CCCWC February 2010 competition results
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64 clues entered. 54 votes cast (49 competitors, 5 others).
BABUSHKA
A very close run thing this month. Most of the top 10 jostled around at various stages of the voting vying for top spot, but in the end Ken came through just a smidgeon ahead of Andrew.
Congratulations to Ken on his first win and commiserations to Andrew for just missing out on his!
Richard regains a bit of form with 3rd place, Michael finds a podium finish again after his other recent 4th at Christmas (his time will come!) and nice to see Ava reappearing after her PD win last year.
| Pos | No. | Name | Clue | Explanation | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Ken Dunn | Azeri women may wear it for exotic Baku bash | Def: it may be worn by Azeri (Azerbaijani) women (and whole clue). Wordplay: anagram (exotic) of BAKU BASH. Refs: Azerbaijani women wear babushkas (headscarves), Baku is capital of Azerbaijan | 50 | 6 |
| 2 | 2 | Andrew Varney | A nanny's bleating with kid's head caught behind thicket | bush + k(id) in baa | 48.5 | 1 |
| 3 | 63 | Richard Heald | Who produced Mamma Mia, Abba's hot UK hit? | anag. incl. h; mamma mia (Ital. literally) = my mother | 41 | 3 |
| 4 | 35 | Michael Doyle | Has Bubka abandoned Mother Russia? | Defn:Mother Russia; hasbubka* Ref:Sergei Bubka-Soviet Union's greatest athlete who latterly represented Ukraine upon break up of USSR | 38 | 2 |
| 5 | 54 | Ava Hong | Red biddy has Bubka doing somersaults! | Defn: Red biddy (aka cheap,strong alcoholic beverage);hasbubka* Ref: Sergei Bubka-former USSR champion pole vaulter | 33 | 2 |
| 6 | 33 | John Tozer | Granny's surprise millions left in bank lead to argument | a(m)bush in bk + a | 31 | 1 |
| 7 | 36 | Rob Jones | Has Bubka defected? Or might it be his grandmother? | HASBUBKA (anag) ref. to Soviet pole vault ace Sergei Bubka. | 30.5 | 1 |
| 8 | 4 | Vinod Raman | ABBA has UK rocking, not a top band? (8) | Def: top band?; (ABBA has UK)* minus A | 26 | 2 |
| 9 | 42 | Tim Moorey | Indian special's hot, serve with nan | babu + s + h + ka; 's = has; nan bread | 25 | 2 |
| 9 | 44 | Trevor Crowther | Kazakh sub about to return has this Russian granny aboard (8) | Reversed hidden word | 25 | 1 |
| 11 | 9 | Black man regularly entertaining president's old lady | Bush in alternate letters of black man | 24.5 | 1 | |
| 12 | 31 | Granny starts to babble about ex-president Ford | BA(starts to babble about)+BUSH(ex-president)+KA(model of Ford car). Def=granny | 22.5 | ||
| 13 | 28 | Granny Hubbard's not keeping bones around, poor soul | anag. HUBBARDS minus DR ('bones') rev. ('around') + KA=soul; def. 'Granny'; ref. Old Mother Hubbard | 17.5 | 1 | |
| 14 | 20 | Elderly female writer, quiet soul in a headscarf | Babu sh ka. Writer = clerk (Chambers) | 15 | 2 | |
| 15 | 58 | She may get grabbed but endlessly enters into the party spirit | bu(t) in bash + ka; &lit ref. "grab a granny night" | 14 | 1 | |
| 16 | 29 | Granny knot holds this to Russian nut | 2 defs (split after 'Granny') | 13 | 2 | |
| 16 | 50 | No retreat for Blair, soul embracing a US President in top-level cover-up job? | a Bush in B(lair) ka, job=item | 13 | 3 | |
| 18 | 6 | As Nut was to Horus, the soul, the wild soul of Egypt | BA + BUSH + KA (see Chambers). In Egyptian mythology, Nut was the grandmother of Horus. | 12 | 1 | |
| 19 | 38 | Heartless Barbara Bush starts to kill another old woman (8) | BA+BUSH+K A | 11 | 1 | |
| 20 | 5 | ABBA reforms, touring America and Hong Kong initially to deliver Hair cover | US,HK in anag. ABBA; surface refers to the 60s musical Hair | 10.5 | 1 | |
| 20 | 52 | One born in the wild starts to knit African scarf. | A,B(orn) in BUSH + K(nit)+ A(frican). | 10.5 | ||
| 22 | 15 | British Airways hosting a US leader, king and a granny | BA ROUND A BUSH K | 9 | ||
| 22 | 27 | Granny cake, moist, contains element of bran, top sunken | Baba inc. husk with h dropped down (down clue) | 9 | ||
| 24 | 40 | In Elba, Bush kayoes with the headscarf | In – Telescopic clue Indicator. El{BA BUSH KA}yoes – Fodder Headscarf – Definition. | 8.5 | 1 | |
| 24 | 53 | Red biddy? | Red/Russian biddy/old woman | 8.5 | 1 | |
| 26 | 8 | Barack runs away, caught out naughtily embracing Dubyah's old lady. | Dubyah=(George)Bush hence BUSH inside jumble of (BARACK-R-C) | 8 | ||
| 26 | 12 | Book claims a recent president agreed to suppress desire for Yeltsin's old lady | B(A BUSH)K + A(greed) | 8 | 2 | |
| 26 | 18 | Dreadfully shabby Ruski gal is seen in grisly headscarf | Comp anag | 8 | 3 | |
| 29 | 3 | A woody plant implicated in the origin of bread also known as nan. | BUSH inserted in B + AKA | 7 | ||
| 30 | 14 | British Academy President heads off kinky, agitated elderly Russian woman | BA+BUSH+KA | 6.5 | 1 | |
| 30 | 24 | Grandmother Bush aka Barbara beginning to be muddled. | "Grandmother" definition. Bush + aka + B (Barbara beginning) anagram. | 6.5 | ||
| 30 | 30 | Granny Lincoln, perhaps, endlessly coming back to meet Bush and one of the Fords? | Ab(e) rev + Bush + Ka (Ford car); def. 'Granny' | 6.5 | 3 | |
| 30 | 57 | Russian oldie by Abba, reforming to tour America and Hong Kong | (ABBA)* around U(nited) S(tates) H(ong) K(ong). Chambers had "oldie" as both an older person and a song. | 6.5 | ||
| 34 | 13 | Boris always believed Union Soviet had kvass and initially a cover for the noggin. | First letters (initially); cover for noggin (head)=babushka | 6 | 2 | |
| 34 | 48 | Nanny bleating about Wuthering Heights artist? | Nanny = def.bleating(n)=BAA(about)Wuthering Heights artist = BUSH K(ate).Also 2 level tongue-in-cheek play on fact Kate Bush had hits with Wuthering Heights and Babooshka(?)+nanny (goat) bleating etc | 6 | ||
| 36 | 43 | Ivan's old lady's pubic hair cut into 2 Egyptian symbols for soul (8) | BA(BUSH)KA=BA & KA Chambers (bird head & statue symbols for "soul")/Ivan's old lady=definition | 5 | 1 | |
| 36 | 45 | Keeping tavern in spirits is, perhaps, lucky | BUSH (tavern) inside BA and KA (spirits); def: LUCKY | 5 | ||
| 38 | 1 | A couple from Abba and Kate Bush entertained granny | A couple from Abba and Kate = Ba and ka, receiving bush. | 4.5 | ||
| 39 | 11 | Blast traps British/American soul going undercover for the Crown in Russia | BA(B+US)H+KA; cover for the crown in Russia = def. | 4 | 1 | |
| 39 | 34 | Half-Kashmiri babu wrapped in scarf | Half of Kashmiri = Kash; Kash+babu; Anagram indicator = wrapped | 4 | ||
| 39 | 59 | St. Basil's curch? | St. Basil's (cathedral in Moscow i.e. Russian); curch=kerchief | 4 | ||
| 42 | 23 | Grandma Moses' soul and spirit captured what made a brightly lit scene | BA+BUSH+KA; ba=soul/inspiration, ka=spirit/motivation (ref. to 'burning bush' and GM's vivid art) | 3.5 | ||
| 43 | 10 | Black sailor takes us to Asian port to greet a Russian grandmother (8) | B AB US Hong Kong A | 3 | 1 | |
| 44 | 60 | This lady bared no ruddy President Kennedy assassination leads | BA(red)+ BUSH + K A; semi-&lit (Ref. to Babushka Lady involvement in JFK assassination) | 2.5 | ||
| 44 | 61 | Token-y clue for Russian lady? | Ken (doll) inside Toy (doll) ref: Matryoshka (or Babushka) dolls which stack inside each other. | 2.5 | ||
| 46 | 22 | Former US president surrounded by souls for protection? | BUSH in BA and KA (ref. George Bush – G-Men): BABUSHKA is a form of head/hair protection | 2 | ||
| 46 | 46 | Lady in Red is old hat. | Double defn; Lady in Red (Russia) is old, and 'hat' referring to headscarf. | 2 | 1 | |
| 46 | 51 | Old Russian rocket with the collection of animals on board returned to the wild | Def=Old Russian. Bazooka with bush(=the wild) replacing zoo | 2 | 1 | |
| 46 | 55 | Red-faced Lysenko initially outed in book by anonymous senior Russian? | B(AB(-L)USH)K + A, "senior Russian" = def) | 2 | ||
| 46 | 62 | Ukranian star has fancy for Russian apparel(8) | Bubka + has * = BABUSHKA. Star is in sense of someone who is super-skilled in any field. Bubka is the most famous star of Ukraine. | 2 | 1 | |
| 51 | 47 | Local granny upset by drunken bash all around lively capital of Azerbaijan | Definition 'Local granny' (local because of the association of BABUSHKA with eastern Europe and western Asia) Anagram of (upset) of two other anagrams, 'drunken' BASH and 'lively' BAKU (the capital of Azerbaijan). The anagrams of BASH and BAKU are intermingled to form the anagram of BABUSHKA, hence 'all around'. | 1.5 | ||
| 52 | 26 | Grandmother's cake kept quiet in this country. | Babushka – grandmother: cake – BABA, kept quiet – SH in this country – UK | 1 | ||
| 52 | 39 | Hollow balalaika captivates Kate and leads to her mis-spelled hit | BA KA with (Kate) BUSH inserted. She had a major hit with 'Babooshka' | 1 | ||
| 52 | 49 | Nanny Britain: endlessly scolding hard state largely gone astray | def. Nanny; B abus{e} h Ka{nsas} | 1 | 2 | |
| 52 | 56 | Russian granny bonds US president with Kremlin leader: sheepish sound about them. | Def/Bush & K in "baa". | 1 | ||
| 56 | 32 | Granny's carrier split boarding Hong Kong-bound airbus leaving Iran | (A[-ir]BUS+HK) in BA (=carrier); boarding = providing lodging for | 0.5 | 1 | |
| 57 | 16 | Cloth triangle: cockney silence and king swallowed by cake | Cockney silence – USH and king – K swallowed by cake – baba: cloth triangle – headscarf | 0 | 1 | |
| 57 | 17 | Doll identified by mail from Bath, Uxbridge, Stornaway, and Kilmarnock. | Doll = Babushka (type of Russian doll); Postcode areas of Bath = BA + Uxbridge = UB (reversed) + Stornaway (Hebrides) = HS (reversed) + Kilmarnock = KA. | 0 | ||
| 57 | 19 | Dubya's mum leaves out pub in Argentina – constant about her relationship to his daughters. | Barbara Bush (less bar in RA),k,a | 0 | 2 | |
| 57 | 21 | Elderly lady shows pubic hair in a taxi heading west, we hear (8) | Direct = elderly lady ; bush = pubic hair ba ka = a taxi (kab=cab), "heading west" and "we hear" = indicators | 0 | 1 | |
| 57 | 25 | Grandmother to support a President suppressing Cuba? | BACK A with BUSH (President) for C (Cuba) = BABUSHKA | 0 | 1 | |
| 57 | 37 | Heard Kate singing on single. God, what a doll! | BA = single (bachelor) BUSH = Kate Bush KA = god BABUSHKA = doll Kate Bush sang "Babooshka' (hence heard) on a hit single … and of course KB was quite a doll! | 0 | ||
| 57 | 41 | Indian fellow succeeded with diet by dependency on athletic grandmother! | Babu = Indian Mr. s = succeeded; HK = House of Keys, ie diet by dependency of the Isle of Man; a = athletic. | 0 | ||
| 57 | 64 | With strong Caribbean drink in a European country you could find a scarf to fit this granny! | Babash = powerful WI rum drink + UK, Anagram = Babushka ( scarf or Russian grandmother ) | 0 | 1 |