| Comments on the clues |
|---|
| 1. A quiet start to innings in Grace hundred. Capital! |
| 1. | Grace's hundred might work, existing surface seems off |
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| 2. American state was on night shifts |
| 1. | A person or group can be on night shifts, but a whole state? |
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| 3. American State's town struggling to accept heartless anguish in a riot (10) |
| 1. | Would have given this a top placing except that heartless anguish makes no sense | | 2. | American town yes, American state's town seems forced | | 3. | "struggling to accept heartless anguish" is very awkward |
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| 4. By George! Was nothing done? |
| 1. | The 'by' spoils it though added for the surprise element in the surface |
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| 5. Capital doctor saw nothing amiss |
| 1. | One anagrind would have sufficed | | 2. | Who or what is a capital doctor? |
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| 6. Chinatown's awfully good for clubs here |
| 1. | Can't see a clear definition coming out of this |
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| 7. City of the privileged American exudes power, changes nothing |
| 1. | The linkword breaks the cryptic grammar, as 'city' becomes the subject in both cryptic and superficial readings. | | 2. | A derog term that could be avoided. Anyway 'nothing changes' would be ok, changes nothing is not grammatical in the given construction |
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| 8. Cleaning"s not bad but it's a state |
| 1. | Nicely fluid. Points here. | | 2. | Unfortunate apostrophe typo, link word 'has' is a bit iffy, and 'but' for equivalence is not ideal |
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| 9. David Cameron initially wanting oh so briefly to be involved |
| 1. | That's 2 WPs. Nice though. | | 2. | Two sets of wordplay, no definition |
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| 11. Early American painting in watercolour not put up |
| 1. | nice to get a different picture | | 2. | I can't think why not: seems pretty accomplished. |
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| 12. Exotic women in thongs entertaining a former American president |
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| 13. Famous young feller wound reverse hitch starting off around tree (10) |
| 1. | ingenious. | | 2. | Too complicated for me to unravel even with explanation |
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| 14. Former President quietly saying, "After retirement, do nothing." (10) |
| 1. | Padding quietly slipped in. | | 2. | what is the role of 'quietly'? |
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| 16. Former president used to be on night shifts |
| 1. | Grammar not ok with 'shifts' |
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| 17. Former president was nothing special |
| 1. | Very true. I think this clue will be hard to trump! | | 2. | I have difficulty accepting 'special' as anagram indicator |
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| 20. Hatchet-wielding president allegedly saw nothing wrong |
| 1. | Not bad, could be a winner . Points here. |
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| 21. His wanton acts rebelliously set about George’s primacy? |
| 1. | Primacy barely suggests a first letter, let alone indicating it. Overblown surface. | | 2. | The clue as a whole refers to something other than Washington, don't see this as a valid &lit | | 3. | Very pleasing and far better than most – well done! |
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| 22. Maybe a state with like nothing? (10) |
| 1. | QM indicates confused setter (and solver), not fodder. | | 2. | anagram indicator? |
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| 23. Mutinous Whigs infiltrate nation in turmoil, taking out current US president |
| 1. | This would require whigs* to be inside nat(i)on*, but such is not the case |
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| 24. Not OTT? What's got into reborn, nationalist president? |
| 1. | Nationalist would need to be capitalised strictly speaking |
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| 29. Now, as night fell on Christmas Day, he crossed a river on the other side of the pond. |
| 1. | can't see an anagram indicator. A somewhat verbose definition just tagged on for the fodder | | 2. | Very nice. I would have been perfectly happy with just "…crossed the Delaware" |
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| 31. President made TV appearance to admit terrible thing |
| 1. | Clever sidestep of the clichéd wordplay. |
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| 32. Regularly wear naughty thongs in a liberal state (10) |
| 1. | Look like def is doing double duty here |
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| 34. Slide a shin into wellington boot yelling naked in a state |
| 1. | Cryptic reading is "Insert fodder into fodder delete altered fodder in definition". Doesn't work. | | 2. | Surface seems meaningless | | 3. | Interesting construction, but story is a bit random? |
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| 35. State Capital of Wisconsin has changed? I got new name wrong (10) |
| 1. | Nice. | | 2. | With this type of clue I think to myself: but it hasn't? It's hard to win me back after that. |
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| 36. "State name." "No!" Thing was, it was misspelt |
| 1. | No real connection between the different parts in surface for a convincing whole |
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| 38. State of laundry, not organised |
| 1. | That's my Monday morning routine. Points here. |
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| 39. State police saw nothing criminal |
| 1. | I don’t get police as an anagrind | | 2. | Canny! | | 3. | don't see the need for two anagram indicators | | 4. | Too many anagrinds! |
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| 40. Tense inside showing an agitated state? |
| 1. | Neat and hangs together well |
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| 42. Upright, saying nothing false, a first in Presidential office? |
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| 43. Used to be head honcho in embryonic government to colonists, essentially |
| 1. | Head doesn't indicate initial except for by wishful thinking (you need a preposition), and embryonic is padding (or a very odd initial ind). |
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| 44. What guy's face, and name, is on bucks? |
| 1. | Great clue. | | 2. | Wow! The full five here. No justice if this doesn't win. This gets better with every reading. What a beezer! | | 3. | Good find, original |
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| 45. Yank Founding Father — was to become such a duffer |
| 1. | unless GW is a duffer I fail to see the point of this CA |
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