XIMENES CROSSWORD No. 105

SMITHEREENS

1.  E. R. Prentice (Clifton): State of a steamship blown apart by an exploded mine: yet the waist’s there in one piece! (there in anag. of mine in SS, & lit.).

2.  L. C. Wright (Selby): These miners should be sacked for the little bits they produce! (anag.).

3.  E. L. Mellersh (Enfield): Fine result of close cannons: a big break (cryptic def.; snooker).

H.C.

E. S. Ainley (S. Harrow): Meddle with mines and there’s the result! (anag. & lit.).

Col P. S. Baines (W11): These miners show little signs of striking (anag.).

M. L. Booker (Clifton): The output of these miners seems to indicate that they reached their target successfully (anag.).

H. W. Brister (Watford): Mr. Gallagher’s singing partner—“in such a mess before he’s never been” (anag. of Mister Sheen; ref. song ‘Mr Gallagher and Mr Shean’ [sic] by Ed G. and Al S.).

F. L. Constable (Bridgnorth): See what comes of disturbing the R.E.’s mines! (anag. & lit.).

Rev H. J. Crees (SW1): Answer to prophetic last words: “Look out! There’s mines hidden here!” (anag. & lit.).

A. J. Croft (Birmingham): They’re small portions for he-men, sister! Give us a break! (anag.).

Cdr H. H. L. Dickson (Fareham): Possible result of the Sappers’ mines (anag. of the RE’s mines, & lit.).

E. C. Double (Dartford): A jigsaw intermeshes all the little pieces (anag.).

S. Goldie (S. Shields): Shiver me! The sirens! What will happen if a bomb drops? (anag.).

S. B. Green (NW10): Such small results from a strike! These miners must be crazy! (anag.).

H. H. Hutchinson (Sawbridgeworth): Break up union and smash these miners to bits (anag.).

C. Koop (Ferring): I sent “Hermes” carelessly packed for an exhibition of pieces—and look what’s happened! (anag.).

F. E. Newlove (SE9): Mines the R.E.s disturbed? (anag. & lit.).

H. C. Pilley (Leeds): Fragments produced by forger before being assembled together (smith ere ens).

H. B. Ridley (Leigh-on-Sea): The net result of tangled intermeshes is lots of little wholes! (anag.).

A. Robins (Manchester): Fission chips—see the riddle in it? (i.e. …the ree…; punning def.).

R. G. Tate (Gateshead): Strangely intermeshes the fates of Humpty Dumpty and Ozymandias (anag.; ref. nursery rhyme and Shelley poem: “… a shattered visage …”).

COMMENTS.—263 correct and—to me—a surprising number of scattered mistakes: perhaps it wasn’t as easy as I thought. The word set invited anagrams, several of which lent themselves easily to blending with a definition. This made the choice difficult, and small details of wording became more than usually important. The first prize goes to a clue which is perhaps less neat than some of the anagrams, but it is very skilfully put together and, though complicated, is eminently soluble: the second goes to the best, to my mind, of the anagrams, and the third to a neat straight clue.
 
Runners-up.—M. Anderson, Mrs Baird, C. Allen Baker, E. J. Bell, Rev H.D. Owen Brown, Mrs Caithness, Inst Capt J. Camp, Rev B. Chapman, F. A. Clark, G. Clarke, G. Danter, J. H. Dingwall, L. Dixon, M. G. Ellis, A. Fenton, J. A. Flood, C. E. Gates, S. R. Gibbs, Maj A. H. Giles, P. A. Harrow, S. Haycraft, H. J. Howells, L. R. Huxtable, J. Hardie Keir, G. G. Lawrance, R. Lumley, Mrs B. A. Mallett, A. R. McInroy, T. W. Melluish, D. P. M. Michael, R. A. C. Norris-Jones, R. Postill, H. Rainger, A. R. Read, T. E. Sanders, W. K. M. Slimmings, O. Carlton Smith, Rev H. M. Springbett, C. H. Toy, H. D. Wakely, A. G. H. Walde, Maj W. G. Webb, T. Wilson.
 
The records for the last half-year show T. W. Melluish and R. Postill as equal “champions” with 2 prizes and 5 commendations each: C. Allen Baker follows them with 2 and 4: next come F. E. Newlove with 2—3 and Mrs. L. Jarman with 1—5, Rev. E. B. Peel 1—4, E. S. Ainley, A. H. Taylor, and L. E. Thomas 1—3, G. E. Denyer, S. B. Green, G. G. Lawrance, J. P. Lloyd, and L. C. Wright 1—2.
 
Consolation prizes (4 commendations) went to Dr. J. N. Fell, Mrs. N. Fisher, H. C. Hills, W. K. M. Slimmings, and J. S. Young: five solvers followed them with 3, namely D. Ambler, Maj. P. S. Baines, P. M. Coombs, C. Koop and J. B. Widdowson.
 
The total number of solvers who have been awarded prizes and/or commendations is now 685.