| Comments on the competition |
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| 1. |
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| It It seemed to me that this word called for something light and witty, after the torture of TINSEL/BAUBLE. I thought clues 19 and 11 best exemplified this, and I'm giving the nod (5 points) to clue 19, which is lovely. 4 points to clue 11, which also made me smile. Third place and 3 points I give to clue 38, not least for an original theme. Fourth place I give to clue 6, which is very neat, and fifth place to clue 40, which I thought the best of the insurance claim efforts. Well done to the composers of all these. Near misses for clues 2,7,29, 36, 39 and 43. |
| 2. |
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| Some nice ideas here, but still far too much garbage from such a relatively experienced bunch of crossworders (eg clue 44 and 26's first exit=E : I ask you!). The & lit arriving late (48) just steals the show from a nicely contextualised 21 (Tim Moorey's, I'm guessing), with No 7 (good oblique definition) placed third. Nos 6 and 34 are not hugely exciting but they make honest use of a simple anagram and deserve 0.5 points each. |
| 3. |
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Of the 47 clues, I was able very quickly to come up with a short-list of 11. Bearing in mind the clue word, I was a little surprised by how uninspiring some of the clues were. Poor surface readings abounded on many of the sound clues. However, as always, there were also a few brilliant ones.
Two that didn't quite make my short-list but are worthy of comment are:
11. 'Hand of God' claim re foul - This would be a fantastic clue if 'Hand of God' meant miracle, but Chambers does not seem to define it so.
43. Wonder if empirical formula = pi(x) - An interesting idea indeed, but I don't think it *quite* works.
My short-list:
3. Bush remarkably inflamed, for instance, by Liberal America's endless stirring - Excellent clue with misleading definition and associated surface reading.
6. Dodgy claim re bleeding statue? - Nice idea, but better executed in clue 34.
7. Email leaders of Roman church about possible grounds for canonization - Decent surface reading and a slightly different slant on the definition.
14. In problematical situation a class idiot's not going to be considered a prodigy! - A different approach. not sure it merited an exclamation mark.
19. LA, crime-free?! - Made me laugh, but on reconsideration not quite correct grammatically and perhaps pushing things a bit too far as a definition.
20. Law-breaker, perhaps, reversing vehicle in the distance - Interesting definition in a natural surface reading. Simple and fairly elegant.
30. One rarely sees this many drivers in a race - I liked the definition and, after some thought, 'many drivers' for RAC.
34. Preposterous claim re supernatural event - Straightforward and elegant.
35. Rehabilitation of this ever-blind: incredible marvel! - Best of the composite anagrams by far and not too contrived in trying to obtain an &lit clue. 'Ever-blind' is slightly weak.
42. Wonder drug seized by porter on remote station - Great way to bring in 'Wonder' as the definition. Completely misleading context for all parts of the clue and a very plausible surface reading.
48. What a martyr's original relic might generate? - Neat &lit clue. In my opinion it misses out slightly to some of the others because it is a bit too direct (i.e. no misleading context). |
| 4. |
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I'm afraid I found most of what was offered to be either uninspiring or unacceptable for one reason or another. Many clues seemed cumbersome, which I thought wrong for a reasonably friendly word. Some of those I discarded were #2, #19, #24, #25, #40 and #44; although Chambers suggests that any surprising or unexpected event qualifies, clarity surely requires that what's described breaks natural law rather than merely being a pessimist's response to what isn't physically impossible. #24 has the additional weakness (sorry!) that the wordplay seemingly uses medians, not means. There were several entries containing padding or sections doing double duty (#17 - a shame because I liked "turbulent mill race", and #39) and some that required a change in word from wordplay to definition (such as #12 - artists or artists'?). #43 contained an attractive idea that I thought wasn't fully exploited.
My favourites (top to bottom) are
#11 "Re" is of course contrived, but worth it for the succinctness. Very elegant.
#7 Convincing surface and unambiguous definition.
#3 Although it reads clumsily, the picture is an attractive one
#30 I like the superficial blandness of the statement - the solver has no obvious way in.
#45 Very obvious solution - but then we're judging ideas, not simplicity! |
| 5. |
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| 41 and 30 seemed the best uses of the most obvious cryptic indication, i.e. RAC or CAR (rev) in MILE, but the top two both had originality, sound construction and good surfaces. I did wonder if no.7 could just have just been "Email church about ...", but I think you would email the leaders of a church and hence I think the writer made the right choice to make the surface work. A few clues that were otherwise good lost out because of excessive length, and I wasn't too keen on clues utilising the 're' abbreviation as it didn't really look that neat and made it a bit obvious that the 're' was somehow used in an anagram. |
| 6. |
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An excellent set of entries although many were easily spotted anagrams. Some clues were very good but for their containing an extra word or two that detracted from the overall strcuture. Some clues, I felt, were a little obscure without that little bit of finesse that turns the ordinary into the fascinating. I also felt that the numerous compound anagrams (of which I am not a big fan unless they have an innate beauty) did not quite hit the mark. My selection is as follows:
1st, 5pts 20: Law breaker, perhaps, reversing vehicle in the distance Parsimony with all the elements of a good and challenging clue
2nd, 4 pts 11 Hand of God claim re foul I like clues that make me smile while still abiding by the rules of compilation. A clever reference to a "miracle" and sufficiently devious to put one off the scent.
3rd, 3 pts 46 Wonder when I'm turning left in channel Almost made this 2nd equal but felt the humour in 11 just pipped it. A nicely constructed, parsimonious clue.
4th, 2 pts 48. What a martyr's original relic might generate? Liked the construction of this anagram-containing &lit.
5th, 1 pt 7: Email leaders of Roman church about possible grounds for canonization A well constructed clue in which all the words contribute to the solution, without giving the game away too easily. |
