CCCWC March competition voters’ comments
Clue no. 44: When out to lunch, it may be indeterminate (but not tea, anyhow!)
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A clue to DINNER-TIME.
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| Comments on the competition |
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| 1. |
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| a) Reading through the clues, I have the impression that DINNER-TIME proved a tougher challenge than might have been expected. I think there are a few near-misses, but no clue which works on all levels. This has made it difficult to fix the order for my chosen five. However:- First place, 5 points, to clue 2. The surface sense isn't perfect, and the capital letter is awkward, but 'lapses' is very nice and 'announcement of a gong?' is probably the best definition among the 48 clues. Second place, 4 points, I award to clue 44. Probably the best use of 'indeterminate', but a rather stretched definition (as so often with &lits.) and regrettable anacoluthon. In third place, for 3 points, I put clue 21. I'm not very keen on composite anagrams, but 'Rennie' is entertaining in the context of 'dodgy naan'. Anacoluthon again, I'm afraid. In fourth place, for 2 points, I put clue 10. This dares to be different, but 'with' is awkward, the spelling of 'interne' is a give-away and the definition is weak - better for DINNER than DINNER-TIME. One point for fifth place to clue 5; 'peak fare period' is very good, and I wonder whether 'Afternoon and...' could simply have been omitted. I hope this doesn't seem too churlish; there are some fine ideas in these clues, but, in my opinion, none of them fully comes off. |
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k) 4 pts to no. 39 (nicely coherent surface). 4 pts to no. 19 (likewise, good misdirection). 3 pts to no. 5 (clever alternative way of providing the def.). 3 pts to no. 4. 1 pt to no. 44 (my favourite of the 'indeterminates'). 1 pt to no. 34 (had potential but phrasing felt under-honed).
Several seemed to be cluing "dinner" (the meal), rather than "dinner time" (the moment scheduled for it). Some strained anags. One clue which was very similar to my own, I disregarded for fairness' sake. Special mention (but not points) to no. 45, whose explanation made me go "ouch!" |
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| o) Despite the number of entries, it was easy to reduce it to a third considering the normal criteria of soundness, natural surface reading, misleading context, etc. Beyond this, although not the over-riding consideration, I looked for a clear differentiation of 'dinner-time' from simply 'dinner'. Some otherwise good clues (e.g. 36) I marked down compared to some others for this. I always like clues that amuse or interest me and can forgive a little unsoundness with this as compensation. 43, 45 and 48 all made me laugh, but only 48 was close enough to sound to be forgiven. Although I would not submit this myself because of the convention that 'for' as a link word only works one way, personally I've never agreed with this anyway. Clue 25 made the short-list, but I considered use of 'time' from the answer in the clue word to be too much of a weakness for it to score points. Clues 23 and 44 were other near-contenders, but fell down on the definition compared to my final choices. Although not my first choice, I thought clue 37 was a unique and interesting idea. |
