Comments on the clues |
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1. Ball and chain earlier basic in prison |
1. | Surface makes no sense. |
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2. Block with small yard? |
1. | Very neat & lit. | 2. | Neat but not enough definition for me. |
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3. Boring job about to become crucial in prison |
1. | Really like the wordplay, but the "direction" of the link 'in' doesn't feel quite right – 'for' or 'to' perhaps? | 2. | I like the word play but the definition feels too straightforward. |
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4. Bung that finished off Tory created stir? |
1. | 'That finished off' doesn't mean 'that which finishes off' | 2. | I feel that "finished off" doesn't clearly indicate the selection of the last letter from the succeeding word. |
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5. Can be caught when moving to the front in ball game |
1. | 'Can be' does not mean 'can is' unless it's Talk Like A Pirate Day |
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7. Can move about to lead the game |
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8. Can result from rigging hockey |
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11. Caught pushing forward in game, getting a nick |
1. | Better version of same idea as 7. Technically, I think chokey = 'nick' or 'the nick' not "a nick". 4 has it right. | 2. | The best of the "move the c in hockey" clues, excellent surface reading with confusing inference of cricket. | 3. | A very neatly worked cricketing clue, excellent use of 'a nick' |
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12. Chapter “O”, vital to where one may begin and end a sentence |
1. | The 'O' looks very forced |
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13. Cloggy, off the wall Hockney has lost direction but has energy |
1. | I think this would be unsolvable and incomprehensible without the explanation. | 2. | Surface doesn't work for me |
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14. Clubs phoney Indian watchman |
1. | 10 uses this idea rather better |
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18. Enterprising department once leaves fruit for guard |
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21. Having left India, Trunchbull's cooler here (6) |
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22. He swallows ok in extremely chewy porridge |
1. | Is he in the porridge swallowing ok, or is he swallowing the porridge ok in? Neither makes much sense. | 2. | Porridge is a prison sentence, not a prison. | 3. | Surface awkward |
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23. Hockey brawls fill the sin bin!(6) |
1. | Does hockey use the sin bin? Rugby and ice-hockey do – see 26. Fills is padding. |
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24. Hockey's messy penalty box? (6) |
1. | best of hockey clues | 2. | Nice idea |
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25. Housebreaking: minimum of court's answer? |
1. | Not sure minimum of court works as an indicator for C |
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26. Ice-hockey foul – leave ice for sin bin |
1. | Good surface but duplication of ice makes it a bit too obvious |
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27. Leader of can-can can be dropped from popular dance? Can indeed! |
1. | A bit too convoluted and the hyphen is unfairly misleading |
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29. Leading with clubs in game causes a stir |
1. | This doesn't quite indicate to me that the C needs to change position in the word. | 2. | Think prison is "stir", not "a stir". Not sure the solver can work this out. |
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31. Native American tribe removed before adding first Yankee prison |
1. | Needs some indication that the synonym of 'before' is split. |
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32. Nick Cage ? |
1. | A germ of a nice idea, but how do you get 'Chokey' from 'Nick Cage'? | 2. | There are many.synonyms of 'prison', and this could clue any of them. | 3. | Does not lead to a unique solution, if solved on its own. It could be PRISON, COOLER or LOCKUP in addition to CHOKEY. | 4. | Unfortunately Cage always spells his name NIC, with no K. |
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33. Nick Clegg's beginning to get too sentimental |
1. | 'To get' is slightly unsatisfactory, but a nice idea. | 2. | Simple and seasonal. |
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34. Nick contrived to back leader of Conservatives |
1. | Best surface of the Nick Clegg clues. Would "to support" have worked better? | 2. | Simple but effective, with a very nice surface. Lovely clue! |
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35. Nick's bird, Kitty, can help to start car? Why, you say? |
1. | Piling on the definitions is more likely to spoil a clue than improve it. Nick or Kitty would be fine on their own. |
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37. Night-watchman contrived to follow captain's lead |
1. | Good surface | 2. | Surface works well for those who are familiar with cricket |
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39. Pen gag that's funny at last |
1. | Succinct and very effective |
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40. Pick removes ice with decisive ‘clink’ |
1. | Almost voted, but "removes" doesn't work. This would have been better IMHO:
Pick removing ice with decisive clink. (no need for quotes) |
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43. Prison church has no solution |
1. | I can't equate O or zero with 'no' |
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50. Two islands one of them is old in jail. |
1. | I can't make sense of the surface reading. |
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51. Ultimately angry after heroin's found in fizzy drink can (6) |
1. | Extremely angry might work better as surface? | 2. | Nice clue, but IMHO: "Extremely angry…" would have worked even better. |
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52. Where should drug smuggling – heroin, say – lead you? |
1. | I don't agree with the misleading punctuation, or that 'lead you' = Y |
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