◀  No. 243 Clue list 16 Aug 1953 Slip image No. 247  ▶

XIMENES CROSSWORD No. 245

GLAMOUR / SOPRANO

1.  J. Hardie Keir: Top-line artiste uses “no soap” recipe for make-up—it entails only a very short time in a mud-pack (anag. incl. r; mo in glaur).

2.  C. J. Morse: Parson’s wild with love for a lady chorister. It’s just a passing affair to the heartless girl (anag. incl. 0; g(ir)l + amour, & lit.).

3.  C. P. Rea: Pitched pretty high—steady backward defensive work? No, try and hit into it. A sign of hesitation and there’s an appeal (so + ARP (rev.) + no; lam in go + ur).

H.C.

E. S. Ainley: What entrances Miss Connolly makes, wearing white! Her air is lofty and so quiet—a divinity—a neat little number! (Mo in glaur: so p Ra no.; ref. Maureen ‘Little Mo’ C., tennis player; glaur = glair in contemporary ed. of C.).

C. Allen Baker: Chorister gets parson intoxicated with love—charm composed of pill in white of eggs (anag. incl. 0; MO in glaur; pill = doctor; glaur = glair in contemporary ed. of C.).

J. W. Bates: One of the choir, in love with the bashful parson—it’s the cause of plenty of rumour in connection with the saucy gal! (anag. incl. 0; anag. of rumo(ur) gal & lit.).

J. A. Fincken: I can warble like this for about an hour without a breath—with a Welsh background, it’s enchanting (so + an in pro; GIam(organ) + (h)our; i.e. unaspirated).

Mrs N. Fisher: It’s Bing’s finale with his partner, as the pair put over a number, that makes this part of the musical (g + Lamour; so pr. a no.; ref. B. Crosby, Dorothy L., co-stars in ‘Road’ films).

S. Goldie: What was it, the attraction of a Peach Melba? So soft, then melted away to nothing (cryptic def.; so p ran 0; ref. Dame Nellie M.).

R. M. Grace: Girl having lost heart over an affair means to bewitch singer high repute or bewitch parson with love (g(ir)l + amour; anag. incl. 0; glamour, vb.).

R. W. Hawes: It’s the essence of a Peach Melba—something soaked and curdled with nothing added (cryptic def.; sop ran 0; ref. Dame Nellie M.).

L. Johnson: It’s typical of a siren, beginning at midnight, to give some nasty knocks to our disorderly A.R.P. and so on, making high-pitched sounds ((ni)g(ht) + lam + our; anag.).

W. K. M. Slimmings: She sings opera in a tattered bit of sarong—the merest remnant of sarong—and the French love it! (op. in anag. of saron(g); (saron)g + l’amour).

Mrs A. L. Stevenson: Alluring quality of a Peach Melba, par excellence! (cryptic def.; cryptic def.; ref. Dame Nellie M.).

F. B. Stubbs: A spot of gIad-eye leading to a full-blooded affaire—it looks as if the parson’s frantic with love for a girl in the choir (g + l’amour, & lit.; anag. incl. 0).

M. Woolf: The attraction of a Peach Melba, perhaps, is the top part (cryptic def.; 2 mngs.; ref. Dame Nellie M.).

RUNNERS-UP

T. E. Bell, J. A. Blair, P. L. Boynton, A. Brazier, D. L. L. Clarke, J. Coleby, R. M. S. Cork, G. N. Coulter, C. R. Dean, R. A. Dehn, E. R. Evans, C. E. Gates, C. P. Grant, S. B. Green, D. Hawson, F. G. Illingworth, Sir P. Laird, M. A. Lassman, J. P. Lloyd, A. W. Maddocks, S. L. Paton, E. R. Prentice, E. J. Rackham, H. Rainger, A. Robins, M. H. Sands, E. O. Seymour, E. B. Stevens, L. T. Stokes, F. L. Usher, J. Vallely, H. Walsham, E. F. Watling, J. B. Welman, J. S. Young.
 

COMMENTS.—290 correct, and not many mistakes: the commonest were “irritate” and “haste.” I can’t make either of these fit the clues apart from vague and unsatisfying connections with “fed up” and “quick”: the latter also spoils the clue to INDUES. As before on these occasions, many clues were much too long, many were spoilt by irrelevant connecting words, many were much too difficult: the extra complication calls for something slightly easier than usual. The number of points in a clue makes selection tricky, the chance of one point detracting from general excellence being doubled. For instance, Mr. Ainley only misses prize standard by his use of “wearing” for “in”: “wearing” does not does not mean “in” in the sense required for the true meaning of the clue. Why not use “in” itself? It doesn’t seem to me to detract from the finished result. A pity for it is a very clever piece of work. Mr. Fincken has, perhaps, shown the greatest ingenuity in closing the gap, a merit which the first two prizewinners lack: but I don’t quite like his “Welsh background” without a hint of abbreviation. Similar considerations apply to many entries: it is, of course, difficult to make a double clue satisfying in all its parts. The “Peach Melba” idea produced the neatest effects, but it involves relying on a “straight” clue for at least one half, and … [final lines of Slip missing].
 

 
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