Thanks to Ganesh Raman for hosting the contest.
A covert operation executed brilliantly, this contest elicited some really good clues. While most of the high-point scorers stuck to the reliable VOTER anagram because it allowed for clean political surface readings, the real wit came from the hidden word entries—specifically that “panic over the” construction. It was cool to see how a simple word can be approached from five different directions (anagrams, containers, acrostics, double defs, and hidden words) and still feel fresh depending on how much “flavour” the setter adds to the surface.
Top 10
| # | Name | Clue | Points | Voters | Anno | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Textrous | Corrupt voter going after a bit of cash under the table (6) | 29 | 11 | Def: under the table, Anagrind: Corrupt, a bit of Cash: C => OVERT* after C | – The surface would be improved by using a better anagrind, say “turning” – Good clue |
| 2 | Anne de Pimodan | Labour voter to support Conservative in secret (6) | 28 | 9 | *VOTER to support/beneath C = secret | – Very nice – Really like "Labour" for the anagrind – Like this – but is Labour a valid anagrind? |
| 3 | Abhay Phadnis | Panic over tattletale revealing secret (6) | 28 | 9 | pani[C OVER T]attletale – HIPS with “revealing” as the indicator; definition: “secret" | |
| 4 | Satyen Nabar | Secret desire to have a little romp (6) | 23 | 9 | COVET around R(omp); desire= covet, to have= container ind, a little= 1st letter selection ind, def= secret | |
| 5 | @qpheevr | Secret desire consuming Romeo (6) | 19 | 9 | COVE(R)T: ‘desire’ = COVET; ‘Romeo’ = R (NATO alphabet); ‘consuming’ = containment indic.; ‘secret’ = def. | – Good clue. |
| 6 | Nathan Townshend | Hidden report about Trump kicking ass! | 18 | 8 | Hidden = def; report about = cover; Trump kicking ass = T (delete rump) | – So funny. – Good wordplay. – "kicking ass" would just remove the last letter |
| 7 | VENKATESAN P | Cryptic lovers stripped in court (6) | 17 | 8 | Definition: Cryptic. Anno: [C{(-L)OVER(-S)}T] Stripped – Indicator to delete first' and last letters. Court – CT. | – Liked cryptic as definition. |
| 8 | Matthew Kaner | Cryptic compiler’s tip on the essence of setting? | 17 | 7 | C(“compiler’s tip”) + OVER(“on”) + T(“the essence of setTing”). Cryptic = covert | – Lovely clue. Not sure why the question mark is added. – Me likey. |
| 9 | Kalyan Bandyopadhyay | Secret hidden in relic over tomb (6) | 14 | 6 | Hidden word indicated by 'hidden in'. Definition: Secret. reliC OVER Tomb = COVERT | |
| 10 | Aashirwad | Secret sweetheart taking top off, straddled by consort on vacation (6) | 13 | 5 | Secret = definition; sweetheart taking top off = (-l)OVER; straddled by = insertion indicator; consort on vacation = CT | – “straddled by = insertion indicator” indeed! 😏 |
Congrats to the toppers and all those who participated.Over to Textrous 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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