CCCWC January 2021 competition results
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72 clues entered. 52 votes cast (51 competitors, 1 other).
DISTAFF
It has been a few years since we last saw an entry from Richard Saunders, but he returns with a vengeance and scoops first place in a close run January competition! Well done Mr Saunders – and welcome back!
Another competitor returning after a long lay off – Steve Hicks – makes it count with a quirky clue that stood out. Good to see you back too Steve!
Satyen has shown some solid consistency of late and continues a good run taking 3rd spot with a neat construction.
Steve Randall shows he has no intention of easing off in 2021, securing 4th place with a trademark disguised definition.
The final podium placing goes to Mike Adams, following up his first top 5 finish of 2020.
Well done and thanks to all for such a healthy start to the new competition year – on to February!
| Pos | No. | Name | Clue | Explanation | Points | Merits | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Richard Saunders | Aid to spinning fast if beginning to dance waltzes | Definition: Aid to spinning (stick that holds the bunch of flax etc.) Anagram of "fast if d". Anagram indicator "waltz(es)", to whirl (Inf.) Chambers | 52.5 | 3 | 2 |
| 2 | 35 | Steve Hicks | Leaders of Denmark, Iceland, Serbia: they are female, female and female | Definition = female. Initial letters. The Prime Ministers of those three countries are women. | 49 | 2 | 6 |
| 3 | 64 | Satyen Nabar | What I'd turn fast to spin a bit of flax? | I'D <— + FAST* + F(-lax); semi-&lit | 40.5 | 1 | 6 |
| 4 | 10 | Steve Randall | Detective thanks fellows after charges finally stick | DI(detective) TA,FF (thanks, fellows) after charge[S] | 39 | 3 | 2 |
| 5 | 9 | Mike Adams | Detective beginning to search Welsh river for tow vehicle | Detective = DI; beginning to search = S; Welsh river = TAFF; tow vehicle = defn DISTAFF is something that carries tow | 33 | 2 | 8 |
| 6 | 43 | Simon Griew | Papers, having turned against workers, getting stick for spinning | Reversal of ID (papers) + STAFF (workers) | 31 | 2 | 2 |
| 7 | 7 | Nathan Townshend | Bum fat is extremely feared by women | Bum = anagrind; fat is = fodder; extremely feared = FD; by women = definition | 29 | 3 | 4 |
| 8 | 71 | Ramki Krishnan | Women's work, mostly performed by men (7) | Def = women's work, Mostly performed = DI(-d), by = connector in charade, men = STAFF | 26 | 3 | 5 |
| 9 | 34 | Peter Laccaria | Ladies wondered: "Is taffeta revealing?" | Hidden word; 'Ladies' as in 'distaff side'. | 24 | 3 | 3 |
| 10 | 28 | Amrita Majumdar | I'd set up a workforce of women (6) | I'D < set up ( reversal indicator) workforce – staff , of women – def | 23 | 1 | 4 |
| 10 | 31 | Charlie Oakley | It's used to stop tops of flax fibres and end of thread twisting | IT'S = anagram fodder, used = anagram indicator. Stop = insertion indicator. Tops of… FFA, end of threaD = FFAD twisting = reversal/anagrind. &lit. | 23 | 1 | 4 |
| 10 | 70 | Ed Hall | Women’s work: cooking, for starters, then dusting furniture – as if! (7) | anag. of T(hen) D(usting) F(urniture) + AS IF | 23 | 1 | 4 |
| 13 | 4 | Almost all ladies with this work out could get fit as a fiddle (7) | Comp anagram: {LADIE(s) + DISTAFF}* = FIT AS A FIDDLE | 22.5 | 1 | 4 | |
| 14 | 38 | Nudist affably shows rod | hidden | 21 | 2 | 5 | |
| 15 | 2 | A few backward characters scoff at sides representing women (7) | A reverse hidden word clue, indicated by "a few 'backward' characters", sco<<FF AT SID<<es is the fodder, and "representing women' is the definition [ref: Chambers (2), as modifier] | 20.5 | 2 | 4 | |
| 16 | 65 | Woman democrat wins regularly thanks to female following | D (democrat) + IS (wins regularly) + TA (thanks) + FF (female following). Woman – def as adjective | 16.5 | 1 | 3 | |
| 17 | 19 | Female police officer is followed by man | Female = def; police officer = DI; is followed by = positional indicator; man = staff. | 16 | 3 | ||
| 18 | 33 | Ladies' man pursues baser instincts when retired (7) | STAFF after ID< | 15 | 3 | 3 | |
| 19 | 42 | Old-fashioned, rock & roll is daft – and LOUD! | def. (archaic) rock(3) in Chambers; roll (imperative) ISDAFT* + f | 14.5 | 4 | 1 | |
| 20 | 51 | Show disrespect to short Welshman – this is literally never done | DIS + TAFF(y) Per Chambers, distaff = women's work (literary) ref "a woman's work is never done" | 13.5 | 1 | 4 | |
| 21 | 66 | Woman with man after her job? | Di + staff (vb.); def. = her job? | 13 | 2 | 1 | |
| 22 | 67 | Woman's engaged in nudist affair. | Hidden: distaff = of or concerning woman. | 12.5 | 4 | 1 | |
| 23 | 36 | Loud obese man rejected "women's work". | (F FAT SID)< | 12 | 1 | 2 | |
| 24 | 72 | Women's work shift had hours chopped and changed by force | DEF=women's work. ANAG=(shifthad – h,h). F=force | 11 | 2 | 1 | |
| 25 | 30 | Insult a guy from Cardiff made referring to females | Insult = DIS; a guy from Cardiff = TAFF; REFERRING TO FEMALES = def.. | 10.5 | 0 | 2 | |
| 25 | 40 | Nudist affects clothing for women | hidden clue, definition = "for women" | 10.5 | 2 | 4 | |
| 27 | 13 | Editing staid folios is women’s work | Anagram STAID + FF | 9 | 0 | 4 | |
| 27 | 45 | Princess and her aides involved in spinning yarns | Di (princess) + staff = distaff (“involved”) integral to spinning-wheel mechanics | 9 | 1 | 3 | |
| 29 | 41 | Old man admits it's unsettling to stand beside very loud female | [DA (old man = father) admits (takes in) ITS (anag)] beside FF (very loud); female (adj) = def | 8.5 | 2 | 3 | |
| 29 | 50 | Scoff at Siddhartha's returning to mother's side, perhaps? | "Scoff at Siddhartha" "has" the word DISTAFF reversed ("returning") within it; "mother's side, perhaps" is the definition. | 8.5 | 0 | 2 | |
| 31 | 16 | Essentially cylindrical, one short pole holds flax at first (7) | D (centre of "cylindrical) + I (one) + STAF(F) holding F (& lit.) | 8 | 2 | 7 | |
| 32 | 6 | Beloved princess blubbers over tip of finger in girls' work of fiction (7) | DI + reversal(FATS) + F. Definition = girls' work of fiction (Chambers #2) | 7.5 | 2 | 2 | |
| 33 | 44 | Policewomen (7) | Police – D.I. staff / women – def | 7 | 0 | 2 | |
| 33 | 53 | Side female nudist affably displays? | Hidden | 7 | 1 | 2 | |
| 35 | 47 | Rod is awfully daft about sex (7) | Rod – Def. D(IS)TAF* F | 6.5 | 4 | 2 | |
| 36 | 17 | Fat Sid returns with female, concerning women! | Distaf+f; definition = concerning women (Collins) | 5 | 0 | 2 | |
| 36 | 23 | Find dandruff at side and back of women (7) | dandru(FF AT SID)e. Hidden reversal indicated by find and back respectively. Definition: of women | 5 | 1 | 3 | |
| 36 | 54 | Sissy Sid wears a very loud shirt. Wild! | Sissy (def); Sid +(wears) a very loud (ff) shirt (t). Wild (partial anag.) | 5 | 0 | 1 | |
| 36 | 58 | This working, could be 'tis female fad | anag. incl. f, & lit. | 5 | 0 | 1 | |
| 40 | 22 | Female workers on the payroll for this? | Di + staff & lit. | 4.5 | 1 | 3 | |
| 41 | 8 | Conveyor of yarn set up Minoan myth in Metamorphoses, having set out cursed mountain nymph Echo being captivated by Narcissus | Def: Conveyor of yarn. Wordplay: anagram of SET UP MINOAN MYTH IN minus anagram of MOUNTAIN NYMPH E, in DAFF (= daffodil, a narcissus). Surface: Roman poet Ovid | 4 | 1 | 8 | |
| 41 | 18 | Female employee I had promoted is on top (7) | #down clue. I’D<<<< (I had with promoted as reversal indicator and “is on top” to indicate I’D comes before) +STAFF (employee). Definition Female | 4 | 1 | 2 | |
| 41 | 39 | Nudist affectedly masks his feminine side | Nu(distaff)ectedly. Hidden word | 4 | 4 | 3 | |
| 44 | 20 | Female royal's female attributes – doubly female | DI'S+T&A+FF | 3 | 0 | 2 | |
| 44 | 29 | In style, it's raucous; a very loud classic rock (7) | Def = classic rock. Style = DA (duck's arse). Very loud = FF. | 3 | 0 | 3 | |
| 44 | 37 | No heathen left one unravelled in the hands of Fate. | DISTAFF = IN THE HANDS OF FATE less NO HEATHEN (unravelled*) &lit. Clotho, one of the Fates, held a distaff in her hand. | 3 | 0 | 2 | |
| 44 | 68 | Women showing up in stiff, fat sideburns (7) | Def: women. Reversed hidden answer {showing up in}: (-stif)F FAT SID(-eburns) <<. | 3 | 0 | 2 | |
| 48 | 12 | Diana comes briefly before the personnel to discuss matters concerning women. | Diana briefly=DI; before "personnel" = staff. Di +staff = "distaff", concerning women. | 2.5 | 1 | 3 | |
| 48 | 26 | Gendered domain is stick that's associated originally with females (7) | Definition = &lit; Originally – indicates first letters; D[omain] I[s] S[tick] T[hat's] A[ssociated] + FF (with females) | 2.5 | 1 | 3 | |
| 48 | 32 | Just over five hundred staff use this to spin a yarn. | DI (roman numerals for 501) + STAFF | 2.5 | 0 | 3 | |
| 51 | 24 | Five hundred one hired hands! For women's work? | a charade of DI (five hundred one) and STAFF (hired hands) giving DISTAFF (women's work) | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| 51 | 25 | Fossilized rock: compressed stone with a filling difference? | DI(ST A)FF; ST=stone(compressed=abbr. ind.), DIFF=difference; def: 'fossilized' rock (rock=archaic word for distaff, fossilized=antiquated, figuratively) | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| 51 | 46 | Regarding women in engineering shedding initial aversion, data is very strong (7) | Regarding women – definition. Wordplay: engineering – anagram indicator, [DATA – a + IS]* + FF (very strong) | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
| 54 | 52 | Shun banker with spinning stick (7) | River Taff | 1.5 | 1 | 2 | |
| 54 | 69 | Women's work carried out by princess's team belowstairs | (Princess) Di + staff | 1.5 | 0 | 1 | |
| 56 | 1 | A couple of workers get wound up on leaving this tool | A couple = Di; workers = staff; get wound up on leaving this tool = definition | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| 56 | 11 | Detectives with terriers – they made it work for women | Detectives = DIs; terriers = TA [i.e. territorial army]; they made it = FF [fecerunt]. Work for women = def. | 1 | 0 | 3 | |
| 56 | 14 | Employees supporting Welshman – it's the work of women | DI + STAFF | 1 | 0 | 5 | |
| 56 | 27 | Half a mile, for instance, in front of a very strong female | DIST (ANCE) + A FF, & lit | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| 56 | 49 | Sadist afflicts hiding with this stick. | SaDIST AFFlicts (hiding)…def: stick | 1 | 0 | 5 | |
| 56 | 56 | Term for stiff fellow pursuing staid living? A stick! | staid* preceding (stif)f, F; living (adj.) = lively, in activity; term = end. | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 56 | 57 | Terribly staid females or female (7) | STAID* FF, def: female (adj.) | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 63 | 5 | Angharad is Taffy's squeeze, dashing away with a smoothing iron, perhaps | squeeze, verb and colloquial noun; ref. traditional song. | 0.5 | 1 | 2 | |
| 63 | 15 | Ending of Gone With the Wind is thanks to female going to face future: typical of her | D+IS+TA+F+F; ref Scarlett O’Hara’s ‘tomorrow is another day’ at end of GWTW | 0.5 | 1 | 4 | |
| 65 | 21 | Female showing as man on passport got rejected (7) | Wordplay: DI<< STAFF ; Confirmation: female | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 65 | 48 | Rod to produce American whiskey, has no trouble with one very strong | DIST(ill)/A FF [distill = American spelling] | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 65 | 55 | Spinning device fad's fit to be wound up | Spinning device = definition, (FADSFIT)* | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 65 | 59 | Underworld volunteers very loud for women (7) | Dis = underworld TA = volunteers FF = very loud For women = definition | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 65 | 60 | Upsetting to men where this form of women's work becomes somewhat different | [(somewhat different) – (to men where)]* Definition (indicated by "this"): form of women's work (Chambers) | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 65 | 61 | Warring states differ. No reset for women's work. | Anag. (STATES DIFFER -RESET) | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 65 | 62 | Welshman is fourth in line, on his mother's side (7) | D is Taff | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 65 | 63 | Welshman on the pick-up meets hands-on woman (7) | DI (sounds like(on the pick-up) Dai); hands = STAFF; def is "on woman" meaning on womanhood generally | 0 | 1 | 2 |