XIMENES CROSSWORD No. 231

PREAMBLE

1.  J. A. Fincken (N11): Page after page after page before the blessed start! (p + ream + ble(ssed), & lit.).

2.  Maj A. H. Giles (Leamington Spa): Quite a way to go before coming to the start gives the opportunity for a preliminary canter (pre-amble).

3.  G. Stanhope-Lovell (W. Ewell): Soft cream? Mrs. Browning’s complexion needs no end! And that’s just a preliminary (p + ream² +ble(e); blee attributed to ‘Mrs Browning’ in contemporary ed. of C.).

H.C.

E. S. Ainley (Harrow): Curried lamb, with garnishing to taste—before, a Melba, frappé—might make one (anag. in pree, pre + anag., & lit.).

M. Bowles (SW13): Start in quick tempo, and proceed andante: this may lead into a solemn measure (pre(sto) + amble).

W. J. Duffin (Hull): Whereas it begins in an Act of Parliament, a change in the constitution is really achieved by a rebel M.P.! (anag.).

S. Goldie (Enfleld): Entrée. What about minced lamb? Hae a wee bite! (anag. in pree).

Mrs B. M. Halpern (SW7): Don’t take palm beer neat: I can tell you why in advance (anag.).

C. Higham (SW1): A rebel M.P. manqué, I introduce an Act of Parliament according to tradition (anag.).

R. N. H. Hughman (Croydon): First steps in a course at a manège? (cryptic def.; pre-amble).

L. W. Jenkinson (Stoke on Trent): Preliminary account of marble bust found within the borders of the Peloponnese (anag. in P,e).

A. F. Lerrigo (Pinner): Before blame is portioned out, I must first discover the reasons for the act (pre + anag.).

E. R. Prentice (Clifton): The pros and cons of legislature distorted by a rebel M.P. (anag.).

W. K. M. Slimmings (New Malden): Bill’s first words are a signal to be quiet about the morning after! Bleary? Not half! (p re a.m. ble(ary)).

O. Carlton Smith (Bognor Regis): Stewed lamb, with a Scotch taste about it—might do for an entrée (anag. in pree).

R. Vincent (W2): We might see the beginning of the Act before taking a stroll (pre amble).

I. Young (NW3): A rebel member may introduce the Bill, but his constituents will be furious (anag. of a rebel MP).

RUNNERS-UP

C. Allen Baker, J. W. Bates, J. A. Blair, Mrs Caithness, R. N. Chignell, T. A. Chubb, B. G. H. Clegg, H. Davidson, C. P. Dearnley, F. E. Dixon, Brig W. E. Duncan, H. H. Elliott, L. E. Eyres, Mrs N. Fisher, Mrs J. O. Fuller, Mrs M. Goulter, R. M. Grace, S. B. Green, B. J. Iliffe, P. W. W. Leach, B. M. Legg, T. W. Melluish, D. P. M. Michael, W. L. Miron, C. J. Morse, R. P. C. Mutter, E. G. Phillips, G. H. Podmore, E. W. Richart, J. S. Rioch, A. Robins, Mrs E. M. Simmonds, Mrs A. L. Stevenson, J. Thompson, G. B. Tower, J. F. N. Wedge, J. B. Widdowson, Mrs S. E. Wilson.
 

COMMENTS—228 correct and a large number defeated, almost all of them by IMPEN crossing DRYOPIAN. With all due respect I would suggest that many solvers give themselves trouble by placing too much reliance on reference books, being sunk when these fail them, and too little on the subsidiary parts of tite clues plus cerebration and what I may call word-probability. It was easy to reach DR-O--AN and I--EN. A few, but only very few, failed to do this by writing “Yankee,” which is no answer to the clue, whereas YANKIE (in Chambers) is clearly defined, or “Macrab,” which is surely a non-existent name, as against MACNAB, which is a common one (word-probability comes in here). When this stage is reached, if your knowledge of Hellas doesn’t stretch to DRYOPIAN—and why should it?—the subsidiary clue gives you “boring work” = “dry op.” (not very hard) “in about a” = “ian” (which could hardly he simpler). That leaves I-PEN for 26. The subsidiary clue this time is no use unless you know The Hound of the Baskervilles—which I think you ought to! But suppose you don’t know there will he a definition in the clue: surely the “pen” part of the answer should call attention to “shut in.” You are also told that the answer is not an obscure word. Doesn’t word-probability scream IMPEN = “to put into a pen”—a normal compound formation, rare and not in C., but not obscure—rather than “inpen,” when there are only 3 words in C. beginning with INP, “ippen,” a very odd-looking word, or such an astounding thing as “iepen” which one solver offered? I hope these considerations may help in any such future crisis.
 
HONOURS LIST—C. J. Morse repeats alone his formerly shared success with the same score is last time—2 prizes 6 H.C.s. Next come C. Allen Baker and F. E. Newlove (1—6); T. W. Melluish and R. Postill (2—3); J. A. Fincken and Mrs. E. M. Simmonds (2—2), together with the Consolation Prize Winners, E. S. Ainley, S. B. Green and W. K. M. Slimmings (0—6); T. E. Bell (2—1), J. W. Bates and W. J. Duffin (1—3) and J. A. Blair (0—5) who is runner-up for Consolation Prizes; S. Goldie, M. G. Powell-Davies and J. S. Young (1—2) and J. Hardie Keir, E. R. Prentice and I. Young (0—4). The total number of competitors who have won a prize or an H.C. since we started has now reached 953.