CCCWC August competition voters’ comments

Back to competition result | Other competitions

A clue to SHAPE / TIGER (Right & Left).
88 comments were received for this competition (from 10 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.
A question for the moderator. I find it interesting that you have allowed 'shagging' in clue 5. I rejected "Big pussy is tighter without initial hormone treatment plan? Geisha peers inside" in favour of the cleaned-up version I eventually submitted. Would my draft version have been allowed? I don't agree that 'jaguar' is a valid definition for 'tiger'. They are separate species from different parts of the world.
2.
I thought the overall quality was surprisingly high, given how difficult I found this combination of clue-words.
3.
Very few clues managed to combine soundness with a convincing and satisfying surface. Many had indicators for initial or final letters that seem unacceptable to me: eg, "starts practising" for P & "big end" for G. Of those remaining on my short-list, 7's brilliant TIGER was rather let down by weaknesses in SHAPE. There wasn't a great deal to choose between the others so the points were fairly evenly spread, with no one scoring highly: 2 points: 7, 27, 30, 33, 34; 1 point: 11, 23, 25; 0.5 point: 2, 4, 9, 17.

Comments on the clues

1. A feline with some lost gristle,initially,goes through a phase to keep its form!

1.	Don't think this works. 'Initially' doesn't lead you to 'Some Lost' when 'gristle' is postioned inbetween.
2.	The syntax in the first half doesn't quite work cryptically; some superfluous words in the second half with no clear anagrind
3.	'Initially' appears to apply to 'gristle', not 'some'. 'Goes through a' doesn't indicate an anagram to me
4.	Sadly, the subsidiary indications do not begin to work as suggested in the explanation.

2. After reflecting on Golf appeal, Jaguar model heaps better styled

1.	'jaguar' is not a tiger (different species from different parts of the world)
2.	TIGER = jaguar is a solely American usage, & this needs to be indicated

3. Americans yell inside anti-German military HQ – Pentagon, perhaps?

1.	"Americans yell" needs an apostrophe to work as a definition. SHAPE/Pentagon is a clever combination
2.	For definition of "tiger" I think it needs to be worded "American" or "American's"
3.	"Americans yell" is NOT the same as "Americans' yell". One can't play fast & loose with punctuation in this way.

4. At first, Steve helped Apple regularly design it around 50% larger for a strong competitor

1.	It's a pity that, in the world of electronics, making something 50% larger is unlikely to make it a strong competitor.

5. Berk left Brenda, shagging pro then fashion model

1.	Is this a Private Eye clue? I think we should be told.
2.	I don't accept left=reversed, and 'then' is redundant. Not quite up to Cyclops standard.
3.	A Private Eye reader?! Humerous, but don't think I can accept 'Berk left' = git reversed.
4.	"fashion" and "model" are essentially the same def for SHAPE
5.	Desperately in need of a fuller explanation. I can make neither head nor tail of the first part.

6. Big cat in anti-germ state with cut (5,5)

1.	Neither "state" nor "cut" seems acceptable as a def. of SHAPE & the surface is pretty meaningless

7. Disturbing this shark may present great risk, and lead to high profile accident in remote parts of seaside

1.	The join is nicely hidden
2.	A bit wordy, but technically correct and one of the few to avoid link-words. A convincing surface.
3.	Components neatly woven together for believable sr; well hidden split ("high profile"); clever comp anag. but "lead to high" not &lit
4.	Good surface & excellent comp. anag. for TIGER, but "profile" for SHAPE is borderline & missing hyphen in "high-profile" a weakness

8. End of Maigret novel links celeb mum with subhuman body found near Mons

1.	IGRET is a very big end for Maigret! i.e. unsound because "end" needs to refer to just the end
2.	Well-concealed break & nice def. of TIGER, but "End of Maigret" is T not IGRET

9. Fearsome Indian icon and I get run out in mishap, enraging Oval?

1.	A nice surface. 'and' is a forgivable link-word, and 'in' is just about OK as an indicator.
2.	Concise, well woven together and well hidden split

10. Ferocious creature girt in tatters assumes, finally, the form of brutish apeman

1.	I don't think 'of' is enough to indicate a hidden word
2.	"Finally, the" for E is on the borderline of acceptability in my book

11. Figure the female holds absolute power right after I get involved with a man-eater?

1.	Original idea, but the split could be slightly better hidden

12. Form untidy heaps of earth and grit surprisingly having great economic potential

1.	Shame that the 'of' is superfluous

13. Formidable competitor's rank including good fortune within extremes of sure-fire form

1.	Nice idea but a bit unwieldy final result
2.	Definitions & subsidiary indicators are fair enough, but surface is pretty meaningless

14. Formidable competitor having game with little right admitting golf form has collapsed, personage totally gutted?

1.	"game with little right" is a very odd & artificial way of expressing, presumably, "game in which little goes right"

15. Golfer, perhaps the Shark, finding form as he starts practising furiously

1.	Not very well hidden division between the two parts; also I cannot see how "starts practising" = S grammatically
2.	'P' is acceptable as 'start to practising' rather than 'starts practising'.
3.	"starts practising" is not a sound indicator for P in my book & the "the" (there for surface) is redundant in def.

16. Groom player to develop form?

1.	Concise, but 1. split not well hidden, 2. "player" for T Woods too general, 3. "develop" and "form" too closely related for DD
2.	Concise clue, but three of the four definitions are tough.
3.	Admirably succinct, but "player" is hopelessly vague as a def. of TIGER
4.	"Player" does not seem specific enough.

17. Gutsier Dicky spurns us for cat to make fortune in London?

1.	Highly imaginative, with a reasonable surface.
2.	Otherwise good, but "to make" is surely rather too vague as a def. of SHAPE

18. In a mishap, Eldrick's form starts to implode, gets erratic, rattles Woods.

1.	A good idea spoilt in execution – "to" is doing double duty; "starts" on its own won't do to indicate "first letters of"

19. Keen competitor, constant in level form, has performed exercises

1.	Original, concise and with a well hidden split
2.	Surface spoiled by almost meaningless "constant in level form"

20. Leaders of Sweden, Holland and Poland elect to form one formidable anti-German constituent

1.	Whether "constituent" is taken as meaning "an essential part" or a person, the sentence is almost meaningless

21. Mishap evidently involves appearance by Woods.

1.	Does not fulfil criteria for clue type
2.	I felt a little more indication for Woods was necessary.
3.	The clue to Tiger is incomplete
4.	A straightforward definition without an s.i. (as in TIGER here) is surely unacceptable in a cryptic clue

22. Model Cook has positive England leading in Test rankings, having conquered India: grand whitewash, essentially, for a formidable opponent

1.	Long and ungainly
2.	A bit convoluted
3.	'E' is an abbreviation for English, but not England
4.	Nice surface, but TIGER part a bit long, and E=English not England
5.	The abbreviation for England is ENG not E & "LeadING in Test rankings" is unsound for TR in my book

23. Model has somehow domesticated Manx cat — beginning tailless it went backwards initially

1.	Well-concealed break & "domesticated Manx" for PE is good. A pity the surface loses the plot towards the end.

24. New big end and tire for Jaguar (Stateside) create accident in Southern Spain

1.	Not sure that the surface reading really hangs together
2.	"big end" is not the same as "end of big" & "(Stateside)", needed for accurate def., is clumsy in context of surface

25. Other stage hosts Glastonbury headliner and clubbing legend – phase out pyramid?

1.	I like the idea. Problem is the join is obvious.
2.	I don't think "Other" really serves good purpose in the cryptic reading and split not well hidden, else interesting/original idea
3.	Like the Glastonbury theme, not sure about 'headliner' as an initial letter indicator
4.	Good idea for surface & good def. of TIGER, but "Glastonbury headliner" iffy for G & Pyramid needs capital P

26. Pa? He's off form till Ireland gets English referee to start African game

1.	A decent clue…but I probably won't be the first to inform you that tigers are not known to be found in Africa.
2.	Asian game, surely, not African?
3.	Tiger is Asian, not African
4.	Definition for tiger is a bit inaccurate here
5.	In SA usage TIGER can mean leopard, but "African game" is unfair; "to start" poor indicator of 1st letters of previous 5 words
6.	Tigers are Asian.

27. Page IT returned with rejected registration form, she found with missing letter on copier

1.	A convincing surface, although 'with missing letter' seems a bit desperate. I particularly liked 'copier' = APE.

28. Pentagon say phase out stripped vertigo treatment for aggressive individual.

1.	The surface seems pretty meaningless & "treatment" as an a.i. following letters to be anagrammed is iffy in my book

29. Phase out model before fierce competitor's level with great start

1.	The s.i. seems to give GTIER, not TIGER. "before" seems to have no role in the wordplay

30. Promising performance from Lily – the girl’s apparently in form

1.	Good idea. I suspected the definitions, but Chambers supports both.
2.	Nicely succinct, although the dash across the join is undesirable.

31. Quiet imitator in form finds lurking in stage Georgia's topper – a formidable opponent

1.	Very odd word order, producing stilted & barely intelligible surface meaning

32. Rover, if he's chased feline figure, possibly has to be given training

1.	Good surface but Rover=Thesiger is expecting too much of solvers I think
2.	A nice surface & acceptable defs & s.i., EXCEPT that "Rover" to indicate THESIGER is hopelessly unfair

34. Row involving good golfer as he worried about pressure and form

1.	Very good clue. Coherent surface and clever wordplay.

35. Sign bizarre, pointless petition about Grand Railway mishap: engine contains mould

1.	"pointless petition" for ETI won't do, because the letters of "point" don't appear in that order in "petition"

36. Tank forced regular Ninth back to half German structure? Natasha peered inside

1.	I don't think 'regular Ninth back' quite works cryptically
2.	Despite lengthy explanation, surface still makes little sense & "regular Ninth" for IT is pretty iffy.

37. Unearthed from vestige, remains of forest inhabitant, first simian, having hominid form

1.	Stand out clue. Reads well and use of language towers above the competition.
2.	Not sure that "first simian, having" quite indicates SH; "of" is redundant
3.	A hominid is not an ape & "first simian having" is NOT the same as "first letters of simian having"

38. Woods first develop with a variety of ash and borders of pine.

1.	The tiger part needs some wordplay
2.	Only def for TIGER, no wordplay; also needs to be "Woods' first" at least (but does "first" adequately define "first name" anyway?)
3.	Clue to tiger incomplete here, plus several superfluous words
4.	A straightforward definition without an s.i. (as in TIGER here) is surely unacceptable in a cryptic clue; "first" has no role in wordplay.