| Comments on the clues |
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| 1. A Scottish lad nurses miserable fester on the padded sofa. |
| 1. | Chield appears in some online dictionaries but not in Collins, Oxford or Chambers, so I think it's unreasonable to expect solvers to know it | | 2. | "on" might not be a valid "link word" between definition and wordplay | | 3. | Don't see what 'on' does in the clue. And 'the' should be 'a'. |
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| 2. Animation to set child free, what 'Mr Benn' represented? |
| 1. | Good idea, but the rather awkward nounal a.i. jars for me. |
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| 3. Arthur, former Republican leader, led the battle for Ulster |
| 1. | 'led' (for the surface reading) should be 'leads' for the clue; similarly 'the' is spurious |
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| 4. Butts you might want to drag from a fancy sofa? |
| 1. | Very nice idea but wouldn't a Chesterfield be one butt? | | 2. | I'd have preferred 'butt' singular, but otherwise excellent double def. | | 3. | Clever surface, but I do believe the two names trace themselves to a common family root |
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| 5. Check play area outside compound provides somewhere to sit |
| 1. | More likely to lead to CH FI(ESTER)ELD or some such, imo, maybe "beyond" instead of "outside" |
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| 6. Cheers lifted twisted spire town |
| 1. | "spire town" might not work standalone as a fair definition, and sadly "twisted", as you noted, is doing double duty |
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| 7. Child feels tired after bouncing around sofa |
| 1. | Very convincing surface reading but child=ch isn't in the usual reference dictionaries as far as I can see. | | 2. | Best of the clues using this wordplay. | | 3. | "after bouncing around" is a bit lengthy but ties up the surface story really well. Points! |
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| 8. Child set free to roam town with crooked spire |
| 1. | Excellent wordplay but for anyone who knows Chesterfield it's a very easy definition. What about "to roam market town"? |
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| 10. Corbyn, in the lead, has other three contestants getting special place to relax |
| 1. | I like the topicality but don't see how, on its own, "special" = S. This only works in certain compounds, eg. SAS = special air service. |
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| 11. Couch grass found after having area sampled from cultivated hectares |
| 1. | Nice, but not convinced that 'sampled' means 'removed' |
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| 12. "Destroy filth!" decrees earl |
| 1. | This enjoyable clue achieves a very engaging surface story in just 4 words. |
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| 13. Doctor feels it leads to cancer, research documents have evidence (12) |
| 1. | the anagram works fine but the (lit.) def. is iffy (should ='smoking cigarettes') needing "e.g." with 'it' | | 2. | Good idea, but needs to create a more precise definition | | 3. | Almost as good as 44, but for the surface reading to work fully satisfactorily it would need to refer to they/Chesterfields (plural). | | 4. | Using the cigarette brand as a 2ndary definition alongside a dictionary def. seems ok, but is it fair to just clue the brand alone? |
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| 15. Fashion died with combination of shirt, fleece and long overcoat |
| 1. | Of all entries combining fleece(d) and shirt, this tells by far the most interesting story. Nice clue. |
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| 17. Fletcher dies mysteriously in Davenport (6) |
| 1. | "in Davenport" might work as a definition in a themed grid, but as individual clue what happens if you replace definition with answer? |
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| 20. Here, League football club sited ground |
| 1. | Neat wordplay, but a very general definiton. | | 2. | Neat, but Chesterfield FC is hardly a household name, other than among its fans. | | 3. | I can't see L=League in any of the standard dictionaries. |
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| 21. Here league Football Club sited ground, and here fine listed top of church is twisted |
| 1. | Arguably, this would have been better, had the first half been omitted, making it more succinct. |
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| 22. Left here with disc dislocated! |
| 1. | nice anag. but the def. isn't specific enough | | 2. | How does this define Chesterfield rather than anywhere else? | | 3. | Not an and lit. Needs a definition. |
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| 23. Man feels right with it worn in cold day |
| 1. | very nice try, though one normally says 'on (a) cold day' | | 2. | Difficult wordplay compensated by an excellent surface. 3 points! | | 3. | Spoiled by the word “in” which makes surface reading unidiomatic. |
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| 27. One stuffed shirt fleeced badly |
| 1. | I think 'One stuffed' is too woolly for a def. of C. |
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| 29. Overstuffed lounger reflected his lack of control |
| 1. | I think "lacking control" (adverb) is "disorderly", not "lack of control" (nounal) | | 2. | Creative definition, better than most of the sofa clues. The surface reads a little clumsily to me without an "on", ie "reflected on his". |
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| 30. Persecuted heretics fled Derbyshire town (12) |
| 1. | persecuted is a v.t. (needed to be a v.i.) | | 2. | Neat clue, would be quite easy to solve. |
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| 33. See what you do, when your team's not in town? |
| 1. | the comma spoils it | | 2. | I believe a separate example indicator is needed for "See" | | 3. | Clever wordplay, but 'town' is a disappointing definition |
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| 34. Selfie the commander quickly shot only showed a sofa |
| 1. | I really liked this clue, except that the word "only" is essential for the surface but does nothing at all in the cryptic reading. | | 2. | 'only showed' looks wrong in the clue (there only for the surface reading?) | | 3. | The wordplay requires neither “quickly” nor “only”. “..shot showed – a sofa!” would have achieved the same surface effect. |
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| 35. Sidle here with comfort, maybe? Could have room, this |
| 1. | Nicely composed. 2 points! |
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| 36. Sitters here caught by the fielders easily (12) |
| 1. | Nice surface but I'm not keen on the anagram indicator or the unaltered 'field' | | 2. | Not sure if "easily" indicates anagram fairly; it could "easily" have been replaced |
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| 37. Tailored shirt and fleeced coat |
| 1. | Best of the 'fleeced shirt' clues. | | 2. | Quite liked the simplicity and plausibility of this. 3 points! |
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| 41. This author's letters to his son reflected his wordplay! (12) |
| 1. | 'wordplay ' is a noun: so what does it do in the clue? | | 2. | I liked the surface story, gave pts for it, but I feel the exclamation mark is unnecessary | | 3. | Unique and original. |
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| 42. This three-seater is unusual 'Fischer' red leather settee |
| 1. | Would have scored higher with "could be" instead of "is" |
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| 43. This town has a building with defects on her, alas! |
| 1. | I think 'this' is doing double duty as part of the definition and anagram material |
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| 44. Top of church here is left twisted by tail of arch-fiend |
| 1. | A superb &lit – and, unlike some doubtful ones, it doesn’t even claim it. | | 2. | Very good, but really needs a '?' | | 3. | Lovely five-pointer. |
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| 45. Town where criminal Fletcher’s inside, purging sin |
| 1. | A shame that the fictional Slade Prison was in Cumberland. Had it been in Chesterfield this would have been first-rate. |
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| 46. Upset child set free on couch |
| 1. | what's the 'on' doing? Could have had 'Child set free on couch' with 'on' as anag. indicator | | 2. | "on" might not be a valid "link word", in my opinion |
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| 48. Wanting ultimate in fun, children's feet scrambled for the sofa |
| 1. | definition should be 'a sofa' / 'sofa'; a pity, much liked it otherwise |
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| 49. Well-armed seat of desert chiefs left abandoned |
| 1. | Great definition, much more creative than most of the seat clues. | | 2. | Faulty anag. – one 's' too many | | 3. | Check your anagram before you submit. Only one S in Chesterfield. |
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| 51. Where Tony Benn sat spouting leftish creed |
| 1. | Lovely anagram | | 2. | This would be brilliant, but for the anagrind which I don't think is acceptable, alas | | 3. | Surely, “spouting” fails as an a.i. A shame. Had it been, say, “developing”, it would have been a very good clue with an original anagram. | | 4. | For non UKers, perhaps more explanation than "anag." |
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| 54. Would Pires be prominent here ?(12) |
| 1. | A bit indirect methinks, making it unfair |
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| 55. You could wear this when cold, if sheltered poorly. |
| 1. | 'When' may be needed for the surface reading but spoils the (real) clue | | 2. | I like the surface, but not keen on 'when' as a joining word. |
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