| Comments on the clues |
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| 1. A dandy Italian dish |
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| 2. A Macron trip to Italy goes down well in Rome? |
| 1. | Not a fan of an anagram only changing one letter. |
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| 3. A main or starter of cheesy cooked pasta |
| 1. | A neat well-constructed clue. | | 2. | Delightful clue | | 3. | Nicely done. I toyed with something similar but couldn’t find such a neat arrangement. |
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| 4. A man oddly chic or affected? (8) |
| 1. | A good & lit. It made me smile. | | 2. | Clever (and different) use of wordplay. | | 3. | Creative clue |
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| 5. A Manc man on rood; cannibal primes some pasta |
| 1. | Clues really need a surface that makes sense! | | 2. | What does the surface mean? Respect on only using primes though. |
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| 6. A manic or terribly affected man |
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| 7. A Roman innovative chef originally cooked ——— (8) |
| 1. | I think 'this' would have been better than the dash | | 2. | Ah. That stupid adjective order thing kind of catches you here. Should be innovative Roman unfortunately. |
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| 8. A Romanic dish? |
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| 9. A Romanic mixture, possibly served with cheese. |
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| 10. A timeless, romantic, delightful dish (8) |
| 1. | While solving anagrams might be delightful to some, I'm not sure it works as an indicator | | 2. | Not clear how delightful is an anagram indicator | | 3. | I'm not sure that delightful is a very good anagrind | | 4. | Very pretty clue |
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| 11. Arts degree leads to failing comic strip in Dandy |
| 1. | 'to failing comic strip' to make caron is a stroke of genius. Amusing surface too. Superb clue. |
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| 12. Camera shot without energy – love new one taken with "cheese"? (8) |
| 1. | Nice misleading definition. Cool clue. |
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| 14. Computer with artificial intelligence point is an alternative to being held back by tubes |
| 1. | Cool idea with mac and ai and tubes just a bit long, 'is an alternative to' doesn't seem synonymous with 'or' to me either. |
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| 15. Could Armani & Co make Yankee Doodle's cap? |
| 1. | Almost great but I thought it was the feather rather than the cap that was called macaroni? | | 2. | Could you make it without could? ;) |
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| 16. Dandy comic ran a funny edition without copyright (8) |
| 1. | Very clever | | 2. | Edition seems to be somewhat superfluous | | 3. | Slightly random surface but a nice clue. |
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| 17. Dandy French actress Leslie plunged into her spring |
| 1. | Again, Mai as French spring is great but what does it mean in the surface? |
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| 18. Dandy French leader pinching a rabbi's bottom |
| 1. | Surely there's something ending in 'i' more suitable than 'rabbi'? | | 2. | This might be my favourite Macron clue. Such a funny image. Well done. |
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| 19. Dandy French President, one to squash leader of Angleterre? |
| 1. | Why Angleterre? Seems like something more currently/ historically accurate might have been better? |
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| 20. Dish, a Roman one, mixed with a bit of cheese |
| 1. | A good semi & lit, 'dish' could be the anagram indicator so no need (only in my opinion) for inclusion of 'mixed'. Neat though. | | 2. | Very smooth clue – will trust your origin story |
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| 21. Dish from Romania, cooked with a bit of cheese |
| 1. | Roma is not Romania, I won't be asking you to introduce me to 'her' ;) |
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| 22. Dish of Italian ice cream one has after churning this cheese |
| 1. | A rather strange surface in my opinion | | 2. | The wordplay is very close you just need to drop Italian, icecreamonehas* [dish of as anagrind] = macaroni cheese. Also, churning is unneces |
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| 23. Elbows on kitchen table, maid carved onions in half (8) |
| 1. | Nice, but should be "halves", not "half" to be fair. Nor would that diminish from the surface. | | 2. | I like the second half, but really don't get the elbows bit | | 3. | Incredible clue. I love a misleading definition and here it is joined expertly to a lovely, unique wordplay idea. |
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| 24. Extravagant man from second part of eighteenth century having a primarily feminine and modish cut |
| 1. | Too bitty | | 2. | Extraordinary clue just a bit long. |
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| 25. Fancy fellow seen reading LeGuin or a Camus in reverse |
| 1. | I’m sure the surface could have been made more plausible | | 2. | I'm not sure what reading in reverse means | | 3. | Nice idea but the 'in reverse' doesn't suit the surface | | 4. | This one broke my heart. Such a perfect telescopic but ruined with the outlandish concept of reading backwards at the end. |
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| 26. Food coming in tubes held over mouths fed to manic nuts |
| 1. | Ora for mouths seems too obscure to me, and the surface isn't smooth enough | | 2. | Unique idea. Ora seems very tricky but maybe just unfamiliar to me. |
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| 27. For starters , maybe a cheese accompaniment reminiscent of Northern Italy (8) |
| 1. | I don’t think ‘for starters’ means ‘starters for’ | | 2. | Cool idea but 'cheese accompaniment' sounds strange to me. | | 3. | Can a starter also be an accompaniment? |
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| 28. French leader picked an Indian dish (8) |
| 1. | Fine just a bit random. Even eating sounds more natural to me. |
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| 29. French President imports top grade Italian pasta. |
| 1. | I don't like that the I is outside Macron after being 'imported' |
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| 30. I am a corn derivative |
| 1. | I’ll buy ‘corn’ but not ‘derivative’ | | 2. | I think that pasta is usually made from durum wheat rather than corn, however, I'm sold so this got my vote. | | 3. | Neat and credit for being the only one to spot this | | 4. | Elegant clue although considered by most to be a wheat product | | 5. | How is macaroni derived from corn ? | | 6. | Novel approach but not something likely to be said in real life. | | 7. | Are you though? |
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| 31. I am crazy about veteran French actress’s pasta |
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| 32. I'm an orca worrying a penguin (8) |
| 1. | Like the surface, but I don't think 'fodder worrying' works, 'fodder that's worried' maybe | | 2. | This clue creates a very nice visual image with a good element of humour. My favourite, but why the eponymous chocolate biscuits?! | | 3. | Very good – well spotted! | | 4. | Lovely wordplay. Not sure if the 'a' is needed? | | 5. | Penguin is a stretch but fantastic surface and wordplay. |
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| 33. I'm gyrating around a famous danseuse, which is dandy for someone about 300 years old! |
| 1. | Very amusing surface. | | 2. | Not sure if played for laughs but 300 years old just sounds strange to me in the surface. |
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| 34. I'm on a noisy overbearing carriage affording tube fare (8) |
| 1. | Tube fare is excellent but the clue’s let down slightly by the surface | | 2. | Not a fan of "noisy" as an anagrind. | | 3. | Good idea, but 'overbearing' lets it down | | 4. | Delightful clue |
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| 35. Image-conscious guy running a Micra? No |
| 1. | Funny! | | 2. | Original wordplay and amusing surface story – my winner. | | 3. | Great anagram find and connection with definition but 'running' doesn't work for me in the surface. A different anagrind maybe? |
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| 36. In turn I’m fashionable or an eccentric perhaps |
| 1. | Totally lost as to what's happening here. How does I'm work? If it is 'i' where is 'n', if it is I'm, how does the m from cam disappear? |
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| 37. It is served in Roma with a cheese topping 8) |
| 1. | In my opinion, 'a topping of cheese' would have been better | | 2. | Technically to be &lit you would have to drop 'it is'. Splendid clue though. |
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| 38. It provides orca with main meal |
| 1. | With a better anagram indicator this would be a very good clue | | 2. | A clever clue, but how do the whales manage to get the wrappers off those penguins? | | 3. | Good idea but needs more development I feel. Not keen on meal as anagrind and definition is asking a lot of the solver | | 4. | The penguin's the meal in the &lit reading? Poor penguin! | | 5. | Great clue. I think you have gotten confused about how definitions and &lit works though. Def should just be 'meal', main as sea is a happy |
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| 39. Italian food regurgitated in Spain, or a Cambodian delicacy? |
| 1. | Sorry I just can't read 'food regurgitated' and think it means copied. A shame because it's a wonderful telescopic find. |
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| 40. It's in the category of spaghetti western music (with an unusual use of ocarina) |
| 1. | Bravo! | | 2. | I like this but not convinced that 'western music' can mean M. Maybe if music had fewer letters? | | 3. | Great idea but 'western' doesn't work as a first letter indicator | | 4. | Tremendous clue. Only thing that put me off was the length. |
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| 41. Krafty Italian dish created by Marconi, a screwball. |
| 1. | Screwball is a hilarious anagrind. |
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| 42. Listless romantic ails, mad for Italian dish |
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| 43. Losing Juliett in Majorca badly affected young man |
| 1. | Not seen Juliet spelt this way before | | 2. | My top choice | | 3. | Love this clue! Should be one 't' in Juliet but what a great anagram find, def and connection between them. |
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| 44. Lush needs no end of booze with Americano cocktail! |
| 1. | There seems to be a disconnect between lush as a noun and as an adjective | | 2. | lush as someone extravagant is too obscure for me to find or non-existent |
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| 45. Mad American love for energy food (8) |
| 1. | American’s would have worked better | | 2. | Brilliant clue. Genius way to connect a substitution and a definition. |
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| 46. Micra on rank accepts a fare in Rome |
| 1. | A novel departure from the food based clues. Good deception (but fair) with the use of fare, I may be confident to get the TUBE again. | | 2. | I liked this but baulked at 'rank' as an anagrind. | | 3. | Love the definition in this clue. Wordplay, too, matches well without feeling contrived. A great clue all round. |
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| 47. Missing intro, harmonica played medley |
| 1. | A subtle use of 'medley' as the definition & most economical in cluing too. | | 2. | Why does medley mean macaroni? |
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| 48. Mother Hubbard and I make brief comical appearance in Dandy (8) |
| 1. | not personally a fan of using 'make brief' to refer to two different words. Mother Hubbard is a cool find though. |
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| 49. Mum roughly broke iron dish |
| 1. | Great wordplay just can't really imagine an iron dish being broken. |
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| 50. New Romantic: A timeless dandy (8) |
| 1. | timeless dandy seems an oxymoron to me. | | 2. | Nice one, that takes me back to the 80's |
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| 51. No time for a romantic, freshly prepared Italian meal |
| 1. | Plausible surface story with straightforward wordplay. | | 2. | Crisp clue, surface feels a bit open ended though, 'timeless' as used elsewhere might work better |
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| 52. Old dandy could become crazy erotomaniac if didn't have broken toe |
| 1. | Nice idea, I don't think erotomania would realistically be stopped by a perceived defect in the owner's appearance but a creative anagram. |
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| 53. Pasta delivered by Citroen, perhaps, running in Parisian spring. |
| 1. | Fine with Mai as Parisian spring but needs to be more justified in surface I think. |
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| 54. Pasta – French President consuming ace rations essentially |
| 1. | What are ace rations? Something provided by budget casinos? |
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| 55. Pasta is a Marconi invention |
| 1. | If all you're doing is moving a c, maybe: Marconi about to receive promotion over a combination of tubes |
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| 56. Penguin and I follow article in Jupiter. |
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| 58. Penguin mass a drunk driver's rammed into with side of Ferrari |
| 1. | This only happens in crossword clues | | 2. | Why does driver mean car? |
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| 59. Pie in the sky to make this kind of dough? |
| 1. | I feel like 'macaroni' only refers to a fellow or food, right? |
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| 60. Piece of film: a car on inner tubes |
| 1. | what does the surface mean? |
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| 61. Short tube train I'm on, squeezing inside one carriage |
| 1. | Sounds like IMON* is inside ACAR, rather than vice versa. | | 2. | Nice idea, but macaroni isn’t a single tube | | 3. | I think macaroni is defined as short tubes | | 4. | Lovely clue, if only I could award more points |
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| 62. Source of carbohydrates in Romania, possibly |
| 1. | Romania feels a bit random in the surface. |
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| 63. Spaghetti western; camera: one-shot; noir |
| 1. | Spaghetti and macaroni are not the same | | 2. | why does spaghetti = macaroni? |
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| 64. Spanish shrimp I prepared for an Italian dish |
| 1. | The indirect anagram is too difficult | | 2. | good to see a more advanced anagram type | | 3. | not a fan of indirect anagrams |
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| 65. Suffering corona, am I losing oxygen in confusion? |
| 1. | Maybe not the most sensitive clue | | 2. | why does confusion = macaroni? |
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| 66. Swell time away having a romantic trip |
| 1. | why does swell = macaroni? |
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| 67. Tuck, Marian and co made merry |
| 1. | Such a great idea to use Tuck and Marian as def and wp elements but surface not quite there for me unfortunately. |
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| 68. Use this, cooking a main course? |
| 1. | Awesome find. As I said for the other CA using the same wordplay, the only thing I prefer about the other one is that it is not broken up by |
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| 69. Use this pasta to set up a main course (8) |
| 1. | Pasta is not needed. The other clue using the same idea is better. | | 2. | Fantastic clue. Kicking myself when I saw this CA. Hard to choose between this and the other CA using the same wordplay but I like the way t |
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