XIMENES CROSSWORD No. 36

TARTARUS

1.  R. L. Coats (Wiveliscombe): Rather feather feather us for the opposite place! (i.e. tar tar us: ref. tarring and feathering).

2.  I. W. Phillips (Glasgow): If we are here, we are no angels; so do not feather, feather us (i.e. tar tar us).

3.  Mrs Partridge (Marlborough): You wilt only get us into Hell by the skin of your teeth (i.e. tartar us).

H.C.

A. E. Baldwin (Coulsdon): —— and save fuel (feathers optional), insisted the penitent witches, with the idea of getting here more quickly? (tar in Tar us).

Mrs Caithness (Ambleside): “Place a deposit with us” says the Fiend “and secure your future” (tartar us).

A. C. Chipperfield (W. Wickham): The lower world finds us hanging on to the skin of our teeth (tartar us).

Miss J. E. L. Clarke (W2): And twice feather us for under underworld? (i.e tar tar us …).

D. L. Clements (Cheadle Hulme): The other two separately, then Jem Johnson and me: come up from the sea—or a deep gulf? (two tars + us: ref. “We’re four jolly sailormen” from Savoy opera “A Princess of Kensington”).

J. Coleby (Wigan): States contracted after dental affliction can give you worse than hell (tartar US).

Maj A. H. Giles (Leamington): The Naval pair lead us at that awful final hole which, if you’re not good, gets you down (tar tar us).

S. B. Green (NW10): One small pie left? “Hell!” says the irritable person in front of us (i.e. tart on left; tartar us).

L. S. Harris (Rhos-on-sea): A pair of renegades back to God’s country from the other place (rat rat (rev.) US).

W. Heath (New Malden): Did the Titans sing “A.B., A.B., my boy, where are you taking us now?”? (tar tar us; ref. “Aby, Aby”, popular song c. 1918.).

C. Koop (Ferring): Where many a “wrong ’un” sent down down under is held in the deep (cryptic def.; realm below Hell).

C. R. Malcolm (SW7): Pit against us one too strong for us (tartar us).

Lt W. G. Marshall, RN (Portsmouth): Hell! Start a rush for the deep and seamen go to America (hidden: tar tar US).

Maj D. P. M. Michael (Newport): Dis-establishment—Homer raised Hell over it! (cryptic def.; Dis = Pluto).

R. Postill (Jersey): We expect to have to pay if we come to a low haunt like this, but we object to a deposit on the bottle (tartar us; objective of we).

H. Rainger (SW3): Double Dutch? Nether Nether Land anyway (cryptic def.; realm below Hell).

Flt Lt D. Thomas (Royston): “The Call of the Open Roads”: a play with R. A. Stuart.—Two sailors are next to us in the pit (i.e. “Tar, tar us!”; anag.; tar tar us).

J. Thomson (Edinburgh): Very low dive, notorious for its bad spirits (cryptic def.).

Mrs Trower (Wargrave): When dental trouble gets us, it’s Hell (tartar us).

F. L. Usher (Leeds): Trust a R.A. Mess to show you where the worst spirits were kept (anag.).

Rev R. J. Whitaker (Evesham): Two short pitches lead us to the worst hole (tar tar us).

Comments:—447 correct. Only mistake to reach double figures—RHACHITIC for -S: even the humble anag. sometimes collects a few scalps! X. considers this the best set of clues to date, and liked several H.C.s nearly as much as prizewinners, several unmentioned nearly as much as H.C.s. Proxime accesserunt H. Beecher, E. A. C. Bennett, T. A. L. Cairns, F. A. Clark, W. J. Emerson, G. F. Huntley, Sqn Ldr Jamieson, W. Meade, O. Carlton Smith, Miss Taylor, C. Theobold, L. E. Thomas, J. J. Ward—many others nearly as good. Classics will enjoy “These can join us and squat here without fear of eviction” (Aeneid. vi 617), by L. E. Eyres (regretfully passed over as too specialised).