The Crossword Centre Clue-Writing Competition

CCCWC January competition voters’ comments
 
Clue no. 46: White pawn checks king

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A clue to ARGENT.
3 comments refer to this clue (from 2 competitors, 0 others)
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Comments on the clue
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).
 
Comments on the competition
1.
Although ARGENT has several meanings it is a tricky word to define with precision and the most successful clues avoided using a vague, imprecise or esoteric definition. It does lend itself well to the 'and lit' format, though examples of this were surprisingly thin on the ground (24 & 39). Four competitors chose to clue ARGENT as the French for 'money' (16, 21, 33 & 37) whilst clue 12 opted for the more generic forms of silver currency. However the large majority chose to use either a simple definition of 'silver' or 'silvery' (23/46) or a reference to the heraldic tincture (10/46). To define ARGENT as 'white' without any reference to heraldry made five clues rather too challenging (3, 6, 44, 45 and 46) as perhaps were the two using 'colour' (4 and 11).