CCCWC June 2010 competition results
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50 clues entered. 43 votes cast (38 competitors, 5 others).
Any “Double” Word (6 or more letters) (A Game of Two Halves)
This competition produced a more exciting contest than the World Cup Final itself! The CCCWC Admin Team were glued to the scoreboard in the closing stages as the lead changed hands between the two "finalists". In the end just 1/2 a point separated 1st and 2nd, with the congratulations going to James and commiserations to John. However, the last set of votes that came in swung the scores from a 1/2 point lead for John to that 1/2 point winning margin for James, so congratulations should also go to John for coming so close with what was an excellent clue as well. This goes to show how important all your votes are!
Well done to Mike for snatching 3rd place with his risque effort, and a couple of familiar faces complete the podium – well done Don and Margaret too.
I was unsure whether to set another competition giving you free choice of clue word so soon after last November's FIREWORK competition, but once the idea came to me I found it hard to resist. I am glad because I found the range of thematic words and the resulting clues fascinating reading so thanks to everyone for entering into the spirit! Four years till the next one!
| Pos | No. | Name | Clue | Explanation | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 49 | James Glassonbury | With aching heart, "Arrivederci Capello!" (8) | CHIN-CHIN: Capello: (a)chin(g); chin-chin = goodbye | 58 | 4 |
| 2 | 20 | John Tozer | Goalkeeping spell in Africa Rob Green's last? (8) | greegree; goalkeeping; Gree(n); ref. England keeper's howler vs. USA | 57.5 | 4 |
| 3 | 15 | Mike Baker | English team spurned by supporters: 'They're bollocks!' | Testes; team; TEES – E | 36 | 6 |
| 4 | 12 | Don Manley | Crouch has sufficient power for high-kicking action | CANCAN : Crouch, can | 30.5 | 4 |
| 5 | 22 | Margaret Irvine | Hooligans' derisive jeers disheartened skilful players (8) | HOTSHOTS : hooligans' : ho(o)ts (hoot = a jeer of derision in Collins) | 28.5 | 4 |
| 6 | 7 | Graham Smythe | Brilliant footballers (?) with hardline Capello, disappoint millions ultimately (8) | HOTSHOTS:hardline: final letters "witH CapellO disappoinT millionS" | 27.5 | 4 |
| 7 | 36 | Kathy Martin | Silly mistake, and Beckham's scornful response. (6) | BOOBOO: Beckham's: boo=scornful response | 23.5 | 2 |
| 8 | 21 | Tom Borland | Having blown League, Arsenal want shooting | ACK-ACK; Arsenal; (L)ACK | 21.5 | 2 |
| 9 | 37 | Ian Harper | Skilful players from overseas have hosts losing heart | HOTSHOTS (C has "mainly US" = from overseas): have: HO(s)TS ref SA's failings | 19 | 3 |
| 10 | 40 | Simon Bates | Tackle tackler hard from behind (6) | TESTES: tackler: set rev | 17.5 | 2 |
| 11 | 44 | Tournament balls prove to be a setback (6) | TESTES:Tournament:set rev | 17 | 2 | |
| 12 | 10 | Capello's tea dance (3-3) | CHA-CHA: Capello's: cha = tea | 16 | 3 | |
| 12 | 34 | Set back knackers Terry | Answer: TESTES; Extra word: Terry; Testes = knackers (testicles) | 16 | 2 | |
| 12 | 46 | Uruguayan winger heads clear Arjen Robben's angled cross (8) | CARACARA: cross : initial letters 'clear Arjen Robben's angled' | 16 | 3 | |
| 15 | 31 | Quick strike by Cristiano ! | Chop-chop :Cristiano :strike(chop) *chop : strike(esp.a ball) with a short heavy edgewise blow | 15.5 | 3 | |
| 15 | 45 | Tricky balls transform set pieces (6) | TESTES: tricky: set anag. | 15.5 | 4 | |
| 17 | 23 | Hot stuff, I tear up pitch. | Piri-piri; pitch; I rip rev. | 15 | 4 | |
| 18 | 3 | Bayern's Ribery on the inside is out of position – this could be fatal (8) | Beri-beri: Bayern's: anag of IBER | 14 | 3 | |
| 19 | 48 | Vuvuzela – necessary in some places to double as a trumpet? | VALVAL: lav (rev). Necessary = a toilet (dialect). Double = turn back. A trumpet has valves. For non football fans, Vuvuzelas are the horns creating the annoying background noise to the current series of world cup matches. | 12.5 | 2 | |
| 20 | 18 | Gerrard goes reasonably — at first — in South African spell | GRISGRIS: Gerrard: g{oes} r{easonably} i' S; def 'African spell' | 10.5 | 2 | |
| 20 | 41 | Terry's fly is set undone | TSETSE: Terry's: anag, re:John Terry's affair | 10.5 | 2 | |
| 20 | 43 | Third-rate balls set to be returned | TESTES: third-rate: set rev. | 10.5 | 2 | |
| 23 | 16 | France taking on Uruguay (football's elaborate frilly sides) | FROU-FROU: football's : F + ROU (IVR's) | 8 | 4 | |
| 23 | 39 | Sweet backheel is good for the French (6) | BONBON: backheel: Translation clue | 8 | 3 | |
| 25 | 25 | It's clear it's a top score (6-6) | TWENTY-TWENTY (= clear [Chambers]), TWENTY = score, top | 7.5 | 1 | |
| 26 | 8 | Bullet sends dirt flying round in Durban | DUMDUM: DURBAN: MUD REV. | 6.5 | 3 | |
| 26 | 13 | Daring display of kicking in Cup's opening clashes uplifted hearts of unfancied Ghana (6) | CANCAN: clashes: Down clue: C(up) + ((unfa)N(cied) + (Gh)A(na) reversed ("uplifted")). | 6.5 | 2 | |
| 28 | 1 | After 2000 we Scots gave Zidane the bird (6) | Z (=2000) + oo (=we in Scots): zoozoo | 6 | 2 | |
| 28 | 5 | Big party in South Africa – Capello crashed out. What a knees-up! (6) | CANCAN – Capello, anag. of ANC (African National Congress political party) – KNEES-UP is conveniently defined as both a party and a riotous dance (Chambers) | 6 | 1 | |
| 28 | 6 | Brie spreading tropical disease in Bloemfontein. | BERI-BERI Bloemfontein (a World Cup venue)- brie anagram. | 6 | 1 | |
| 31 | 11 | Conclusions of tiredness correct on reflection, English team fly from Africa terminally whacked! | [TSETSE: team: st reversed + E; Manager Capello's explanation for 4-1 defeat] | 5 | 1 | |
| 31 | 33 | Seaman tripped Russia's attacker(6) | Extra word-TRIPPED,Russia's attacker=TARTAR,Seaman(English goalie)=TAR. TARTARs were Mongols who invaded Russia in 13th C. Hence "Russia's attacker". | 5 | 2 | |
| 33 | 17 | German – Australian team game singularly boring one? | GROO-GROO; game; G + Roo(s); 'boring one' = def. (groo-groo weevil) | 4.5 | 4 | |
| 34 | 9 | Cameroonian's potty dance (3-3) | C(1st letter of Cameroonian), potty=can, dance=can-can. Reference to Roger Milla's famous celebratory dance from the 1990 FIFA WC | 4 | 3 | |
| 34 | 27 | Make light of one of Celtic's pipe bands wheeling | POOH-POOH; pipe; rev HOOP | 4 | ||
| 34 | 42 | Thief starts taking everyone's soccer balls. (6) | TESTES: Thief: "taking everyone's soccer" initials. | 4 | 1 | |
| 37 | 29 | One (very typical) African balls-up. Serious? – Well pissed off (6) | BERBER: balls-up: SOBER, not SO | 3.5 | 1 | |
| 38 | 4 | Beckham lacking finish is rubbish as winger | Extra word=Beckham. Def = winger i.e. BULBUL. BUL(L)= rubbish (lacking finish) | 3 | 1 | |
| 38 | 50 | Wow – centre back lacks the heart to tackle Hamm! (5-5) | HUBBA-HUBBA (Wow): Hamm (Mia); centre = HUB; back lacks heart to tackle (CK) = BA | 3 | 2 | |
| 40 | 47 | Virtuosi in hectic presto hardly held back | HOTSHOTS : hectic : hidden,rev | 2.5 | ||
| 41 | 2 | An African is right back. | BERBER: back: is – BE, right – R | 2 | 1 | |
| 41 | 26 | It's off the foot of Brazil's Lucio, who taps the ball to Bastos' header, and back for an own goal! | BOO-BOO: Brazil: oob rev. | 2 | 3 | |
| 41 | 32 | Score from the back, avoiding a long calculating build-up? (6) | LOGLOG is a double logarithm ; extra word = LONG; GO(A)L (rev.); Ref: Route-One / Long Ball Football | 2 | 2 | |
| 44 | 24 | Irate Seb discovers tournament balls not really round (6) | TESTES: tournament: hidden in 'irate Seb' | 1.5 | 1 | |
| 44 | 35 | Shocking performance from French kickers? Churls no longer have the skill | CANCAN: churls: France's Cancan was once considered scandalous | 1.5 | 1 | |
| 46 | 19 | Goal! Lampard's first denied: Germany thrash Gerard's mishmash | GADO-GADO; GOA(L) + D*, "thrash" anagram indicator, "Gerard's" letter indicator, mishmash=hotchpotch(dish) | 1 | 3 | |
| 46 | 38 | "Slug" – a name you may be called when returning disgraced | Ans DUMDUM (slug). MUD reversed. Disgraced = extra word | 1 | ||
| 48 | 14 | Domenech left slanderous comments.Stupid! (6) | DUMDUM : Domenech : mud reversed | 0 | ||
| 48 | 28 | Normal sighted train-spotter is too tense to speak | Twenty-Twenty. Extra word is train-spotter. Too tense = homonym for two tens = twenty | 0 | ||
| 48 | 30 | POWER TO CLEAN BACK, IT KILLS!(6) | 1. EXTRA WORD: POWER 2. CLEAN BACK = MOP< = POM IT KILLS = THE REQUIRED MEANING = POMPOM | 0 | 1 |