XIMENES CROSSWORD No. 786

METAMERES (Printer’s Devilry)

1.  Mrs N. Perry: Always weary: our hel/p ill: without one, may end life.

2.  Capt A. S. Birt: For big flat feet? Ah! El/even and a half! Maybe too small (police officers).

3.  A. A. Malcolm: As Madge might have said:—“What? I ski s/econd?”… Dancing in air! (M. Wildfire in Scott, ‘Heart of Midlothian’).

V.H.C.

J. Alderson: If you want to trace a co/py, glass will be useless.

N. S. Barrett: Is that a sputnik, or a co/peck on the skylight?

J. A. Bulley: No hel/p. Ill. May be fatal.

P. M. Coombs: Finding entertainment in the ho/t, I’ve young things out for fun.

N. C. Dexter: Full-bodied? Forgo ur/n! If fat—grave shock, etc., will decide (Graves, Hock).

Cdr H. H. L. Dickson: Ask a politician x questions and you’ll get the sa/p on sex (Times).

J. Flood: I have fu/n, if fat (It shows I’m game!) (fumet).

F. D. Gardiner: Playboy’s going to ro/t. Cure? In such a spot a shove would kill him! (Hove).

P. G. W. Glare: Gin and French form: a ho/t spot is sinful (Mahomet).

P. Graystone: I’m going in a co/op, with pups too—slow (aeroplanes).

E. M. Hornby: Boring test assa/ults. “How’s that?”—There’s no decision again.

P. D. Johnson: After four drawn tests supporters despair; assa/ult follows.

J. Leece: Hammer’s thought to be at villa where assa/ult occurred (West Ham, Aston Villa).

Mrs E. McFee: Hare can produce terrific fu/n—if fat it can nearly knock you down (fumet).

P. H. Morgan: Doctor orders so/t cure—very dispiriting!

C. J. Morse: Clowns distract lion: some anti/c apes its fury.

J. D. P. O’Leary: I ski, s/pinning out of control towards oblivion.

B. A. Pike: So you think Salo/p on sea? Maze! Sussex suits most people (‘Salome’).

R. Postill: There’s a co/peck glittering in the sun. Odd that the Russians haven’t picked it up!

H. Rutley: Without a hel/p, ill, maybe fatal.

T. E. Sanders: For one with no hel/p ill on the road may be fatal.

J. E. Smith Wright: I’m captain of a co/hort. Hop takes me to Rome (aircraft).

L. T. Stokes: In a crash! Hel/l! It may cause the rider’s death.

M. F. Thorogood: Sticky unfinished ga/ult.

W. D. Wigley: If you find ho/t ore, labour may be your watchword.

H.C.

A. L. Allison, F. D. H. Atkinson, Col P. S. Baines, C. Allen Baker, A. J. Barnard, Mrs A. R. Bradford, B. L. Buffham, C. O. Butcher, R. G. Carver, P. R. Clemow, V. A. R. Cooper, C. R. Corder, H. W. Dancy, T. Dwyer, J. H. Frampton, G. P. Goddard, E. Gomersall, L. Gorse, Mrs P. R. L. Heath, F. G. Illingworth, J. D. H. Mackintosh, Mrs W. J. Mahood, E. W. Martin, A. J. McCombe, T. J. Moorey, D. F. Paling, H. C. S. Perry, R. F. Ray, Mrs J. Robertson, J. Sanderson, D. J. Short, Mrs E. M. Simmonds, T. N. E. Smith, T. L. Strange, J. T. Stringer, B. Tunks, C. Vaughan, J. F. N. Wedge, P. Wilding, J. E. Woodley, N. D. Young

RUNNERS-UP

S. W. Atkinson, J. W. Bates, R. T. Baxter, J. M. Bennett, I. Cousins, Mrs M. P. Craine, L. L. Dixon, J. Duffill, J. A. Fincken, Mrs N. Fisher, H. W. Flewett, C. C. M. Giffin, Rev R. M. Grace, P. Jubb, J. Hardie Keir, R. E. Kimmons, Mrs B. Lewis, R. K. Lumsdon, T. A. Martin, P. J. Meade, D. P. M. Michael, F. E. Newlove, D. A. Nicholls, Flt Off L. W. G. Oxley, W. H. Pegram, B. G. Quin, E. J. Rackham, P. Salveson, B. Darwin Smith, J. G. Stubbs, Mrs J. Thomas, H. S. Tribe, A. Turner, E. F. Watling, Miss V. Webb, Mrs K. J. Webber, J. B. Widdowson, Cdr D. P. Willan, C. W. Willink.
 

COMMENTS:—Pride of place must go to my knock-kneed conduct, for which I have been kicking myself ever since the first revelation of it reached me. “I’m senex” is, of course, closely associated with my name, and, with this coming so soon after “Ximenio”, I think I must be getting senile. I’ll try not to keep doing it; but I’m beginning to fear that the lack of need for constant accuracy which retirement brings is making me careless. I must add my gratitude for your tolerance. There was no abuse and I should say not more than one competitor in ten even mentioned the blunder. Those that did could roughly be divided into plain statements of the case, puzzled queries and gentle leg-pulls. I suppose there may even have been some who didn’t notice it. Well. I shall have to fall back on pleading that we are all human. One silly feature of the affair, of course, is that I never ought to have admitted “needless” to the diagram: it must surely be an impossible word to devil neatly. But I had already thought of that “brilliant” clue before I passed on and left it there!
 
There were about 400 entries and very few mistakes. While I don’t think there were any clues as outstanding as some of the best past prizewinners, there is no doubt that the general standard to-day is far higher than it used to he and choice gets harder and harder. Several ideas were inevitably each used by a good number of competitors: I have tried to reward the neatest and most natural but other judges would no doubt choose differently. I hope there won’t be too many people left thinking that their clues were “just as good as so-and-so’s”? I must stress again the wisdom of writing a note if you are referring to someone or something I may not know about. “Esme” appeared In a number of clues, without to my knowledge being especially apposite. But if there is, for instance, a well known lioness of that name, I can only say that her sponsor ought to have told me so.
 
One old point needs mentioning again, although it is in the regular introduction of each PD puzzle. Neatness in the devilled version must not be given preference over naturalness in the undevilled version, e.g. “What is a coign of vantage?” leading to “What! Is a comet a mere sign of vantage?” To me that hardly means anything at all, and the clue would be terribly difficult to solve. The same sort of weakness, often in a milder form, appeared in some of the clues that introduced Marshal Soult (“some tame result”). No one succeeded in working this in quite to my satisfaction. And some failed to make “mere” sound natural.
 
Finally many thanks for appreciative comments.