XIMENES CROSSWORD No. 971

MAGOTPIE / ANECDOTE

1.  Mrs B. Lewis: Turns up at school with tuck, chatters in “Macbeth”—cane judiciously applied au fond, I’m told (to + gam (all rev.) + pie; anag. + dote; fond, (vb.) = dote; Macbeth 3. iv.).

2.  N. C. Dexter: I’m told there’s a terrible ending to “Circe” account (Od. X)—the old bird transforms me to a pig (anag. of (Circ)e, a/c, Od. ten; anag.; ref. Odyssey, book 10).

3.  A. Sudbery: Master became a crusty thing; the old bird injured one cadet, so the story goes (MA got pie; anag.).

V.H.C.

C. Brash: Former flyer’s image ruined with “pot” in story “Downfall of Noted Ace” (anag.; anag.).

C. O. Butcher: My class used to chatter: master having got a bit distraught caned most of school from bottom up, I’m told (MA got pie⁵; anag. + Eto(n) (rev.)).

R. S. Caffyn: Old bird—sounds a most unattractive dish—could make date once, anyhow, I’m told (i.e. maggot pie; anag.).

Mrs N. Fisher: The old chatterbox is mum, baffled over the prize story, disguised by a neat code (ma got pie; anag.).

P. M. Hudspeth: Monkey with a bird, an old bird—to be foolish once after a curtailed embrace makes a racy story (maggot pie; a nec(k) dote).

A. J. Hughes: Primate, with his book of rules, used to chatter furiously to dean, E.C., I’m told (magot pie⁴; anag.).

L. W. Jenkinson: In this story about love is seen a decent mixed-up Shakespearean bird marrying a grotesque and disorderly type (O in anag.; magot pie; poss. ref. Othello/Desdemona).

Sir S. Kaye: Decadent, losing head and crazy about love (so the story goes), this old bird sounds a fancy dish (O in anag. less D; maggot pie; maggot = whim).

J. H. C. Leach: I’m roughly caned before almost the whole school from bottom to top: people tell me I was a dramatic mixture of black and white: am I to peg out? (anag. + Eto(n) (rev.); anag.).

C. J. Morse: Mother procured mixed-up type for bird in Elizabethan style travesty of a decent love story (ma got pie; anag. incl. O).

W. H. Pegram: Turn out in dull kind of type (early Pica type) a short story—one unusually decent about love (go in mat² + pie; a + anag. incl. O).

R. Postill: That old bird’s become sanctimonious in Miss West’s embrace. Miss East, we’ve got to dance differently, I’m told (got pi² in Mae; anag., i.e. anag. of E to dance; ref. Mae West, actress).

T. E. Sanders: Producer got the bird for a version of Shakespeare’s “The Tale”—one acted badly (ma got pie³; anag.; produce = bring forth, give birth to).

Sir W. Slimmings: Mum won the prize for an old bird, I’m told, cooking a decent duck (ma got pie; anag. incl. O).

H.C.

M. Adams, D. B. J. Ambler, R. J. Bowen, P. M. Coombs, A. E. Crow, A. S. Everest, J. A. Fincken, M. B. Fisher, Dr J. Foster, J. M. Halliday, E. L. Hillman, E. M. Hornby, Miss B. V. Howieson, J. G. Hull, W. H. Johnson, R. E. Kimmons, A. Lawrie, Mrs R. MacGillivray, D. Malcolm, H. S. Mason, Mrs E. McFee, T. W. Melluish, D. P. M. Michael, W. L. Miron, P. H. Morgan, R. A. Mostyn, M. Newman, S. L. Paton, Mrs N. Perry, E. G. Phillips, W. G. Roberts, S. Sondheim, L. T. Stokes, Brig R. F. E. Stoney, L. de V. Sunderland, H. G. Tattersall, A. F. Toms, R. G. Towsey, Mrs M. P. Webber, J. F. N. Wedge.
 

COMMENTS: About 500 entries and hardly any mistakes. Writing double clues of this type is no easy task; the aim must be to produce some sort of consecutive sense, and I’m afraid rather a lot of competitors failed to do so. The first two prizewinners, especially, show how it can be done. Another essential point in the idea is that the second part of the clue should follow immediately on the first with no irrelevant connecting word such as “and” or “but”; a good many competitors broke down over this. But I’m not suggesting that the entry was a bad one; the lists of names above are reasonably long for such a difficult task.
 
Finally I must apologise to Mr; F. B. Stubbs for the unhappy misprint in his clue in the last slip; “incomes” should, of course, have been “incomers.” But I expect most readers of the slip will have made the correction for themselves.