Ximenes Competition No. 261 Ximenes Slip | ◀ 259 | 263 ▶ | Other competitions
| No. | Date | Clue word | Clue type | Clues |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 261 | Dec 1953 | DECANTER | normal | 17 |
| Award | Clue writer | Clue | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | C. Allen Baker | The cause of somewhat unintelligible talk in a stag-party? | cant1 in deer, & lit. |
| Second | S. B. Green | What’s tilted does perhaps get passed round! | cant2 in deer, & lit. |
| Third | Mrs N. Fisher | To fill the pen up you have to tilt the bottle | cant2 in reed (rev.); reed = pen |
| HC | T. E. Bell | A “dead centre” could be a repository for the departed spirits of dead men! | anag. incl. d. (= dead); d. m. = empty bottles |
| HC | D. L. L. Clarke | Soak up and you could get pretty well canned before you’ve got it all down! | anag. of can(n)ed + ret (rev.), & lit. |
| HC | P. M. Coombs | This must be put a stop to when one gets in half canned | can(ned) in deter, & lit. |
| HC | W. J. Duffin | The liquor bottle renounced? Not quite—doctor’s order does not allow it to be! | i.e. recanted with Dr exchanged |
| HC | L. E. Eyres | Flagon calling (not in vain!) for a Horatian Ode | decanter (L.) = let me be sung, & lit. |
| HC | C. E. Gates | Not necessarily a bottle of whisky, but does (as often as not) hold Scotch with a high content of spirit | cant4 in deer, & lit. [see comments] |
| HC | Rev A. D. Hodgson | Decorative home for the Scotch—ten-acred—restored throughout | anag. |
| HC | D. E. Hodgson | The easy going at Camptown ensures a clean finish in the last lap | ‘de’ canter; ref. song ‘Camptown Races’ |
| HC | W. I. N. Kessel | This month’s so short—aren’t presents a vexation? People get liquor out of me | Dec + anag.; presents vb. |
| HC | C. Koop | In me you see that drawn, down-trodden expression after losing the deposit | cryptic def.; ref. wine-making, lees |
| HC | D. P. M. Michael | Drunk from nectared bumbling among summer-tide Canterbury-bells | anag., hidden |
| HC | J. E. Povey | Jolly decent, R. A. Butler, but not when his duties touch our silver | anag.; jolly vb.; butler = one who decants; ref. R. A. B., Chancellor |
| HC | Mrs E. Shackleton | Tip for tots—put a list in a drawer for Santa! | cant2 in deer; i.e. reindeer |
| HC | H. S. Tribe | Take—as the doctor ordered—a decent change: what about Madeira, for example? | anag. incl. r. (= take) |
Runners-Up in competition 261: