XIMENES CROSSWORD No. 167

PARMESAN

1.  Mrs L. Jarman: Rasp me freely, right up to an end (anag. + an, & lit.).

2.  C. E. Gates: Italian food designed to give perfect figures to people without glamour (par (golf) + SA in men).

3.  M. Newman: Tight man pares this (anag. & lit.; tight = tipsy, stingy (i.e. cheese-paring)).

H.C.

J. W. Bates: A poor man pares me! (anag. & lit.; i.e. cheese-paring).

S. B. Green: A dilapidated manse for the parson’s son—hard cheese! (anag. for son in parson).

M. B. McIlroy: Cheese dish with an untidy smear inside (anag. in pan).

T. W. Melluish: A carefully disposed man pares cheese (anag.).

L. E. Thomas: It should be one’s last course perhaps to attain equality by foul means (par + anag.).

M. A. Vernon: It’s the vague smear in the middle of the dish that adds the savour (anag. in pan).

M. Woolf: Just a smear, melted in the pan, makes a delicious savoury (anag. in pan).

RUNNERS-UP

C. A. Baker, Inst Capt J. Camp, J. C. Chavasse, F. A. Clark, J. C. B. Date, S. T. England, T. O. Hughes, L. R. Huxtable, G. G. Lawrance, C. Macfarlane, D. P. M. Michael, A. P. O’Leary, R. Postill, E. J. Rackham, C. P. Rea, T. E. Sanders, G. A. Shoobridge, W. K. M. Slimmings, C. T. Tulloch, Mrs K. A. Whaley.
 

HALF-YEARLY CONSOLATION PRIZES—E. L. Mellersh and E. J. Rackham (5 H.C.s): next come J. W. Bates, Rev. B. Chapman, S. Goldie. O. Carlton Smith and L. E. Thomas (4).
 
HONOURS LIST—S. B. Green (1 prize, 6 H.C.s) again wins in a photo finish from a quadruple dead-heat consisting of Mrs. Jarman and D. P. M. Michael (3—1) and C. J. Morse and T. E. Sanders (1—5): next come C. A. Baker and R Postill (2—2) and E. S. Ainley and G. G. Lawrance (1—4): C. E Gates and H. B. Ridley (2—1), C. Koop and W. K. M. Slimmings (1—3) and Messrs. Mellersh and Rackham: F. A. Clark, E. R. Prentice, M. Woolf and L. C. Wright (1—2) and Messrs. Bates, Chapman and Co.
 
819 names have now figured in the lists of prize-winners and H.C.s, 31 of these being new ones in the last half-year.
 
COMMENTS—Profound apologies for the clue to TREES: “corner” should have been “corners.” I think solvers usually trust me to be accurate, and one especially kind one writes: “I know it’s so easy to suggest a misprint, but that’s the very last thing one should do with your puzzles.” He is far too kind: I can only apologise for wasting your time, thank you for your tolerance and hope that I shan’t further blot my copy-book too soon! I disregarded that word in checking solutions.
 
Quite apart from this the puzzle proved harder than I expected, though a few said it was easy: there were only 163 correct and many mistakes, especially over ESROM, a little known Biblical gentleman (Matt. i. 3. 4), straightforwardly clued via “morse,” and AMBRACIA (“a crib” jumbled in “a ma”—ancient name for modern Arta). AVID and NEWS proved the easiest words: PLAN [?] was easy to some, one of time last solved by others: FLAP, too, was easy to many but also caused a few mistakes. The most popular clue was that to REHEARSE.
 
The clues submitted were not, on the whole, exciting: I was disappointed to find how uninspiring the word was. And now what will you all have to say about No. 168? I wonder!