CCCWC November competition voters’ comments

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A clue to LOCK STOCK AND BARREL.
100 comments were received for this competition (from 11 competitors, 2 others)
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Here is the text

Comments on the competition
1.
I'm couldn't find evidence of 'lock, stock and barrel' being used as anything but an adverb phrase as indicated in Chambers, so I had to mark down a few otherwise good clues that used noun or pronoun definitions like 'the lot' and 'everything'.
2.
All in all a somewhat disappointing set of clues compared to others since I began participating in this contest. (My own effort wasn't up to much either!) Most entries had quite poor surface readings. Most problematic though was the number of incorrect definitions – the answer is an adverb phrase meaning "completely", "totally", "in its entirety". Clues 13, 31, 35, 39 defined it as "everything", a noun. 30 used "everybody", even more strangely. 23, 36, 41, 42, 47, 48 also used noun phrases as their definitions. 15 used an adjective. Try substituting your definition for the answer in a sentence to see if it works.
3.
There were some fiendishly complicated essays here, so I went for anagrams that offered some sort of surface meaning, beginning with 3and 37. One of those to shun is 1 because it clues three bits separately, by taking out the 'and' when a clue for the whole phrase is required.
4.
Overall best clues I've seen for a while. Particularly liked 43 and 3
5.
Most clues struggled to get smooth surfaces perhaps due to size of the anagram and totally limited options for the definitions.
6.
If clue 43 doesn't win there should be a special place reserved for it on the site to showcase one of the best clues ever produced in the competition.

Comments on the clues

3. All Blacks record on Talk Sport

1.	I don't think sport works as an anagram indicator.
2.	A nicely convincing short one. Refreshingly different from the majority of efforts.
3.	I like the surface reading but the angrind doesn't quite work.
4.	Slightly topical, and original.

5. All parts of a gun

1.	Not the most imaginative clue.

7. All secure capital to invent real brand

1.	Surface doesn't quite convince. May be "to develop" would work better?

9. Altogether, forward line leads with charge (18, 4 words)

1.	Good try but surface seems a little awkward to me
2.	Nice clue but 'barrel' and 'charge' (attack quickly) aren't quite synonymous.

10. Back with rock and roll set, broadcast in its entirety

1.	Solid surface; shame about "and" in the fodder

11. British rock 'n' roll act is naked (The Kinks?) — but there is no gyrating in the altogether

1.	"The altogether" doesn't make sense.

12. Call Osborne dark, thick, misguided? Hi, that completely is it!

1.	More explanation would have helped. The anag requires HI to be removed – how is this indicated? "Hi" doesn't work in the surface reading.
2.	An interesting try. I'm happy with 'misguided' but 'thick' feels out of place in this sort of clue.

13. Caught stark bollock naked, lunatic runs for kilometres showing everything!

1.	Almost brilliant, but 'everything' does not define an adverb
2.	Great anagrammatic find, but would 'Pervert' at the start have been a better anagrind?
3.	Fantastic – but way too gratuitous.

15. Complete set of parts for The Rifleman? (4, 5, 3, 6)

1.	Best of the "gun parts" clues.

16. Completely against Calvin Kline brand, real tricky fastenings at the front

1.	Kevin Kline maybe, but Calvin Klein
2.	Better to have 'with' or 'having' between 'tricky' and 'fastenings' I think. Misspelling of Klein forgivable.
3.	This should be "Klein".
4.	A nice try, but it's Calvin KLEIN. Were you thinking of the marvellous Kevin Kline?

17. Completely camouflage East Londoner in khakis.

1.	This is not an anagram of the competition words
2.	Perfectly good clue … but to HOOK, LINE AND SINKER unfortunately!
3.	This is an anagram for HOOK LINE AND SINKER?
4.	Nice, if only the clue were to 'hook line and sinker'.
5.	Unfortunately a fair bit seems to be both missing from, and erroneously added to, the fodder.
6.	A cover-up perhaps?

18. Completely gaga, old crock with blank stare

1.	Excellent, and unique, anagram.
2.	Great clue and refreshingly different. (Explanation is given incorrectly though!)
3.	'crock' is in the wrong place in the clue

19. Completely secure funds with bank on-line ? (4 5 3 6)

1.	Nice, but that on-line bit worries me? A lot of clues with this sort of theme.
2.	Best of the 'secure' clues, though I would prefer 'on line' to 'on-line'

20. Completely secure investment, real brand involved

1.	Neat, but there are a lot of clues with this sort of theme.

21. Completely secure merchandise with a brand new line about to be introduced

1.	Not quite convinced by the surface
2.	Good, but there are a lot of clues with this sort of theme.

22. Completely set back rock and roll performance

1.	And in the fodder spoils it a bit. 10 has a better surface

23. Counterfeit bank card: clerk loots the lot.

1.	Great surface, but 'the lot' can't define an adverb
2.	Good wordplay and surface but inaccurate definition: lock stock and barrel is an adverb not a noun.
3.	Very good. This and 32 really stand out from a group of clues trying similar things.

24. Crook tells bank card's been compromised totally

1.	I like the surface, but I think 'compromised' means 'made insecure', and not 'corrupted'.
2.	Good, but 32 does much better with this material.

26. Doctor-to-be drank all crocks from top to bottom

1.	'Doctor-to-be' is presented as one word: it's fine for the surface reading but meaningless in the (real) clue.
2.	Not keen on the anagram indicator being attached to its material like this.

27. Entirely intrusive boss held by mad rock and roller taking British Airways for Romania (4,5,3,6)

1.	Surface doesn't make much sense
2.	Too wacky for me.
3.	The surface reading here is a bit too absurd.

28. Entirely secure fund with relative's bank at first

1.	Good idea, just pipped by 19

29. Entirely without emotion at first, philosopher’s son briefly shown to retrograde old barrister, a brand new little relative

1.	Too much clue for me
2.	The story just doesn't hold together convincingly. Might make a decent episode of Rumpole though.
3.	A rather rambling and nonsensical surface reading.

30. Everbody's endlessly sorry about block and tackle failure. (4,5,3,6)

1.	I don't believe Lock Stock and Barrel is used in the sense of everybody.
2.	SORR is not surrounded by the anagram. And used in the anagram and in the definition.
3.	"Everybody" and "lock, stock and barrel" are both synonyms of "all", but they absolutely are not synonyms of one another.

31. Everything that's necessary to produce a successful report?

1.	An explanation would have helped here.

32. Fake bank card crook tells all

1.	Very good. This and 23 really stand out from a group of clues trying similar things.

33. Film of deconstructed firearm.

1.	If it is a film, it's not famous enough to appear in IMDB. Thinking of L S and Two Smoking Bs?
2.	The famous film is Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
3.	The film is Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

34. Hacked bank card tells crook all

1.	Good, but 32 does much better with this material.

36. Jam, juice with roly-poly! The whole enchilada?

1.	Nicely connected group of items, but a rather unlikely dish

37. Labour talk on old Bill, badly expressed and crackers entirely

1.	A bit hard to see the anagram with the extra 'and', but it works
2.	Nice to see something different. Do you mean Old Bill? Crackers entirely sounds awkward to me.

38. Overwhelmed, old loner backtracks completely

1.	My dictionary (Chambers) has 'overwhelm' as a transitive verb (as in: 'x' overwhelmed 'y') but not intransitive as here.
2.	Surface not really convincing
3.	Neat, but less interesting than some other good clues.

39. Sammy Fain’s foxtrot has everything included

1.	Reference a bit too obscure and not very cryptic
2.	Too obscure for me.
3.	Possibly a bit obscure, and surface a little weak.
4.	A short note about him, perhaps?

40. Seal, cattle and hogshead altogether.

1.	Yes, but why?
2.	In what context are we to imagine these three things would be together?

43. Some clocks tock and bar relaxation altogether

1.	Original approach, well executed
2.	I'll give you a point just for attempting this.
3.	The best 'hidden' I've seen. If it looks easy to compose, no-one else did. Congratulations. 5 points.

44. Stress, strain and stun, then remove their heads entirely.

1.	Not keen on the indirect indications
2.	Used AND in clue and answer
3.	Nice idea but I don't think the wordplay leads to the solution.
4.	Inventive: but gory.
5.	A little unorthodox, but a refreshingly original approach in this month's competition. 5 points.

45. Surprisingly back rock-and-roll set entirely

1.	Not convinced by use of and in fodder as it also appears in solution

46. The constituents of Winchester, maybe, in its entirety.

1.	Very nice, certainly the most subtle and interesting of the gun parts clues.

47. The whole enchilada?

1.	There's nothing cryptic about this, it's just a definition
2.	This isn't really cryptic at all.
3.	This appears to be a single definition
4.	Rather vague explanation.

48. The whole shooting match !

1.	Better than 47 thanks to the double meaning, but a shooting match is not a gun
2.	Generally I have rejected gun parts type clues for lack of ambition, but this one deserves a point.

49. Totally revisionary Lords backtrack on enabling legislation initially

1.	Good theme, surface reading a bit laboured
2.	Fantastic clue, but surely revisionary just means concerning revisions etc and therefore doesn't work as an anagram indicator?

50. Totally unorthodox Catholic folk ultimately beats rock and roll

1.	'Ultimately' means 'at last', not 'first and last'

51. Twisting set back rock and roll completely

1.	Best of the rock 'n' rollers
2.	Fair surface but let down by having "and" in the anagram fodder
3.	But it didn't, did it? Good anagram, but found by many.

52. "We'll have hair soup with fly." "Will that be all?"

1.	A point at least for the beautiful silliness of this. One of only a few good clues to try something different.

54. With hair beginning to thin at rear, bald conk developed? Totally

1.	Not really a convincing surface