XIMENES CROSSWORD No. 62

HERCULES

1.  A. H. Taylor (Peterborough): No load-shedding needed on this grid, by Jove! (cryptic def.; ref. the burden of Atlas, power cuts, national power grid and crossword grid).

2.  R. Postill (Jersey): Strong supporter of Labour policy. Some talk of him as successor to Defence Minister (cryptic def.; ref. song ‘The British Grenadiers’, “Some talk of Alexander, and some of H.”, and A. V. Alexander, Min. of Defence).

3.  Maj D. P. M. Michael (Newport): He’s about the most complicated cluer—unchecked in 12 is indicative of his efforts (anag. in he’s; ref. twelve labours of H.; extra clue to 12! [see comments]).

H.C.

Dr G. R. Aspinwall (Marsden): Heroin trials—Celebrated club-man sentenced to 12 years’ hard labour (cryptic def.; i.e., hero in trials).

Miss M. Behrendt (Scunthorpe): Try your strength, sir? Stout fellow! He’s got his money back (lucre (rev.) in he’s).

Mrs Caithness (Ambleside): Would he have ended with irritable ulcers if he’d worn a dehydrated shirt? (he + anag.; i.e., de-hydra-ted, ref. Tunic of Nessus, tainted with hydra’s blood, that killed H.).

L. D. Cosgrove (Stoke): It wasn’t half a horse he had his shirt on—quite the reverse! (cryptic def.; ref. Tunic of Nessus, centaur killed by H.).

A. R. Fraser (Cambridge): He’s got back the advantage, he served so strongly (lucre (rev.) in he’s).

S. B. Green (NW10): The heavens were a burden unto me as I sought after fruits of gold. (Job xi) (cryptic def.; ref. 11th labour of H.: burden of Atlas, apples of the Hesperides).

A. B. Horne (Dorking): Was she cruel to set him spinning? (anag. & lit.; ref. story of H. and Omphale, Ovid Fasti II.305).

W. G. Kerr (Glasgow): Labour Champion who will secure House of Lords reform? (anag. of secure HL; ref. Parliament Bill, published in 1947; labours of H.).

Mrs D. M. Kissen (Lanark): Strong Labour Party about to make the House of Lords secure! (anag. of HL secure; ref. Parliament Bill, published in 1947; labours of H.).

Miss H. Milvain (Scarborough): He lacked a bit of her muscle! She must have been an Amazon! (anag. of her (m)uscle).

D. G. C. Mockridge (Oxford): One club, enabling him to force his opponents and fulfil his contract (cryptic def.; ref. labours of H. and bridge).

Rev E. B. Peel (Fleetwood): Had great strength in both hands, and could have made a grand slam with a club lead, but went mad in play, and failed to strip the suit (cryptic def.; ref. play ‘H. Furens’ by Seneca the Younger, and bridge).

F. P. Pickering (Sheffield): Ex-stable-hand who became a columnist (cryptic def.; ref. Augean stables, Pillars of H.).

Mrs E. Shackleton (W. Wickham): Spent twelve years doing odd jobs, but is now tired (cryptic def.; ref. twelve labours of H., and H. Cycle and Motor Company).

Rev K. G. Thompson (Hucknall): Strong Labour man who started the Fabians off long before 1884 (cryptic def.; ref. family of Fabii claimed descent from H., and Fabian society).

M. A. Vernon (N4): The labourer’s love was in violence; he’s cruel, warped (anag.; Iole (hidden in violence) was claimed by H. for a bride).

C. Ellery Williams (Pinner): “Great strength returns the penny?” He’s got his money back (lucre (rev.) in he’s; ref. motto of ‘try your strength’ machine).

Comments:—238 correct. The clue to 8 was worded to exclude the alternative “abraiding,” but many fell. “An asinine noise” must be A-BRAY; there is no hint of a pun in the clue. “Noise” defines “bray” and cannot do double duty so as to indicate a pun as well: “noise of an asinine noise” would be needed for A-BRAI. Many regrets, especially for Mr A. E. Smith (Farnham Royal), who would have won a prize with “He, with a hundred in laws, had frequent recourse to his club” [he, C in rules]! But an alternative can only be accepted when it really fits the clue.
 
Maj Michael’s friendly “dig” at the “Dublin” hint—which, by the way, only one competitor did not accept—could hardly have appeared among the original clues printed, but it proved irresistible when Mr Smith’s mistake left room for it—so it’s an ill wind again!
 
Mrs Shackleton’s “HC” is well earned, not a thank-offering for her unexpected and far too generous tribute! If only Mr Green’s “quotation” could have been genuine, his would indeed have been a super-clue; it is very good as it is.
 
Among the runners-up were:—E. S. Ainley, D. Ashcroft, G. W. Bain, H. F. Greenwood, Mrs E. M. Holland, G. A. Hornsby, R. S. Jaffray, A. Montgomerie, Mrs M. G. Porter, H. Rainger, D. J. Smith, P. H. Taylor, J. S. Thompson.