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CCCWC April competition voters’ comments
 
Clue no. 18: Exposed bust and bottom after stripping (4)

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A clue to OPEN.
4 comments refer to this clue (from 4 competitors, 0 others)
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Here is the text

Comments on the clue
1.While technically fine, the wordplay has so many ambiguities that it would be frustrating to verify OPEN unaided.
2.I don't think this is fair on the solver!
3.Nice try but a stretch too far with 'bust' for me.
 
Comments on the competition
1.
If there are too many almost identical clues it becomes extremely arbitrary to choose, so I'm afraid I removed all shOP ENtrance hiddens and NOPE anagrams before considering the rest. It doesn't necessarily mean they were poor clues, just uninspired. Does this happen more with a very short word to clue?
Lockdown surfaces I also felt were too specific to make a lasting good clue. And as ever there's no excuse for a meaningless surface.
Hidden clues with redundant words 9, 28, 44 are not good practice.
Also I personally feel it's unacceptable to be too indirect, not just with anagrams, which is a big no-no, but with removals (eg 8, 18). Even 4 which is another nice idea, just fails this one.