One of the problems in judging this was deciding how precisely a Russian headscarf, or an elderly Russian lady, should be defined. Should it have a specific reference to Russia, or could it refer to any old lady or headscarf? My final decision was that those definitions that didn't point to Russia explicitly would be fine; however, if a definition (and not the surface) suggested a country other than Russia, I considered this too much of a logical leap. Example of this were 6, 19 and 30. 63 also fell into this category, I felt, but I must congratulate the contributor on the clue's surface. 7 was another that fell foul here, mostly because I can't be sure that Azeri people (speaking a Turkic language) would refer to such an item the same as a Russian (who speaks a Slavic language).
On the positive side, points to:
5: 35 – Gots the edge over 36 due to a smoother surface.
4: 36 – See above.
3: 29 – Clever defintions.
2: 62 – Indirect anagram is perhaps obscure, but it doesn't harm the clue much.
1: 38 – Good surface.
I should also give mentions to 4, 14, 18, 25 and 49, 53 and 54. 46 has an excellent surface, but I'm not sure Red is synonymous with Russia. |
A difficult word has let to a fairly dull set of clues. A disappointment after last month's excellent crop. I can't pick a clear winner, but have given 3 points each to clues 58 and 63, and one point each to 6 others.
I'm sorry to have to say this, but though I consider myself a quite broad-minded chap, I find the clue to 21 gratuitously offensive and that to 43, whilst being quite well constructed, still in poor taste. |
Nothing to set the world on fire this month, most of the more imaginative clues being marred by one or more of: unsoundness; slightly iffy wordplay or definition; stilted English; an unconvincing surface.
3 points:
20 This clue would have been a little fairer had, say, “from India” been added after “writer”, but is otherwise simple, neat and convincing . On “in”, see comments on 7 below.
2.5 points each:
18 This is neat, but composite anagrams that include a specific definition in this way seem somehow less satisfactory than those that achieve an &lit using “this”, “thus” or whatever to represent the clue-word.
42 Admirably concise and a good choice of definition to suit a convincing surface. It’s a pity, however, about the unnatural word order of “serve with” for “with serve” in the cryptic reading. A better solution might have been something like “Indian special’s hot? Then serve nan”
63 The best of the Abba offerings, though “hit” is on the borderline as an acceptable a.i.
2 points:
44 An ingenious solution to a reverse hidden for, in that context, a pretty unpromising set of letters. I see from a Google search that there has even been speculation that the Kazakh navy does in fact have submarines, unlikely as that might seem. Nevertheless, the surface is just a little strained and “having” would have been preferable to “has”.
1 point:
50 In the context of an otherwise promising surface (and original definition) , “soul” and even “embracing” seem forced and artificial. One wonders whether “to serve A(merican) President” might not have been exploited in some way. On “in”, see comments on 7 below.
0.5 point each:
7 Several things about this clue are excellent (concise, a good surface, a neat & appropriate anagram), but it is marred by the connector “for”; “in” would have been perfectly acceptable. In my book, SI for Definition is fine, but Definition for SI is not. Logically, it seems to me, the same principle should apply to in – as in 20 and 50, for instance – but SI in Definition is so widely accepted (eg, by Azed) that it would be unreasonable to penalize it. (Vice versa for from, of course.)
32 Another clue with much to recommend it (an original and convincing surface and, with one exception, deft wordplay), but “Hong-Kong-bound” – even with the extra hyphen! – doesn’t seem to me adequate to indicate that HK follows “airbus”; “airbus to Hong Kong” would have been more accurate; “carrier” to indicate BA, even in a surface referring to air travel, is a bit of a stretch too.
35 Admirably concise, a good anagram in a convincing surface, but, with regret, I finally decided that “Mother Russia” as a definition was too inaccurate, even with a question-mark, to earn more than minimum points. |
