Comments on the clues |
---|
1. A red knight is white on his escutcheon. |
1. | The wordplay seems rather challenging, in particular is R a standard abbreviation for red ? |
|
2. Artist returns with the following information for a heraldic colour. |
1. | "A heraldic colour" is a bit of a lame definition for me. | 2. | Ingenious wordplay but in the surface what is 'the following information' ? |
|
3. Blue garnet or white (6) |
1. | I can’t see how 'blue' indicates an anagram | 2. | But garnet is red, isn't it? The surface loses all its convincingness. | 3. | 'Blue' isn't really an adequate indicator of rearrangement and the def. needs qualification as argent is really silver (see 1, 7 & 23) | 4. | The surface of this otherwise neat clue is spoiled by the fact that garnets come in various colours, but neither blue nor white. |
|
4. Colour-sergeant parading south-east off ground |
1. | I don't think it's fair to have the colour of colour-sergeant as a clue – colour-sergeant is one word. | 2. | Surface seems strained, def. is vague (see clue 20) and shouldn't be joined to the wordplay (where 'parading' seems otiose) by a hyphen. |
|
5. Curious stranger discovered silver (6) |
1. | "Dis-covered" is too much of a stretch. | 2. | "discover" doesn’t mean "uncover" in modern English | 3. | 'uncovered' would probably make the wordplay clearer. |
|
6. Doctor Strange – not initially white? |
1. | Definition requires qualification rather than just a question mark as argent is really silver (see clues 1, 7, 23 and 35). |
|
7. Dope dressed up by painting white on arms |
1. | Good set of misleading definitions | 2. | Well disguised definition. | 3. | The surface reading seems rather arbitrary. |
|
8. Every other hair on nice man’s head is silvery |
1. | Nice surface though the wordplay is a little strained perhaps (see clue 17). |
|
9. Fed seizes last of poor poet's silver |
1. | Nice surface reading | 2. | Thoughtful definition |
|
10. Force enters row having lost face over old silver |
1. | Good to see an indication of archaism though the wordplay seems rather challenging and the surface reading too arbitrary. |
|
11. Garnet changes colour (6) |
1. | Surface too short to have substantive meaning and definition requires qualification as 'colour' is far too vague (see clue 20). |
|
12. Guitar gently weeps both old and new money |
1. | I don't get the surface. | 2. | The surface reading lacks coherence and 'weeps' isn't really a containment indicator (see clue 16). |
|
13. Half-cut Lone Ranger and Tonto heading drunkenly for Silver |
1. | A pity this is spoiled (unnecessarily) by the unsoundness of "Tonto heading" = T, when "Tonto's heading" would have made equally good sense. | 2. | The wordplay really requires 'Tonto's heading' so a bit more work needed to refine this one. |
|
14. Information welcomed in the application of skill producing silver |
1. | The better of the two GEN inside ART clues. |
|
15. It's silver for La Albiceleste, in a departure from the norm |
1. | The surface meaning isn't clear and the wordplay awkward. |
|
16. Nice money to be had from "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"? |
1. | Not keen on superfluous words in a hidden clue | 2. | Not sure what the surface means here. |
|
17. Not oddly, hair on man's top becomes silvery (6) |
1. | Nice surface reading, clear wordplay and an accurate definition. |
|
18. Old silver found in two thirds of country. Don't shed tears for it! (6) |
1. | The wordplay seems rather challenging and the surface reading random. |
|
19. Old silver piece of Ancient Roman origin found by short chap |
1. | The wordplay requires 'Roman's origin'. |
|
20. Regret unevenly donning fake tan seeing colour on arms |
1. | I like the surface, but 'unevenly' and 'fake' don’t work cryptically | 2. | At first I wondered whether the definition was strict enough, but I suppose I'd accept "colour" for RED, so I'm happy. | 3. | In the wordplay, 'fake' doesn't seem to convey the necessary rearrangement of 'tan'. |
|
21. Retired bank manager pocketing a bit of René's money in Paris |
1. | Good surface, one of the better agent clues | 2. | The wordplay seems quite challenging here. |
|
22. Sailor's head chopped off – by mostly John Silver? |
1. | Perhaps @Sailor has …' or 'Sailor with …' would make the wordplay clearer ? |
|
23. Say mole having subdued colour, marginally white on arms |
1. | The surface seems arbitrary and the wordplay rather awkward, especially the indication of R. |
|
24. Shield designed with this displays herald's tinge |
|
25. Silver and garnet design |
1. | A bit too short to provide a really interesting surface reading. |
|
26. Silver dollar finally found in bureau |
1. | I think a bureau is an agency rather than an agent | 2. | Does bureau = agent ? |
|
27. Silver found in cracked Red Rock(6) |
1. | Isn't this an indirect anagram? | 2. | The indirect anagram is generally considered not to be a fair wordplay device – does the surface reading have a particular significance ? |
|
29. Silver is smuggled in a criminal gentleman's right (not left) pocket. |
1. | Wordplay very challenging ! |
|
30. Silver ring lost? No great shakes |
1. | A great anagram | 2. | The question mark seems unnecessary in the wordplay which perhaps needs 'from' instead. |
|
32. Silver trout ? (6) |
1. | Fiendish! | 2. | Too short to provide a meaningful surface reading and in reality the question mark can't alter that the wordplay isn't fair to the solver. |
|
34. Stranger, without right, brings the shilling out but is tortured for the heraldic silver |
1. | Strange surface reading and tortured wordplay ! |
|
35. Sun returning, bloke reveals white part of arms |
1. | Nice idea but isn't Ra sun-god rather than sun? |
|
39. This term in heraldry might lead you to 'grey' (and 'tan', mistakenly) |
|
40. Upcoming article recalled The Clash, without doubt 70s rock legends |
1. | Surface seems a bit strained, wordplay rather tortuous and definition far too esoteric. |
|
41. Vintage silver car's back in 007's possession? |
1. | Points for originality | 2. | Nice. |
|
42. What field sports regularly featured game tenants? |
1. | The surface reading doesn't seem rhetorical and the definition requires qualification with a reference to heraldry or colour perhaps. |
|
44. White alpha male capturing power at last (6) |
1. | Definition requires qualification as argent is really silver (see clues 1, 7, 23 & 35). |
|
45. White knight's great move |
1. | Definition requires qualification as argent is really silver (see clues 1, 7 & 23) and the 's' is otiose in the wordplay. |
|
46. White pawn checks king |
1. | Neat wording but should indicate this is a special type of white | 2. | Neat surface but only at the expense of the definition which requires qualification as argent is really silver (see clues 1, 7 & 23). |
|