Ximenes Competition No. 177 Ximenes Slip | ◀ 176 | 178 ▶ | Other competitions
| No. | Date | Clue word | Clue type | Clues |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 177 | Oct 1951 | DESOLATE | normal | 14 |
| Award | Clue writer | Clue | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | J. F. N. Wedge | Flat, empty, to lease, by arrangement, after beginning of December | D + anag. |
| Second | J. A. Blair | Feeling lonely? Present retiring miss with an engagement ring | lose (rev.) in date |
| Third | T. W. Melluish | Such people often assume weeds seed a lot, all over the place | anag.; widow’s weeds; weed2 |
| HC | Rev B. Chapman | A clue is wasted here, so you’ll have to carry on without it! | so in delate |
| HC | C. E. Gates | Descriptive perhaps of Mary’s plight—dramatically alone with the tiny sandbank beginning to be encircled by the Dee | sola3 + t(ee) in Dee; ref. Kingsley, ‘The Sands of Dee’ [see comments] |
| HC | S. Goldie | Stormy sea led to wreck | anag. |
| HC | E. L. Mellersh | Clement in this kind of place? Certainly not. But soon, perhaps! | cryptic def.; ref. C. Attlee and imminent Gen. Election |
| HC | D. P. M. Michael | Left alone could be so elated in a muddle! | anag. [see comments] |
| HC | Rev E. B. Peel | Wasted time rings in returning ruin | lose (rev.) in date |
| HC | A. Robins | I must be abandoned, to carry on embracing in this way | so in delate |
| HC | W. K. M. Slimmings | If I lose my seat, I can still get the dole—that’s how the Left feel | i.e. desolate minus anag. of seat = dole; ref. imminent Gen. Election [see comments] |
| HC | L. E. Thomas | It’s waste of time embracing retiring miss | lose (rev.) in date |
| HC | H. T. Young | Simply left to waste, a Brass Hat being in charge | SO in delate |
| HC | J. S. Young | Without the backbone to carry on alone | os1 (rev.) in delate |
Runners-Up in competition 177: