| Comments on the clues |
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| 1. A royal knight in charge marches from Lourdes, besieged by none running amok in a stronghold |
| 1. | A STRONGHOLD is not the same as a STRONG HOLD | | 2. | Borders is OK as an indicator, but disguising it as 'marches' is not OK! | | 3. | Marches is great, but I can’t buy stronghold for strong hold. | | 4. | stronghold doesn't equate to 'strong hold' | | 5. | NELSON doesn't mean "in a stronghold": part-of-speech mismatch. | | 6. | Besieged as an indicator to remove and replace content doesn’t work |
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| 2. A singer makes sound impression on a columnist: ELO's involved in two numbers |
| 1. | PRINTS and PRINCE are not true homophones | | 2. | The ‘on’ doesn’t belong to either clue | | 3. | prints doesn't work as hp for prince for me, sorry. 'on' after impression is a redundant link word | | 4. | "on" is extraneous. | | 5. | “On” is redundant . R/L clues should not have a connector between the two halves |
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| 3. Accomplished leader trained lens on tracks, rumoured to be of outstanding specimen |
| 1. | PRINTS and PRINCE are not true homophones | | 2. | IMO both definitions of PRINCE are too obscure | | 3. | prints as hp for prince doesn't work for me | | 4. | Unfair homophone indicator between identical-enumeration homophones. | | 5. | 'to be of' link a bit clumsy, and surface doesn't mean much to me sorry | | 6. | “Of” doesn’t work as a connector . |
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| 4. Admiral Halsey essentially captured by noble royal. Ransom demanded? No. |
| 1. | Noble does not equal noble gas and I can't see how demanded is a containment indicator | | 2. | 'Essentially' sticks out a little in the surface reading | | 3. | A bit too staccato, avoidable esp in a R&L clue |
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| 5. An admiral called 111, worried apprentice had lost tape a senior royal made |
| 1. | For cricketing enthusiast only, I fear. | | 2. | Subtractive anagrams… boo hiss…. | | 3. | The 111 Nelson is named for the admiral so not really a distinct definition. | | 4. | The poetic finish tagged on for convenience apart, the comma acting as a break between the two parts makes the clue not seamless | | 5. | Lovely clue – a contender for my top pick but for the join between clues being a little more obvious than some. |
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| 6. As new line's put on hold Harry's only a symbolic person now (6,6) |
| 1. | I can't make sense of the explanation | | 2. | Interesting idea but redundant words like 'as', 'put' not ideal, could have been tweaked |
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| 7. Breaking news – sadly lose ship's captain, Bounty has new man in charge |
| 1. | Two clues linked by a comma which belongs to neither of them. | | 2. | Not seamless, comma introduces break between two parts. Man in charge as def for Prince seems weak | | 3. | Very nice. My main objection is that the split between the two clues is at the sentence divide. | | 4. | The two parts are joined thematically but syntactically don't run together. Still worth some points | | 5. | I like 'breaking news', but the rest doesn't quite hang together | | 6. | NN for news ? |
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| 8. Camera found on island with no lens by nice PR agent of royal bearing… |
| 1. | I don't see a role for "camera found on" in the first clue, and "by" doesn't belong to either of them. | | 2. | A definition and letter mixture clue? Lots of redundant words and no anagrinds | | 3. | Both components and surface don't have a natural flow | | 4. | I am not sure what is supposed to indicate the anagrams – nor what some of the other words are for | | 5. | Nothing indicates the anagrams. | | 6. | Is 'camera' just there for the surface? |
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| 9. Colonel’s onsite guards hold singer in church after psalter ends (6/6) |
| 1. | Worth a point even though the surface is a bit puzzling! | | 2. | Psalter is a book, not a song or a person? Ergo, surface suffers. | | 3. | psalter ends is not the same as psalter's ends | | 4. | Beautiful. | | 5. | "Colonel’s onsite guards hold" is great, but the rest of the clue goes in a strange direction. |
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| 10. "Could be rainier!" spin in Conservative East Lancashire town, wrestling control from former captain (6&6) |
| 1. | "Rainier" needs to be capitalised, and PR = SPIN is dubious. | | 2. | Rainier needs to keep its capital letter, unfortunately | | 3. | Could be Rainier but not rainier | | 4. | A very contrived surface, and Rainier without capitalisation doesn't work | | 5. | Cute, but the lowercase "rainier" isn't fair, and the surface expression is "wresting control", not "wrestling control". |
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| 11. Crown's deceitfully nice PR turns lens on an unlucky figure |
| 1. | "Turning" might be a better anagrind. | | 2. | 'turns' as anagrind before the fodder is iffy. not sure about 'crown' as a definition for prince | | 3. | 'Crown' and 'unlucky figure' both seem inadequate definitions | | 4. | Nice compact clue, but ‘turns’ as an anagram indicator preceding the fodder AND the definition? Maybe, ‘turned’? | | 5. | 'turns' doesn't work satisfactorily as an anagram indicator, turned or turning would | | 6. | If both parts are read together, it should be “turning” rather than turns |
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| 12. Epic struggles with Royal Navy, historic leader who made Napoleon's sides lose at sea? |
| 1. | a very similar clue just clinched the points for me, I'm afraid | | 2. | There seems to be wordplay but no definition for 'prince'? | | 3. | Nicely constructed | | 4. | no def for Prince? Napoleon's sides appears strange for surface, just side really, it's the British who had allies? | | 5. | Good one with excellent surface readings too |
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| 13. For example, ‘Hamlet’ creates an impression for the audience in Newcastle by layering severed heads about Horatio’s conclusion |
| 1. | PRINTS and PRINCE are not true homophones. | | 2. | Too verbose, and anyway prints as hp for prince doesn't work for me | | 3. | layering severed heads does not equal heads of layering severed |
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| 14. Gas about extremely lecherous Admiral Vincent possibly guarding new member of Royal Family |
| 1. | Admiral Vincent? Just a name picked to serve the definition? |
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| 15. Hamlet in Copenhagen battle was an armed strong hold leading to victory |
| 1. | A STRONGHOLD is not the same as a STRONG HOLD | | 2. | I can't make sense of this | | 3. | Neither clue is very cryptic | | 4. | No wordplay. Hamlet was a 'strong hold'? Unconvincing surface and incomplete clueing | | 5. | should be 'stronghold' surely? | | 6. | I don't understand the wordplay for PRINCE, and 'leading to victory' is too woolly to get to NELSON | | 7. | Only two definitions and no wordplay ? |
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| 16. Hamlet maybe drunk nice port, wanting to hold Horatio? |
| 1. | I think both parts of a subtractive anagram should have an anagrind, unless the letters are already in the right order. | | 2. | Almost great but I don’t think “drunk” works in the surface | | 3. | Nice connection between Hamlet and Horatio, but the surface needs ‘drank’ not ‘drunk’ | | 4. | drank or drunk? cf Hamlet ate food vs Hamlet eaten food. If drunk is used as past tense, that's archaic | | 5. | need to indicate that T&O are not next to each other – but nice concise clue |
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| 17. Harry’s reward: holding Megan’s foot whilst Lionel’s on the box entertaining Rockefeller |
| 1. | Second part isn't convincing. Lionel who? | | 2. | Seems a forced surface, HIPS is closed off at the end, and 'whilst', 'the box' all extraneous which spoils the construction | | 3. | Amusing but “whilst” is redundant | | 4. | I like the PRINCE clue, but 'whilst' doesn't seem to belong to either? | | 5. | Hidden words should start and end within another word to be more elegant |
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| 18. He may rule out pincer strike in favour of facing down large numbers about fallen officer |
| 1. | "strike in favour of FROM facing down" would be needed for the wordplay | | 2. | I feel moving one letter is hardly an anagram. BUt the clue works – so that is something | | 3. | Too bitty for my liking | | 4. | Complex construction that works, though surface is not convincing and fallen officer for Nelson seems a tad tame |
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| 19. Hold back some casinos lending monetary value without new head of state in Monaco |
| 1. | Can't see why absence of head of state should be relevant, and "amount of money" might work better. | | 2. | Wordplay seems fine but can't see any logical connection between the parts in the surface | | 3. | Surface doesn’t work well |
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| 20. Hold different lens on royal's nice PR spinning |
| 1. | Nice clue, albeit a slightly obscure surface. | | 2. | Impressively efficient wordplay but I’m not convinced by the surface | | 3. | Works well but just a little less convincing than 23 | | 4. | Good wordplay, surface less convincing than other similar clues |
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| 21. Hold Horatio, Harry… Charming |
| 1. | Two clues separated by a comma which belongs to neither of them. | | 2. | Impressively succinct! Wouldn’t some indication be required for definitions by example of prince? | | 3. | What does the surface convey? Two DDs a bit too simplistic, and anyway the latter pair is really conveying the same thing | | 4. | single definition, 3 examples | | 5. | Cute, but the two definitions of PRINCE are really the same. |
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| 22. Hold in ring on lens developing photos for dictator and queen’s son |
| 1. | PRINTS and PRINCE are not true homophones | | 2. | prints as hp for prince doesn't work for me, sorry | | 3. | It works as a clue. But the surface doesn't seem to mean anything | | 4. | Surface means what? |
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| 23. Hold lens trained on Royal pair, finding nice shot |
| 1. | Left, right, knockout! Best clue. | | 2. | So concise, and a great surface. Very good | | 3. | Concise clue. Not sure what ‘finding’ is doing in the wordplay. Maybe “… pair – nice shot!” | | 4. | Best of the lot for me, concise, and a credible surface | | 5. | My winner and in 9 words – excellent. |
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| 24. Hold sign about extremely lawless entitled son of man ultimately in charge |
| 1. | Surface is a bit random (part of a protest gathering?) | | 2. | neon by itself as sign seems weak, would need neon light or similar? |
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| 25. Hold train in tunnel so nasty brick damage gets probed by technician conclusively |
| 1. | Excellent construction, although I'm not entirely convinced by brick = prince, it seems a bit indirect. | | 2. | Very inventive, I'm just not sure about 'brick' as definition for prince | | 3. | Lots to like but not convinced by brick as definition of prince | | 4. | OK, not the most natural sounding surface | | 5. | train=letter-sequence is fiendish I like it! brick=PRINCE feels a bit of a stretch but a nice example of RIGHT & LEFT clue |
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| 26. Hold up lesson, half-heartedly spar, ignoring the odds, with nice bendy ruler |
| 1. | Whether or not you think "up" is a convincing anagrind (I don't), there's no role for "half-heartedly in the wordplay. | | 2. | Nice image. But missing an 'N' in Nelson unfortunately | | 3. | Faulty anagram of Nelson | | 4. | Surface appears very forced. Where does the second N in Nelson come from? | | 5. | Missing an N in NELSON. (Also I'm not fond of "up" as an anagrind.) | | 6. | I love the unexpected classroom surface – but NELSON missing an N? |
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| 27. Horatio was left in the wild endless poem by Shakespeare, and was neither the first nor last character in the stirring epic, 'Hamlet'. |
| 1. | An indirect anagram of SONNET which I don't see how anyone could get. | | 2. | Ambitious, but indirect anagrams, questionable first/last letter indications and inaccurate words like 'was' and extra 'the-s' aren't fair t | | 3. | Too much of an essay here | | 4. | No | | 5. | "and was" is extraneous. | | 6. | Too long | | 7. | Indirect anagram |
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| 28. How much is it to adopt new royal name? Finally, palace reveal it's on hold |
| 1. | Very deceptive, since the break comes after "royal". Not convinced by the surface, though. | | 2. | Like the wordplay, not quite as keen on the surface | | 3. | Comes across as just some expeditious words strung together, not a natural sounding surface | | 4. | A good inventive try but surface story stretching it. |
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| 29. In kennels only hold something outstanding: a pinscher mongrel has gone astray. |
| 1. | I think both parts of a subtractive anagram should have an anagrind, unless the letters are already in the right order. | | 2. | The two parts seem unrelated without a logical connection | | 3. | Surface doesn’t read well |
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| 30. King's son, a very popular musician and Emma Hamilton's lover, is featured in "Tunnel Songs |
| 1. | Two clues linked by the word "and" which belongs to neither of them. | | 2. | Exactly, 'and' is the join, but ideally there should be no join | | 3. | rather not have a "join" and what are "Tunnel Songs"? | | 4. | Surface looks very contrived | | 5. | I don't think there should be a joining word at all – 'and' needs to belong to one of the clues |
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| 31. Leader in newspaper's picked up famous columnist’s points about keeping editorial limits |
| 1. | I'd like the pun (columnist) to be indicated somehow. | | 2. | Like famous columnist and the surface is very good. Not totally convinced by the homophone. | | 3. | prints as hp for prince doesn't work for me, sorry | | 4. | Almost very good, but I’m not keen on ‘editorial limits’ for EL |
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| 32. Leader of company in rep playing Hamlet maybe fluffed lines, missing one, just after he did it with Hamilton |
| 1. | Very ingenious. I wasn't sure about "just after" for "on", but it seems fine when I think about it. | | 2. | very well-chosen and original definition for Nelson! | | 3. | A different take, makes the shortlist | | 4. | Clue for prince is very good but feel nelson is too difficult with just=on and obscure definition | | 5. | nice (and slightly filthy – I like filthy) |
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| 33. Learn about a king's missing son and hold press conference, pouring out heart, when running out of time to find him? |
| 1. | Clever but demanding too much of the solver I think | | 2. | Took me a few reads to get this. 'son' is half the word reproduced as is; 'and' is a join so the clue isn't seamless | | 3. | ‘Running out of time’ should really go before ‘press’ |
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| 34. Lock limits of noise levels on guitarist's audio tracks (6/6) |
| 1. | Lovely, very concise and convincing surface | | 2. | PRINTS and PRINCE are not true homophones, and simply calling Prince a guitarist seems a bit weak. | | 3. | First part is very nice. Don’t think I would have got the second part had it been a stand-alone clue 😊 | | 4. | prints as hp for prince doesn't work for me, sorry | | 5. | Very nicely done. | | 6. | Price for guitarist is a weak definition but otherwise a nice concise clue |
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| 35. London columnist's gas about extremely luckless Harry, say's, cost maintaining Meghan ultimately |
| 1. | I'd like the pun (columnist) to be indicated somehow, and say's is ungrammatical. | | 2. | Good ideas but needs more development to work properly | | 3. | say's or says? either way, doesn't flow naturally | | 4. | Nice idea but just needs work to sound more natural |
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| 36. Man perched high directed lens towards royal figure pinching woman’s bottom |
| 1. | Bit of a stretch to get Nelson from 'man perched high' but gets points | | 2. | very nice | | 3. | Great surface |
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| 37. Mandela, maybe, appears in panels on a royal who's a royal without a ship (6/6) |
| 1. | The surface makes no sense. | | 2. | Not a fan of closed-ended HIPS, and root issue with the second half | | 3. | I think cryptically giving prince as princesss without ss is a bit disappointing | | 4. | Starts well but ends up rather nonsensical | | 5. | The definition and wordplay for 'prince' are too similar IMHO | | 6. | Two weaknesses IMO: the same root word for both royals, and the hidden word is at the end of its hider. |
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| 38. Member of royal family’s new charge about hold of channels online (6,6) |
| 1. | I can't really see what the surface is meant to convey. | | 2. | Would have preferred 'being about' to 'about' but still makes the cut |
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| 39. Monarch's pincer movement crushed guts of insolent admiral |
| 1. | I wasn't sure about a prince being a monarch, but it seems OK. Surface story is rather random. | | 2. | Very efficient and accurate wordplay. Only reservation is that pincer is very close to prince so not a great anagram | | 3. | Don't particularly like nounal anagrinds, but think it's ok here, though points reduced for the past tense construct | | 4. | I wondered whether 'pincer movement' would crop up. nicely done. |
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| 40. Non-smoker pens letter to hold pulmonologist responsible primarily – spoiling nice Hamlet, say |
| 1. | Using a dash instead of "for" preserves the wordplay but spoils the surface. And shouldn't it be a letter of thanks? |
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| 41. One topping column has nice PR about Charles. |
| 1. | Two clues separated by the word "has" which belongs to neither of them. | | 2. | No wordplay for Nelson, and 'has' is a join, so not seamless | | 3. | First clue needs some wordplay, second could do with a ? | | 4. | Pedants will argue that 'Charles' needs a dbe indicator! | | 5. | Missing wordplay half for NELSON |
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| 42. One’s left shot at end of action, noble leader worth embracing |
| 1. | Two clues separated by a comma which belongs to neither of them. | | 2. | Good attempt at 2 &lits but I’m more convinced by the wordplay than the definitions, which feel as though they impinge on each other | | 3. | No definitions? Can't see this as a combined &lit for both parts, especially since Nelson wasn't a prince | | 4. | First clue very good. I don’t think the second is quite & lit. Are princes worth embracing? | | 5. | Two &lits in one, very nice except for the join not being disguised | | 6. | I like NELSON part but not convinced PRINCE part works as &lit, and two &lits read as two clues, rather than a single RIGHT&LEFT clue | | 7. | Original and inventive – excellent. |
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| 43. Pincer movement by Royal Naval Officer channels onlookers inwards |
| 1. | 'onslaught' would be a nice replacement for the somewhat out of place 'onlookers' | | 2. | I don't think "inwards" works as a containment indicator. | | 3. | wordplay by definition doesn't work | | 4. | don't like movement (a noun) as an anagram indicator | | 5. | Starts nicely but a weak ending |
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| 44. Pincer movement gave this old leader hold colonels once held |
| 1. | no reason for past tense in the cryptic reading | | 2. | The past tense words "gave" and "held" spoil the wordplay. | | 3. | OK, but not aware of any special hold that colonels may have had, surface not very compelling | | 4. | don't like movement (a noun) as an anagram indicator | | 5. | Obsolete? Go tell that to Liechtenstein, or Monaco. |
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| 45. Pincer movement makes sovereign hold on after lines cut island off (6,6) |
| 1. | "Cut" is a poor anagrind, unless it's part of cut…off, in which case there's no anagrind at all. | | 2. | lines, eg supply lines may get cut off, but how do lines cut an island off? | | 3. | don't like movement (a noun) as an anagram indicator | | 4. | Smooth and good join, but if 'lines' is naval terminology, it's a bit obscure for my taste |
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| 46. Prominence of warning sign ignored by him, sacked through personnel mismanagement. |
| 1. | Can't see any definitions | | 2. | Prominence is a good spot, but the comma just seems to be a separator, not part of either clue. | | 3. | Didn't follow this at all, can't see either word being defined. | | 4. | no | | 5. | Original ideas, but wordplay grammar is very strained | | 6. | Wordplay halves are present, definitions are not. | | 7. | I can't see/understand the definitions |
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| 47. Public relations during ‘Catholic’ furore ultimately may create issue for leader occupying No.10, extremely licentious man famous for his column (6,6) |
| 1. | A fun clue, but the periodic table reference is much too obscure. | | 2. | Too long-winded | | 3. | ‘No. 10’ for neon is a bit abstruse | | 4. | It's very long, and using 'No 10' to indicate 'neon' is hardly fair! |
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| 48. Root strikes IPL big shot in flannels on 111 (6, 6) |
| 1. | For cricketing enthusiast only, I fear. | | 2. | Like this but feel the prince component would be very difficult to solve | | 3. | Everyone out there would be in flannels, what does that special mention convey? | | 4. | nice | | 5. | I like the first wordplay, but NELSON isn’t inside ‘flannels on’, so it’s a weak ‘hidden’ clue | | 6. | Subtractive anagrams are not my cup of tea and this one has indirect fodder! |
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| 49. Royal charge had new admiral lose badly in nation's borders |
| 1. | Surface doen't seem to make much sense. | | 2. | Very well constructed. My only quibble is that admirals usually lose outside the nations borders! | | 3. | Wordplay works, but you'd expect an admiral to lose at sea, not inside the nation's borders – unless it was an election? | | 4. | Not keen on ‘had’ as a containment indicator. Admirals usually lose badly outside a nation’s borders. |
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| 50. Royal in church following public relations disaster
for lesson requiring change of direction and getting a grip |
| 1. | Discrete, unconnected elements not having a natural flow |
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| 51. Royal Navy – in charge, one's admiral, slain finally at sea |
| 1. | The admiral seems to be doing double duty: he provides both the definition and the letter L for the wordplay. | | 2. | Comma after charge separating the two halves, not seamless | | 3. | Slightly prefer 12 but this is also very good |
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| 52. Royal Navy in cost cutting refusal, letter primarily says, heading from newly decorated admiral (6;6) |
| 1. | I can see where you get NO, EL, S, and N, but where's the anagrind? | | 2. | this gives NOELSN, not Nelson. Surface doesn't seem to mean much | | 3. | Slightly spoilt by ‘cutting’ (a no can be polite). Maybe ‘payment refusal’? | | 4. | Cost cutting is v good, but overall not smooth enough |
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| 53. Royal Navy probing charge acting silent without placing it on hold |
| 1. | Not keen on "acting" as an anagrind. | | 2. | Good wordplay but the surface doesn’t make enough sense |
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| 54. Royal Navy splits fee it deducted from insolent disorganised Admiral |
| 1. | Runs together well and nice wordplay, fairly plausible surface. | | 2. | Works even if not very flattering to the RN or its admiral | | 3. | Another decent ‘Royal Navy’ clue | | 4. | Among the cleanest clues here, both in surface and in wordplay+definition. | | 5. | Of the many excellent clues this clue edged it for me with its pleasant rhythm, clear indicators and a seamless join between clues. |
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| 55. Royal nipper making right move in wrestling match? Hold on – lens is blurred! |
| 1. | Misleading punctuation is ok in wordplay but not in definition I feel | | 2. | Almost a good clue, but rather spoilt by the ? in the middle of the second def. |
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| 56. Royal photographs, reportedly ones shot with night lens, primarily in Lancashire town |
| 1. | PRINTS and PRINCE are not true homophones. | | 2. | prints as hp for prince doesn't work for me | | 3. | Good clue, but beaten by some of the other royal photos |
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| 57. Sounds like death toll is concerning for Admiral Newton , overwhelmed by damage for future monarch (6 :6) |
| 1. | Works better for me as "sounds like death toll is" for KNELL'S. But surface doen't seem very plausible, whichever Admiral Newton is meant. | | 2. | Not a convincing surface | | 3. | Nice idea, but I'm afraid "knell's on" doesn't sound like "Nelson". The former has a z; the latter, an s. | | 4. | The Nelson clue on its own is very good |
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| 58. Springfield Elementary student turned lens on public relations firm acquiring drugs for R&B star |
| 1. | Very obscure definition of Nelson | | 2. | firm for INC seems a stretch, corporation maybe |
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| 59. Victorious admiral destroyed French salt (no great man) in pincer movement |
| 1. | indirect anagram of 'sel non' is unfair to the solver | | 2. | I'm not keen on indirect anagrams, whether involving elementary French or not. | | 3. | Having to translate the fodder into French is too indirect for my taste | | 4. | an indirect anagram using French words? Doubt I'd even think of that | | 5. | no to indirect anagram; no to movement as anagram indicator | | 6. | An indirect anagram is a bit much in a double clue |
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| 60. Will possibly new cost-cutting title hold London's top columnist? |
| 1. | I'd prefer to see the fact that columnist is a pun indicated somehow. | | 2. | Lots to like in this but I’m not sure the extra definition helps with solvability | | 3. | why 2 defs for prince? And anyway should be new cutting cost, not the other way round? | | 4. | Your first and third PRINCEs are the same definition twice. |
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| 61. Willie for one statue, being elevated, almost audibly impresses lad at palace |
| 1. | "Almost" makes it the only acceptable PRINTS/PRINCE clue. Glad Willie Nelson gets a mention. Alternative spelling of willy (penis) is fine. | | 2. | prints as hp for prince not ok by me, and almost hp is a new one! | | 3. | Needs to sound more natural | | 4. | Made me laugh. Really like this in spite of the 'almost', which I don't think is strictly needed and doesn't add to the surface |
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