CCCWC April 2020 competition results
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66 clues entered. 51 votes cast (45 competitors, 6 others).
OPEN
Hearty congratulations to Vinit, who after many years of diligent effort in our clue writing competition has secured his first win! A simple, neat and effective clue – well done indeed!
Tom was just squeezed out into second spot by a mere point and a half to maintain his consistent run – also with a neat hidden clue.
Mike Adams' debut in our competition is marked with an immediate top 5 finish! Could be a name to watch out for from now on – his clue made me chuckle.
Well we can't keep him off his reserved spot on the podium! Steve Randall scores yet again with a clue that I imagine would be tricky to solve if it was in a puzzle, but very clever construction!
One debutant(e) in the top 5 is rare, but two is even rarer! Congratulations to Jacob who has also scored with his first attempt in our competition! Double definition clues don't often rate highly but I thought this one worked really well.
Thanks to all – OPEN is now closed, but this month's ELDERS competition is still open – even to youngsters!
| Pos | No. | Name | Clue | Explanation | Points | Merits | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 | Vinit Wankhede | Free from Europe now? | EurOPENow : "?" is for surface (Is Brexit really a full severance? Is full severance really feasible?) and for distraction (hidden clues are otherwise easy solves) | 35.5 | 2 | 2 |
| 2 | 13 | Tom Borland | Copenhagen stores free of restrictions | Hidden in Copenhagen; def. free of restrictions, ref. Denmark lifting lockdown | 34 | 3 | 1 |
| 3 | 45 | Mike Adams | Remove cap from end of Biro before writing | Remove cap from : def OPEN vb; end of Biro = O ; writing = PEN | 29 | 2 | 5 |
| 4 | 4 | Steve Randall | Affair destroying relationship? Not if marriage is this! | OPE[ratio]N | 28 | 1 | 4 |
| 5 | 52 | Jacob Warbrick | Take off top in public (4) | double defn: 'take off top' (i.e. open a bottle of coke) and 'public', with 'in' as link word | 27 | 1 | 2 |
| 6 | 61 | Viresh Ratnakar | With zero confinement? (4) | Def: &lit. O {zero} PEN {confinement}. Cryptic reading: With O, PEN. | 26 | 2 | 1 |
| 7 | 44 | Barbara Moscovich | Public confined inside forever? Hope not! | Public (def); confined inside (hidden ind) | 25 | 0 | 8 |
| 8 | 14 | Nigel Lack | Currently a sign rarely seen in shop entrances. | And lit/hidden word shOP ENtrances | 24 | 3 | 1 |
| 9 | 3 | Rod Harling | A welcome sign in shop entrance | hidden | 23 | 5 | 3 |
| 9 | 6 | Roslyn Rougvie | Available work space | Def = available; work = op; en = space as in printing | 23 | 3 | 3 |
| 11 | 47 | Set around nine polar bears free | Reverse ('set around') hidden ('bears'): niNE POlar; def = free | 22.5 | 3 | 3 | |
| 12 | 57 | Unoccupied work space | OP = work EN = space | 20.5 | 1 | 1 | |
| 13 | 29 | Jimmy sometimes played at St. Andrews | Double Def: Jimmy = open; British OPEN played frequently at St. Andrews | 19.5 | 2 | 1 | |
| 14 | 41 | Permitting all to come out in public widely spaced (4) | 4 definitions of "open" to tell a topical story.(cf Chambers widely spaced) | 18 | 0 | 2 | |
| 15 | 22 | Free content of online porn going up | Reverse telescopic, Down clue | 17 | 2 | 4 | |
| 15 | 59 | Vulnerable and old shut inside with no end date | o pen, 2 defs., ref. coronavirus lockdown | 17 | 1 | 1 | |
| 17 | 62 | Word displayed in shop entrances (4) | Hidden & lit. [ref. OPEN/CLOSED signs] | 16.5 | 0 | 1 | |
| 18 | 38 | One policeman about to smuggle crack (4) | Reverse hidden word in oNE POliceman – about is the reversal ind, to smuggle is the hidden word ind. Def = crack | 16 | 3 | 3 | |
| 19 | 60 | Willing to accept twopenny piece (4) | Willing to accept – def, twopenny piece (twOPENny) | 15 | 2 | 1 | |
| 19 | 63 | Word you may see in shop entrance | hidden & lit. | 15 | 2 | 2 | |
| 19 | 66 | Yawning in public | Double def, both in Chambers Thesaurus. | 15 | 2 | 3 | |
| 22 | 55 | To be frank, this could cause writer's block. | Def./o (ie "zero" = "no") + pen, which will prevent one writing (unless one has a pencil, as well). | 14 | 1 | 2 | |
| 23 | 19 | Frank leads orchestras playing every night | Frank (def.), leads (first letters) Orchestras Playing Every Night | 13.5 | 0 | 3 | |
| 24 | 15 | Deceitful? Nope | (NOPE)* & lit. | 13 | 0 | 2 | |
| 24 | 24 | Free love – it's mightier than the sword | Free=definition love=O it's…sword = PEN | 13 | 3 | 1 | |
| 24 | 50 | Sign working stores place externally | O(P…E)N; semi &lit, wrt a store sign on display during working hours | 13 | 2 | 3 | |
| 27 | 7 | Bellhop enjoys hiding in plain sight | (bellh)OP EN(joys) | 10 | 0 | 1 | |
| 27 | 32 | Love to write, being free (4) | O (love) + (to) PEN (write). Definition: free. Ref.: As some might feel during lockdown. | 10 | 2 | ||
| 27 | 64 | Working? Nope, broke! | Anagram of NOPE | 10 | 1 | 1 | |
| 30 | 5 | Ambiguous…nope! | nope*, &lit | 9.5 | 1 | 2 | |
| 31 | 39 | Patience exhausted, stopping working for free (4) | P(~)E (exhausted) inside (stopping) ON, 'for' as linkword. Free seems a little loose to me, but it is in Chambers. 'Free markets' at least works, I suppose. | 8 | 3 | 3 | |
| 32 | 18 | Exposed bust and bottom after stripping (4) | (B)OP+EN(D), bust2 = punch | 7.5 | 1 | 4 | |
| 32 | 65 | Yawning contest? | Double definition | 7.5 | 1 | 2 | |
| 34 | 1 | A 50% reduction – around twopence to start with! | (-tw) OPEN (-ce); def.: TO START WITH | 6.5 | 0 | ||
| 34 | 30 | Leader of outrageous American prison is exposed | O + PEN | 6.5 | 2 | 1 | |
| 36 | 26 | Head of PPE goes missing: there's no holding back spread | Reversal of no about PE | 6 | 3 | 1 | |
| 36 | 43 | President is abducted by one rebel general (4) | P(resident) in (abducted by) ONE * (Anag ind rebel ). Def: General (chambers) | 6 | 3 | 2 | |
| 36 | 46 | Repeatedly postpone sports during return to kick off | Rev< in postpo(ne po)stpone. To kick off (vb). | 6 | 0 | 4 | |
| 39 | 48 | Set free after one actively seized power. | O(p)NE…ONE(anag) p = power | 5.5 | 0 | 1 | |
| 39 | 49 | Shop entrance has to display this. | ShOP ENtrance has (possesses OPEN within the two words) to display (OPEN) & lit, to display this, namely, OPEN on a signboard. | 5.5 | 2 | 1 | |
| 41 | 21 | Frank's working without training (4) | Definition = Frank Working = On Training = PE Without = Content indicator | 5 | 1 | 3 | |
| 42 | 9 | Bob Hope never hosted this golf tournament! | Hidden | 4.5 | 3 | 7 | |
| 42 | 20 | Frank's oddly Orphean (4) | Frank is def/ oddly is letter selection indicator/ odd letters from orphean | 4.5 | 0 | 1 | |
| 44 | 10 | Bolted? Nope | anagram & lit. | 4 | 1 | 1 | |
| 44 | 36 | No jail doesn't have a lock! | O (No) + jail (pen)=def (doesn't have a lock) | 4 | 0 | 1 | |
| 44 | 53 | "Take the top of a jar," said Frank (4) | Triple def with homophone for ajar. | 4 | 0 | 4 | |
| 44 | 54 | This note or that one, not even Orphean Choirman hits harmonic. | This (open) note; or that (overt)one; not even OrPhEaN; Choirman hits*harmonic; Harmonic (adj) = "open" in music. Open note and overtone are also both harmonics. | 4 | 0 | 1 | |
| 44 | 56 | Two pairings playing together in top English golf tournament (4) | (t)OP EN(glish); def. is "golf tournament". | 4 | 0 | 2 | |
| 49 | 17 | Every other character in underplot turned round, undisguised. | Character (surface – role/actor, cryptic – letter) uNdErPlOt reversed, def undisguised. | 3.5 | 2 | 2 | |
| 49 | 31 | “Lift restrictions” starts off public euphoria at end of lockdown | OPE+N | 3.5 | 1 | 2 | |
| 49 | 37 | Old quill uncovered | O + pen | 3.5 | 1 | ||
| 52 | 2 | A fair selection returned by a biased one (not half!) (4) | Reverse of NEPOtism Reverse of NEPOtism | 3 | 0 | 1 | |
| 52 | 28 | "I hope not!" hides a secret that everyone knows | I hOPE Not – hidden word, definition = a secret that everyone knows = an open secret. | 3 | 0 | 2 | |
| 52 | 42 | Postpone or possibly stop tournament | POSTPONE = (STOP + OPEN)*; def: tournament. Alludes to decision about fate of 2020 Open Championship. | 3 | 0 | 4 | |
| 55 | 27 | Helping to make hilltop encampment welcoming | Hidden | 2.5 | 1 | ||
| 56 | 33 | Manifest comprises initials of passengers embarking now | first letters of last four words are O P E N; manifest is a direct definition of open. | 1.5 | 1 | 5 | |
| 57 | 12 | Clear some of shop entry | Hidden | 1 | 1 | ||
| 57 | 34 | Misanthrope never surfaces, with human contact few and far between. | Def = with human contact few and far between (as in the open road, with long stretches between settlements) Wordplay = hidden in ‘MisantrOPE Never’ (surfaces = covers) | 1 | 0 | 3 | |
| 59 | 8 | Bid first for forgotten poetry rewritten by original poet | Forgotten = o(verse)en with (verse) rewritten by (p)oet | 0.5 | 0 | 4 | |
| 59 | 16 | Even go up teeny cut | even letters of "go up teeny" =open, cut is straight clue | 0.5 | 1 | 3 | |
| 61 | 11 | Captain returning positive for maiden to begin to appear | (Captain) NEMO <; P for M; definition = to begin to appear [Chambers] | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 61 | 25 | Golf event backing no exercise inside | NO reversed, PE inside | 0 | 1 | ||
| 61 | 35 | Move in with otolaryngologist? (5) | An otolaryngologist is someone who does ENT – so ENTer | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| 61 | 40 | Peony needs replacing. Why not, when it's straightforward? | Peon(y) = anagram fodder; needs replacing = anagrind; Why not = remove 'y'; when it's = link words to def; straightforward = def | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 61 | 51 | Spend this to go destroy public access. | Spend (ONE P) to go then "anag" | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 61 | 58 | Vacant expression when referring to book which is easy to read | Double definition: Vacant / expression when referring to book which is easy to read (i.e. open book) | 0 | 0 | 2 |