CCCWC February 2016 competition results
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67 clues entered. 52 votes cast (48 competitors, 4 others).
LIFEBOAT
Congratulations to John Appleton for a fine win, finding the neatest anagram fodder to use with the hard-to-resist "at sea" anagram indicator! John has taken first place before – but that was back at the beginning of 2014 – so well done indeed.
Another John was very close behind in 2nd spot – no stranger to the podium JT crafted a clever clue based on that popular book and film – and 2nd podium in a row for John.
Tim displayed his nautical knowledge with his 3rd placing – again, 2nd podium in a row – Tim and John T swapping 2nd and 3rd places.
Well done to Toby who achieves his first podium finish with an intricate comp. anag.&lit. Welcome aboard Toby!
Predictably that man Dave P could not be dislodged from his regular podium berth! Another back-to-back top 5 finish for these first two months of the new year – looks like the competition will be fierce for 2016!
Thanks to everyone for another fine month of cluemanship – onwards to Printers Devilry!
| Pos | No. | Name | Clue | Explanation | Points | Merits | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | John Appleton | A bit of help, essentially, at sea? | (A BIT OF [h]EL[p])*; &lit | 54.5 | 3 | 5 |
| 2 | 54 | John Tozer | Setting of fable with leading characters of Indian orphan and tiger | anag. inc. I, o, t & lit.; ref. Life of Pi by Yann Martel, set in a drifting lifeboat | 51 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | 19 | Tim Moorey | Boiler aft on fire, skipper's last to leave for this? | anag & lit less r; on fire = "in an excited state" | 44.5 | 3 | 6 |
| 4 | 50 | Toby Robertson | Orange inflatable saving an angler in distress? | (ORANGE INFLATABLE -AN ANGLER)*, &lit. RNLI inshore lifeboats are of this type and colour. | 36 | 1 | 8 |
| 5 | 64 | Dave Parfitt | Unfinished movie turned out to be a vehicle for Mae West? | FIL(m) rev. ('turned') + TOBEA anag. ('out'); Mae West = an inflatable life jacket | 29.5 | 3 | 7 |
| 6 | 34 | Russ Cook | Help for a business that's somehow profitable but lacking public relations. | Definition in Chambers + (PR)OFITABLE* | 26 | 2 | 4 |
| 7 | 24 | ALLAN SCOTT | End of college scarf stuck in elevator – I may come to the rescue | lif-(colleg)e + boa-t | 25 | 3 | 3 |
| 8 | 53 | Steve Ball | Restore – if able to – underrated Hitchcock classic (8) | [IF ABLE TO] anagram | 24.5 | 3 | 4 |
| 9 | 20 | Steve Randall | Craft turning profitable as publicity gets out | Definition: Craft – Wordplay:(PR)OFITABLE* | 22.5 | 6 | 4 |
| 10 | 65 | Bernard Grabowski | Vessel coming to the rescue of English balti cooking | Def: Vessel coming to the rescue. Wordplay: anag.[of + E + balti] | 22 | 1 | 4 |
| 11 | 4 | A main source of salvation? | Cryptic definition = main / sea | 19.5 | 2 | 5 | |
| 12 | 36 | I float at sea to save somebody essentially | (I FLOAT)* outside somEBody; &lit | 18.5 | 2 | ||
| 13 | 21 | Derrick might lower this at sea, if able to. | Def+anag(at sea) of ifableto | 18 | 3 | 4 | |
| 13 | 44 | It'll rescue you, if able to, at sea | if able to*, semi&lit | 18 | 1 | 1 | |
| 15 | 41 | In which stricken crew may have escaped after blow with ice at sea | Compound anagram & lit. | 17.5 | 0 | 3 | |
| 16 | 40 | I’ll save you at sea, if able to | Anag. 'if able to'; semi-'& lit'. | 16.5 | 1 | 2 | |
| 17 | 63 | This would be intolerable if broken leaving wrecked liner. | Anag INTOLERABLEIF less letters of LINER & lit. | 15.5 | 3 | 3 | |
| 18 | 60 | There's only one point when turning to a belief — a saviour! | Anagram of TOABELIEF minus E (point(east)) (but only one of them) | 15 | 2 | 3 | |
| 18 | 61 | This measure, developed in conjunction with PR, might make one profitable | PR (dept.) + [LIFEBOAT*] = PROFITABLE; lifeboat (fig.) as in Chambers | 15 | 1 | 2 | |
| 20 | 58 | Survivors should climb aboard this, if able to, when at sea | (IF ABLE TO)*, AnagInd: when at sea (=disorganized) | 14.5 | 2 | 3 | |
| 21 | 33 | Floundering, if able to, board this ? (8) | Floundering=anagram indicator, if able to= anagram fodder, + definition | 13 | 4 | 1 | |
| 22 | 42 | It may often bail out sinking seamen in the end! (8) | Def- whole clue ; OFTENBAIL* less N (seamen in the end). | 12 | 1 | 2 | |
| 23 | 51 | Pair from lighthouse's courageous act to save man in this? | LI has FEAT around BO; ref Grace Darling | 11.5 | 1 | 1 | |
| 24 | 14 | Before a lot is lost, Rose leaves rescue craft | Anag (BEFOREALOTIS – ROSE)* Ref: Titanic movie | 10 | 0 | 5 | |
| 24 | 38 | I save sailors when wrecked if able to | IFABLETO* | 10 | 2 | 1 | |
| 26 | 23 | Empty a bottle (if rum) and it may help to save someone from drink. | anagram of ABOTLEIF | 9.5 | 2 | 3 | |
| 27 | 10 | At sea if able to this will come to the rescue | *IF ABLE TO; semi-&lit. While "at sea" is not a personal favourite as an anagram indicator it seemed apposite here. | 9 | 2 | 2 | |
| 27 | 26 | Fail to be afloat, bringing this out? | *FAIL TO BE; &lit. | 9 | 2 | 2 | |
| 29 | 52 | Putting priest in the bow of this at sea could be profitable | &lit PR + LIFEBOAT* | 8.5 | 1 | 2 | |
| 30 | 22 | Emergency vessel made of lithium, iron, boron, oxygen, astatine. | Definition (with some vagueness around the word "vessel") then periodic table abbreviations: LI, FE, B, O, AT | 8 | 0 | 5 | |
| 31 | 3 | A floe bit breaks rescuer (8) | A floe bit = anagram; breaks = indicator; rescuer = lifeboat | 6.5 | 0 | 2 | |
| 31 | 8 | Article in bio felt radical, it goes overboard at times | bio(a)felt* – anagram, including "a" | 6.5 | 0 | 3 | |
| 31 | 31 | Fisherman's Friend to the rescue when under the weather! | Cryptic def | 6.5 | 0 | 1 | |
| 31 | 39 | If Ebola outbreak reaches Ivory Coast border, escaping aboard this could be vital. | (anag) If Ebola… Border of Ivory Coas (t) | 6.5 | 1 | 2 | |
| 31 | 48 | One of Hitchcock’s (initially) less-indicated films earned Bankhead outstanding actress title | One of Hitchcock's [films] LIFEBOAT – (initially – indicates acronym) Less Indicated Films Earned Bankhead Outstanding Actress Title – and &lit – (Tallulah) Bankhead missed out on an Oscar nomination for her performance, but was awarded a NY Film Critics Award for Best Actress. | 6.5 | 2 | 5 | |
| 36 | 12 | Be floating with wreckage? Without me at sea, that may be no good | comp.anag. & lit., no good = ng | 4.5 | 0 | 4 | |
| 36 | 57 | Successful saver? If able to negotiate effectively | *IF+ABLE+TO ind by 'negotiate effectively'; negotiate=navigate | 4.5 | 3 | ||
| 38 | 18 | Birkenhead women and children admitted to it first. | Ref: historical code of conduct whereby the lives of women and children were to be saved by allowing them first access to lifeboats. First recorded episode aboard HMS Birkenhead in 1852. | 4 | 0 | 6 | |
| 38 | 28 | Fail to be hauled by rescue vessel (8) | Anag of FAILTOBE | 4 | 1 | ||
| 38 | 29 | Fail to be perturbed, that is useful during a rescue at sea (8) | Definition: that is useful during a rescue at sea. Wordplay: (fail to be)* anagram indicator: perturbed | 4 | 1 | 1 | |
| 38 | 59 | Table of iron initially moved to a vessel (8) | anagram of table+of+i | 4 | 0 | 2 | |
| 42 | 5 | A means of escape if a belt's twisted about centre of rod | A means of escape = defn, anag IF A BELT about (r)O(d) | 3.5 | 0 | 2 | |
| 42 | 49 | One ready on deck if able to be deployed in emergency | semi-&lit IFABLETO* | 3.5 | 1 | ||
| 44 | 37 | I may be rowed round floe a bit | (FLOE A BIT)* | 3 | 1 | ||
| 44 | 43 | It may save you from something unpleasant in the long term and that's much appreciated when capsized (8) | LIFE(BO)AT (LIFE=long term, as in prison; AT=rev of TA) | 3 | 0 | 1 | |
| 44 | 46 | Once popular soap, axed you suspect on account of the ratings drop | Lifebuoy minus (uoy)* + o/a + t'. Suspect = anagrind. Ref. Lifebuoy soap. Ratings drop = sailors lower. | 3 | 0 | 2 | |
| 47 | 66 | With nine aboard shot in 1944, it turned unprofitable in the end (8) | With nine aboard shot in 1944 – ref. Hitchcock film; (-unpr)OFITABLE*, turned = * | 2.5 | 0 | ||
| 48 | 2 | A con cut off and stole the capital funds set aside to bail out a dealer. | Life[r] + boa (=stole) + t/def. | 2 | 0 | 4 | |
| 48 | 7 | AB I left in distress has nothing for those in peril on the sea. | anag (AB I LEFT) with (O). Definition = for those in peril on the sea | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| 48 | 9 | At sea, I float around to survive upset (8) | (I FLOAT)* around BE (to survive) << At sea is anagrind, upset is the reversal indicator Whole clue is attempted &lit. After an upset at sea, the lifeboat survives and floats around. | 2 | 0 | 1 | |
| 48 | 62 | This month Italo dance vessel rescues people. (8) | Wordplay FEB (this month) with ITALO anagram (dance) with definition LIFEBOAT (vessel rescues people). | 2 | 0 | 1 | |
| 52 | 13 | Be taken back on board when I float at sea | 'BE' taken back = EB; on board = contained in the 'I float' anagram (anagind = at sea). &lit | 1.5 | 2 | 5 | |
| 52 | 27 | Fail to be at sea – lacking this? | failtobe* ie die | 1.5 | 1 | ||
| 52 | 55 | Starts to lower it, floating everywhere, by or around Titanic? | L(ower) I(t) F(loat) E(verywhere) B(y) O(r) A(board) T(itanic) | 1.5 | 0 | ||
| 55 | 15 | Being a clipper, maybe when it's hairy and wavy I can dock you | being (n.)= LIFE; a clipper, maybe = BOAT. Def = 'when it's..' | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| 55 | 32 | Float regularly bailed at sea in rescue attempt | FLOAT B(a)I(l)E(d)* | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 55 | 47 | One helps to not fail to be at sea. | (FAIL TO BE) at sea* & lit. | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 55 | 56 | Steal English stole inside? It could ensure survival! | LIFT around E BOA | 1 | 1 | ||
| 59 | 16 | Being followed by ship – it's for rescue purposes. | Being – life, ship = boat then def. | 0.5 | 0 | 3 | |
| 60 | 6 | A potential saviour for one that stole – this time facing a long sentence. | A potential saviour for one = lifeboat: stole = boa (as in scarf), time = t, a long sentence (as in prison) = life, facing = so put it first | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 60 | 11 | Bark that we hear from Rex may make rescue possible | Homophone ("from Rex" for "from wrecks") in cryptic definition: hence "Boat (bark) that, from wrecks, may make rescue possible" | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 60 | 17 | Being literal about a latter day version of Moses' snake. Salvation, maybe. | Lit. about FE (iron) BOA = a latter day version of Moses' bronze snake. | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 60 | 25 | Energy drink saves lives (8) | direct = saves lives; LIFE = energy, BOAT = dish | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| 60 | 30 | Filtered all blood groups in trial and error, less red suggesting chance of survival | FILTERED + ABO – RED anag | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 60 | 35 | I float after disaster, saving each beldame initially | LIF(Each Beldame)OAT (I FLOAT)* & lit. | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 60 | 45 | Loaf I bet cunningly on Titanic's 1 of 20 | Anagram of Loaf I bet = LIFEBOAT = Titanic's 1 of 20 (Titanic had 20 lifeboats) | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 60 | 67 | You need it when sinking – file about submarine (8) | *file + boat :submarines are boats [das boot, U-boat etc. not ships] (difficult word to clue!) | 0 | 1 |