CCCWC May competition voters’ comments
Clue no. 9: Dynamic character who rose up in action with English
Back to competition result |
All the comments |
Other competitions
A clue to POWERHOUSE.
3 comments refer to this clue (from 3 competitors, 0 others)
Move your mouse pointer over any bold clue number to see the clue.
Here is the text
| Comments on the competition |
|---|
| 1. |
|---|
| What I noticed this month were several clues with bizarre or highly implausible surface readings, where the clue writer had forced unrelated elements together, perhaps in the hope of producing something amusing. Examples are 5, 13, 24, 36 and 11, whose long explanation was unconvincing. 3 on the other hand has a great surface, but I thought it marginally too difficult. Not many misleading definitions, but a few decent puns, the best of which is 23's "the one with the drive?". This is the one clue that made me chuckle, and I gave it top marks. 27 is concise and misleading, 39 has a good topical surface, and 9, 14 and 19 all read well. 37 and 43 contain original ideas, but neither works very well cryptically. Another good turn-out, and rather easier than last month to choose the best clues. |
| 2. |
|---|
A good bunch this month.
1st (2.5 points) 39
2nd= (2 points each): 30, 52
4th= (1 point each): 9, 17, 19, 35, 38, 47, 49 (although this isn't an &lit. — 'a dynamo' is not part of the wordplay — it's a semi &lit.)
11th= (0.5 points each): 3 (the surface would have been true if the commas had been left out: as it is they don't help and reduce the Flamini-absence quality of the clue), 29, 41 |
| 3. |
|---|
Some very interesting ideas. The anagram of "How's Europe" and variants were just too over-used and none of the clues especially stood out, so they did not quite make my shortlist. 4 and 6 were both interesting ideas, but I thought 4 was too hard to solve and should also be "partner's" in the surface reading, while I could not see what "then" was doing in 6.
My favourite clue was 30, which I gave 5 points. Although I think the addition of a "Maybe" at the beginning (British H of C only an example of LH) and perhaps the use of "Commons" rather than "MPs" would have made it even better, the simplicity and topicality of the idea made it stand out.
I also liked the simplicity of 52 as an &lit and the "story" behind 8. The remaining clues that got my votes were 39 and 9, ahead of the others on my shortlist (27, 28, 35, 38, 48) mostly because of the more natural surface reading. |
