels = YO : again YOYO. | 5 | 1 | 2 | |
| 36 | 65 | You interminable self-absorbed backward fool! (4) | YO (You interminable) absorbing a backward version of itself (OY) = YOYO. Def: fool (Chambers, noun, 3: An indecisive or useless person, a fool) | 5 | 4 | 3 | |
| 41 | 8 | Disc player I heard repeatedly in Spain | YO is Spanish for I. A yo-yo is a disc-shaped toy. | 4.5 | 1 | 3 | |
| 41 | 11 | Fool returned toys without wrappers twice (2-2) | YO + YO (returned tOYs without wrappers twice) Definition – fool. | 4.5 | 1 | 1 | |
| 41 | 45 | Timeless toy – spin and repeat! | Reversal and duplication of (T)OY; &lit | 4.5 | 1 | ||
| 44 | 15 | Grandchildren back and forth? (4-4) | 4 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 45 | 7 | Could this lead to walking the dog for a stupid person on the other side of the pond? | Double definition: 'Walking the dog' is a famous Yo-Yo trick; A stupid person (American English, slang) | 3.5 | 1 | 3 | |
| 46 | 46 | Timeless toy that comes back more than once (2-2) | Definition = &lit; Timeless toy = TOY – T; Comes back more than once = (OY)< (OY)< | 3 | 1 | ||
| 46 | 54 | Toy that at first goes away, returns … and again! | (T)OY reversed x2. T="that at first" goes away. "returns" = rev. ind. "and again" repetition indicator. &Lit | 3 | 1 | ||
| 48 | 29 | One bouncing back is round after years without love | O (round) after Y Y outside of O, one bouncing back is definition | 2.5 | 1 | 1 | |
| 48 | 31 | Perhaps Ma is wound up and strung out | Yo-Yo Ma – cellist wound up and strung out= CD | 2.5 | 0 | 2 | |
| 50 | 1 | Adolescent gigolo, wanting briefest case, went back for quizzing | Adolescent gigolo (toy boy), wanting (missing) [b]riefes[t] case (oy oy) went back (yo yo) for quizzing (quizzing/quiz n. , bandalore, yo-yo – Chambers ) | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
| 50 | 17 | Hugs and kisses when males become females, realizing it has its ups and downs | YOYO (x changes to y twice) | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
| 50 | 19 | I go into a spin when toys are returned decapitated | Yo(t)-Yo(t) | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| 50 | 20 | I may be associated with string-playing (solver shortly should get doubling up!) | 2 defs, ref. toy & Yo-Yo Ma, cellist{ yo(u)a2 ref double def | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| 50 | 21 | I'm highly strung. Life is so full of ups and downs. | Cryptic definitions? | 2 | 0 | 1 | |
| 50 | 56 | Toy, timeless toy, twice over | Timeless toy = TOY – T = OY | Twice = OYOY | over = YOYO | 2 | 0 | ||
| 56 | 34 | Retro toy oyster reveals another toy (2-2) | 'tOY OYster' going backwards ('retro') contains 'another toy' (definition) | 1.5 | 0 | 1 | |
| 57 | 48 | Tokyo yoga centre – it is flexible (2-2) | Hidden word, def = it is flexible | 1 | 0 | 4 | |
| 58 | 6 | …compared to last year (COVID's second wave) | Compared to last year = YOY (year-over-year in financial reporting). COVID's second (letter) = O. Wave = to move back and forth ("the flag waved") = to yo-yo. | 0.5 | 2 | 3 | |
| 58 | 28 | Oaf moving up and down ( 4 ) | Oaf= def | 0.5 | 0 | 1 | |
| 58 | 37 | Stringed instrument this top cellist may have toyed with when young? | Ref: Yo Yo Ma… | 0.5 | 1 | 2 | |
| 61 | 33 | Plaything of intense emotion – down first, then up – all over again | Plaything // (j)OY reversed and repeated. Down and up imperatives | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 61 | 49 | Toy beginning to go up and down briefly over there | Down clue; extended definition – (t)OY</YO(n) [toy is up and yon is down] | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 61 | 52 | Toy boys essentially spun repeatedly | Middle letters of bOYs reversed (spun) and repeated. Answer defined by 'toy' and the clue as a whole. | 0 | 1 | 3 | |
| 61 | 57 | Toy; toy coming back periodically | Hidden reversal periodically (tOY tOY), & lit, “coming back periodically” refers both to regular motion of yo-yo and to sporadic recurrences of yo-yo popularity crazes | 0 | 0 | ||
| 61 | 58 | Toy you spin around, must regularly get pulled off! (2-2) | Anagram (spin around) of (toy you) subtracting (get pulled off) even letters (regularly) of mUsT (TOYYOU*—UT) | 0 | 0 |