XIMENES CROSSWORD No. 180

HESPER (Printer’s Devilry)

1.  Mrs J. H. C. Lawlor: Company—steady, men—’shun! S/tand at ease!

2.  Rev E. B. Peel: Cranky headmaster’s asked me to tea! C/an’t! Oatmeal’s in my mortarboard! (Esperanto).

3.  R. Postill: Edinburgh preferred a scientist. Did Aberdeen, like them, oust a c/hap Sim? Afraid so! (the moustaches perhaps; ref. Rectorial elections 1951; Alastair Sim replaced by Alexander Fleming at Edinburgh, Jimmy Edwards elected at Aberdeen).

H.C.

F. A. J. Armstrong: If anyone wants to marry the hussy, let him s/tand forward.

Lt Col P. S. Baines: “I’ll set out to tea. C/an Toby go, d-doctor?” Zamenhof cried (Esperanto; Dr L. L. Z.).

C. A. Baker: If the horses back it, c/haps, it’s got something!

A. Barkas: Smuggling something? Best keep it under your hat, c/haps!

The Lady Janet Beveridge: Is washing dis/missible on Sundays as a work of supererogation?

J. G. Cordery: Look at the mare’s-tail s/ky this morning!

J. H. Dingwall: Does Winston’s agent consider his wis/e M.P. Tory? (peremptory; ref. agents in Winston C.’s Special Operations Executive).

E. R. Evans: In Marc/oni’s land, homes are meatless (ref. reduced meat exports to UK under Juan Peron).

I. Evans: Our bus/ is hours late. Clay is so heavy (…bushes…slate clay…).

J. A. Fincken: If you want to lose your Middlesex train, c/haps doing P.T. will help.

Mrs N. Fisher: “She’s not really fair!” S/o, X, I decried a spiteful fellow-woman (peroxide).

A. B. Gardner: That c/hap’s a red!—is liked the most by those afraid of vermin (thatches…disliked…).

C. E. Gates: Her Eric/? I shall weal this good-for-nothing in the end! (…riches perish, all wealth…).

F. G. Illingworth: One of Scotland’s heroes? Listen, stow it, c/haps—it’ll turn his head! (ref. Macbeth).

G. G. Lawrance: Bevan-wis/e M.P. (Tory) calls for increases in armaments to cease (ref. Nye Bevan’s resignation over health service cuts to fund defence).

T. A. Martin: I fit a c/hap’s suit. Able treatment is the drill (If it aches…).

Mrs A. M. Osmond: Skin affected by harsh detergent—it c/haps.

H. Ingram Rees: Minister stokes Rus/sian cruiser. A bid for conciliation? (Minister Stokes…Persian cruise…; ref. Richard S., Min. of Materials, and Iranian Oil Nationalisation talks).

J. Scholes: Missing cat: c/haps blame the dazzling sun.

J. F. N. Wedge: Dusty pit c/haps might benefit from a shower.

R. F. Zobel: Back it, c/haps! Crumbs!—invest!

RUNNERS-UP

E. S. Ainley, Mrs Caithness, F. A. Clark, D. L. L. Clarke, F. L. Constable, B. C. Cubbon, V. F. Dixon, W. M. Easther, A. R. Fraser, D. J. Furley, P. Glennie-Smith, Rev J. G. Graham, S. B. Green, P. A. Harrow, Lt Cdr R. F. Hatton, P. T. Heath, Prof S. H. Hooke, T. W. Hoskins, T. O. Hughes, R. P. Irving, Mrs L. Jarman, W. Jenkinson, Miss M. H. H. Johnston, Mrs J. Koppel, Capt G. Langham, R. H. Lemon, H. Lyon, J. Martin, C. H. Maude, E. L. Mellersh, T. W. Melluish, C. J. Morse, F. E. Newlove, A. Nicholls, Lt Cdr A. R. Nolan, A. P. O’Leary, J. H. Poulten, C. Reeves, M. C. T. Reilly, Mrs E. Shackleton, F. N. Shimmin, Mrs E. M. Simmonds, W. K. M. Slimmings, J. Thompson, H. S. Tribe, J. Vallely, J. E. Ward.
 

Half-yearly Consolation Prizes—S. B. Green (5), D. A. Nicholls (4).
 
Runners-up (3)—P. M. Coombs, Mrs N. Fisher, R. J. Hall, F. G. Illingworth, C. Koop, E. W. Lee, F. E. Newlove, E. O Seymour, W. K. M. Slimmings.
 
Honours List—J. H. Dingwall, C. E. Gates and T. W. Melluish, 2 prizes & 5 H.C.s: L. E. Thomas. 2-4, & C. A. Baker, l-6: J. A. Blair, 1-5: Mrs Lawlor, 3-0, Rev. E. B. Peel & J. F. N. Wedge, 2-2, & C. J. Morse, l-4: D. P. M. Michael, E. J. Rackham & A. Robins, 1-3: Maj. H. L. Carter, Mrs A. M. Osmond, H. Rainger, T. E. Sanders & A. E. Smith, 1-2.
 
COMMENTS—418 correct and a fair number of mistakes in an enthusiastic entry: “P.D.” remains very popular. I couldn’t accept “glacé” instead of PLACE: neither “saturated its big lace b. and howled” nor “saturated its big lace band, howled” satisfies me. I don’t like the abbr. in the first nor the lack of “and” in the second. No room for the other red herrings, I fear.
 
The clues submitted were, I thought, of a very high standard, and there are many H.C.s to which I would happily have given prizes had there been more. Many R.U.s are very near H.C. standard. The first-prize winner surely approaches perfection, with its brevity, neat hiding, naturalness and complete change of subject in the undevilled version. I haven’t indicated gaps for a change this time: good hunting!
 
Some faults which I illustrated last time again occurred, mostly, I think, in the entries of new competitors; so I’ll repeat. (1) The far too good hiding-place, between words, not changing the subject and giving the solver no chance: —“If (he’s per)using a guide, he should know the best hotel.” (2) Too much messing about with word-divisions for their own sake: this gives the game away and is not a merit, unless especially humorous. An example:—“Wanted: tea-can toper: son with can, tabor, ox, on background.” (3) Too much attention to sense of devilled version at the expense of the final version:—“Sensation! Cricketer bats on in water-logged crease!” (“bathes person” is very weak). “Congregation catch a psalm strain.” (“… catches, perhaps, a L.M.S train”—but why should they?). “Sky-pilots keep an eye on her!” (“She’s perky! Pilots, …”—but why pilots, except in order to get in “sky-pilots”?). (4) A new fault:—terribly rare words in the final version, e.g. sper, sperable, sperage (= asparagus—not in Chambers), spergula, spermule. These are quite unfair in the final version: it doesn’t, of course, matter in the devilled version. (I know “loopy gaga” isn’t in C., but that is rather different!).
 
Finally, many thanks for kind remarks and for many good laughs.