| Comments on the clues |
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| 1. A hair extension possibly giving tiny person outward appearance of model |
| 1. | Construct is fine but surface is not. | | 2. | Surface reading weak (e.g. why tiny person?). Cryptically more accurate might be: '… appearance of model outwardly' |
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| 2. A line in e.g. Sassoon's work, showing a cut? |
| 1. | Doesn't define it very well. | | 2. | Nice clue, def somewhat vague for more than a mark from me. |
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| 3. Added locks after I caught the man |
| 1. | I love the definition and awarded points but it could have been my top had 'the man' not let it down a bit. | | 2. | wordplay sound; surface meaning unexceptional |
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| 4. Artificial flower given to a female earns scant credit |
| 1. | A bit too elusive for me | | 2. | 'scant = shortened' in wordplay seems iffy. Otherwise I liked it (funny!), so a 'merit'. |
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| 5. Charles II leaves the First Earl of Shaftesbury's party with a rug. |
| 1. | Too confusing | | 2. | Leads to WIG, not POSTICHE. | | 3. | Your wordplay is meant to be to postiche, not wig! | | 4. | Too obscure for me. Rather bizarre image. | | 5. | This is a clue for 'wig' and not postiche – why give wordplay for a synonym?! I'm not sure Charles II fairly indicates H either. | | 6. | My husband was asleep and sans toupee when he wrote this clue! | | 7. | Not conviced by Charles II = H: Charles's IInd? Re. the surface, leaving with a rug seems strange. |
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| 6. Chip got wise and unraveled this wig |
| 1. | Adding "and" seems to make this clunky; seems like it should be part of the anagram. | | 2. | You can italicize words in clues and comments – follow the help links. Don't like Chip, whoever she or he is. | | 3. | The surface is a little strange, the structure only really works if the whole thing is &Lit. | | 4. | The 'and' is superfluous in the wordplay: needs to mean 'are', 'could be', etc.
For surface, name 'Chip' arbitrary, so weak. |
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| 7. Conceivably Rooney's weave itches after plastic surgery. |
| 1. | If "surgery" = op, and "plastic surgery" = po, where is the anagram indicator for "itches"? Is there some double duty going on here? | | 2. | Nice idea but I'm not keen on the indirect way of indicating PO. | | 3. | Where's the anagrind for ITCHES? Presume plastic surgery means reverse OP (so, an indirect anagram) … or is that the itches anagrind? Messy | | 4. | Nice surface, but in wordplay why 'plastic'? At best, 'op' = 'e.g. plastic surgery' (or 'e.g. cardiac surgery'). |
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| 8. Cop this new mane if down to the last strand |
| 1. | Surface makes little sense. | | 2. | The &lit needs to be an adjective or a noun, not an imperative verb, and the implication of a very frayed wig isn't justifiable. |
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| 9. Counterfeit Heroin found in cops tie very disturbing (8) |
| 1. | Should be cop's (or cops', at a stretch) | | 2. | Cop's tie? So for me disqualified. 'very': redundant in wordplay, presumably added for surface meaning. Should be 'disturbed'. |
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| 10. Counterfeit top is initially convincing on bloke |
| 1. | An &lit would require, e.g. "top that is", and the definition of "postiche" doesn't imply "convincing", initally or otherwise. | | 2. | Don't think it's an &lit as the whole does not strictly define wig, it makes an observation about a wig | | 3. | Reads well as a sentence but not as a one-line def: the 'is' would need to be a comma (it's a sentence, not a def.). |
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| 11. False echo tips bats |
| 1. | I like economical clues and I like this, although I'm not sure what a bat being tipped means. | | 2. | Concise and original | | 3. | Gave it a merit, almosr made my (this time lengthy) vote list: I felt 'tips' wasn't quite the right word for the surface meaning. |
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| 12. False, involuntary movement repressed by smart drug (8) |
| 1. | I like this, but why would an involuntary movement ever be additionally described as "false"? | | 2. | Almost excellent, but my doctor's ear has the natural surface as 'suppressed', not 'repressed'. | | 3. | Good one, but the comma after 'False' is a giveaway. |
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| 13. False lover of Lenore entertained loose chits |
| 1. | I don't really get this – the lover in Poe's poem Lenore is Guy de Vere, not the author. (And I did have to look that up.) | | 2. | … nice story, but it's 'entertains' here in the wordplay (or 'with entertained'). |
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| 14. Fresh hot pies with a bit of custard over the top. |
| 1. | Definition too vague | | 2. | Nice surface, but "fresh" isn't a good enough def. | | 3. | Worthy of some points, although "Over the top" doesn't fully convey "superfluously and inappropriately added to a finished work". | | 4. | Would love to give this top marks, but 'over the top'? Not a definition, more of a hint, so zero. | | 5. | Good misleading definition | | 6. | Almots earned a vote from me but competition hot so merit. For me, 'pies' usually meaty without qualifier: could have used 'mince'? | | 7. | Best of the foodie clues, I reckon. |
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| 15. Front part of special toupee is revolutionary, and inappropriate? (8) |
| 1. | "Front" really doesn't mean "initial letters of". Not an &lit by any means. | | 2. | 'Front' is a weak way to indicate initial letters. Should really be be 'fronts of p.. o.. s..' | | 3. | "Front .. "<>initial letters. "Front of .." is needed. Also it's not an &lit as the whole fails to define a wig it comments on a wig | | 4. | For accuracy, needed to be 'Fronts of..' In the definition (overall surface meaning), why is (only) the front part inappropriate? |
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| 16. Hairpiece itches terribly after initially putting on |
| 1. | Doesn't work grammatically – needs to be "initially being put on" or "initial putting on". | | 2. | Nice clue (merit) but not devious enough (e.g. no disguised meaning, not & lit., or etc) for a vote this time. |
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| 17. Hairpiece worn after op rejected itches atrociously |
| 1. | Pity that "worn" needs to be inserted to make sense – it adds nothing to the definition. | | 2. | Sound wordplay but nothing special in the surface reading. |
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| 18. Historically false, badly shot epic |
| 1. | Excellent clue, simple and misleading. | | 2. | Liked this, but 'historically'? No indication of obs (etc) in my (admittedly historic) Chambers. | | 3. | Sound anagram but nothing special in the surface reading. | | 4. | Not sure if historically is required except by the surface. |
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| 19. If wanting a bit of a roborant, what could provide third of vitamin C? Rosehip syrup |
| 1. | I didn't know roborant(a strengthening drug or tonic) but I'm afraid this clue was too fiddly for me. | | 2. | Correctly it should be 'a bit of roborant', not 'a bit of a'. Surface reading 'third of vitamin C' is weak. But nice try! |
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| 20. Inappropriately placed in charge, he follows behind. |
| 1. | Refreshingly different clue even if the definition is a little weak. See below where? | | 2. | Don't think the def. is precise enough (for 'superfluously added'). Surface meaning not outstanding. |
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| 21. It could create awful itches on heads of players on-stage |
| 1. | Very nice &lit. | | 2. | The adjective/adverb "on-stage" is not a legitimate substitute for "on stage". | | 3. | Def. rather imprecise (wigs aren't confined to players). 'On-stage' (for 'on stage') sounds contrived in the surface reading. | | 4. | Amusing surface and good wordplay. |
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| 22. Jerry's caught a tiddler deploying last of dynamite. A case of gilding the lily? |
| 1. | "Caught" seems superfluous in the cryptic reading, and the definition is unconvincing. | | 2. | Surface reading is rather contrived and implausible. Not sure what 'deployed' is doing for the wordplay. |
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| 23. Little guy's devoured by model in false hairpiece. |
| 1. | Sounds like a horror film. "Hairpiece" and "false" are too closely associated to work as a double def. (Which is unnecessary anyway). | | 2. | Nothing special about the surface reading but sound enough, good for a merit. |
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| 24. Mailman admits church is a sham |
| 1. | Needs to be slightly rephrased I think – "admits" and "is" don't quite work together. Rather a vague definition. | | 2. | Should be 'admitting' for the wordplay. Surface has no special meaning (why a postman?). |
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| 25. Mailman swallowed chestnut syrup |
| 1. | I didn't know ch = chestnut, but it's in Chambers. Chestnut syrup sounds horrible, but it is available. Better "swallows"? | | 2. | Sound clue but, in the surface reading, why a mailman? I.e. no special ring to the clue. |
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| 26. Nut burying bird in Peru runs away to New Barnet |
| 1. | Lovely image, but the "nut burying" bit seems unnecessary. (Shouldn't it have a hyphen, anyway?) "To" is an awkward link. | | 2. | The surface reading has little bearing on reality | | 3. | Some nice ideas, I can't imagine ever solving this though! | | 4. | Loved the def. 'New Barnet'! Sadly rest of surface implausible, def. of ostrich is a stretch, and 'to' superfluous in wordplay. |
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| 27. One's seen in chambers on the defending counsel's head? |
| 1. | Excellent &lit, clever use of 'chambers', by far the best in my opinion. | | 2. | Brilliant clue, although do counsel wear wigs in chambers as well as in court? I'm afraid I'm ignorant of such things. | | 3. | Very neat & lit. Good use of 'defending' | | 4. | Excellent, but the explanation of a quite complex clue would have been made much clearer by the use of brackets | | 5. | Great clue: natural language, excellent '& lit.' def.-by-example (hence the question mark), top marks from me. |
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| 28. Pitches thrown holding ball underhanded (8) |
| 1. | "Underhanded" is not a good definition. I'm sure there is a crossword convention that "ball" can indicate "O", but I don't like it. | | 2. | Nice clue, authentic surface reading (baseball). | | 3. | Good surface, though I am unsure how precise a definition 'underhanded' is. |
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| 29. Prosthetic? Right, this could be |
| 1. | 'Prosthetic' seems too vague a definition | | 2. | Nice clue, although it is stretching things a bit to describe a wig as a prosthetic. | | 3. | Wordplay almost great but should be 'Right, this could be prosthetic'. Defintion imprecise (also defines articial hip, etc). | | 4. | The definition is rather vague. |
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| 30. Replacement locks found in the post, I checked. |
| 1. | Would be 'too easy' as a clue. | | 2. | Rather an odd sentence, and hidden words work better when they don't start at the beginning of a word in the clue. | | 3. | Not well 'hidden' since postiche begins at start of word (post). No real ring to the surface meaning (rather contrived). |
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| 31. Rug that posh eccentric regularly rearranges |
| 1. | Nice surface | | 2. | No ring to the surface meaning (rather contrived). |
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| 32. Sit properly on chamberpot, dear, right off rug! |
| 1. | Can't argue with cher = dear, since (to my surprise) it's in Chambers. Don't understand "properly" as anagram indicator. | | 2. | For me 'sit properly' = 'sit'. (Anagram would be e.g. 'sit improperly'). Surface reading rather contrived. |
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| 33. Spice with hot ginger syrup |
| 1. | Does it make sense as 'spice with hot enliven syrup'? Much better as 'Ginger spice with hot syrup' – then enlive substitution works | | 2. | Reword this as "Spice with hot enliven syrup" and it's plain why it won't do. | | 3. | I'm not that keen on the anagram indicator, but certainly a neat clue | | 4. | Unsound becasuse ginger is a transitive verb (needs to be v.i. to work like this). 'Ginger spice with hot syrup' would work. | | 5. | 'Ginger' as a verb does not work as an anagram indicator. Perhaps 'gingery' could have been used. |
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| 34. Spurious line of verse penned by Manx poet |
| 1. | Not everything Manx is tailless, just the cats | | 2. | No quarrel with the definition, but "Manx poet" is stretching things a bit? | | 3. | this might even be better than mine (45) :-D | | 4. | I think it works fine but there's no special ring or trick to the surface. Merit. |
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| 35. Stir hot spice into East End syrup? |
| 1. | "Hot spice" is popular this month but with fairly obvious anagrams it's worth looking a bit further. Why the question mark? | | 2. | Works great as wordplay & def. (East End syrup) but the overall surface is odd – East End syrup? |
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| 36. Stop getting upset about top of head being frozen, wearing this should help? |
| 1. | ice <> 'being frozen' | | 2. | Very clever. My only quibble is that "ice" as an adjective means "made of ice", and that's not quite the same thing as "frozen". | | 3. | I got put off by the by the inaccurate punctuation (comma) and don't see that 'ic(h)e' is accurately represented (wordplay). |
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| 37. Substitute hot spice soup (8) |
| 1. | I like short clues like this, although the definition "susbstitute" really won't do. | | 2. | 'Soup' is a noun so doesn't indicate (qualify) the phrase as an anagram. ('soup of hot spice' would work). |
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| 38. Sun: GRASS ADMITS A FIDDLE, VOLUNTEERS ABOUT LEAK, "IT'S FALSE!" |
| 1. | Too long | | 2. | Where are we told to put the S in POT? | | 3. | I get "volunteers about leak" for deletion of AT, but the rest is beyond me, and the Sun seems superfluous. I'd ditch the caps. | | 4. | Thought the surface a very unlikely headline for the Sun (for one thing too long). Not convinced about the wordplay either. |
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| 39. The cop is sporting a wig (8) |
| 1. | Perfectly good clue, if not particularly inspired. | | 2. | Sound clue but not a points scorer – nothing special /clever / funny etc about the surface reading. |
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| 40. The cops are suspicious – I’ll be put inside for false pretences. |
| 1. | Not sure about 'suspicious' for anagram indicator | | 2. | Woolly wordplay – can see what is intended, but it does not work, too imprecise. | | 3. | Pity that "false pretences" is plural and "postiche" is singular. | | 4. | Nice idea but "I'll be " is dodgy in the wordplay (you mean 'I is'). And I'm suspicious of 'suspicious' as an anagram indicator. |
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| 41. The imitation copies the brief incorrectly |
| 1. | Don't like 'The' at the beginning. | | 2. | A less obvious anagram than many, although the overall sense is rather weak. | | 3. | The definite article suggests a specific example of what's defined (it should be the indefinite article or nothing). |
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| 42. The tennis player, good at imitation, wins with an epic shot! |
| 1. | Definition seems a bit vague; 'wins' probably not needed | | 2. | What's the definition? Where is the anagram indicator? What does this tennis player /imitation phrase mean? Sorry this completely threw me. | | 3. | I don't see what the definition and the anagram indicator are meant to be. A fuller explanation might help! | | 4. | The clue contains several superfluous words | | 5. | The anagram indicator is not clear. Lots of superfluous words that form no part of the definition or wordplay | | 6. | I don't see how this clue works – whether as definition or as wordplay (anagram indicator). |
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| 43. This translator, subverted, became the last conspirator – Brutus perhaps. |
| 1. | ok if a little convoluted | | 2. | Well-disguised definition (which I didn't know). Feel I may be missing something historical. | | 3. | Nice. | | 4. | Clever comp. anagram but don't like 'became' as an indicator (chosen for the surface, it seems) – should be 'could become'/similar. |
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| 44. Wapping's syrup and hot spice concoction? |
| 1. | Lovely use of cockney slang | | 2. | Sorry, but why "Wapping"? | | 3. | Unsound clue: anagram indicator needs to be 'concoction of…' or '…in conconction', etc. |
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| 45. Weave a line of verse between three characters in poem |
| 1. | Definition too vague | | 2. | Cryptically fine, but I'm not sure what it means. | | 3. | Sound clue, just not quite sure what the surface is saying. | | 4. | The surface *seemed* to look meaningful, but on second thoughts, I don't think so! |
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| 46. What's parking on oldie's head and itches, possibly? |
| 1. | Fine clue except for the rather odd usage of "parking" needed to give the P. | | 2. | Nice & lit ('parking' especially nice). 4. |
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| 47. What's set on one chap’s head, hirsute only at the sides? |
| 1. | Nice &lit. | | 2. | Excellent – must be in the top five at least. | | 3. | Liked the wordplay. A good '& lit.' but not the best here, so 2. |
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| 48. Wig model acquiring nasty itch |
| 1. | Graphic surface. | | 2. | Straightforward with a good surface reading | | 3. | "Acquiring" is not very precise as a containment indicator; it could equally well suggest concatenation. | | 4. | Simple and proves that good clues don't need to be complicated | | 5. | Do people model wigs? If so it's a nice enough story for one of my marks. |
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| 49. Wig of the cop is rumpled (8) |
| 1. | Another perfectly sound if uninspired clue, although "Cop's wig is rumpled" would be more natural, if you ever had occasion to say it. | | 2. | Sound enough, but no special ring to the surface meaning. |
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| 50. Wig wearing East German shot 250 (8) |
| 1. | Nice surface but doesn't quite work for me | | 2. | The H is missing, and shouldn't wig-wearing have a hyphen? And surely this clue indicates PICE inside OST, not the other way round. | | 3. | Is it meant to be 'Wig-wearing'? Contrived surface with no special ring to it. |
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