XIMENES CROSSWORD No. 595

INORNATE / OMADHAUN

1.  Miss D. W. Taylor (Worthing): I’ve a favourite spot that doesn’t close! Crazy to go over it? Give me a ring first—I’m Gaby, modelling Parisian black, neat but not gaudy! (0 + mad + haun(t); anag. incl. noir (Fr.); see gaby in C.).

2.  Mrs J. Robertson (W5): What makes a human do wrong, fool?—Simple! When there’s no alternative, it’s natural! (anag.; or in innate).

3.  E. J. Rackham (Totton): Poor simpleton can only produce a confused O-ah-um and a tie disarranged when embracing lady of fortune, it’s plain (anag.; Norn¹ in anag.).

H.C.

J. W. Bates (Westcliff-on-Sea): Simple iron shot, then in the rough, a ten; oh damn! a high-class mess-up—there’s a fool! (anag. + anag.; anag. incl. U).

J. R. Causton (Ilford): Plain natural round gold ring, infatuated—Ha, one French fool (or in innate; o mad ha un (Fr.)).

N. C. Dexter (Corby): One train shunting up and down is enough for simple idiot in his loco-mad hauntings (anag.; hidden).

G. H. Dickson (Greystones, Co. Wicklow): Love-crazy, the Irish Johnny is after losing his head; it’s a fool he is—quite simple, burbling inane rot! (0 mad (S)haun; anag.).

J. A. Fincken (WC2): Chaste busts are not in—provide some decoration, and do the same for the ears—something quite simple! (anag.; OM + ‘adorn’).

T. E. Girdlestone (Bridgwater): A human, odd, lacking beginning of discretion, deranged, simple, offers a miscellany of inane rot! (anag. incl. od(d); anag.).

C. J. Morse (SW10): This is just plain gold in a natural setting. Fool! I want a decoration to be decorative, d’you hear? (or in innate; OM + ‘adorn’).

F. E. Newlove (SE9): Not very pretty or neat in its make-up, this Irish version of a Mahound might be described as uncanny! (anag.; anag.; Irish (offensive) = ludicrous).

R. O’Donoghue (SW3): Batting with elaborate display, I’m plain furious after getting a duck—almost becoming frequent, too—I’ll never learn! (in ornate; 0 mad haun(t)).

Rev E. G. Riley (Manchester): Do a human being wrong and you’ll have a weak-minded Irishman, simple to take in, hold forth about the North (anag.; in + N in orate).

A. Robins (Manchester): A human being unfortunately fitted to do the same as a fool is simple, or embraced by the word “natural” (anag. incl. do, & lit.; or in innate).

Capt C. Tyers (Odiham): Plain, made of gold and once neat, a high-class ring man had treated carelessly. What a fool! (in or nate; anag. incl U o; nate, obs. spelling in OED).

R. A. Wells (Doncaster): Southern half of moor is in natural plain, round, wild—endless resort for a simple person ((mo)or in innate; o mad haun(t)).

RUNNERS-UP

A. W. Aspinall, Lt Col P. S. Baines, C. Allen Baker, H. J. Bradbury, Rev C. M. Broun, P. A. Browne, C. I. Bullock, P. M. Coombs, A. E. Crow, L. L. Dixon, C. E. Gates, S. Goldie, R. McD. Graham, V. Jennings, A. H. Jones, B. K. Kelly, Miss J. S. Lumsden, R. K. Lumsdon, Dr T. J. R. Maguire, Mrs E. McFee, P. H. Morgan, P. K. Nandi, Plt Off L. W. G. Oxley, D. F. O’Sullivan, G. Perry, R. Postill, H. Rainger, R. F. Ray, Lady Reay, Mr & Mrs A. Rivlin, T. E. Sanders, W. K. M. Slimmings, Miss B. Smoker, M. C. Souster, Mrs J. Thomas, D. H. Tompsett, Mrs J. E. Townsend, J. Walters.
 

COMMENTS:—301 entries, 257 correct, most of the errors being “rumpled” for RUMPFED. The judging was not easy: there were many very good clues with some little thing just spoiling them, whereas the utterly sound ones tended to be a little dull. On the whole I thought competitors dealt valiantly with a difficult task. I am glad the puzzle seems to have been specially enjoyed, as I think this type generally is.
 
There are signs of apprehension about No. 600! There is nothing very terrible about it, but to mystify you further I will reveal the title of it: it is “Elbodu Ctosicar.” I hope there will be a big and worthy entry: may I remind you again that the next competition is (to coincide with No. 600) on July 10, not July 3.
 
An enthusiastic competitor from the start of this series, who keeps even fuller records than I do, has sent me a list of “The Top-Twenty”, based on two points for a prize and one for an H.C. since the series started up to No. 590: I think this amounts to 322 competitions. Lest the scores of the leaders should discourage those who appear less often in the lists, let me call to your notice that the maximum score would be 644, and that a competitor getting a prize once out of three, and an H.C. for the other two entries, regularly, would have scored about 430. There have, once or twice, been plaintive suggestions that we are a closed shop; so I would remind you again that nearly 350 different people have won prizes and over 1,200 H.C.s—at worst, we are a closed departmental store! Most of the competitors in the list, naturally, have competed from or nearly from the beginning, and I think all except two are still competing regularly or nearly so; but Mr. Morse did not start till some where in the nineties. Here is the list, the numbers representing prizes—H.C.s—points:—
 
1. S. B. Green 31—99—161. 2. R. Postill 33—90—156. 3. C. Allen Baker 24—95—143. 4. C. J. Morse 25—86—136. D. P. M. Michael 22—59—103. F. E. Newlove 17—69—103. 7. T. E. Sanders 18—65—101. 8. W. K. M. Slimmings 17—63—97. 9. T. W. Melluish 16—64—96. 10. Mrs L. Jarman 21—48—90. 11. E. S. Ainley 12—54—78. 12. C. Koop 12—45—69. 13. Mrs N. Fisher 11—43—65. 14. Rev E. B. Peel 14—36—-64. 15. A. Robins 7—49—63. 16. E. J. Rackham 7—48—62, Miss D. W. Taylor 8—46—62. 18. C. E. Gates 7—47—61, 19. Cdr H. H. L. Dickson 12—34—58. 20. J. W. Bates 6—39—51. Congratulations to all of them!
 
P.S.—Indirect anagrams. Those who have been “reproved” for using these may note with horror that the first prize winner includes a partial one this time! But please observe that it is a very easy one: no one could fail to translate “Parisian black” into “noir” and that is the whole point about them. An anagram is meant to be helpful: to achieve this it must either be a direct one or an indirect one whose significance needs no research and leaps to the mind. If it fulfils the latter requirement, I have no objection to an indirect anagram, and I use them myself from time to time.