CCCWC March competition voters’ comments

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A clue to NARCISSUS.
60 comments were received for this competition (from 12 competitors, 0 others)
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Comments on the competition
1.
Wonderful set of clues!
2.
Where do we find information about awarding merit points?
3.
A lot of very similar ideas on display here, not many clues to admire. A bit of a difficult word to clue originally.
4.
For me, there were plenty of clues with inventive word play but very few combining this with a smooth surface meaning to disguise the cryptic components. Coincidentally, Narcissus was the answer to 15dn in the Times cryptic 27327 (Wed 17/4/19) and was clued as: 'Drug agent I figure out on reflection is a plant' which as a solid but unexciting offering perhaps points to how difficult 'Narcissus' is to clue innovatively. The stand-out clue for me is clue 22. At 14 words, perhaps a little long but with imaginative and disguised word play so different from other entries, although I did have to persuade myself that 'reflective' was an acceptable reversal indicator. So, it gets my 5 points. Clue 5 deserves a mention for complex construction but at the expense of a flowing surface story (2 points). Clue 14 seems to make the best use of the 'graciousness – ego anagram – 2 points. Clues 40 (preferred 3 points) and 44 (1 point) have topical 'Trump' references. Clue 2's double def also has a certain appeal – 2 points.
5.
Rather a lot of clues involving disturbed Russians in unconvincing situations!

Comments on the clues

2. A type of complex flower

1.	a concise double meaning; nice change from all those Russians!
2.	Straightforward but not necessarily easy double def.

4. Ass incurs beating – he's a classic egoist

1.	Good anagram, done slightly better by 16

5. Beautiful boy shuns a skin cure, acne oddly disappearing in reflection!

1.	Ingenious wordplay
2.	Admirable complex word play but at the expense of smooth surface meaning.

6. Beginning to need car, I suss out classic Hunter

1.	Wordplay might be better without the comma ?

7. Bloom’s Odyssean arc is suspenseful, gripping! (9)

1.	A nice literary reference ,retaining the classical milieu
2.	The cryptic reading is grammatically suspect
3.	The structure is wordplay gripping definition, but the surface doesn't say this unfortunately.
4.	Not an easy word to hide successfully.

9. Could be Jonquil found flash business card deb dropped

1.	This composite anagram really requires a separate indicator for 'deb'

10. Cult leader embraced by foolish Russians is an extreme self-lover! (9)

1.	Wordplay sound apart from C = cult's leader

11. Dealt with scars in America? On reflection, the Greek lad liked what he saw.

1.	Anagrind seems rather awkward and should definition be 'this Greek lad' ?

13. Fault lead to Chernobyl in Russia’s nuclear plant

1.	Is “LEAD” illiterate alternative to “LED” in this sentence? With spelling like this I should give up doing crosswords.
2.	Should be 'led' or 'leads' surely?
3.	The anagram indicator seems faulty and should be adjacent to it's fodder.
4.	Oh dear, this looks like that common, inexcusable solecism of 'lead' for 'led' – shame.

14. Graciousness without ego possibly represented by him? No!

1.	clever subtraction-anagram
2.	Nicely worked comp. anag.
3.	Best use of the graciousness – ego anagram.
4.	Nice composite anagram though a semi &lit should really have a fuller definition which the wordplay merely enhances (see clue 42)

15. Grass is South American plant

1.	Grass = nark, not narc

16. Greek hunter incurs ass kicking! (9)

1.	Nice anagram, amusing surface

17. He fancied himself as inspiring ridiculously cruel iron maidens, stabbing poles, and utensils for evisceration

1.	In a clue this long, the wordplay really needs to have some connection with the def.

21. His moving reflections on a flower were well observed.

1.	I like comp clues to have some wordplay

22. I can be seen after March essentially on banks of streams in reflective sun

1.	Would "after MIDDLE of March" have better surface meaning than "March ESSENTIALLY"?
2.	Different inventive clue with smooth surface story and very nice word play.

24. Leading communist in Russian Revolution, Stalin initially was really self-obsessed.

1.	Leading communist doesn't produce C; "leader of communists" would have worked (and would have got votes)
2.	good anagram indicator; perhaps def. is slightly questionable (? = narcissistic)
3.	Definition is an adjective when it should be a noun.

25. Legendary egotist: "I'm borne by rainbows to Society – the sun revolves around me"

1.	Nice surface but cryptically flawed.
2.	The wordplay requires 'I (is) borne by rainbows … in revolving sun'

26. Making a comeback, Sarandon embraces Chris after dropping husband, an extremely self-centred guy

1.	Clue doesn't contain an anagram indicator for Chris
2.	Wordplay requires 'Sarandon for example' and an anagram indicator

27. Narc is suspect in flower heist. (9)

1.	'Heist' seems redundant

29. On reflection, I'm hooked

1.	Needs some wordplay

32. Originator of Noah's arc? is not half smart – and he knows he's smart!

1.	Clever … and thank you .. I think?

34. Plant near rock – it's a squash, oddly

1.	A bit patronising to tell us squash is a fruit. I think most grown-ups know this.
2.	Clever wordplay though unfortunately 'oddly' doesn't really mean 'take the odd letters'

35. Poisoned with CS, Russian thinks he looks good

1.	Definition suggested would imply the answer is a verb, 'poisoned' doesn't really suggest rearrangement

36. Poor Russians catching cold in plant

1.	One of the better Russians
2.	Straightforward cryptic word play with better than some surface story deserves a mention.

40. Self-admirer rubbishes hint of collusion with Russians

1.	Simple, elegant and topical.
2.	Best of the Russians
3.	Surface story reads as 'Trump' topical which I liked combined with best of the c + russians anagrams
4.	Superb pithy surface, marred only slightly by the need for the a.i. to be 3rd person singular.

42. Self-obsessed youth's potential graciousness ignoring warped ego

1.	14 does this comp. anag. better

43. Self-regarding type in crass party, leading United States

1.	'party' doesn't really suggest rearrangement

44. Silly Republican ass in US beginning to crow, he's self-obsessed

1.	Not quite as appealing as clue40 but a nice topical 'Trump' reference.

46. The bark of Conrad Black, perhaps

1.	Original combination, but the surface isn't very meaningful
2.	Surface seems to lack significant meaning and doesn't really define an example of a black bark.

48. Vain youth is object of police enquiry after return of sizeable haul – that’s fishy!

1.	Intriguing narrative but wordplay's punctuation seems a bit misleading

49. With monstrous ego being projected, graciousness would seem abnormal for me

1.	I prefer 14 to this. It's a bit long.
2.	'projected' OK for surface, but wordplay really needs 'ejected'

50. Youth obsessed with self-image: drug agent is suspicious.

1.	It might be better to blend definition and wordplay into a unified surface reading.