Thanks to Aashirwad for hosting the contest.
With a versatile word having many synonyms, this week’s contest saw strong participation, with 30 entries in total.
Multiple contestants went directly for references to royalty in their clues. Others opted for misdirection, with common ideas including TV networks, murders, Republican bullies and contests with trophies. There were a number of telescopic clues and at least one very good acrostic in the mix.
Reviewers left comments focusing on the setters’ cryptic grammar, i.e. the appropriate placement of cryptic indicators in relation to fodder elements. Many high-scoring clues read well on the surface level but contained grammatical flaws on the cryptic level.
Congratulations to the toppers and all the best for next week.
Top 10
| # | Name | Clue | Points | Voters | Anno | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ganesh Raman | Carlos wins every other trophy | 39 | 13 | Alternate letter selection (CaRlOs WiNs); indicator EVERY OTHER; Def TROPHY | – Grammar is lacking in the letter selection indicator – Simply brilliant! – Good clue – The letter selection indicator seems misplaced |
| 2 | Ruskin | Worn awkwardly on Charlie’s head? | 32 | 11 | Anag of WORN on Charlie’s head = C; def = whole clue (&lit) | – Probably the best of the lot – Topical, succinct, great surface – Shouldn't have used Charlie, otherwise this is a winner |
| 3 | Kalyan Bandyopadhyay | Part of a murder investigation finally complete (5) | 29 | 11 | CROW (part of a murder, ‘a murder’ is the collective noun for Crows) + N (final letter of investigatioN). Def.: Complete (Crown as verb, to be the culmination of efforts; Ref.: Collins, MW, Oxford) | – Excellent clue – Even better well-bowled. |
| 4 | Ramki Krishnan | Part of a murder plan – finally becoming king (5) | 27 | 11 | CROW (part of a murder) + N (plan finally), def = king | – If only the surface was somewhat plausible – Well-bowled. |
| 5 | Abhay Phadnis | Originally, Cleopatra's regal ornaments were not a symbol of monarchy (5) | 17 | 8 | Acrostic with "originally" as indicator; definition: "a symbol of monarchy" | – A+ acrostic – Liked the acrostic clue. |
| 6 | ALP | Top TV network badmouthed by Trump gutted over dispute (5) | 16 | 5 | C[N]N, over/containing ROW = (to) top/cap | |
| 7 | @qpheevr | Transatlantic row nearly embroils head of state (5) | 15 | 7 | Telescopic; def. ‘head of state’ | |
| 8 | Textrous | Republican bully brought about the end of Iranian ruler (5) | 14 | 7 | def: ruler, Republican: R, Bully: COW (v), brought about: indicates that COW is brought about R, the end of Iranian: N | – Great idea – I just struggle with the position of R in the clue – A nice topical angle, but ‘brought about’ is in the wrong place to work as a containment indicator |
| 9 | Mona Sogal | Public row now engulfing summit (5) | 14 | 6 | Telescopic/ embedded word in the fodder/ engulfing is the telescopic indicator | |
| 10 | @LowdownCryptic | Ignoring the odds, score or win title (5) | 14 | 6 | sCoReOrWiN | – A technically correct clue, but “or” kind of ruins the surface |
Congrats to the toppers and all those who participated.Over to Ganesh Raman for the next contest.
If you have any comments or feedback on the contest or the new 1ACCWC app. or any suggestions, please leave a comment and I shall try and incorporate it.
Here’s the link to the full results
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