AZED CROSSWORD 2460

TWEET

1.  M. Barley: Post we put on net (there’s no Chambers entry for noun) (post we net less pos n, & lit.; ref. entry in C.).

2.  J. C. Leyland: Dinky toys eschewed by grandkids for activity on iPad? (twee + t(oys)).

3.  Mrs A. M. Walden: Bird when small expresses one (tit with wee for I, & lit.).

VHC

D. Appleton: Go between two tenors and sing like a lintie (wee in t, t).

E. Dawid: Tit emits one for a short time (tit with wee for I, & lit.).

V. Dixon (Ireland): Pipe, short cigar or marijuana from time to time? (wee(d) in t, t).

Dr M. Ewart: Message from the President. ‘From the get-go England expects World Trade terms!! VERY BAD!!! (anag. of first letters).

R. J. Heald: Trump delivers odd bit of propaganda with little trace of truth here (T(rum p) + wee t, & lit.).

M. Lloyd-Jones: Post a message or call for a chat (2 defs.; chat, bird).

B. Lovering: What’s in Trump’s head at first will eventually exit thus (T + first letters, & lit.).

T. J. Moorey: Message Number Ten put out containing fabrication (not Boris’s first!)? (we(B) in te(x)t, & lit.).

C. Reid Dick (Germany): Message posted enclosing leak within leads to Trump tantrum (wee in T, t).

T. Rudd: Lofted first shot’s placement and weight: sound approach for another birdie? (tee wt (rev.)).

Dr S. J. Shaw: The way eaglets express themselves initially! (first letters & lit.).

C. Short: Leaders of the world employ e-communications to issue a terse message (first letters).

I. Simpson: Trash taking quick minute for Donald to put together? (t(rash) + wee + t’, & lit.).

P. Tharby: What gives hints of Trump’s thinking about number one? (wee in T, t, & lit.).

J. R. Tozer: One who’s dry sinks what wets the whistle (wee in TT).

J. Vincent & Ms R. Porter: Focusing on the leaders, Tiger Woods engineers eventual triumph – it’s produced by a lot of birdies (first letters; ref. US Open golf).

L. Ward (USA): Songbird when teeny squeezes one out? (tit with wee for I, & lit.).

T. West-Taylor: What Trump likes to do on social media is to go for former wife in message (text with wee for ex).

HC

D. & N. Aspland, T. C. Borland, C. J. Brougham, Mrs S. Brown, D. Carter, A. Chamberlain, M. Davies, W. Drever, J. Felton, H. Freeman, G. I. L. Grafton, J. Grimes, M. Hodgkin, J. R. H. Jones (Mexico), C. Loving, M. Lunan, D. F. Manley, P. McKenna, C. G. Millin, T. D. Nicholl, A. Plumb, N. G. Shippobotham, K. Thomas, J. D. Walsh, A. J. Wardrop, R. J. Whale, G. H. Willett, K. & J. Wolff, A. J. Young, Dr E. Young.
 

ANNUAL HONOURS LIST (13 competitions) 1. M. Barley (4 prizes, 9 VHCs), 2. R. J. Heald (2, 9), 3 (equal). J. R. Tozer (1, 10), Mrs A. M. Walden (2, 8), 5. Dr S. J. Shaw (1, 9), 6. D. F. Manley (1, 8), 7 (equal). H. Freeman (1, 7), J. C. Leyland (2, 5), 9 (equal). T. C. Borland (0, 8), J. Vincent & Ms R. Porter (1, 6), 11 (equal). N. Connaughton (0, 7), W. Drever (1, 5), Dr I. S. Fletcher (1, 5), I. Simpson (2, 3), R. J. Whale (2, 3), A. J. Whittaker (0, 7), 17 (equal). T. J. Moorey (0, 6), Ms S. Wallace (0, 6), A. J. Wardrop (0, 6), 20 (equal). D. & N. Aspland (1, 3), C. J. Brougham (1, 3), M. Lloyd-Jones (1, 3), B. Lovering (0, 5), T. Rudd (1, 3), 25 (equal). J. Burscough (1, 2), C. A. Clarke (0, 4), V. Dixon (0, 4), J. Grimes (0, 4), M. Hodgkin (1,2), P. W. Marlow (1, 2), J. R. C. Michie (1, 2), P. L. Stone (1, 2), K. & J. Wolff (0, 4).
 
CONSOLATION PRIZES T. C. Borland, N. C. Connaughton, A. J. Whittaker, T. J. Moorey, Ms S. Wallace, A. J. Wardrop, C. A. Clarke, V. Dixon, J. Grimes, B. Lovering, K. & J. Wolff.
 
Comments
 
181 entries, with no mistakes, a little disappointing for a competition puzzle which most of you seemed to find relatively straightforward. Favourite clue (of 20 receiving mention): ‘Clock in square went round’ for SPEEDO, one vote ahead of those for BESOTTEDNESS, GLAD and SMASH-AND-GRAB in joint second place.
 
TWEET inevitably invited Trump-related clues, as I knew it would. No harm in that, but as always with ideas that are bound to be popular, a degree of extra ingenuity was necessary to catch the judge’s eye. It’s odd that the noun usage of the word in its social media sense is not given in Chambers, and I had no hesitation in accepting this. I have no personal interest in any of these online networking websites, and little idea of how they differ from each other, but am well aware that people do tweet each other and none more than the Donald. Mr Barley’s way of drawing attention to the fact that Chambers has not caught up with current usage was particularly clever, I thought.
 
A small number of competitors expressed nervousness over defining ‘wee’ in the sense of ‘urin(at)e’, but I can see no harm at all in using such informal and surely inoffensive terms for universal bodily functions. The approval rating received by my SPEEDO clue (see above) indicate that plenty of you agree.
 
Congratulations to everyone on the annual honours list above, and especially to Mr Barley (second last year) who rounds off a cracking year with a splendid first prize. I am grateful as ever to Martin Perkins whose meticulous recording of the scores makes my task in finalizing the list so much easier.