Ximenes Competition No. 173 Ximenes Slip | ◀ 172 | 174 ▶ | Other competitions
| No. | Date | Clue word | Clue type | Clues |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 173 | Aug 1951 | HATCHING | normal | 26 |
| Award | Clue writer | Clue | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | M. Newman | Lining needed for cells of white-coated prisoners that are almost crackers! | 2 mngs; hatch3; eggs; ref. padded cells |
| Second | L. E. Thomas | Nye’s coming out is the result of a heated sitting | cryptic def.; nye = brood; ref Nye Bevan’s 1951 resignation |
| Third | J. H. Dingwall | A profusion of fine, artistic lines enables the counter to get busy | cryptic def.; hatch3; “don’t count your chickens…” |
| HC | C. A. Baker | Bursting shells send charging flanks to cover | hat + ch(arg)ing |
| HC | J. A. Blair | Although the wicket has a good bit of sting, the result is a draw with very close scores | hatch1 + (st)ing; hatch3 |
| HC | J. Burton-Page | Scoring effort which might result in a duck | 2 mngs.; hatch3 |
| HC | Maj H. L. Carter | Clutching small child detesting its environment! | ch. in hating; clutch2 |
| HC | D. L. L. Clarke | In letting out the clutch, find the opening in the gate first | hatch1 + in + g(ate) ; clutch2 |
| HC | Mrs W. J. Couper | In the act of plotting when the beak appears | 2 mngs. |
| HC | C. E. Gates | Looks like a wicket!—Not out! Good! Very nearly out for a duck! | hatch1 + in + g |
| HC | S. B. Green | Plotting something shady? | 2 mngs.; hatch2,3 |
| HC | R. J. Hall | Pushing the Bill through at the end of a long sitting! That’s a shady practice! | 2 mngs.; hatch2,3 |
| HC | L. Johnson | Getting the bird, and then some, as the result of putting down a sitter | cryptic def., ref. cricket |
| HC | C. Koop | What concerns many sitters is the artist’s treatment of lines—it makes them cross! | 2 mngs.; hatch2,3 |
| HC | T. W. Melluish | Long sitting required to get a new bill through | 2 mngs.; hatch2,3 |
| HC | F. E. Newlove | Releasing the clutch—an initial burst (that’s Shell, that was!)—a flying start! | cryptic def.; ref. slogan of Shell petrol |
| HC | D. A. Nicholls | Getting down and out? | cryptic def.; down2 |
| HC | E. J. Rackham | Should he awaited by counter. (Naturally the eggs are put under!) | cryptic def.; “don’t count your chickens…”; ref. black market eggs (rationed in 1951) |
| HC | N. Roles | A small child has a natural abhorrence about advancing towards maturity | ch. in hating |
| HC | E. O. Seymour | Shady method of scoring gives me only a perishing H.C.—hang it! | anag.; hatch3 |
| HC | Mrs E. Shackleton | Reckon after this Burns’ night will be ruined with only half the usual food about! | anag. of nicht in hag(gis); i.e. count chickens after hatching |
| HC | A. E. Smith | This mischievous “planning” often entails long sittings | 2 mngs. |
| HC | J. Thomas | Application of closure: the end of a long sitting | 2 mngs.; hatch1,2 |
| HC | M. Woolf | The shell’s a thing of fragments, chick’s head appears; it’s coming out! | ch(ick’s) in anag. of a thing & lit. |
| HC | J. S. Young | Shells bursting, cutting lines and closing communications | 3 mngs.; hatch1,2,3 |
| HC | R. F. Zobel | Emerging after a lengthy sitting, it’s just the thing to pour down a gin-sling! | hatch1 + anag. of gin; down the hatch! |
Runners-Up in competition 173: