| Clues in archive | First Prizes | Other Prizes | VHCs | HCs | Hons points | First mention | Latest mention | Career span |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. Robins | 69 | 1 | 7 | 61 | 96 | 77 | Dec 1945 | Oct 1963 | 17y 10m |
| Clue word | Award | Clue | Explanation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ximenes competitions | ||||
| 1963-1964 | ||||
| 760 | METAMORPHOSE | VHC | A dreadful term struggling with “amo”: hopes, oddly enough, to develop in new form | anag. |
| 1962-1963 | ||||
| 725 | SILENUS | VHC | Panic issue of American stock after serious indiscretion about upsurge of English pound | E + L (rev.) in sin + US; S. was son of Pan; ref. 1962 “Flash Crash” of US stock market and surge in London |
| 712 | RHEUMATICKY | VHC | What makes the air mucky? The sort of weather we so often get! | anag. |
| 703 | SCAPEMENT | VHC | Pa’s cement mixer makes a tooth come out at each vibration | anag. |
| 1961-1962 | ||||
| 690 | ASCERTAIN | VHC | Prove unreliable in car-seat | anag. |
| 686 | FEMALE | VHC | Me a fellow? That’s baseless—quite wrong! | anag. less low, & lit. |
| 678 | TESSELLATED | VHC | The eldest shall mingle with the least, in accordance with Mosaic law | anag.; Mosaic = according to Moses |
| 669 | DRUM | Second | Give the bullet—not half!—encompassing end of career! | r in dum(dum) & lit.; mil. slang |
| 660 | RUBBER (Misprints) | VHC | Buick with soft texture tyres will demonstrate its versatility | brick; 2 mngs. |
| 651 | NIPCHEESE | VHC | He is tight with pence! | anag. & lit. |
| 1960-1961 | ||||
| 634 | BEDSTEAD | VHC | The minimum offer of a pension on retirement? | cryptic def.; pension = boarding-house |
| 608 | CUSTOMER | VHC | “I’m All Right Jack!”—this would be quite unthinkable without Sellers! | ref. Peter S. film; “the c. is always right” |
| 600 | The Light Brigade, noble Six Hundred (Anagram) | VHC | “Big-shot” lax—he blundered, dithering | |
| 595 | INORNATE / OMADHAUN (Right and Left) | VHC | A human being unfortunately fitted to do the same as a fool is simple, or embraced by the word “natural” | anag. incl. do, & lit.; or in innate |
| 1959-1960 | ||||
| 573 | SCAPEGALLOWS | VHC | Depths of depression after transgression with girl—I really ought to be highly strung and dancing on air! | scape2 gal lows |
| 1958-1959 | ||||
| 529 | BUTTY-COLLIER | Second | You bet till limited credit is dissipated: 1 help to keep mine going with a pony or two on the track | anag.; cr. = credit |
| 521 | SOUP | VHC | It can bring you round, when swallowed by the small mouthful, getting you well and out of bed | o in sup, so up, & lit. |
| 519 | RIDICULE (DLM) | VHC | Why can a lunatic always make jokes about lice during the full moon? Because then he’s a perfect nit-wit! | |
| 504 | LEAD-LINE | VHC | Put a bob on it and it’ll go down the straight and win by a length | lead line; plumbing bob; straight3 |
| 495 | PARTISAN | VHC | What constitutes the “fan”? There’s the smaller, noisy section, and the larger ——! | i.e. part is ‘an’, & lit.; fan = f + an |
| 1957-1958 | ||||
| 473 | LISSOME (Printer’s Devilry) | VHC | Take a spoon for the M.O., lass; ’e’s junior—ah—and fu/ssy | |
| 447 | TOUSLE | First | Let us stand by the Sovereign, beset by extreme Member—and let’s see the end of the matter! | us + L (£1) in toe: end = object; matter = one who mats; ref. article by John Grigg, 2nd Baron Altrincham, attacking the Queen, Aug 1957 |
| 443 | HALF-SEAS-OVER | VHC | Roaming afar, she loves being at the point—or pint!—of no return | anag. |
| 1956-1957 | ||||
| 425 | TRAVERSE | VHC | Oblique, endless tram-lines are moving over the screen—it does make one cross! | tra(m) verse, 4 defs.; TV lines |
| 395 | SCALE-ARMOUR | VHC | Our “Sovereign” Camera’s Versatile! Its Overlapping Plates could take Shots from any Angle! | anag. incl. L (£1); ref. Angles, Saxons, etc. |
| 390 | HESITATE (Printer’s Devilry) | VHC | Shew ears, hero new! Hit ebon net annually—and B. Lanc/aster! | B. L., film actor |
| 1955-1956 | ||||
| 377 | MALISON | VHC | When no trump turns up, I may interrupt the proceedings! | I in no slam (rev.), & lit.; slam = trump, game |
| 373 | PRESTONPANS | VHC | Scotland beat England here, showing style and reversing the confident forecast in the newspapers | ton2 + nap (rev.), all in press |
| 334 | CHEROOT | VHC | It heralds the appearance of a Prime Minister, associated with the English cause! | Ch(urchill) E root, & lit. |
| 329 | HAMADRYAD | VHC | Being regarded as having died out with Tree, overacting gets a frigid notice and evokes hisses | ham a dry ad.; ref. H. Beerbohm Tree, actor |
| 1954 (2) | ||||
| 325 | MARRYING | VHC | Prospect for promising bachelor, having rashly (extremely!) invested in a ring | MA + r(ashl)y in ring, & lit. |
| 302 | MARTIN | VHC | I come in early or late summer, right in the middle of the wet stuff: if I came later, it might be dry! | rt. in main, martin(i) |
| 297 | CONTRAPUNTAL | VHC | Presenting the Melody Combination in “Knock on the Door,” “The Nut Cracker,” and the Finale of “Parsifal?” | con6 + trap + anag. + (Parsif)al |
| 293 | CAB | VHC | Towards the end of my day with horses, I’m tired, or have a tender behind! | cryptic def.; tire2, tender3 |
| 287 | MANCHESTER | VHC | An apt motto for this school of potential English merchants might be Honour Bright! | anag. incl. E; ref. novel ‘David Chester’s motto: “H. B.”’ by H. E. Inman |
| 1954 (1) | ||||
| 281 | SCRAPS def. LOCALS (Wrong Number) | VHC | You’ll find places on the shelf for boxes | places; 2 mngs.; on the shelf = redundant |
| 271 | TRIPLET | VHC | Travel permit for a person of German birth with two companions | trip, let; german = fully related |
| 267 | TRADE | VHC | If I were in this business, you’d have a special issue of cross words! | t(I)rade |
| 265 | THERMAE | VHC | A victory for Persia—we must abandon poly-synthetic geysers | Thermopylae less anag. of poly |
| 1953 (2) | ||||
| 243 | LODESTAR | VHC | Pilot to Pilot: Watch trade winds bearing South | lo + s in anag.; winds, vb. |
| 239 | GENISTA (Printer’s Devilry) | VHC | Maladroit Mating Multiplies Morons—Eu/phony! | eugenist |
| 237 | BASTINADE | Second | Tea is distributed with the band plugging Underneath the Arches | anag. |
| 235 | ASPHETERISM | VHC | If you wanted somewhere to hang your battered hat, I couldn’t offer you normal premises! | anag. of premises, hat, & lit. |
| 1952 (2) | ||||
| 202 | SPALPEEN | VHC | The Knave of Spuds! | cryptic def. |
| 201 | AMETHYST | VHC | People thought I couldn’t make them stay tipsy, but I can! | anag. & lit.; ‘canned’ |
| 194 | KNOWLEDGE BOX | VHC | A tree ultimately assumes the ancestral tree’s power, and a nut appears | knowledge + box3; see “Tree of Knowledge” in C. |
| 1952 (1) | ||||
| 193 | TRADUCER | VHC | His perverted skill may be applied to composition of crude letters | art (rev.) + anag., & lit. |
| 1951 (2) | ||||
| 179 | CADRE | VHC | The potential force of a large battery is a piece of copper placed in the charge | d. in care |
| 177 | DESOLATE | VHC | I must be abandoned, to carry on embracing in this way | so in delate |
| 176 | SPIGOT | VHC | Give me a half-turn if you want a little draught to get past | sip, got (p.t.) & lit. |
| 174 | ANACREONTICS | Second | “The Poetry of Clubs”—a tract on physical jerks | an acre on tics; ref. The Anacreontic Society, a gentlemen’s club; Indian club exercises |
| 1951 (1) | ||||
| 162 | TITANESS | VHC | Two-ton Tess in “Ain’t Misbehavin’?” On the contrary! | i.e. anag. of ain’t in Tess; ref. ‘Two Ton’ Tessie O’Shea |
| 158 | RATING | VHC | One of many sailors taken back in the Reserve | tar (rev.) + in, +“G” & lit.; post-war reserve category for the RNR |
| 155 | LYTERIAN | VHC | I’m just finishing an illness—a year’s agony through careless application of lint | anag. of year lint |
| 1950 (2) | ||||
| 154 | RABBIT | VHC | Harvey is a poor batsman? Confound it, he gets his scores at a phenomenal rate! | 3 mngs; r. = confound!, gets = begets; ref. Neil Harvey, cricketer, and play and film ‘Harvey’ |
| 152 | SEA-LION | Third | Owner of bark with one sail negotiates globe skilfully | anag.; balances ball |
| 149 | DOMESTIC | VHC | Private prescription is a waste of Doc.’s time | anag.; ref. NHS |
| 135 | STRIPPED | VHC | Usual condition of the N.C.O. with a soft heart! | p in striped, & lit. |
| 1950 (1) | ||||
| 126 | RASPBERRY | VHC | Boo-hoot-iful frui-hoot! | hoot = raspberry; cf. soup in ‘Alice in Wonderland’, Mock Turtle’s song |
| 1949 (2) | ||||
| 111 | PLEASANT | VHC | Facetious action by Father Christmas—left without a present! | plea + Sant(a) |
| 105 | SMITHEREENS | VHC | Fission chips—see the riddle in it? | i.e. …the ree…; punning def. |
| 1949 (1) | ||||
| 101 | BARRACKS | VHC | Save the young rabbits, lodging protests against those who bump them off! | bar racks; rack8 |
| 94 | SARDELLE | Third | In Hansard Ellen Wilkinson used to refer to overcrowding by a more familiar name | hidden; sardine; Labour Min. of Education, d. 1947 |
| 1947 (2) | ||||
| 60 | HEEL | VHC | “The Rage of Paris” (Paramount) scored a hit here, despite that elusive 75 per cent! | Achilles’ heel, (h)eel; ref. film tax and 1938 film ‘The R. of P.’ |
| 59 | TAME | VHC | Dull here. Will strike camp and find flat | testament less anag. of tents |
| 53 | SHIN | VHC | Straight enough in the leg, but contrariwise in between the shoulders | i.e. s. in withers = withershins |
| 1946 (2) | ||||
| 39 | GNATHIC | VHC | This motion is defeated by gagging | cryptic def. |
| 1945 (2) | ||||
| 22 | SLEEPYHEAD | VHC | Please, Miss Lamarr, break it up! I’m tired! | anag. of please Hedy; ref. H. Lamarr, film star |
| 14 | Punning name (Punning name) | Second | Major B. Ed. Lyonet | ‘made your bed, lie on it’ |
Ximenes competitions
1963-1964
769 PENNY
764 SHIMMY-SHAKE
750 SEVEN-FIFTY / CROSSWORDS (Right and Left)
1962-1963
738 ANAESTHETIC
734 NASALITY
730 ARCH-PIRATE
728 ALDERMA(N) (N’s missing in def.) (Letters Latent)
717 STAR-MAN (Misprints)
708 HEARTS
700 SOLOMON
1961-1962
673 ERISTICAL
647 MADCAP
1960-1961
638 BUREAUCRAT
630 STREAKY
624 PSYCHIATER (DLM)
621 CHASE
604 APOSTROPHISE
1959-1960
590 STATANT (Printer’s Devilry)
586 HEBDOMADARY
578 GATHERED def. LEVANTER (Wrong Number)
571 PESTER
569 PROPOSAL
564 SHE-BEAR
555 JURYWOMAN
551 PITCHER
543 NUTRIA / ERMINE (Right and Left)
1958-1959
534 RAIL-SPLITTER
525 MORALE (Printer’s Devilry)
512 NAYLOR (Libel)
508 CUMBERGROUND
500 MOTHERS-IN-LAW
490 CLEAR def. WEIGH (Wrong Number)
1957-1958
486 BARACAN
482 LEASING-MAKER
477 SEDATENESS
451 MEGAPODE
1956-1957
430 GAMIN (Printer’s Devilry)
421 DOVETAIL
412 SERVIETTE
408 BILLET
1955-1956
347 TELEVISOR
1954 (2)
306 CHICANE / RAMPART (Right and Left)
304 ORLEANS
295 SENSE-ORGANS
289 CISTERN
285 PARALYSES
1954 (1)
273 COUSIN
269 ASCENT
263 We think so then and we thought so still! (Anagram)
259 AGANIPPE
1953 (2)
257 PYROTECHNICS (Straight Clue)
255 SCUTTLE
249 BALM
245 GLAMOUR / SOPRANO (Right and Left)
1953 (1)
231 PREAMBLE
229 MASCOT
225 TOUCHSTONES
223 MELODRAME
213 LEMONADE
211 CAROL-SINGERS or HOLLY-BERRIES
209 ELAPSION def. IMPERIAL (Wrong Number)
207 PAGEANT
1952 (2)
205 CANTANKEROUS
199 HONESTY
197 SCALES
1952 (1)
191 DENIGRATE
190 CHEQUERS
186 ASHMOLEAN
185 STOUT
184 MEREST / WYOMING (DLM)
183 SAUSAGES
182 MISTLETOE
181 HANGABLE
1951 (2)
178 HIDEOUS
173 HATCHING
172 GARNISHER
170 GUINEA
1951 (1)
165 CABBAGE
157 ORANGE
1950 (2)
139 HECATOMB
1950 (1)
128 AMMETER (Printer’s Devilry)
124 BARHAM or BRAMAH
122 LEATHER
121 SNAPSHOT
119 UMBLE-PIE
1949 (2)
116 WATERLOO
114 TAPPIT-HEN
112 SHEET (DLM)
110 LEVIGATE
109 PERI
107 STRAMASH
1949 (1)
104 STARE (Printer’s Devilry)
103 MOSES
100 Word containing ADDING
1948 (2)
84 SHINGLE / THIRSTY (Right and Left)
1948 (1)
75 PETROLEUSES
| Year | Prizes (1, 2, 3) | VHCs | HCs | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ximenes competitions | ||||
| 1963-1964 | 0 | 1 | 3 | – |
| 1962-1963 | 0 | 3 | 7 | – |
| 1961-1962 | 1 (0, 1, 0) | 5 | 2 | 5 |
| 1960-1961 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 17 |
| 1959-1960 | 0 | 1 | 9 | – |
| 1958-1959 | 1 (0, 1, 0) | 4 | 6 | 8 |
| 1957-1958 | 1 (1, 0, 0) | 2 | 4 | 15 |
| 1956-1957 | 0 | 3 | 4 | – |
| 1955-1956 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 16 |
| 1954 (2) | 0 | 5 | 5 | 9 |
| 1954 (1) | 0 | 4 | 4 | 14 |
| 1953 (2) | 1 (0, 1, 0) | 3 | 4 | 9 |
| 1953 (1) | 0 | 0 | 8 | – |
| 1952 (2) | 0 | 3 | 3 | – |
| 1952 (1) | 0 | 1 | 8 | – |
| 1951 (2) | 1 (0, 1, 0) | 3 | 4 | 11 |
| 1951 (1) | 0 | 3 | 2 | – |
| 1950 (2) | 1 (0, 0, 1) | 3 | 1 | 10 |
| 1950 (1) | 0 | 1 | 5 | – |
| 1949 (2) | 0 | 2 | 6 | – |
| 1949 (1) | 1 (0, 0, 1) | 1 | 3 | – |
| 1948 (2) | 0 | 0 | 1 | – |
| 1948 (1) | 0 | 0 | 1 | – |
| 1947 (2) | 0 | 3 | 0 | – |
| 1946 (2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
| 1945 (2) | 1 (0, 1, 0) | 1 | 0 | – |