AZED CROSSWORD 506

ELANET (Printer’s Devilry)

1.  E. R. Riddle: When short of fu/n all need more alcohol (etna’ll).

2.  Mrs A. R. Bradford: If mot/her lands one, will salmon have sauce hollandaise?

3.  D. F. Manley: After message from host announcing Now/here!’ a lone manger was visited.

VHC (extra prizes)

R. Abrey: At the office party, one can-can (c/hic) or two?

C. Allen Baker: Youngster swills no gin as I d/o. (Tally unheeded!).

E. A. Beaulah: At the Grand, Cooper is playing Pa (n/ude) but not Fool (in gray) (ref. TV quiz ‘Face the Music’, Joseph C., Robin Ray).

Rev C. M. Broun: Seethe – Ang/er – NALGO spelt ’ell!

R. A. Burges: ‘Who will ex-c/on Ian harrow?’ say sour men (Etonian).

Mrs M. J. Cansfield: Pa often took Th/omas home when they were courting.

N. C. Dexter: Provost (will-exp/onent) ran these – escheating (Eton).

S. Goldie: On piano, aspirin glass is next to present for pa – n/ude!

A. K. Gregory: ‘We want cycl/ocross!’ city bikers say.

Mrs S. Hewitt: She plays before Festival Director’s P.A. n/ude, to display her talents!

R. J. Hooper: What’s the fu/n? As always, getting lit up with alcohol (etna).

J. F. Jones: Winning pianist played for pa n/ude in a flat.

M. A. Macdonald-Cooper: A wee hand: s/ae warm the palm – in January (ref. Handsel Monday q.v.).

I. D. McDonald: Gala performance at th/ree; Terry and Irving on stage together (The Lane = Drury L.; Beerbohm Tree, Edward T., Henry I., 19c actors).

E. G. B. McNeal: One competitor played the judge’s Pa – n/ude!

C. G. Millin: Riddle: What distresses a dams/on crop? (dis-tresses).

R. A. Mostyn: Coe stays ahead of outsid/er racing enthusiastically behind him (ref. Seb C.).

F. R. Palmer: A lot of skilful clipping is needed to give a fair dams/on crop.

B. A. Pike: To ex-c/ons: ‘We’ll need sentry in top op.’ (ref. Pop, exclusive Etonian society).

F. B. Stubbs: Hungry spider ho! Pest/s – lots of flies! (tela).

Dr P. W. Thompson: Has a timbr/e like lyre (timbrel, nete).

G. A. Tomlinson: A T-junction I want nears – I d/o turn left.

A. P. Vincent: ‘Wets’ now in (th/ough going under Foot?).

A. J. Wardrop: A sewer runs a long th/read carefully.

M. H. E. Watson: Just draw picture’s qu/intessential colours later.

L. C. Wright: Black and white quartering gives a mot/h nice quality.

Dr E. Young: Well shares up a cent: r/ow in gold for Scots? (Allan Wells, sprinter).

HC

R. H. Adey, D. Ashcroft, G. R. Bagley, R. L. Baker, M. J. Balfour, G. D. Bates, J. M. Best, Mrs K. Bissett, R. Brain, C. Brougham, J. M. Brown, E. J. Burge, C. Campbell, E. Chalkley, W. R. Chalmers, C. A. Clarke, M. Coates, Mrs M. P. Craine, R. E. Crum, T. Davies, H. F. Dixon, E. G. Durham, M. Earle, Miss Y. Edwards, P. S. Elliott, R. A. England, Mrs W. Fearon, E. G. Fletcher, Dr I. Fletcher, F. Foxcroft, J. M. Gerard, D. Giles, J. E. Green, O. Greenwood, B. Greer, J. F. Grimshaw, R. E. Groves, B. Hancock, V. G. Henderson, A. Henrici, S. Holgate, E. M. Holroyd, E. M. Hornby, R. Jacks, J. I. James, R. E. Kimmons, F. P. N. Lake, J. Langton, A. Lawrie, M. D. Laws, J. P. Lester, G. Leversha, J. C. Leyland, S. M. Mansell, B. Manvell, H. W. Massingham, L. May, D. P. M. Michael, D. W. A. Minette, J. D. Moore, J. J. Moore, C. J. & R. S. Morse, J. L. Moss, Dr I. Munro, J. J. Murtha, D. S. Nagle, F. E. Newlove, S. C. Norman, J. P. O’Neill, S. L. Paton, Mrs A. G. Phillips, R. D. Prior, R. F. Ray, N. J. Reed, W. K. M. Slimmings, G. Snowden-Davies, R. Stephenson, J. G. Stubbs, L. M. Sturges, J. B. Sweeting, M. S. Taylor, P. Thacker, T. R. Theakston, K. Thomas, D. H. Tompsett, J. Treleaven, M. J. E. Wareham, J. F. N. Wedge, R. J. Whale, W. D. Wigley, G. H. Willett, M. Woolf, S. Wylie.
 

COMMENTS
482 entries, very few mistakes (all through failure to solve the misprints clue to LAIN correctly). The puzzle proved to be on the tough side for a Christmas competition, but with extra time for solving and some abysmal weather this was perhaps quite welcome. If I’d told you which clues were which your task would have been somewhat easier I expect, and though I didn’t go out of my way (or did I, subconsciously?) to disguise the clue-types, I think I produced a number of P.D. clues which took some time to recognise as such, not to mention some normal ones which had a sort of P.D.-style ungainliness! Several of you also commented on the above-average percentage of unusual or obscure words I’d included. I don’t, habitually, keep as strict an eye on the balance of common and uncommon words as Ximenes used to do, so from time to time you’re likely to get more than a quorum of oddities.
 
P.D. clues are (appropriately!) the very devil to judge. Only a few are basically inaccurate or unsound or so crazily bedevilled as to be virtually unsolvable. The rest manage to cover all the available variations of word-break between them and many perfectly sound clues result. The task is to pick out those with that extra degree of humour or felicity of wording without sacrificing the sense of the undevilled version to that of the devilled one. ELANET turned out to be less malleable than I’d hoped (though more than some huffers and puffers imagined!), much the most popular idea being ‘-e lane t-’ with weather conditions, especially bad ones, featuring prominently. I know the feeling, being somewhat isolated alongside what scarcely qualifies for higher than ‘lane’ status. Anyway though the judging wasn’t easy it was a pleasure to read so many excellent clues, which helped to swell the lists as you see. Thank you for all the fun and for all the good wishes for 1982.
 
A final word of apology to Mr Manley for the truncation of his prize-winning clue as it appeared in The Observer.