CCCWC April competition voters’ comments

Back to competition result | Other competitions

A clue to MESMERISE (Letters Latent).
143 comments were received for this competition (from 13 competitors, 1 other)
Move your mouse pointer over any bold clue number to see the clue.

Here is the text

Comments on the competition
1.
Perhaps not surprisingly the frequency of the appearances of the 5 possible latent letters within the clueword was reflected in the frequency of the respective clues, with M and E being the most popular choices (15 clues each) followed by S (10 clues), R (6 clues) and I (4 clues). 'Letters Latent’ clues must avoid linking words, i.e. those suggesting that the full and the mutilated versions of the clue word are the same, which they clearly are not. Eleven of the clues submitted fell foul of this requirement (6, 7, 10, 11, 14, 24, 28, 34, 45, 49 and 50. ‘& lit.’ clues are of course acceptable in that they refer in their entirety to both mutilated and unmutilated versions of the clue word, though surprisingly there was only one example this month (clue 42). Appearing in one third (16) of the clues, 'entrance' was by far the most popular definition, with its ability to act as a noun in the wordplay, though only one of this latter group (20) tried to use it as a first letter indicator (7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 20, 21, 23, 24, 26, 27, 29, 35, 43, 46 and 47). Other popular definitions were 'charm' (5, 6, 30, 33 and 50), 'hypnotise' (15, 16, 17 and 42), 'enthral' (3, 9 and 25) and 'fascinate' (13* and 40). There were also a few quite imaginative variations including 'guile' (14), rivet (36), spellbind (41) and witch (49). Regarding wordplay, a number of anagram combinations were favoured: MISS + MR (latent E) (5, 19, 25 and 28), SEEMS + (latent I) (12, 20 and 36) and E + SERIES (latent M) (9* and 11). A couple of latent M clues wrapped letters 'in essence' (2 and 42*) and there was one hidden reversal (clue 17). There was certainly a good selection of candidates for points this month (9), though perhaps none were mesmerising and it was therefore difficult to pick an outright winner.
2.
I gave five clues two points each, thinking how much better my clue was than any of them but knowing it is unlikely that others will agree! There was one nasty example of an indirect anagram at 19 and far too many clues using link words which aren't supposed to be allowed in LL clues. A nice idea at 1 was spoilt by treating MESMERISE as intransitive. I fear that these democratic competitions do little to educate competitors into proper Ximenean standards and I expect to see a number of unsound clues on the podium ( alas!).
3.
A rather dull bunch with many instances of an unconvincing or tired surface and/or of questionable wordplay (eg, "Redhead" for R – 34 – "her head" for H – 49). Only 3, 48 and the sadly flawed 49 stood out for imaginative ingenuity – and aspects of the wordplay in 3 are what Sir Humphrey might call "brave" or "courageous".

Comments on the clues

1. Ancient master? Nothing better, when last of class is kept in, to induce a state of catalepsy!

1.	The surface is not very convincing

2. Anger, in essence, returns to fix one's attention.

1.	Works well technically but not clear what the surface conveys
2.	How to account for deletion of "NCE" from ESSEnce?

3. Author! Author! Vital selection of letters from a friend is bound to enthral.

1.	Surface didn't make a great impact.
2.	'Essential' might be fairer to the solver than 'vital', though strictly either would indicate 'frien'.
3.	Are there some letters in a word that aren't vital? I don't see it meaning 'core' in the same way 'essential' does.
4.	Use of "vital selection of letters from a friend" doen't help solver pick RIE. Surface seems to be meaningless.
5.	The collection is better known in the UK as "Performing Flea", but an imaginative idea

4. Cast spell upon troubled Mr Sims

1.	Who was Mr. Sims ?

5. Charm Miss contrived to ensnare Mister

1.	Surface appears a bit forced
2.	Best of the Mr and Miss clues
3.	Succinct and beautifully constructed.
4.	Neat

6. Charm of French art meets with English appreciation

1.	The 'of' seems superfluous, as with clue 10, and perhaps 'meeting with' would improve the wordplay ?
2.	The 'of' is a bit of a clumsy joining word here.
3.	Unfortunately needs 'meeting' instead of 'meets' to be grammatically sound. Nice clue otherwise.
4.	Nice charade

7. Drunk, seems I'm ejected first from entrance

1.	wordplay from definition seems a bit inelegant
2.	Rogue link word (and def. should precede WP when 'from' is the link word); 'ejected first' isn't equivalent to 'ejected's first (letter).
3.	I'm probably one of those who won't agree that 'ejected first' is the same as 'first of ejected'
4.	I like the surface reading and the play on entrance
5.	1) "ejected first" doesn't pick E. 2) "from" has been wrongly used as a link word.

8. English stallion's about to reach mare's ultimate entrance

1.	Mare's ultimate (letter) is OK for 'e', but 'stallion's about' would give SIRE reversed.
2.	Surface a bit unusual though one gets the drift. Still, stallion is singular, sires is plural, so not sure it works
3.	'Ultimate' doesn't really work in the surface reading.

9. Enthral audience at the last, with series given final twist

1.	Like some others, doesn't appeal so much when almost all the letters are provided as is

10. Entrance of Take That is following tradition (9)

1.	Didn't quite get either the surface or the explanation. If something very clever that I've missed, my apologies. Also why the capitals?
2.	Nice construction but surface isn't very convincing
3.	1)Surface makes no sense 2)How MEME has been picked, is not clear.
4.	'Letters Latent' clues should avoid linking words – the 'of' is therefore superfluous, as with clue 6.
5.	Don't see how meme is the same as tradition.

11. 'Entry' in enigmatic series represented as 'entrance'

1.	Too many letters in sequence in the clue itself
2.	'Letters Latent' clues should avoid linking words – the 'as' is therefore superfluous.

12. Erratic REM seems to entrance. (9)

1.	Works fine, but the possibilities of deception using 'entrance' not exploited at all. Surface also not very clear
2.	Surface makes no sense.
3.	Nice surface message.

13. Fascinate modern miss with medical scanners

1.	Why is modern miss = Ms? Ms is a generic title for any lady, not just unmarried. In fact, that is the whole point of Ms
2.	Smooth surface

14. Guile employed by poet's devious miss captivating French Mister Right

1.	Surface looks a bit forced, also doesn't convey much?
2.	I think it needs 'guile as/if employed' to indicate the def. and not the solution is archaic
3.	'Letters Latent' clues should avoid linking words as definition and wordplay do not lead to the same thing (see also clue 50).
4.	Why Mister rather than Mr?

15. Hypnotise me twice – endless grief!

1.	Clue works well, but using the letters as is (similar to 23 and 35) makes it a bit weak. Does endless convey deletion of both the 'ends'?
2.	"endless grief" picks GRIE; not RIE.
3.	A nice way to deal with MEME.

16. Hypnotise old leper: "Remove dressing and get up!"

1.	A nice clue, if you can get to Mesel.
2.	Poor surface.
3.	The punctuation hinders the wordplay, otherwise a good effort.

17. Hypnotise while I remember with partial recall

1.	Nice idea and construct. Definitely one of the toppers for me
2.	Very nice wordplay, but the overall surface reading doesn't quite gel.

18. I slim, finally. Before eating, I dominate will.

1.	Not a very captivating surface
2.	Rather disjointed in both surface and wordplay.

19. Loose young woman embraces man to captivate

1.	I'm allocating marks where there is a good surface reading and this has one.
2.	Falls in the 'indirect anagram' category which is generally avoidable
3.	Indirect anagram
4.	The indirect anagram isn't really fair to the solver (see clue 5 for comparison).

20. Male partner somehow seems to get round restricted entrance

1.	This clue requires, for example, 'opening of restricted entrance' to indicate the R separately from the definition.

21. Man, girl, man – return entrance.

1.	Couldn't make much of the surface.
2.	The wordplay seems rather challenging and the surface a little odd.

22. Match eventually starts out; without a break, seamers bowl over

1.	Get the idea but not convincing. Not sure that the clue leads to selection of M E. And all the seamers together bowl one over?
2.	Wordplay seems rather disjointed, 'Match eventually starts' isn't the same as 'starts of match eventually' (see clue 7)

23. Member that's shunned club's rear entrance?

1.	Perhaps 'shunning' would work better in the wordplay ?
2.	Good clue and idea.
3.	I love the play on the word entrance
4.	The correct wordplay would be 'Member that's that's shunned…'

24. Memorandum backing former Irish Republic's entrance

1.	'Letters Latent' clues should avoid linking words as definition and wordplay do not lead to the same thing (see also clues 14 and 50).

25. Miss about to enthral man? Yes, enthral!

1.	I think 'Mister' would work better than 'man' here
2.	The '?/Yes' seem superfluous to the wordplay/definition.

26. Miss Martin's odd entrance

1.	It's Miss Martin's odds or odd parts, surely
2.	odd is not sufficient for odd letter picking here
3.	'Oddly' seems to be required by the wordplay, not sure whether the surface has any particular significance ?

27. Most excellent club's close to whorehouse entrance

1.	Lovely to have a randy and amusing surface reading like this
2.	Couldn't get to MERI from club, maybe a context that I am unaware of
3.	The 'S' seems to have been (inadvertently) included in the wordplay.

28. Mr and Miss entangled in intrigue

1.	Odd surface
2.	Second best of the Mr and Miss clues
3.	'Letters Latent' clues should avoid linking words – the 'in' is therefore superfluous.

29. Mr Sim's drunken entrance?

1.	The apostrophe in the wordplay suggests that the anagram fodder contains only one 'S'.

30. My French, semi-garbled, is accompanied by English charm.

1.	What a fine and plausible surface reading
2.	A pretty nice effort
3.	Love the wordplay
4.	My French would be mon
5.	Wordplay might be better without the hyphen.

31. My, my – in Paris, one's injected with drug to control the mind

1.	Works pretty well
2.	Ingenious way to deal with MESMES.

32. Numb setter after setter with ire vented out (9)

1.	Rather odd surface
2.	Definition seems imprecise and 'vented out' seems unusual for an anagram indicator (see clue 15 for comparison).

33. One's introduced to the company of two women (one might be single!), so turn on the charm

1.	'the company of' seems to be just padding. May work even without the words in parantheses
2.	'Letters Latent' clues should avoid linking words – the 'so' is therefore superfluous.

34. Put to sleep and see rise refreshed

1.	Definition seems a little imprecise, anagram fodder is not rearranged much, 'and' superfluous.
2.	Odd surface
3.	Simple but highly effective.

35. Redhead that is after me follows me to entrance.

1.	Using 'me' as is in the clue (similar to 15 and 23) makes it a bit less challenging. Still a good clue.
2.	A pity about Redhead for R
3.	'Redhead' does not mean head of (belonging to) red.

36. Rivet I fixed in buggy seems fastened to me

1.	A different take from many others. Like!
2.	Nice surface and wordplay.
3.	After a promising start to the surface/wordplay the last three words seem rather incongruous.

37. Schoolteacher revolution following mainstream media influence

1.	Very nice clue, though I feel 'influence' doesn't quite suggest the impact of 'mesmerise'
2.	Not sure what you mean by RIS – Wikipedia not being terribly helpful in providing context
3.	The definition seems rather vague and perhaps 'revolution of schoolteacher' would be fairer.

38. See confused rebel make sedate demand (9)

1.	How does 'demand' contribute to the definition ?
2.	Not convinced about the def
3.	wordplay 'make' definition does not seem to work

39. See problem with erection, one needs to concentrate the mind?

1.	'problem' is not really an anagram indicator, surface reading seems rather disjointed with 'one needs' superfluous padding.
2.	I don't think erection can be used to lead to rise
3.	Not convinced with either the def or the nounal anagrind

40. Sees mime curiously fascinate

1.	Surface seems to miss a subject – perhaps 'See mimes' would be better ?
2.	Odd surface
3.	fail to understand the story

41. Spellbind; then second kiss with Reese's Pieces.

1.	Can't agree that 'second kiss' equals second in kiss
2.	'Pieces' is not really an anagram indicator.

42. Term for hypnotise and endlessly grip, in essence

1.	Nice idea/clue, but 'endlessly' detracts from &lit. My fav and gets the top slot, though unhappy with endlessly for deleting both limits
2.	Surface doesn't really scan

43. Those finishing late matches – use rear entrance

1.	I feel I'm missing something here.I get the last letters ES, and possibly ERE, but where does the IS come from? Sorry if I'm being thick
2.	I love the play on the word entrance
3.	OK but the drawback is one doesn't know how many 'finishes' to take
4.	Good use of the dual meanings of 'entrance', though is the hyphen necessary ?

44. To transfix sides of member is sadomasochism possibly

1.	The surface didn't work for me until I looked up synonyms for transfix. Spear, stab, skewer? feel sorry for whoever is subject of clue!
2.	Surface could be better
3.	Ouch !
4.	Ouch. Amusing but not for the squeamish.

45. Turn on and go up, following directions (9)

1.	The definition seems inaccurate, 'and' superfluous and 'directions' has too many possibilities to be fair to the solver.
2.	Not sure 'turn on' quite works for mesmerise
3.	'Directions' a bit vague when there are quite a few, also involving repetition

46. Ungainly mannerisms as princess makes exit or entrance

1.	I love the play on the word entrance but am not sure that this doesn't verge on an indirect anagram using 'Princess' for ANNE
2.	'Letters Latent' clues should avoid linking words – the 'or' is therefore superfluous.

47. Unusually eerie Secret Service heads to entrance.

1.	Not sure that 'Secret Service heads' is the same as 'heads of Secret Service'

48. What religion can do – if Dawkins' idea's right, that is

1.	Definition seems rather vague and 'Letters Latent' clues should avoid linking words – the 'if' is therefore superfluous.
2.	Can religion "do" a meme? Otherwise, good effort
3.	Trouble is he had rather more than one idea
4.	Brave try, though 'if' jars a bit.

49. Witch has outrageous heresies – off with her head!

1.	Rogue link word ('has') and perhaps 'harlot's head' (eg) would be better as 'her head' is not really equivalent to 'head of her'.
2.	The usual dispute arises, ie is 'her head' equal to 'her's head'?
3.	A good idea and excellent original surface sadly spoiled by "her head" for H, which, for me, is unacceptable.

50. Young woman is impressed by man's charm!

1.	perfect
2.	Nice surface reading, but 'impressed by' suggests contained rather than containing. LL clues should avoid linking words (see also clue 14)
3.	Not sure Ms works for young woman. Ms could be a woman of any age.
4.	'Impressed with' might work better than 'impressed by'. As it reads, it suggests that 'man' is the container not the containee
5.	Good surface, but see no need for exclamation mark