| Comments on the clues |
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| 1. A sleuth with a solemn hi arrests the suspect. |
| 1. | 'A sleuth' is not an accurate definition. What indicates the anagram? | | 2. | Holmesian is not the sleuth it's relating to the sleuth. No proper anagram indicator | | 3. | Clever use of "suspect" but the clue doesn't work because "arrests the" is not needed for the cryptic. | | 4. | Can't see where "arrests the" fits in |
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| 2. Am I going round with lens? Oh, I might be |
| 1. | I like the idea but don't get how the definition was intended to work – does it refer to a devotee of Holmes? | | 2. | Good & lit. idea | | 3. | Witty and original, although I'm a bit dubious about going round as an anagram indicator. | | 4. | lens seems odd here | | 5. | Almost perfect, but arguably the definition leads more naturally to HOLMES than to HOLMESIAN |
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| 3. As an expert in pipework he mans oil supply |
| 1. | Anagram indicator is (the) suspect! | | 2. | Very nice idea but anagram indicator would need to be adjective not adverb? | | 3. | Definition is too vague. | | 4. | 'Rigs' a better anagrind than 'supply' here? |
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| 4. As one deductive woman disrespectfully receives seminal fluid. |
| 1. | I suppose the clue works. This is really quite vulgar though without any humour | | 2. | What does the surface reading mean? | | 3. | Surface makes no sense. | | 4. | surface strained somewhat in effort to be smutty |
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| 5. As Private Eye's exemplar, Ian follows millions in difficult situations |
| 1. | Best of the Private Eye clues. | | 2. | Reads smoothly | | 3. | The "exemplar" is necessary to the definition, but awkward in context of the surface reading, already a bit strained |
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| 6. As the detective I enter the Ashmolean without opening up. |
| 1. | Grammar requires (e.g) I CAN enter. "Up" is a contentious anagrind – I don't think it's valid although some people do. | | 2. | "I enter the Ashmolean" not grammatical in the cryptic reading | | 3. | Needs to be 'enters' |
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| 7. Ash expert's in a flap after onset of epidemic in trees |
| 1. | Vague definition and nounal anagram indicator "flap" make me discount this. | | 2. | An original take generally well executed, except that I'm not a fan of the imperative a.i., esp. following the letters anagrammed |
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| 8. At first light, breaking into house, Welsh girl is just like a detective |
| 1. | More like a burglar than a detective – ingenious, but doesn't quite work for me. | | 2. | first light = l doesn't work, should be first of light |
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| 9. Before national opener, heartless Argentine footballer interrupts Spanish greeting—with good reason? |
| 1. | Messi like construction. | | 2. | Like the definition but the wordplay could be more concise | | 3. | Poor definition, and wordplay is a bit too contrived and obscure. |
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| 10. Clever redesign of Milan shoe. |
| 1. | Inadequate definition | | 2. | Good misleading surface but needs a more specific definition | | 3. | "Clever" not specific enough. | | 4. | "Clever" is much too vague. | | 5. | clever isn't sufficient as a definition | | 6. | Clever a bit too broad a definition for me | | 7. | Concise with original anagram |
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| 11. Coppery with a lemonish twist? (9) |
| 1. | Holmes was manifestly not a copper! | | 2. | Holmes wasn't a policeman. | | 3. | I like the idea of coppery = like a policeman but it's far too vague, and arguably inaccurate. | | 4. | nice try but I don't like 'coppery' as a definition. | | 5. | Not sure Holmes is "like a policeman" | | 6. | ingenious but not sure Sherlock was intended to be 'like a copper' | | 7. | Really like this, but can't accept the definition | | 8. | Devilishly simple. I like it. |
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| 12. Deductive net loss for revised account of "The Lion's Mane" |
| 1. | I don't really understand the surface reading here | | 2. | Definition is much too vague. | | 3. | You need a second anagram indicator for NET, as letters not in order in the fodder |
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| 13. Devotee of Sherlock takes central role in broadcasting his name. |
| 1. | Definition is a bit too obvious | | 2. | I'm not sure 'central role' accurately indicates OL – should be 'centre of role' or similar | | 3. | "Central role" does not mean OL. Broadcasting needs to be, for example, broadcast of. |
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| 14. Doctor: "He ails, mon, like an obsessive genius." |
| 1. | 'Mon' looks a little forced here | | 2. | Use of "mon" is too contrived. |
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| 15. "Doctor Watson, this answer is elementary!" … when, at new season, nemesis – Moriarty – all reveals. |
| 1. | can't see the &lit The wordplay is unnatural and it's virtually impossible to understand how it is meant to work | | 2. | I'm afraid a composite anagram this long would really infuriate me if I was expected to solve it! | | 3. | Composite anagram is unconvincing and "all reveals" is unnatural. It's certainly not an &lit as claimed. | | 4. | Clever, complex, thematic anagram. Unfortunately, second half of clue reads awkwardly. | | 5. | complicated wordplay has strained the surface reading |
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| 16. Eccentric male is in love with drawing fantastic conclusions from the scantest evidence |
| 1. | Definition a little long but a nice construction | | 2. | The last eight words are just padding. |
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| 17. Fan of Private Eye, me – Ian Hislop endlessly funny |
| 1. | Nice idea but not convinced by "endlessly", which could be interpreted in different ways. | | 2. | Not comfortable using "endlessly" to remove the front "end" (as well as the back) of a word/phrase. | | 3. | My favourite of the Ian Hislop clues – well done. | | 4. | Tempting as the Ian Hislop connection is, just "Private Eye" seems unsatisfactory to define the v. English & 19thC "Holmes". O/w excellent |
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| 18. Hamelin so foolishly employing a maverick problem-solver |
| 1. | Nice idea, but might work better as "A maverick problem solver Hamelin so foolishly employed." | | 2. | Pres., def. is intended to include "employing", since it otherwise leads to HOLMES not HOLMESIAN, but this isn't really accurate. O/w v.g. |
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| 19. Has mole in disguise followed detective from
the Strand? (9) |
| 1. | Nice clue idea but would need "disguised" or "in disguise" as anagram indicator | | 2. | If the definition refers to a devotee of Holmes then surely 'follower of detective…' is needed? | | 3. | "Followed" is wrong part of speech to define a noun or an adjective. | | 4. | "Disguised" or "in disguise" work as anagram indicators; not sure "disguise" works here. |
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| 20. He begins cooking semolina for Dick's admirer? (9) |
| 1. | 'He begins' does not indicate initial letter in 'He' – 'He initially cooked' or similar works better | | 2. | I think there are plenty of more relevant anagrams to be found. | | 3. | Needs to be 'He's beginning to cook' |
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| 21. Heinous, heartless Moriarty's in a hole, like his nemesis. |
| 1. | Not convinced that 'heartless Moriarty's' should be 'ms' and not 'my' | | 2. | I like the idea, Heinous looks a bit iffy as an anagram indicator to me though | | 3. | Ingenious idea although surface is rather awkward with both heinous and heartless. | | 4. | Succinct and effective. |
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| 22. Henry resolved anomalies expressing a characteristic of fictional detective |
| 1. | Nothing wrong with the clue but I'm not sure who Henry is supposed to be in the surface – sorry if I missed something clever | | 2. | Wordplay nicely constructed although one might argue that Henry is too arbitrary for the surface. | | 3. | points awarded for the execution, but who is Henry? |
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| 23. He's initially on Isle of Man in disguise – fathom out how to describe his method |
| 1. | Not a very convincing surface. |
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| 24. His hero could deduce husband is no lame vagrant |
| 1. | Excellent clue, not quite in my top four because surface meaning is rather narrow. |
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| 25. Holness: I am not first sax playing on Baker Street |
| 1. | I take my hat off to you for trying to get Bob Holness in there. I tried but couldn't make it work! | | 2. | Clever idea but would need first of sax to give S. | | 3. | Lovely idea, but neither definition nor surface seem to work. | | 4. | To indicate initial letter really needs to be 'first in sax' or similar. 'On Baker Street' is not really accurate as a definition | | 5. | A good joke, rather let down by "first sax" which is not a valid way of indicating S. | | 6. | What is the definition? | | 7. | rather obscure |
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| 26. I'm a fancier of Doyle's sleuth; unfortunately, "The Lion's Mane" is missing the conclusions of past flatmate Watson. |
| 1. | Good idea but the def. is a giveaway | | 2. | A fair clue but very wordy | | 3. | Much too long-winded I'm afraid. | | 4. | One of only two "Lion's Mane" clues to incorporate something of the story. | | 5. | Sounder than some other Lion's Mane anagrams, but a bit too wordy |
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| 27. I'm on leash, straining, following noted fiddler with nose |
| 1. | "following" suggests a verb as the solution. | | 2. | Rather odd use of "nose" since nearly everyone has one. |
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| 28. In the manner of Sherlock, a German gets mixed up in 'Shalom' mystery. |
| 1. | What does the surface reading mean? | | 2. | It's not clear from this what, if anything, SHALOM has to do with Holmes. |
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| 29. Jack's fan blew on his meal |
| 1. | An odd little clue – hard to imagine this scenario in real life. |
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| 30. Like him alone's working it out? |
| 1. | Doesn't make sense grammatically. |
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| 31. Like Sherlock he nails criminal, getting medical officer involved |
| 1. | The def. is a rather obvious – with a bit more work this could have been a good & lit. | | 2. | Very nice, but definition could have been subtler. | | 3. | Perfectly sound clue but definition unexciting |
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| 32. Like sleuth on short vacation suffering brief amnesia |
| 1. | Arbitrary anagram with no relevance to Holmes. |
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| 33. Lion’s mane jellyfish ultimately involved, seeing McPherson’s final exit, in this sort of adventure |
| 1. | Clever allusion to the story but rather long-winded. | | 2. | In (ingeniously) achieving soundness, this clue sacrifices naturalness of surface |
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| 34. Maiden in predicament needs ace to crack crime – in this manner? |
| 1. | Excellent clue, reminiscent of many of the Holmes stories. |
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| 35. Male on run together with his mystery lover? |
| 1. | I like this except for the rather vague definition. | | 2. | Nice surface and the best misleading definition of the comp |
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| 36. Man is whole, not needing women fussing, according to a clinically minded bachelor |
| 1. | Again I feel the definition is too vague. |
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| 37. Manhole is repositioned after the actions of Baker Street resident (9) |
| 1. | Arbitrary anagram with no obvious relevance to Holmes. | | 2. | Vivid surface reading and original definition |
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| 38. Manholes I adjusted for fan of fallen detective. |
| 1. | Fair clue but weak surface – why would a detective fan want manholes adjusted?! | | 2. | Arbitrary anagram with no obvious relevance to Holmes. |
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| 39. Means to describe one erratically following leads to hound offenders logically |
| 1. | Ingenious wordplay achieved at the expense of the surface, which doesn't really make sense. |
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| 40. Method used, despite time pressure, to solve "The Man with the Twisted Lip" so? |
| 1. | Is "solve" the anagrind for "The man"? If so, there are two anagrinds. Nice idea though. | | 2. | The last word is only there for the cryptic but it ruins the surface. | | 3. | story would need to be "the man with lip so twisted" for the cryptic reading to work |
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| 41. Method used to solve Lion's Mane puzzle: first, Hardy's prime number eliminated (9) |
| 1. | Holmesian is a person or an adjective, but not a method | | 2. | The surface is quite strange here, what has Hardy got to do with the Lions Mane? | | 3. | I'm not convinced by this – I don't think the mathematics is relevant, and I am not a fan of nounal anagram indicators like "puzzle". |
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| 42. Middle follows whole of one devoted to life of PI? |
| 1. | Whole = Hol??? Homophone needs to be indicated somehow. |
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| 43. My idea what's on? Sounds like a Simon Hale medley. |
| 1. | so you have 2 lots of wordplay sort of, but no definition | | 2. | Original and creative. Nice work. | | 3. | This doesn't really work, there is no definition here – a homophone should lead directly to the word clued. | | 4. | A very unconvining homophone, I'm afraid. |
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| 44. Now and then the only broadcast name is of Conan Doyle's sleuth |
| 1. | The contrived wordplay has been achieved at the expense of a coherent surface. |
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| 45. Perhaps Watson played Hermione as learner – not regarding Harry! |
| 1. | Nice idea but regarding = re to be removed from anagram just a stretch too far | | 2. | Great idea, not so great surface. | | 3. | Played and Harry are unconvincing anagram indicators, and using two of them is clumsy. |
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| 46. Pi + 1 = a number (using intellectual detection method!)(9) |
| 1. | and what does '=' equal? | | 2. | Both P & I need to be upper case for this to work. Seems a bit weak to use Holmes in the wordplay for Holmesian | | 3. | As a noun, "Holemesian" refers to a person not a method. Pi would only work in upper-case. |
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| 47. Simon Hale appears like Little Richard? (9) |
| 1. | don't like appears, a better indicator needed. | | 2. | Is 'appears' a valid anagram indicator? I think Little Richard = dick = detective = Holmes is far too indirect to be fair | | 3. | I don't know who Simon Hale is, but little Richard -> Dick -> private detective is too tenuous. |
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| 48. Simon Hale played like Sherlock (9) |
| 1. | Concise & fair, nothing that makes it stand out to deserve points though | | 2. | Like 47 this is very tenuous but it has the merit of brevity. |
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| 49. Small island with half-Indonesian addition? It's a conundrum worthy of Sherlock! |
| 1. | 'It's a conundrum worthy' look like superfluous words. I don't really get the surface I'm afraid | | 2. | The conundrum plays no role in the wordplay and makes little sense in the surface. |
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| 50. Starters in hotel offering light meals: eggs – scrambled, in aspic and à la Benedict? |
| 1. | Nice idea to disguise the def, not sure it works for me though. Pity initial letters could not complete the word | | 2. | Not convinced by eggs à la Benedict for eggs Benedict (and the Benedict in question was male.) Cumberbatch link a bit of a stretch. |
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| 51. Tangled net is sprung in The Lion's Mane surprising this ardent fan |
| 1. | don't like surprising as anagram indicator – to work in this wordplay it should be surprisingly / surprised so use latter & delete 'is' | | 2. | The cryptic needs "suprisingly" rather than "surprising". |
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| 52. The French man running through and carrying note by the house is detective-like. |
| 1. | A clue's wordplay need not be immediately obvious but ideally it leads to a penny-dropping moment, not complete bafflement. |
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| 53. "The Lion's Mane" is essentially ——— novel |
| 1. | Nice way of dropping unwanted T & NE. But it reads like you're saying "The Lion's Mane" is a novel, when it's a short story. | | 2. | An extra 'n'? Unfortunate, could have been a winner | | 3. | Anagram requires removal of t and ne, so 'essentially' isn't the right indicator | | 4. | anagram's not correct – too many letter n's | | 5. | Wonderful idea, but "essentially" would suggest to me either the centre, or all but the first and last, not all but the first one and last t | | 6. | Very clever and admirably concise. | | 7. | My favourite of the Lion's Mane clues. | | 8. | Admirably succinct and so nearly excellent, but sadly removing outside letters ('t' & 'e') leaves an extra 'n' in the anagram |
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| 54. This nut, groupie's leader, all atwitter, could get sleuth moaning |
| 1. | Contrived anagram and surface is rather baffling as well. |
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| 55. To his friends Hislop admits mantra about Left
is a characteristic of Private Eye (9) |
| 1. | I'm not sure where HES comes from | | 2. | Presumably "To his friends Hislop" is meant to be interpreted as "He's Ian" but that's very unconvincing. |
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| 56. Watson finally holes one – a master playing like his idol (9) |
| 1. | If the surface refers to Tom Watson, who is his idol? |
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| 57. Watsonian teammate? It's a type of synthesis. |
| 1. | poor second definition | | 2. | Watsonian teammate seems a bit of a stretch as a definition to me | | 3. | The second definition is too vague – in a double definition clue I feel both definitions should lead unmistakeably to the answer. |
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| 58. Watson's colleague's mixture of dna helix trimmed with metal oxide semiconductor |
| 1. | Original idea but "dna helix trimmed" is a little too imprecise for me. |
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| 59. With no end to trouble, drug-injecting man is manic like someone trying to solve The Final Problem |
| 1. | A bit long, and the normal phrase is no end OF trouble. |
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| 60. Without a bit of diplomacy, Ian H seldom fails the Private Eye devotee |
| 1. | don't like the anagram indicator | | 2. | It's hard to fathom what the surface means. |
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