CCCWC August competition voters’ comments
Clue no. 42: Relativistic quantum mechanics without mass and without cat victim quite in place! In deep water again?
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A clue to RELAUNCH.
2 comments refer to this clue (from 2 competitors, 0 others)
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| Comments on the competition |
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| 1. |
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Most of the clues that referred to the competition I rejected as unfair because they wouldn’t stand alone. If you put them in a puzzle the solver wouldn’t understand them. I also applied this to #1 because it referred to a previous competition. Others might have been structurally OK but lacked surface – eg 2, 5 15, 23, 40, 42, 45, 47, 48, 53. 5 also didn’t have a homophone indicator for ‘U’. Some had unclear definitions such as 8, 26, 29, 38, 50, 53, 55 or I just didn’t understand at all – 10, 12, 19, 27, 28, 36, 42, 43, 46, 49, 52. I don’t see a hidden word indicator in #20. #35 doesn’t seem to have an anagram indicator and the definition is for LAUNCH rather than RELAUNCH. #45 contains “where there won’t be a clash” for ‘unch’. I don’t think this clearly defines ‘unch’. Checked letters don’t ‘clash’. #51 had the definition in the middle of the clue. #54 read well but I couldn’t verify the definition.
Of the rest, I enjoyed #3. It is structurally sound and there are no superfluous words. It has good surface that sounds revolting but fairly leads the solver to the answer. I don’t think it needs the question mark. #7 & #34 were the best of the ‘nuclear+h’ anagrams. I liked the definition in #9. #22 provides a lovely image of lonely people being lured by the prospect of a fresh start. |
| 2. |
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| A pretty high standard overall with about a dozen clues contending for points. Other things being equal, a witty definition always wins it for me, so 8, 9 and 43 are in my top three, followed by 22 and 55 for convincing surface readings. 28's just out of my top five as the definition isn't as precise. A few clues used 'dine again' or similar for 're-lunch', but I couldn't buy this. It needs a ? at the very least. Some clues I rejected: 42's 'place! In deep water again' takes too much liberty with punctuation; 5's 'without limb' to remove l, e, g from 'Challenger' is too difficult to solve (it's a clue to a clue), similarly 'not directed' in 30; 26's 'again' has no part in the wordplay, so the clue is semi-& lit. at best. A couple of clues had typos. I was lenient this time but I hope Robert will remind competitors again that under the new system they need to double-check what they've submitted. |
