| Comments on the competition |
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| 1. |
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Clue 32 – very brave to enter a non-topical clue but I found it so well-formed that it stood out and became my five-pointer. Personally, I think the ? at the end was not needed as the clue did not stretch a point either as anagram or literal meaning.
Clue 37 – of the topical ones, this was the most interesting for me as it deflected the solver's mind towards an unrelated topic whithout losing quality in relation to the real one (presuming that a bit of cash wisely spent would put ash clouds in perspective again). It also read smoothly – a clue that flows or has some poetic quality adds to its enjoyment. |
| 2. |
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| This was much more difficult than GRAVE to clue, so it's good to see so many competitors having a go. The selection of inventive anagrams and definitions is impressive, but only minority of clues combined them with a very fluent and convincing surface reading. All my marks but one in the end went to & lits. or near & lits. 44 is the best example of these, very natural, and got top marks, closely followed by 37 (nicely misleading reference) and 42 (clever anagram indicator), then 28, 32 and 50 (working in the awkward 'can' well). All credit to the competitors who used completely misleading definitions and contexts, like 14, 17, 31, 47 and 51, but unfortunately none of them was quite up to the standard of my top six. 35's definition is inspired but a bit too cryptic for solvability in this context, I think. |
| 3. |
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| I thought this was one task where attempts to produce a misleading surface were likely to be less successful, so all my votes went to clues which kept to the point, although I was comfortable with entries that used flight disruption within their definition. Of the simple anagrams 32 was the best, although I'm not sure about the use of "eruption" as an anagrind. I prefer compound anagrams to have two operators, as in 42, which ruled out some entries. I think we all know that any claim to be an &lit in this comp is likely to be contentious, so the bravery in 39 in suggesting that it's an "almost &lit" is to be commended! |
| 4. |
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| Few entries managed to convince in both definition and surface reading. My winner 32 may not attract the wider support it merits for lack of (say) 'loss(2) = loess' in the explanation. My top five are 32,12,46,20,26 |
| 5. |
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1 A faultless construction and (probably) one from a regular AZED contributor; however the blanks are, to my mind, merely a contrivance favoured by Mr Crowther and the clue lacks the surface misdirection of a truly witty composition. Nul points, sorry
8 Naughty but very nice ! 5 points
17 Absolutely inspired – merci beaucoup. 4 points
20 Concise and topical. 3 points
32 Very good economy but a slightly weak definition. 2 points
53 Slightly let down by a surfeit of apostrophes. 1 point |
| 6. |
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Whilst some clues had definitions that seemed far too weak, there were far more clues than usual that I wanted to award points to included: 6, 17, 25, 30, 32, 36, 37, 39, 42, 43, 44, 47, & 52.
Outstanding clues for me were: my favourite 44 concise, clever and a superb surface, 52 which will be appreciated by those who Googled 'Calicos Havens'
, 32 my second favourite and unbelievably brief, 36 my third place – loved the def here! |
| 7. |
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Not an easy phrase to clue leading to quite a few tortuous anagrams and some dubious claims for &lit.
I liked 36, particularly for avoiding the anagram, plus air travel reference, although the definition does stretch it a bit.
Points also for 30 and 32, the latter of which I liked very much at first for its brevity, but on having another look, it doesn't quite work as a definition for me. Damn good effort though. |
