◀  No. 351 Clue list 30 Oct 1955 Slip image No. 360  ▶

XIMENES CROSSWORD No. 356

METOPOSCOPY

1.  E. G. Phillips: For a facial study of character, in caricature, Poy comes top (anag.; ref. cartoonist Percy Fearon).

2.  W. K. M. Slimmings: This puts me first—nothing more than seconds over the record, too, judging by what the dials show (me top 0 s. copy).

3.  J. B. Sykes: You’ll need me to work back to characters from a look round the company (me to + op (rev.) + Co. in spy, & lit.).

H.C.

P. B. Chapman: The art of interpreting looks best in some unusually exact rendering (top in anag. + copy).

R. N. Chignell: An arrangement of poems to reproduce the interpretation of lines on mug (anag. + copy).

P. M. Coombs: Stop ’ome, silly, do like me, seeing what o’clock the character usually shows up! (anag. + copy; clock = face).

M. S. Y. Fowler: Here you can see an engineer, with head appearing above a large blue-print, reading dials (ME top OS copy).

R. N. Haygarth: Here’s a strange tome: “The Young Pilot’s Crib—or The Art of Reading from Dials” (anag. + PO’s copy).

D. Henderson: Caesar’s judgment of Cassius by his “lean and hungry look” found nothing positive to like according to Shakespeare (met 0 pos. copy).

M. A. Lassman: An investigation of figures in France might make one oppose M. Coty (anag.; ref. fashion designer; figure = face).

T. W. Melluish: “Phiz” quiz; oddly enough, “Poy” comes top! (anag.; ref. cartoonists H. K. Browne and Percy Fearon; phiz = face).

C. J. Morse: With me you find a trace of disposition in the surface likeness (me + (disp)os(ition) in top copy, & lit.).

T. J. Pimbley: I object to positive imitation—this character study is taken straght out of “Phiz”! (me to pos. copy; me = I as object; ref. cartoonist H. K. Browne; phiz = face).

E. R. Prentice: With the tempo so rubato follow closely the interpretation of expression marks (anag. + copy; rubato = distorted).

Maj J. N. Purdon: A mongrel, cosmopolitan type (though with no Latin elements) judging by the face (anag. less anag.).

T. E. Sanders: I know all about kissers. Write me for “Better Love” (shilling edition) (me top 0 s. copy).

P. H. Taylor: Study from “Façade” (symphonic overture, tempo poco rubato) (anag. incl. sy(mphonic); rubato = distorted).

J. F. N. Wedge: Judging by the looks of my outside toe distortion, there’s also a definite flat foot there (anag. + pos. + cop, all in my; see flat-foot in C.).

C. E. Williams: The study of the human face reveals imperfectly an empty shell—inside nothing positive, in brief just about nothing (0 pos. c. 0 in anag.).

J. S. Young: Stomach upset in some unnatural way—proof may he obtained from an analysis of the contents of the mug (pot in anag. + copy).

RUNNERS-UP

Dr R. E. Adam, P. C. Barclay, D. Barry, J. M. Beaton, Mrs G. Bonsall, C. O. Butcher, R. M. S. Cork, Capt D. A. Craddock, F. E. Dixon, P. G. Drazin, Mrs D. M. D’Eath, Mrs N. Fisher, A. L. Freeman, E. Gomersall, A. L. Grint, I. A. Herbert, L. Hollman, Miss M. Hyett, V. Jennings, M. Jones, R. J. Laurence, D. P. M. Michael, W. L. Miron, P. H. Morgan, F. E. Newlove, J. W. Parr, E. J. F. Primrose, E. J. Rackham, P. H. Rowley, E. O. Seymour, Mrs E. Shackleton, Mrs E. M. Simmonds, F. G. Simms, E. B. Stevens, F. B. Stubbs, J. A. L. Sturrock, D. G. Thomas, H. S. Tribe, L. K. Upton, H. D. Wakely, R. M. Weller, R. Wells.
 

COMMENTS—339 entries, 321 correct: I think this is the highest proportion of correct solutions ever. The word was not at all easy to clue neatly as well as accurately and entertainingly: I have therefore been much more tolerant of long-windedness than usual. This does not alter the principle that brevity is a virtue. Once this dispensation had been made, there were many good and amusing clues, but a terrible lot of others were eliminated straight away for inaccuracy in the definition part of the clue. Once again, we must say what we mean: among other things the definition must suggest the right sort of answer. Here is a selection of those that didn’t, the words in brackets indicating what I think the answers to them ought to have been: “… you’ll see his character in his face!” (Owner of character and face). “… you can deduce it from his face.” (Thing to be deduced.) “ Get the hang of my general appearance?” (? Some person mentioned earlier the clue). “… the face can be examined.” (Face). “… my face would show its true character.” (I, owner of face). “Study nature by features …” (a verb meaning “study, etc.”) “… is my face red!” (Some notoriously rubicund person). These should be enough to show what I mean. The only slightly suspect definition among the H.C.s is Mr. Sanders’s: does a study know about its subject? At any rate this doubt made a prize impossible for an amusing and neat clue. A user of the same idea as the winner was relegated to “Runners-up” because he started with “One can tell characters by Phiz …” This is only sound if we can talk about “one metoposcopy” meaning, presumably, one example of this study in action; and I feel sure one can’t. But the idea was too good for complete exclusion. The reason for this fussiness is that a clue which doesn’t suggest the right sort of answer is unfair to the solver.
 
One final point: please be careful to write your name as well as the address on the sheet which contains the clue: the attached envelope is not enough, as this is detached before the entry reaches me.
 

 
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