CCCWC April competition voters’ comments on Clue no. 45

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CCCWC April competition voters’ comments

Clue no. 45: Such a faint opacity (without bad pain) could make cornea a bit faulty

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A clue to NEBULAR.
8 comments refer to this clue (from 7 competitors, 0 others)
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Comments on the clue

1.	Clever, if rather long-winded, but seems to define a noun, and is not an &lit as worded.
2.	I don't get it. Solution + this = anagram fodder should be the formula?
3.	This anagram is a bit over-compounded
4.	A very accomplished composite anagram. A clear winner in my book.
5.	Blimey that took some working out! winner I would think!
6.	A bit wordy and not smooth on the surface

Comments on the competition
1.
An excellent choice of clueword which gave solvers a variety of options for anagrams and containers. Common weaknesses in clues were faulty or absent anagram indicators(9, 19, 32, 35, 36, 44, 50), superfluous words (21, 29, 44, 48, 52) and failure to combine a clear definition with a sensible surface reading (3, 4, 5, 7, 13, 14, 16, 18, 23, 25, 28, 39, 42, 42, 46, 48, 52) . In fact three clues seemed to define 'nebulous' rather than 'nebular' (16, 21, 26). Of the rest, 24 referred in some way to the heavens and another 21 used cloudy/misty in a general sense. Only two clues used the ophthalmological meaning (8 and 45), and just one tackled 'of the nature of a liquid for spraying', which deserved a mark for bravery ! (42) There were 16 variations on straight or simple compound anagrams, with UNABLE + R being the most popular by far (7 in total, clues 15 and 51 were the best of these). Personal favourites were LAUREN + B (6) and LUREXBAN – X (24), which I made joint winners – well done ! In third place was LUNARBASE – AS which conjured up images of Space 1999. Of the container clues, variations on BUL in NEAR or NE+AR were by far the most popular (13). My favourite of the BULKs was 10, and of the BULLs 30.
2.
Someone commented on my use of the term "semi-&lit" in relation to my clue last month, remarking that a clue is either &lit or it is not. In a sense, this is obviously true, and perhaps the term "semi-&lit" is an unfortunate one, but there is a serious and, I believe, valid point that I was seeking to express. A true &lit clue is one in which definition and s.i. are co-terminous and which contains no word or words that do not have a valid role in both definition and s.i. Many clues which claim to be &lit – especially perhaps composite anagrams – do not strictly meet these criteria. For example, the excellent composite anagram 45 in this competition contains the words "without bad pain", which are necessary to the s.i., but which are not, in my view, a valid part of a definition of NEBULAR. In my own clue for EASTER/WASTER -"In essence, a sterile, unproductive animal?" – the words "unproductive animal" play no part in the s.i., but both "unproductive animal" and the clue taken as a whole constitute a reasonable definition of WASTER. Thus, in both cases, the clue shares certain characteristics of a true &lit, while failing to meet the criteria fully. This is what I meant by semi-&lit.