There were lots and lots of clues with interesting ideas in. Of these, most didn't form into a satisfying clue in my view because of some:
– grammatical or linguistic strain 12 13 14 15 16 25 30 35 37 40
– loose definition 26 47
– long-windedness 6 18 19 21 32.
I gave points to the clues that were well formed and would have given satisfaction if found in a printed puzzle.
41 Neat. A bit of humour always hits the spot (even toilet humour) – top of this pile – 5.
I spread my other votes among 11, 22, 24, 39, 48 – 2 each. |
This month's word seemed to provide an interesting challenge after last month's definition-heavy competition, with some interesting definitions being used. Some, I thought, were inaccurate, such as those involving "caveman" (which defines something else – and a spelunker is not necessarily a man). Also, those referring to the "underground", or to somebody moving downwards, I dit not consider for points, as caves may be above ground. That said, 28 and 37, while falling into this category, do have lovely surfaces.
Points to:
5: 41 – Very amusing and concise.
4: 17 – A wonderful surface; I very nearly disregarded this clue due to not being aware that "stupid" can also be a noun. A good reminder that we should always check what appears to be an incorrect usage, lest we do a disservice to a clue.
3: 13 – Nice pop-culture reference and a good definition.
1.5: 35 – Nicely misleading but perfectly fair.
1: 14 – A witty cruciverbalist context.
0.5: 43 – Like the use of Lascaux. |
Some excellent clues this month. In normal circumstances, both 33 and 47 might well have earned 5 points from me, but 14 I thought outstanding.
5 points:
14 a marvellously apposite surface for a competition involving crosswords, a well disguised definition and a skilful s.i.
3.5 points each:
33 commands admiration for achieving a sound composite anagram &lit with such unpromising letters.
47 sound, economical and amusing (though I prefer to think of the caver rather than the bats having “knees up”).
2 points:
26 skilful, sound and admirably succinct, but “creeps” is rather artificial in the context of the definition, and it is only a matter of opinion (which some potential solvers might hotly dispute) that all spelunkers are fools.
0.5 point each:
12 an entirely acceptable clue with a workmanlike surface, but not a great deal of sparkle.
13 an excellent idea for the definition and surface, quite cleverly exploited, but “half cut” and “right!” – both arguably crossword clichés – weaken the surface and rather spoil the effect.
Prox. ac.:
3 marred by “movement”, which is not really appropriate to the definition.
16 almost an excellent clue, but the surface makes no sense without a hyphen between "Earth" and "burrowing"; if, on the other hand, that hyphen were there, the clue wouldn't work cryptically.
19 much to admire here, but “putting surface” for P is iffy, while “dropping in hole amuses him” without even a question-mark, is quite a stretch as a definition; from the point of view of the golfing surface, something like “delights” would, surely, have been better than “amuses”.
32 although SuperKleen does exist, it appears to be used for purposes such that at any dentist using it for cleaning teeth would be struck off.
37 a generally nice surface, but SuperKen, needed for the anagram, is rather artificial and the capital U of “Underground” is unfortunate from the point of view of the definition.
38 I badly wanted to give points to this highly imaginative clue, but concluded that “ending with whimper” for R simply wouldn’t do, while “One of the ‘hollow men’” as the definition needed at least a question-mark.
43 the surface doesn’t quite convince.
49 almost very good, except that, in my book, “slunk” and “slithered” are not (pace, eg, Chambers Thesaurus sv “slither” – but not “slink”!) synonyms. |
