Ximenes Competition No. 146 Ximenes Slip | ◀ 145 | 147 ▶ | Other competitions
| No. | Date | Clue word | Clue type | Clues |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 146 | Aug 1950 | BELDAME | normal | 13 |
| Award | Clue writer | Clue | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | W. K. M. Slimmings | No wonder the old lady’s furious: she’s nothing to show but the B.E.M., and that’s tarnished | anag. of BE Medal [see comments] |
| Second | R. Postill | “The Third Man?” Head’s gone: Matron’s to go later. She’s furious! | (A)bel + dame; Abel = third man on earth; ref. 1949 film |
| Third | J. A. Flood | Elbe dam bombed by an old Spitfire. Probably a miss, though! | anag.; i.e. a female spitfire; oblique ref. to 617 Sqn ‘Dambusters’ raids |
| HC | C. A. Baker | Jezebel’s end made a considerable mess of—Jezebel! | (jeze)bel + anag. of made; ref. death of Jezebel, 2 Kings 9:30–37 |
| HC | H. P. Chubb | Horrid old Grannie to bleed Mummy when broke! | anag. of bleed ma [see comments] |
| HC | F. L. Constable | I’m a good worker, about fifty, female—yet I appear to be a woman scorned | L dam in bee; “Hell hath no fury …” |
| HC | S. B. Green | Book the Castilian cutie—she’s a witch! | b. el (Sp.) dame |
| HC | C. H. Hudson | It’s all right for an old Granny, but here’s Mother, on the right side of 50, in a sewing circle! | L, dam in bee; sewing bee |
| HC | C. Koop | How the blade trembles before me! Stage fright? | anag. + me; ref. Macbeth II.1 and witches |
| HC | F. E. Newlove | ‘‘Is this a dagger which I see before me?” Not so! It’s one of the weird sisters | anag. of blade + me; ref. Macbeth II.1 and witches [see comments] |
| HC | A. E. Smith | With a broken heart, the old lady shows her medal | B(O)E + anag. of medal; BOE = Bank of England, ‘The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street’ |
| HC | Capt C. Tyers | Merely be fifty, and a woman is called a hag! | be L dame |
| HC | J. S. Young | An uncomfortable bed and a badly served meal is enough to make a woman furious | anag. of bed, meal |
Runners-Up in competition 146: