CCCWC October competition voters’ comments

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A clue to EQUIPOISE.
50 comments were received for this competition (from 9 competitors, 0 others)
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Comments on the competition
1.
1 and 7 were my picks. Both had to resort to more fiddly wordplay than one usually associates with top-drawer clues, but that is a reflection of the difficulty of the word set this month. Well done to those and others.
2.
As expected, a tough word to clue (again). Too many clues let down by very poor surfaces. 26 the winner for me – not least because I spent ages trying to come up with something similar and failed miserably.
3.
Not the nicest word, but ably dealt with by quite a few. The Ballance clue 10 is an awful clue to a clue and is singled out for opprobrium. 26 wins top slot with its clever introduction of the stern Frenchman.

Comments on the clues

1. Arm police regularly to keep society in balance

1.	Construction is a bit elaborate but well done to get a good clue from such a tough word
2.	Neat if not quite convincing surface.

2. Awful pique is last thing 'Euro-divorce' needs — nothing secured, one side being unable to tilt the other?

1.	indication of the E is the main problem here
2.	A little too contrived?

3. Balamce rimless sequin with dignity

1.	Pity about the typo
2.	Surface makes no sense
3.	Poise and equipoise share same root.
4.	Typo?

4. Balance = approximately i peso (9)

1.	Equipoise is formed from Equi+Poise. Etymology is similar
2.	No idea what's going on here!
3.	"=" = eq not equi

5. Balance ball is caught by French team (9)

1.	Weak surface

6. Balance kit out on slow-moving creature, avoiding walk back

1.	Surface makes no sense

7. Balance of power in EU? Old question I see endlessly kicked around

1.	The bitty anagram is faulty. It needs one U and two I's
2.	Very good effort
3.	Too many acronyms

9. Balance time spent quite creatively? Cool!

1.	Poise and equipoise share same root

10. Ballance, according to commentary, is England's opener, getting behind arm ball.

1.	Afraid I can't make any sense of this.
2.	Two wordplays and no Direct defintion
3.	Nice idea but don't think having the definition as a homophone is quite fair.

11. Change head of racket to provide balance

1.	Neat clue with misleading wordplay. Very good.
2.	Exactly what I was looking for but never found!!

12. Composure at end of inane joke and even not one small final tee-hee.

1.	Surface and wordplay both a bit clumsy

17. Famous racehorse,almost fit at former weight.

1.	Reference is rather too obscure without some indication of the source.
2.	Marks for the obscure reference – don't think the surface quite works, and at is superfluous.

19. Fit French bird lost one third of equity

1.	{Defintion} of {Wordplay} – cryptic reading doesn’t seem right
2.	Personally, I don't like the surface

21. Issue with Europe ultimately – nothing is in harmony?

1.	Nice wordplay. I'm not sure harmony means balance in the same sense equipoise does.
2.	Perfectly constructed clue with very plausible surface reading

22. It's 0-1 (Saint-Étienne in the lead), with PSG maybe about to get level

1.	What is PSG?

24. Lord forsaken crazed oldies on ecstasy and crack? Not here!

1.	Not here and not anywhere else, probably. Definition is vague.
2.	Definition is not at all fair

25. Maintain balance to provide for one moving between French banks

1.	The "for" is misleading – to equip is to provide, not provide for

26. Nothing is accepted by M. Barnier's team that could deliver a balanced outcome

1.	Very apt – top marks!

27. Nothing's in the French team to suggest a state of balance.

1.	26 is a better surface

33. Remark by European representative:"Nothing is non-negotiable – only in the end we'll need an offset."

1.	Good idea but I'm not convinced 'X representative' means 'start of X'

36. Someone's idea of a clever tweet? Is ego extremely off balance?

1.	Nice idea – e-quip is a bit of a stretch though
2.	I like 'e-quip' but less keen on the rest.

37. Stock flower arrangement

1.	Admirable simplicity
2.	Definition vague. OISE needs more hint, as in 16 or better still 25.

38. Tackle unbuttoned? Without flies I expose nuts with aplomb.

1.	Could any solver guess how 'unbuttoned' is meant to work?
2.	Buttons may be a page but "button" isn't. Too H Weinstein to be acceptable.

40. Teetering, so I equip with last of line for balance.

1.	Equip is in the solution, so needs a bit more of an anagram

41. Tightrope walkers need this Eastern fanciful action and aplomb.

1.	Poise and equipoise share same root
2.	A clue to EQUIPPOISE?
3.	A fresh attempt at a definition, but surface seems a little clunky.

43. Weight's a joke? I see nothing funny about it

1.	For me, weight is too vague for a definition of counterweight. Otherwise a good surface.