XIMENES CROSSWORD No. 204

ROSTER (Printer’s Devilry)

1.  Mrs A. M. Osmond: Glad I could fall back on moss—b/rier tore my best clothes to shreds (Moss Bros, terrier).

2.  J. Buist: When not acting the P./M. is resting (pro’s term).

3.  E. G. Phillips: The press i/s always ready to fill the bill—with garbage sometimes! (pressiroster, wading bird).

H.C.

E. S. Ainley: I think our P./M.’s 76 (about)—not too much for a good fight! (pro’s term’s 7/6 a bout).

Lt Col P. S. Baines: They burn Christian sinne/r. I bled. Ay. It was cruel! (Nero).

A. F. Brazier: His uniform is splendid, but the he/m is short!

R. N. Chignell: Kortright was the p/ro.: ring Ames at Lord’s (pro’s terror; ref. Charles K., gentleman bowler for Essex, 1889-1907, and Les A., batsman for Kent).

E. Clark: Many Christians die: dinne/r or theatre? (Nero).

R. M. S. Cork: Salt is a f/ad: I can’t spread it, even if you can! (eradicant).

J. A. Fincken: Ane/mone, Arthur!—gently!—needs cutting short (A Nero’s term).

A. B. Gardner: The Press i/s no longer regarded as the true “gen.” U.S.A. readmitted no wasp-lovers! (pressiroster, birds including the plovers).

P. Glennie-Smith: Do not brood, O he/n; lay on (hero stern).

S. B. Green: The P./M.—sad Minister! A shock to poor new Members! (golf club pro).

L. W. Jenkinson: Some think that Virgil’s he/n turned out a bad egg (hero stern; ref. Aeneas).

T. W. Melluish: I find no rime for the prophet of autumn, Alf/red (frost erred; ref. A. Tennyson).

C. J. Morse: Doc ai/ms at tract, “London isn’t Eden.” Going to tell us something! (Cairo’s terms; ref. Suez crisis, Anthony E., Foreign Sec.).

R. Postill: No doubt to amuse our Arth., here’s a f/at odalisque! ’Er methods must shock the Sisters! (… a muse … a frost, Erato. Dali’s…; addressed to E. [see also comments in Slip no. 205]).

H. Rainger: U/nites an arthropod’s urosome’s somite’s sternite (urosternite).

L. E. Thoms: Forty/ gals lapping shandy and eggs on noodles! (For tyros tergal slapping’s handy…; slap on the back).

J. F. N. Wedge: Things are difficult for Egyptian Importers Inc.—Ai/ling business is almost at a standstill (in Cairo, sterling; ref. Suez crisis).

J. S. Woodburn: After murder, sin! Cai/n! Measures have been taken (Cairo stern; ref. Suez crisis).

R. Worth: Crystal Palace, O Queen! Spark/ling exhibition seen by thousands. A “draw” for the visitors (Queen’s Park R.; football result).

L. C. Wright: If they say the party’s a f/ad, I cater—eels—and give them hot numbers (frost (= failure); dances).

RUNNERS-UP (1)

A. S. Allen, C. Allen Baker, Q. Des Clayes, W. Devlin, V. F. Dixon, Rev B. Foley, S. Goldie, C. P. Grant, J. Hardie Keir, Mrs D. M. Kissen, L. A. L. MacKichan, N. C. Mahony, E. L. Mellersh, H. E. Melvin, S. L. Paton, M. G. Powell-Davies, C. P. Rea, J. Riley, L. J. Sears, G. L. Sefton, Mrs E. M. Simmonds, W. K. M. Slimmings, J. F. Smith, Miss D. W. Taylor, W. R. Throssell, F. L. Usher, G. H. Willett, J. S. Young

RUNNERS-UP (2)

A. F. Ballard, J. W. Bates, E. C. Bingham, H. N. Brain, T. A. L. Cairns, W. R. Chalmers, F. W. Chandler, F. A. Clark, E. Davies, D. M. Devine, C. R. Haigh, R. J. Hall, P. Holtby, Maj R. E. Honeysett, Miss M. T. Hopkinson, E. M. Furnival Jones, W. I. N. Kessel, R. H. Lemon, C. R. Malcolm, T. A. Martin, Maj A. D. Martin-Sperry, D. P. M. Michael, R. J. Munnings, F. E. Newlove, A. Newnham, Miss G. M. Preece, Mrs E. Shackleton, J. A. L. Sturrock, Capt C. Tyers, C. Vaughan, T. G. Wellman, J. B. Widdowson, W. D. Wigley, C. E. Williams.
 

COMMENTS—With a Saturday packet of over 300—a record, I think—I have had no time to check the solutions of those I didn’t select for possible mention if the proportion of incorrect solutions in this packet was as small as it was in previous packets, the total correct was about 580. So many clues were good that I have divided the runners-up into two groups, as I did in No. 203: those in the first list were near-H.C.s. Naturally in such a big entry ideas tended to recur: I hope I have chosen the best versions of the most popular ones. “Hero stern” becoming “hen” must have figured in something approaching 50 entries: many of these were a little dull and obvious, but there were some good ones. As before, some competitors tended to sacrifice the sense of the final version to brightness in the devilled version: this is contrary to the whole idea. An example is “Can hens lay eggs fit for the gods?” There seems to me to be no point whatever of interest in hero’s (or Hero’s) terns. There is also a tendency to overdo devilling of the gaps between words. Great ingenuity may be shown in this, and I have commended a few of the most ingenious: but it must be remembered that it nearly always points the way to the vital gap, which in an ideal clue mustn’t leap to the eye. Perfect and interesting sense in both versions and a not too obvious gap is the ideal: perfect and interesting sense in the final version is the most important of these merits.
 
Many thanks for messages and comments, which I may not be able to acknowledge individually with such a large number of slips to send off. I’m glad this kind continues to he so popular, since I find them great fun to compose, and, contrary to many solvers’ conjectures, they don’t usually take longer than Plains.
 
I have marked the gaps above, as I didn’t last time: preference in this matter, so far as it has been expressed, seems to vary, so I propose to continue alternating.