CCCWC November 2013 competition results
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55 clues entered. 45 votes cast (41 competitors, 4 others).
PROLIX
This month's leaderboard has a fresh look to it!
Congratulations to Pete Milne – a runaway winner – and his first podium since October last year when he also triumphed with POSTICHE.
Second place goes to a relative newcomer who has been bubbling under this year, so well done to Doug for breaking through to the big time!
Another newish face grabs third – good work Paul Whitehead!
A familiar name next though – Dave P continues his excellent run of form by taking fourth spot – keep it up Dave, you could make a late bid for the Annual Competition!
Finally, Kathy takes a well-earned 5th – a loyal and consistent competitor – well done!
| Pos | No. | Name | Clue | Explanation | Points | Merits | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Pete Milne | Going on for fifty, one has sex at last | PRO(for)+L+I+X | 75.5 | 2 | 3 |
| 2 | 31 | Doug Stanford | Overusing tongue or lip spoilt kiss | or + lip anagram + X | 48.5 | 2 | 4 |
| 3 | 21 | Paul Whitehead | Long for kiss on lips – not half! | Long = def. (Chambers); pro + li(ps) + x. | 47.5 | 1 | 6 |
| 4 | 50 | Dave Parfitt | Unhappily long for kiss on lips when missing other half | PRO + X on LI(ps); 'on' used in Times style (Y on Z = ZY) | 31 | 1 | 6 |
| 5 | 15 | Kathy Martin | It's tedious for one under sixty! | It's tedious: def., for:pro, LIX: 59. | 29 | 5 | 4 |
| 6 | 35 | Shirley Curran | Primarily ponderous, rambling, over-long, lumbering, interminable and essentially obnoxious, like this clue! | First letters of five words followed by middle letter of obnoxious (&lit.) | 28 | 6 | 4 |
| 7 | 16 | Barry Solomons | Kept running on for some laps, we hear? | Pro = For… Lix / Licks = Laps | 26.5 | 3 | 4 |
| 7 | 41 | Peter Cargill | Rambling oxlip runs rampant | *OXLIP=R ind by 'rampant' | 26.5 | 2 | 3 |
| 9 | 27 | Roslyn Rougvie | Long-winded role cut in pictures | pix around rol(e) | 21.5 | 3 | 3 |
| 10 | 34 | John Appleton | Positive argument in speech beats rambling | Def = "rambling", as adjective; PRO (positive argument) + LIX (hom of LICKS, i.e. beats) | 17.5 | 2 | 2 |
| 11 | 39 | Rambling is for one under 60 | for = PRO 59 = LIX | 17 | 0 | 5 | |
| 12 | 51 | Verbose professional left one getting cross (6) | verbose <> defn. professional <> abbrev. 'pro' 'left one [getting] cross' <> L I X | 16.5 | 1 | 2 | |
| 13 | 11 | Girl, working on the Brighton Line, lost for words? Hardly! | PRO(stitute = working girl – see Chambers) + LIX (59 in Bingo is "the Brighton Line") | 15.5 | 3 | 4 | |
| 14 | 8 | Cut short pleb I found by Number 10 being very verbal | PROL[E] + I + X | 14.5 | 1 | 5 | |
| 15 | 24 | Long-winded expert cross when oldie regularly interrupts | PRO -L-I- X (expert = pro colloquially, or see Chambers: a professional or scientific witness) | 14 | 2 | ||
| 16 | 30 | Overlong part must be curtailed to fit in short pictures | rol(e) in pix | 13 | 3 | ||
| 17 | 33 | 'Pleb' not the term for constable used by one getting cross, having a few words? No! | prol(e) + i + x, ref. 'Plebgate'. Mitchell's denial | 12.5 | 1 | 3 | |
| 18 | 9 | For initiation of both, love and intimacy, sex ultimately is redundant (6) | PRO(for) + L(ove) + I(ntimacy) + (se)X | 12 | 0 | 2 | |
| 19 | 4 | At Cannes, prize embraces Le Couer de Zola: "It's notably wordy." | PR(zOLa)IX | 11.5 | 1 | 6 | |
| 19 | 49 | Unevenly parboil one oxtail that's too long. | = PROL ("uneven" letters in "P a R b O I L") + I ("one") + X ("tail" of ox). "Too long" = prolix. | 11.5 | 0 | ||
| 21 | 18 | Lengthy commentary as Pietersen opens – run out 50 – turns team around. | Def + P(ietersen) opens – RO – run out – 50 = L, turns team around = XI >> IX | 9 | 3 | 4 | |
| 22 | 23 | Long-winded concert's endless length leads to impatient xylophonist | long-winded = def, pro(m) + l + i(mpatient) x(ylophonist) | 8 | 2 | 2 | |
| 23 | 22 | Long for one less than sixty | Long (def) for (pro) one less than sixty = 59 = LIX | 7.5 | 2 | 3 | |
| 23 | 29 | One in fifty vote after argument in favour becomes drawn out | one (I) in fifty (L) vote (X) after argument in favour (PRO) becomes PROLIX defined by drawn out | 7.5 | 2 | 1 | |
| 23 | 44 | Recall expression distinctly ill-fitted for bridegroom's speech taking only seconds | second letters rev & lit | 7.5 | 0 | 2 | |
| 26 | 36 | Public Relations Officer, 59, seeks similar for long and tedious conversation. | PRO + LIX (59 in Roman Numerals; 'seeks similar' indicates the translation) | 7 | 2 | 3 | |
| 26 | 53 | Windy, windy structure that man is pushed off by call-girl | PRO (call-girl) replaces HE (that man) in HELIX; def = windy (under wind1 in Chambers) | 7 | 1 | 2 | |
| 28 | 37 | Publicist uses tongue in speech of great length (6) | Publicist=PRO(Public Relations Officer), uses tongue in speech=homophone of LICKS, def: of great length | 6.5 | 2 | ||
| 29 | 6 | Bigmouthed for even elfin kiss. | def+pro(for),eLfIn,x(kiss) | 6 | 0 | 2 | |
| 30 | 7 | Boring is the answer for 59 | PRO+LIX | 5.5 | 0 | 2 | |
| 30 | 20 | Listener's broad tastes can be tedious | we hear: pro = broad, lix (licks) = tastes, tedious = def | 5.5 | 2 | 2 | |
| 30 | 43 | Rarely long for fifty-nine… | PRO + LIX | 5.5 | 0 | 1 | |
| 30 | 55 | Wordy part needs trimming in letter to Times | ROL(E) = part in PI = letter and X = Times; def. Wordy | 5.5 | 4 | 4 | |
| 34 | 19 | Lengthy work I explore within | I (e)xplor(e) anag. | 5 | 5 | 3 | |
| 34 | 32 | Pleb: "It's reported I'm standing in front of Number Ten for too long." | Pleb = prol[e] (homophone)/I/x=Number Ten/def. | 5 | 3 | 4 | |
| 34 | 48 | Three Russian Songs by Rachmaninoff is staccato and tediously lengthy. (6) | OP. XLI (THREE RUSSIAN SONGS, OPUS 41) + R (RACHMANINOFF) ANAGRAMMED (STACCATO) = PROLIX (TEDIOUSLY LENGTHY) | 5 | 0 | 6 | |
| 37 | 17 | Labour leader got one vote after support dwelt too long on particulars | (l)abour leader + one (I) + vote(x). After -Support – pro. Def – dwelt too long on particulars | 4.5 | 1 | 1 | |
| 38 | 40 | Rambling oxlip dancing on river banks | Oxlip (anag) around R (river); def: rambling | 4 | 1 | 2 | |
| 39 | 3 | Angrily agree last third of speech from terrible lexicographer could be thus? | comp anag LEXICOGRAPHER* = {AGREE + (spee)CH + PROLIX}*, &lit | 3 | 1 | 2 | |
| 39 | 13 | I'm rambling next month, I'm off with Oscar around Long Island(6) | Defn: I'm rambling (personification) (walking in the cryptic meaning) next month = proximo I'm off with Oscar:lose the im+o around Long Island: LI pro(li)x | 3 | 0 | 4 | |
| 39 | 46 | Rigmarole for the sound of tongues | Rigmarole (adj.) defined in Chambers as prolix = PRO + homophone of 'licks' | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| 39 | 52 | Windy gas leaving French and Italian getting cross (6) | P(et)ROL I X | 3 | 0 | ||
| 43 | 1 | A real drag queen in political fix – not femenine! | Def. = A real drag; queen = R, in POL (abbrev. of political) + (F)IX losing F (abbrev. of feminine). | 2 | 0 | 4 | |
| 43 | 42 | Rambling pothead gets prescription filled by gutless oddball with big heart | P[othead] + RX (prescription) around O[dbal]L + [b]I[g] | 2 | 0 | 1 | |
| 45 | 47 | Short parole's not a fix that releases fellow on long sentence | parol(e) minus a + (f)ix. Body of Chambers indicates Fellow not always capitalized. | 1.5 | 0 | ||
| 46 | 2 | All for taking the rise out of elixirs and how their salesmen might talk. | All for = pro; lix (elixirs -rise); prolix = how an elixir salesman migth talk | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| 46 | 5 | Before side comes back, working class type, with no end in sight, is tediously long winded | Prol(e) <XI | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| 46 | 45 | Returning after eleven, fifty Roman soldiers got a bit of pan-fried rabbit – very rare | PROLIX reversed: XI + L + OR + P; def. = RABBIT (vi.). (OED also gives: prolix vi.); very rare = rarity indicator | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 46 | 54 | Word-rich for nearly sixty (6) | Word-rich = definition For = PRO Nearly sixty = 59 = LIX | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 50 | 14 | Introducing one in, for fifty times? Must be tedious! | Introducing…in (containment indicator), one (I),for (PRO), fifty (L), times (X) Must be (link) tedious (Definition); PRO,L[I]X | 0.5 | 0 | 2 | |
| 51 | 10 | Gabby footballer, for example, leveled leader of One Direction before ten. | gabby=def;footballer,eg=pro;+L+One Direction=a random letter:i+X (Gabby Agbonlahor tackled Louis Tomlinson of pop group One Direction during a charity event in Glasgow.) | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| 51 | 25 | Long-winded: for fifty-two minutes plus ten to wrap up!(6) | direct: long-winded; for=PRO, fifty=L, two mInutes=I, ten=X | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| 51 | 26 | Long-winded Maori's ball regularly involves 80 lighting technicians | POI with R + LX regularly interspersed | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 51 | 28 | Most of prog is frivolous fancy fretwork and lyrically long-winded | Pro + lix | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 51 | 38 | Rambling buff plays over broadcast | buff=pro, plays over=licks, homophone | 0 | 0 |