XIMENES CROSSWORD No. 1093

MARTINET

1.  A. H. Jones: Believer in bull market, I make a clear profit (mart I net; bull = military discipline).

2.  W. G. Arnott: Highland cow’s one difficulty—being too fond of bull (mart² I net; ’s = has; being, noun; bull = military discipline).

3.  P. R. Clemow: Tart I must be with men improperly dressed (anag. & lit.).

V.H.C.

F. D. H. Atkinson: I love to dominate men: it’s the wayward tart in me (anag.).

C. Allen Baker: He who drives must remain t.t. (anag.; must⁴ = frenzied).

B. W. Brook: I make ’em train to a T (anag. + T, & lit.).

A. H. P. Cardew: Train ’em rough! That’s me to a T (anag. + T, & lit.).

N. C. Dexter: It heads N. in a spring month to land here (it (rev.) in Mar net (vb.), & lit.; bird).

P. D. Gaffey: I drive too hard; car overturns and I feature in court (tram (rev.) + I + net).

C. Jones: Jock’s fat cow swallows harrow spike—and that’s some swallow (tine in mart²; bird).

Sir S. Kaye: Perfection of execution, on the spot—I might be satisfied inducing that (art in in me, & lit.).

J. R. Kirby: Was introduced to train misfits within its scope (anag. in met, & lit.; obs. system).

Dr J. P. Lester: Order not strictly met—I rant (anag. & lit.).

Mrs B. Lewis: My form is strictly disciplined, figure neat and trim (anag.; figure = shape, vb.).

D. P. M. Michael: Alternative to haunter of Macbeth’s residence? Bloody sergeant, perhaps (2 mngs.; ref. Macbeth I.6, martlet, and I.2, sergeant).

Mrs E. M. Phair: Strict trainer is off vermouth cocktails including gin and French (Martin(is) + et).

B. A. Pike: You’ll find me tart with beginners in new intake, awkwardly aligned (anag. incl. n, i, & lit.).

R. Postill: Disorder in a teacher’s first term—an unhappy term for him (anag. incl. t, & lit.).

E. J. Rackham: His units turn out neat and trim (anag. & lit.).

K. Reed: Tart mien becomes me (anag. & lit.).

W. Rodgers: The use of a horn in traffic indicates a ruthless driver in charge (tine in mart).

K. C. Slater: Old military practice requires raiment adjusted to a T (anag. + T).

J. Webster: Best place for dealing with a harrowing tooth contained an old drill (tine in mart).

H.C.

D. B. J. Ambler, Col P. S. Baines, R. T. Baxter, T. E. Bell, E. C. Bingham, F. J. H. Blacklock, Mrs G. Bonsall, A. Bristow, E. W. Burton, C. O. Butcher, E. Chalkley, D. L. L. Clarke, A. J. Crow, J. Crowther, P. H. Dacre, A. S. Everest, J. A. Fincken, Mrs N. Fisher, Dr E. Gallagher, G. P. Goddard, W. F. Goodman, W. E. Green, R. N. Haygarth, J. P. H. Hirst, E. M. Hornby, G. M. Hornby, B. K. Kelly, J. Langton, A. Lawrie, J. H. C. Leach, P. W. W. Leach, L. F. Leason, A. D. Legge, R. W. Lerrigo, J. L. Mackie, Dr T. J. R. Maguire, B. Manvell, H. S. Mason, B. J. McCann, Mrs E. McFee, C. J. Morse, G. J. Mortimer, R. A. Mostyn, Dr F. D. Moynihan, G. M. Neighbour, M. Newman, I. J. Nicholas, Mrs E. M. Pardo, W. H. Pegram, Mrs W. A. Prinn, Miss I. Raab, G. H. Ravenor, Mr & Mrs A. Rivlin, N. Roles, T. E. Sanders, N. E. Sharp, C. C. Shasby, J. Shaw, Sir W. Slimmings, Brig R. F. E. Stoney, M. H. E. Watson, G. R. Webb, Mrs M. P. Webber, G. H. Willett, C. E. Williams.
 

COMMENTS:—Nearly 500 entries, very few mistakes apart from a sprinkling of “Tati” for ZATI, referring to a French mimic, Jacques T., whom I, of course, accept, though I admit I’ve never heard of him. But I can’t accept “tat” or “t’at” as broken English for “that”; “zat” seems to me far more natural, and a monkey (cf. ape) is a mimic. I’m sorry to disappoint the few Tatiists, but prizes and V. H. C.s wouldn’t have been affected. In an excellent entry (note long lists) “train ’em to a T” and “neat, trim” anagrams were so frequent that I could only include the few of each whose wording I liked best. I must repeat that I prefer brevity; clues that would need more than two lines of print (one would have needed five) are not, I think, to be encouraged, though I am far from insisting on extreme brevity. But I do like best of all clues like “Cake with nuts on top” (madcap), “I rifle tubs at sea” (filibuster), and “Miss Bueno smashes what others drive” (omnibuses)—outstanding prize-winners.
 
It’s time I again quoted a few unsuccessful clues to exemplify (helpfully, I hope) what I regard as faults. (1) Indirect anagrams, which I have so often deprecated as unhelpful to a solver, plus a bad definition:—“Scold the spoilt child; don’t spare the rod.” (Rant, mite: note also that “spoilt” is out of position, and the def. can’t point to a singular noun). (2) Syntax:—“Strict chap can get into horse trough at first.” (Mar-tin-e-t, but “can” gets, not “get”, into “horse”, and “trough at first” is not “first letter of trough”). (3) Obsoleteness should be indicated:—“To make this system of training jolly, remove tight limits”. (Last two words also unsound—cf. No. 2). (4) A noun like “confusion”, as I’ve said so often, is not equivalent to “confused”:—“I meant reorganization …”, or “I almost terminate indiscipline”. (The latter is on the way to being a good “& lit.” clue, but the “non- lit.” reading intended is “I am almost terminate undisciplined”, and the words used can’t produce it). (5) The letter I is not the pronoun I:—“I’ve left” for “the letter I has left” is simply not English. (6) Down words reversed don’t go back:—“force back” was used for “mar” reversed into “ram”. “Up” is needed, or its equivalent. I am not being a martinet but asking for accuracy which alone brings fairness to solvers; further, with the standard, and number, of entries as high as it now is, without such principles I should find it impossible to keep the number of mentions within reasonable limits. As it is, many perfectly sound clues don’t get mentions, simply because they are, to me, less attractive or interesting than those which do.