Ximenes Competition No. 54 Ximenes Slip | ◀ 53 | 55 ▶ | Other competitions
| No. | Date | Clue word | Clue type | Clues |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 54 | Jun 1947 | SPONGE | normal | 17 |
| Award | Clue writer | Clue | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | Mrs D. D’Eath | How to do the washing with half the soap gone and no pegs | anags. of s(oa)p gone, no pegs |
| Second | H. T. R. Twyford | What! No pegs for Col. Chinstrap, C.B.? | anag. of no pegs; ref. drunken sponger in radio comedy ‘ITMA’; C.B. = Companion of the Bath; peg = measure of drink |
| Third | S. B. Green | Sought by divers means to hang on, but has finally gone astray | i.e. ends in anag. of gone, 2 defs.; means, vb. |
| HC | Cdr H. H. L. Dickson | Naturally without issue on earth | sp on Ge, & lit.; i.e. sea creature |
| HC | C. Helme | “An article of absorbing interest” (Bath Times) | cryptic def. |
| HC | A. T. Hobbs | He hangs on and keeps it inside | 2 mngs.; i.e. hanger-on; cf. clue to supe [not explained] |
| HC | J. Hardie Keir | Colonel Chinstrap, C.B. | 2 mngs.; ref. drunken sponger in radio comedy ‘ITMA’; C.B. = Companion of the Bath |
| HC | Mrs D. M. Kissen | Open Guineas offers chance for staying animal | anag. incl. gs; horse racing; staying = immobile |
| HC | R. C. Macfarlane | C.B., and nephew of Duke of Saxony | 2 mngs.; C.B. = Companion of the Bath; ref. Merchant of Venice I.2.105, “I’ll be married to a sponge” |
| HC | C. R. Malcolm | Flannel next the skin and then this | double mng.; flannel = blarney, i.e. prelude to a request |
| HC | Maj D. P. M. Michael | Cook’s sporting tourist? | cryptic def.; ref. ‘Mr Sponge’s Sporting Tour’ by R. S. Surtees; Wm. Surtees Cook, relative of E. B. Browning; ‘Cook’s tour’ |
| HC | A. C. Okell | This parasite is literally without issue on the earth | sp on Ge; i.e. sea creature |
| HC | Miss A. M. Osmond | Here’s the ops. gen. Scramble, and wipe out your objective | anag. |
| HC | Rev E. B. Peel | Not Portia’s choice for a wedding cake | 2 mngs.; ref. Merchant of Venice I.2.105, “I’ll be married to a sponge”; s. cake |
| HC | T. E. Sanders | What a sucker, to get the positive and negative leads mixed in the wet accumulator | anag. of pos neg, 2 defs.; sucker = parasite |
| HC | J. E. Smith Wright | Just the thing to give one the gen. on ops., (mopping up variety) | anag. of gen ops |
| HC | F. L. Usher | No pegs come amiss to him if free | anag. & lit.; peg = measure of drink |
No Runners-Up in competition 54

