CCCWC April 2021 competition results
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67 clues entered. 57 votes cast (53 competitors, 4 others).
ODYSSEY
This month we welcome the Don back to the top of the pile, in style, with a comprehensive victory! A couple of years since his last win, he triumphs using a simple anagram with subtraction that has a superbly smooth and topical surface. Well done Don!
In Don's wake things were a little closer. A tie for 2nd with Andy Smith maintaining his model consistency of late with a very clever &lit. Keep it up Andy.
Bhalchandra joins Andy, squashed onto the 2nd place box, who like our winner, managed to incorporate a CV19 motif to his clue – another neat surface.
Peter Hartley takes 4th spot with a comp anag &lit involving quite a long addition – not always to everyone's taste, but an ingenious construction nonetheless…
…and you wait for one comp anag to come along – and you see two! Another incredible construction from Ed Hall takes 5th spot – and that's Ed's first one, well done sir! – and I challenge you all to find me another comp. anag. that incorporates Dostoyevsky!
Thanks to all as ever, now let's deal with those toerags…
| Pos | No. | Name | Clue | Explanation | Points | Merits | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Don Manley | Do say yes to travel, but not a long journey | anag less a, Govt advice paraphrased? | 70.5 | 2 | 6 |
| 2 | 38 | Andy Smith | Poem about, at heart, Ulysses getting back from Troy | YSS in ODE, + Y. &lit | 43.5 | 2 | 8 |
| 2 | 49 | Bhalchandra Pasupathy | Second dose ends in very many restless for extended travel | S DOSE Y Y*; def: extended travel | 43.5 | 1 | 4 |
| 4 | 8 | Peter Hartley | Averting this trip might have reshaped voyagers’ destiny. | AVERTING + [ODYSSEY] (reshaped*) = VOYAGERS' DESTINY. | 37 | 7 | 4 |
| 5 | 67 | Ed Hall | You could make OK tv with this epic from Dostoyevsky (7) | OKTV + ODYSSEY can be anagrammed to make DOSTOYEVSKY | 36 | 2 | 2 |
| 6 | 21 | Neil Mondal | Extremely old story describes executions once journey ends | Extremes of "old" + ends of "story describes executions once journey"; &lit | 34.5 | 0 | 5 |
| 7 | 42 | Alexander Antao | Poem about years on a boat at end of Troy | (Y + SS) in ODE + Y & lit. | 29 | 3 | 3 |
| 8 | 58 | Satyen Nabar | Wandering in Sydney, so excited to avoid lockdown finally | (SYDNEYSO)* minus (-lockdow)N; defn= wandering | 28.5 | 4 | |
| 9 | 32 | Steve Randall | Lengthy rags to riches story, unpredictable and ultimately moving? | anagram (moving) of final letters &lit | 28 | 1 | 3 |
| 10 | 18 | Robert Vere | Everybody's Seychelles tour includes a long and eventful journey | hidden | 22 | 1 | 4 |
| 10 | 30 | John Hood | Itinerant does initially spend a couple of years wandering | [DOES S(pend) Y Y]* anagrind = itinerant def = wandering | 22 | 1 | 2 |
| 12 | 19 | Excessive trip indeed, returning after years | O.D. + YES< after Ys, &lit | 21.5 | 2 | 5 | |
| 12 | 37 | Oddly uses very regularly quoted passage (7) | Def: passage. Alternate letters from (… regularly quoted): OdDlY uSeS vErY. | 21.5 | 1 | 2 | |
| 14 | 40 | Poem about end of Troy and ship completing journey. | ODE around (Y+SS) + Y &lit. | 20.5 | 3 | 2 | |
| 14 | 51 | Somebody's Seychelles trip? | some bODYS SEY … | 20.5 | 3 | 5 | |
| 16 | 39 | Poem about climax of journey on ship, ending in victory (7) | &lit . SODE around Y (climax of journey) + SS (ship) + Y (ending in victory for Odysseus) . The Odyssey only describes that last part of the voyage – hence climax of journey | 19.5 | 4 | 2 | |
| 17 | 44 | Poem involving unknown ship at end of journey | Poem = ODE. Involving – containment indicator, unknown = Y, ship = SS, at – juxtaposition, end of journey = Y. &lit. The ship in the Odyssey is never named | 18 | 2 | 2 | |
| 18 | 53 | Such a trip with Karen could take donkey’s years! | Composite anagram &lit | 16 | 2 | 2 | |
| 19 | 57 | Voyage over days without a sure return | O(over)+D(-a)YS+ SEY(yes rev), Def – Voyage | 15.5 | 1 | 2 | |
| 20 | 10 | Classic island-hop? Certainly Seychelles are good enough to return | yes SY do, rev.; do = suffice | 14.5 | 3 | 1 | |
| 21 | 1 | "A long and arduous journey every other Monday?", asks Denys | Definition: "a long and arduous journey" Wordplay: alternate letters ("every other") from "mOnDaY aSkS dEnYs" | 14 | 2 | 1 | |
| 21 | 3 | A long journey is a necessary part of everybody's Seychellois holiday. | Def./hidden. | 14 | 3 | 5 | |
| 23 | 31 | Leaderless group has consent withdrawn for epic journey | (B)ody + 's + yes reversed | 13.5 | 2 | ||
| 23 | 46 | Risqué lady mayoress may cause alarm with this story? (7) | anag(LADYMAYORESS – ALARM) | 13.5 | 1 | 4 | |
| 25 | 34 | Long rambling poem | Cryptic def. | 13 | 2 | 4 | |
| 26 | 12 | Do say yes, wanting a relaxed journey | DOS(a)YYES*; anagrind = relaxed | 12.5 | 4 | 2 | |
| 26 | 26 | From time to time through good eyes I see my long journey. | gOoDeYeSiSeEmY – def. long journey. | 12.5 | 2 | 1 | |
| 28 | 2 | A long and arduous quest to make dyes with soy | A long and arduous quest (def); dyes with soy (anag) | 11.5 | 2 | 2 | |
| 29 | 7 | At start of this, king leaves Troy, eats last of sacred cattle, then captures Calypso's heart and finally kills suitors | & Lit – v. abridged plot summary of the Odyssey. OY = TROY-T-R, around D+E (sacreD cattlE), which then surrounds Y+S+S (calYpso, killS suitorS). | 11 | 2 | 6 | |
| 30 | 52 | Song about my last ship on year-long voyage (7) | ODE (song) about Y (my last) SS (ship) on Y (year). Definition: long voyage | 10.5 | 2 | 1 | |
| 31 | 29 | I agree to go to extremely sexy party in return for a trip (7) | rev(YES S(ex)Y DO) | 9.5 | 1 | 1 | |
| 32 | 23 | Famous return of Homer as headless corpse. Quite a bit of Simpson’s back! | (B)ODY + ((YES + S(impson)) backwards). “Quite” = Yes. | 9 | 1 | 1 | |
| 33 | 4 | Agreed to return after oddly disregarding goodbyes for this long journey (7) | Agreed to return = Yes backwards = sey ,after oddly disregarding goodbyes = (g)o(o)d(b)y(e)s + definition | 8 | 2 | 1 | |
| 34 | 60 | Yes, do say "Not a problem," but really, it is a very long story (7) | Anagram of YES DO S(a)Y | 7 | 0 | 1 | |
| 35 | 64 | Yes! Syd Onassis offers return 10 year cruise full of adventures! | reverse hidden: offers = hidden indicator; return = reversal; DEF:10 year cruise full of adventures alluding to Odysseus’ odyssey | 6 | 0 | 1 | |
| 36 | 16 | Epic voyage of discovery, say, odd characters might make | Anagram of D-S-O-E-Y plus S-Y | 5.5 | 2 | 2 | |
| 36 | 27 | 'Goodbye Sister!' read regularly before starting your adventure. | Every other letter from 'Goodbye Sister!' as indicated by 'read regularly'. Followed by 'y' (starting your). Definition = adventure. | 5.5 | 0 | 4 | |
| 36 | 48 | Sally boldly asks Beryl, ignoring the odds (7) | Sally = def Alternate letters (ignoring the odds) bOlDlY aSkS Beryl | 5.5 | 3 | 4 | |
| 39 | 47 | Saga trip, perhaps only for the adventurous | Not everyone on a Saga holiday wants to embark on a 'long eventful journey' (Collins)! All in one cryptic definition. | 5 | 0 | 1 | |
| 40 | 65 | Yes, westbound to South Yorkshire, returning following overdose. It was quite a trip! | OD+YS+SEY | 4.5 | 0 | 1 | |
| 41 | 9 | By end of 'tomo' Dyson mostly sure about long-distance travels? (7) | wordplay: after O (by end of tomo) DYS (Dyson mostly) reversal of YES (sure about) definition: long-distance travels? (Reference to PM's texts in the news) | 4 | 0 | 3 | |
| 41 | 13 | Donkey's years at sea spent mostly narked, upset | Anagram (at sea) of DONKEYSYEARS minus (spent) anagram of NARKE(d). &lit | 4 | 1 | 2 | |
| 43 | 14 | Epic topless figure's fine all around (7) | Topless figure's = (-B)ODY's, fine all around = YES<-, Definition: Epic | 2.5 | 0 | 1 | |
| 43 | 41 | Poem about ship afflicted by unknowns, seemingly at random (7) | Poem – ODE / about – containing / ship – SS / afflicted by unknowns, seemingly at random – add Y twice, with their locations determined by the unseen gods / &lit | 2.5 | 0 | ||
| 45 | 15 | Epic trip… take too much..? too right… reflect… cut out half the E | OD+YeS+SEY | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| 45 | 17 | Even Homer half nods sleepily gutted by, at last, surprisingly long journey | Even Homer gives oe, half nods gives ds, sleepily gutted gives sy, by at last gives y. All anagrammed by surprisingly | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| 45 | 45 | Poem on yen to get back from Troy, the core of Classics | (Tro)Y + (Cla)SS(ics) in ODE + Y (yen); &lit. | 2 | 1 | 2 | |
| 45 | 56 | Trip over the fronts of your shoes, twice, and don't exchange? Ridiculous | Def = Trip; Wordplay = O(over) YSYSDE* (the first letters of Your Shoes (x2) and Don't Exchange) | 2 | 1 | 2 | |
| 45 | 62 | Yes! Return after headless body's journey | headless body's = odys, yes return = sey, journey = odyssey | 2 | 0 | 1 | |
| 50 | 35 | Long trek oddly does stay extremely unknown (7) | LONG TREK = definition, ODDLY = anagrind, (DOES + SY) = anagram fodder, of which STAY EXTREMELY = S(ta)Y, UNKNOWN = Y | 1.5 | 0 | 1 | |
| 51 | 6 | An epic tale of Ulysses, who left for date, stripped, and penetrated Troy’s rear | Definition "an epic tale"; "left for date" indicates to change the l to d in Ulysses; "stripped" means to take the end letters off Udysses; "penetrated Troy's rear" means to insert "dysse" in "OY" | 1 | 1 | 6 | |
| 51 | 28 | Heading off, contingent's certainly travelling west, resulting in long, eventful journey | (b)ODY'S + YES rev | 1 | 3 | 1 | |
| 51 | 36 | Long wandering goodbyes regularly brought about expression of joy (7) | defintion: long wandering (Chambers, noun, 2). wordplay: (g)O(o)D(b)Y(e)S + reversal of YES (Chambers, adverb, 3). | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 51 | 59 | Years and years of wandering curiously near and (primarily) far away? | &lit. subtractive anagram: (YEARSANDYEARSOF)* – (NEAR+A[nd]+FAR)*. away = subtraction indicator, wandering & curiously = anagrinds | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 55 | 20 | Exciting Sydney holidays, not handily involved long journey | Anagram SYDNEY HOLIDAYS minus anagram HANDILY | 0.5 | 0 | 2 | |
| 56 | 5 | Alright to say, "Without a party, revolting is an adventure" (7) | #down-clue. YES (alright) SY (say without a) DO (party). Reversal indicator – revolting (as in going up). Definition – an adventure. | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 56 | 22 | "Ey! Dos-sy-do! Swing! Men cast off! Circulate! One man returns! Lines!" | Anagram of "ey dos-sy", indicated by the imperative "do swing". The rest is the definition of The Odyssey: "lines" concerning "men cast off, circulate; one man returns". | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 56 | 24 | Farmer abandons sod, yes, yearning for thrilling journey… | Anagram sod+yes+y=Odyssey Def "thrilling journey" | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 56 | 25 | From the east, truly, barren Sicily and party narrate their journey | Reversal of (from the east) YES (truly), SY (barren Sicily) and DO (party) giving the definition (journey) | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 56 | 33 | Long March days… somehow nothing can replace April's first fine comeback | Long March=def; days somehow=DAYS*; nothing can replace April's first=replace A with O; fine comeback=SEY | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 56 | 43 | Poem concluding after shots discharged between axes | ODE, the E of which is placed after S(hot)S between YY. &lit, ref fancy archery scene in book 21. | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 56 | 50 | She eyes Syd over the counter, partial to a long trip home. | counter indicates reversal, partial indicates hidden clue; definition is long trip home | 0 | 2 | 1 | |
| 56 | 54 | This European history's original composition might be seen in Sydney Opera House (7) | Composite Anagram: This (definition/placeholder) (ODYSSEY + EUROPEAN + H)* = SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE, H = 'H'istory's original, anagram indicator = "composition might be seen in", &lit-ish | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| 56 | 55 | Told yesterday’s wandering what could be latter-day version | *TOLDYESTERDAYS=*ODYSSEY+LATTERD (yesterday=the past; latter-day=recent); ref to both Odyssey and odyssey; D=day | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 56 | 61 | Yes, Dyson’s detailed movingly an epic spiritual voyage | (YES DYSO)* (detailed = -N) movingly = * an epic spiritual voyage = def. (Dyson, a billionaire, is returning to the UK from Singapore and will almost certainly pay more tax … an epic spiritual voyage for anyone!) | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 56 | 63 | Yes, say heartlessly party has to go west for a long journey | YES S[a]Y DO all reversed | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 56 | 66 | "Yes, yes,…" – one returning after weird-sounding trip | Y’S + SEY (a yes returning) after OD (homophone of ODD); def = trip | 0 | 0 | 1 |