◀  No. 198 Clue list 3 Aug 1952 Slip image No. 200  ▶

XIMENES CROSSWORD No. 199

HONESTY

1.  G. H. McConnell: Facing pain under the lash with grit is characteristic of the Injun (hone1 (= grit1) + sty2; ‘honest Injun’).

2.  T. E. Sanders: A solitary run after an hour shows Trueman’s quality (h + one + sty; i.e. true man; ref. Frank T., fast bowler [see comments]).

3.  C. J. Morse: JUSTICE might be clued as “A good man surrounded by palatable fluid” (St. in honey; also St. in juice [see comments]).

H.C.

R. M. S. Cork: Garden herb which produces nectar round a short style (st(yle) in honey & lit.).

Cdr H. H. L. Dickson: Bees make the most of this flower (i.e. hone(st)y).

T. Dwyer: Outspokenness will get Nye shot! (anag.; ref. Nye Bevan).

J. A. Fincken: Whoa! or drive on, if you prefer, round the residence—I’ll pay! (nest in hoy2; ‘h. is the best policy’).

C. E. Gates: Often seen in gardens—egg lying outside nest (nest in hoy2 ( = incite, egg)).

S. B. Green: Shown by the good man in the reward of workers (St. in honey & lit.; worker bees).

A. F. Lerrigo: A disreputable place? Stop outside—that’s the best policy (nest in hoy2).

C. J. Lowe: Would it be the best policy to have Nye shot out of hand?! (anag.; ref. Nye Bevan).

D. P. M. Michael: Bloomer what spivs are not guilty of (2 mngs.).

R. Postill: Best course for the Open? Hoylake, where you might get a birdie in the first three? (nest in Hoy(lake); ‘h. is the best policy’).

Maj J. N. Purdon: Just conduct little Henry outside; the tone’s rather improper (anag. in Hy;).

J. S. Russell: Which flower be best? Use thy nose! (anag., 2 defs.; ‘h. is the best policy’).

Miss N. Smith: Nothing in the New York Sun (Special Edition) suggests why Washington accepted responsibility (0 in anag. of the NY S; ref. George W. and cherry tree).

F. B. Stubbs: Frankness puts the nosy out of countenance (anag.).

H. Tattersall: Without any finesse it is transparently obvious the trumps have it (3 mngs., ref. bridge; trump = trusty person).

H. S. Tribe: He stony-broke? That’s what comes of not cheating (anag.).

H. Walsham: The son they punished for truthfulness (anag.).

M. Woolf: It’s fine, but where does it get you, eh? Stony broke! (anag.).

H. T. Young: The knife-grinder’s come to a nasty end, but no suspicion of foul play (hone1 + (na)sty).

RUNNERS-UP

D. B. J. Ambler, D. Ashcroft, J. W. Bates, M. H. Benoliel, T. Bilsborough, J. A. Blair, R. W. H. Brunswick, J. C. R. Clapham, C. Clavering, R. A. W. Cohen, F. E. Dixon, W. M. Easther, Mrs N. Fisher, S. Goldie, R. J. Hall, A. R. M. Hooper, F. G. Illingworth, Mrs L. Jarman, C. Kauffman, C. Koop, G. G. Lawrance, J. P. Lloyd, A. D. Mitchner, J. O’Donnell, J. W. Parr, A. Redstone, A. Robins, W. K. M. Slimmings, Miss R. E. Speight, E. B. Stevens, L. T. Stokes, Miss D. W. Taylor, H. D. Toomey, P. Tulloch, L. K. Upton.
 

COMMENTS—260 correct and a moderate number of mistakes, only a third of which were caused by the dangerous “briar-Steanie” possibility, which worried many solvers—and was quite unintentional! If I had noticed it, I should probably have been “kind” about it, but it was fair as it was, and historical research was not the only hope. The answer to 16 was obviously a name: STEENIE is a recognised form of Stephen, given in Chambers’s, which “Steanie” is not: this should have been enough to turn the scale. Almost as many mistakes were caused by thinking “clear” was an anagram leading to “cearl,” which as far as I know does not exist. I thought it an easier puzzle than No. 198 and so did the majority, but there were some dissentients, and the N.E. corner was troublesome. S.-BELL and NECTOCALYX were popular.
 
An easy word produced many good clues. The winner is, I think, outstanding: the second is excellent, if you pass “run = sty,” which I definitely do after some cogitation: the third is an entirely original type, which I like. I have been asked to criticise some unsuccessful clues again, which I will do. There were cases of inaccurate wording, redundant words, “clue to a clue”—e.g. “the best insurance,” where “insurance” is a clue to “policy,” not to “honesty”—vague indirect anagrams, and so on, which I have often illustrated before. This time I will illustrate (a) obscurity and (b) the sound but dull clue.
 
(a). “The bird has dropped from its place amidships; this is openly shown.” The idea is crow’s nest without crow, in hoy: I should describe this as much ado about not very much!—“Would a ‘Bees Rd.’ envelope be ‘franked’?” Bees Rd. = St. in Honey—or does it?—“The uncivil old fossil is being sharpened by the most excellent dexterity of management.” Ty-polite—believe it or not!—“Bone: I Claudius (a nasty one).” Aitch-bone, one, nasty sty in Hamlet. This really takes the biscuit, without even a definition. Moral—write clues which you think you might solve!
 
(b). “A shelter in a boat is just the thing for an obviously ‘seedy’ plant.” But is it?—“Best policy is to find a comfortable residence in a sloop-rigged boat.” Why?—“A characteristic of the flower flourishing on the Surrey borders.” On-the-Sy anag.: better than the others, but the flower? Don’t many kinds of flower flourish there? With “a” for “the” it would be a pleasanter picture, but still a little dull. There are always lots like this, sound but presenting a picture which is either positively unconvincing or not interesting enough to make them attract. Soundness is not enough without a pleasing idea any more than a pleasing idea is without soundness. There are nearly always a lot of clues with both nowadays. But don’t be discouraged: - the number of different people who have won prizes or H.C.s has now passed the 900 mark, and masses of them took some time to get going!
 

 
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