Ximenes Competition No. 249 Ximenes Slip | ◀ 247 | 251 ▶ | Other competitions
| No. | Date | Clue word | Clue type | Clues |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 249 | Sep 1953 | BALM | normal | 20 |
| Award | Clue writer | Clue | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | E. L. Mellersh | Old console—for a hand-blown organ | cryptic def.; balm (vb.) = soothe; i.e. for the nose |
| Second | C. Koop | It’s appeasement that leads you by the nose. Rub that in! | 3 mngs. |
| Third | A. B. Gardner | Where the Queen is present, you must not use “Viva,” but you may say “Salve!” | Balm(oral) |
| HC | J. W. Bates | Cricket after this season was something for the poet write about! | balm(-cricket), attrib. to Tennyson; season (vb.) = preserve |
| HC | Rev B. Chapman | I’ll give you a dressing-down if you’re late! | cryptic def.; i.e. dead |
| HC | W. J. Duffin | “Web” almost certainly includes what’s in clue to “conspiracy”—it’s also found in “plot” | hidden here and in clue 13 dn |
| HC | E. Gomersall | Take a couple of afternoons away from space-filling for a newspaper—the rest will do you good! | Balaam less a, a; press slang |
| HC | S. B. Green | Is this right for Ealing Common? Third left—the rest’s a bit tricky | l in bam; i.e. (h)ealing |
| HC | R. R. Greenfield | Herb is half way to getting the boot: the rest is still unwritten | balm(oral); ref. Herbert Morrison MP, Deputy Leader of Labour Party |
| HC | Mrs L. Jarman | Boot can supply it: don’t take by mouth! | baIm(oral), & lit.; Boot’s chemist |
| HC | B. J. McCann | 1000 to 50, Jack? Back it. It may make life easier, if you put enough on | M L AB (all rev.) |
| HC | G. Perry | To preserve half-boot use newspaper padding—you won’t need a second pair | Bal(aa)m, 2 defs.; press slang |
| HC | Mrs E. M. Simmonds | The comfort that comes in retiring from labour | hidden rev. |
| HC | W. K. M. Slimmings | The soothing influence of the garden where the Queen is free from “Viva!” | Balm(oral) |
| HC | Miss D. W. Taylor | Simple, but not completely daft | balm(y); simple = medicinal plant |
| HC | H. S. Tribe | Arsenal has lost all heart and finds itself among the bottom sides—what’s the remedy? | A(rsena)l in b(otto)m |
| HC | J. F. N. Wedge | The donkey rider had no drivers’ club to make things smooth in the old days! | Balaam less AA; ref. Numbers 22:21ff |
| HC | T. G. Wellman | Preserve a Liberal in the British Museum as a subject of lamentation! | a L in BM; ref. Jeremiah 8:22, “b. in Gilead” |
| HC | J. S. Young | The first half of the Prime Minister’s recent address gives a simple remedy for some of our common ills | Balm(oral), visited by PM in summer |
| HC | I. Young | The asinine fellow hasn’t a double—that’s a comfort! | Bal(aa)m; ref. Numbers 22:21ff |
Runners-Up in competition 249: