XIMENES CROSSWORD No. 72

TEMPLE BAR

1.  W. H. J. Wheeler (Wembley): City bound, did counsel once stop here for refreshers? (i.e. bar at Temple; refreshers = fees, drinks; boundary of City of London).

2.  Rev B. Peel (Fleetwood): Bound to be where to get a refresher at the Inns of Court (i.e. bar at Temple; refresher = fee, drink; boundary of City of London).

3.  R. C. Payn (Irvine): Where to find the Lamb and Flag in the Strand—but the flag’s a blue one (anag. of lamb, peter; blue peter; T.B. located at end of Strand).

H.C.

Rev B. Chapman (Wisbech): Overthrow the Labour Party, chuck them in the river, and refuse them entrance into the city (LP (rev.) in Teme + bar; boundary of City of London).

F. A. Clark (Croydon): Divine place next door to a pub near Cheshunt. Sh! Malt beer on tap (temple + bar, anag. of p malt beer; T.B. Gate rebuilt in Cheshunt in 1878; p, Sh! = quiet).

H. B. Drake (Thurlow): Where men from the Fleet, Westward bound, got stranded. Sounds like W.R.N.S.’ doing (cryptic def.; T.B. located where Fleet St. meets Strand; ‘Wren’s’; Sir C. Wren designed T.B. Gate).

W. Eite (Carlisle): Soft short malt beer obtainable from this ancient City halt for traffic (anag. incl. p; gate of City of London).

T. C. Fitzpatrick (Glasgow): Rebel M.P. at Westminster bound for trouble (anag.; boundary of Westminster).

W. Hough (Wimborne): Old time limit for legal refreshers? (i.e. bar at Temple; refreshers = fees, drinks; boundary of City of London).

L. A. Jones (St. Albans): It was no use asking for trunks at this Exchange, even if you saw the heads (cryptic def.; criminals’ heads displayed on T.B.; i.e. telephone exchange; trunks = long distance calls).

Mrs M. Kidner (Seaford): Is this old gateway the spot where Solomon dispensed the twenty thousand baths of wine? (i.e. Temple bar; ref. II Chron. 2:10; Temple at Jerusalem).

C. Koop (Ferring): What those City folk went through was the limit—one above the cheek-bone then another buffet! (temple + bar; boundary of City of London).

I. A. H. Munro (SW1): About time Bobby Abel retired, turning up at the old City wicket! (temp. + R. Abel (rev.); ref. cricketer; wicket = gate).

C. Okell (Blackpool): To make a name in Fleet St. you need something over and above cheek when faced with an obstruction (temple + bar; T.B. at end of Fleet St.).

J. Riley (SE12): Where the City Fathers scored a boundary, but Solomon might only have snatched quick one (i.e. Temple bar; Temple at Jerusalem; boundary of City of London).

P. H. Taylor (Bromley): Archiepiscopal interdict once associated with Griffin of Westminster? (Temple bar; Cardinal G., Archbishop of Westminster in 1948; griffin statue on T.B.).

Miss D. W. Taylor (W5): Rebel M.P. at roundabout, bound for Westminster (anag.; boundary of Westminster).

Capt A. K. Trower (Wargrave): When a teetotaller embraced Elizabeth Barrett, it stopped the London traffic (E.B. in Templar (Intl. Org. of Good Templars); gate of City of London).

H. D. Wakely (NW3): What one had to go through in the old days to get a footing in Fleet St.! (cryptic def.; gate at end of Fleet St.).

Comments—183 correct. No one mistake was common. A few gave BERING for CERING, clam being the banned food. This fails because bees do not bere, so far as one knows; they do, on the other hand, cere. One solver asks, in view of 22 ac., whether one should eat clams in Lent! This seems reasonable, and a hint to that effect would have been appropriate in the clue, had there been room. There were two pleas for P-ARAC-ENTRAL, arac being a variant of arrack; but Chambers does not give it, nor will it fit the bracketed part of the clue. There were a few Inquiries about the “flannelette” song—“I want to go to bye-bye, to rest my weary head: If Nurse is a dear she will call me next year” etc. X. remembers it clearly from his schooldays but cannot recall its exact origin: was it something Bingboyish? [Lyric from ‘The Boy’, light opera by Lionel Monckton and Howard Talbot.]
 
It was good to read that so many enjoyed the puzzle, which was difficult. Comments ranged from “I have lost (a) several hours’ sleep. (b) my train to the City on two days out of four. But please do it again” to “Much too hard! A fortnight wouldn’t have been too long to solve this puzzle.” Some good clues were sent, but they do not seem to call for comment this time.
 
Some runners-up:—C. Allen Baker, Mrs Begg, E. A. C. Bennett, Rev L. Blackburn, W. T. Clift, J. N. Fell, A. J. George, S. B. Green, J. W. Hammond, J. R. Homa, E. M. Hornby, T. E. S. Jobson, M. G. Kendall, F. A. Lamb, Lady Macnair, C. L. Paus, J. A. Plowman, H. Rainger, K. Reed, Mrs Rowlands, E. Sheward, J. Thompson, L. Titman, Capt C. Tyers, F. L. Usher.