1ACCWC - Results

1ACCWC#375 - CONTRACT

Total Clues: 45 Total Voters: 43

✓ Contest Closed - Final Results

# Name Clue Points Voters Anno Comments
1 Madhusudan H Leaders of China open new trade route after cancelling Taiwan's agreement (8) 60 30 Leaders : Acrostic Indicator, Defn : Agreement - It''s not easy to have an acrostic that long that still makes perfect surface sense; well done.
- Simple and elegant
2 Yossi Fendel Abridge?! 42 16 &lit - "Contract" is a bridge game - I love the idea, but "a bridge" doesn''t feel like it clues "a TYPE of bridge"
- Though the idea has been overused the wordplay is clever
3 Adman_i Shrink to get in touch about core therapy (8) 23 12 Shrink (Defn), To get in touch - Contact, core therapy - R ---
4 Debasmita Basu Shorten exposure to capture portraits, essentially (8) 21 12 Def:Shorten; exposure=contact, capture container indicator, portraits essentially=r - I really like this surface.
- Really like the photography surface here
5 Satyen Nabar Negotiate with leader of Russia in meeting (8) 21 11 R(-ussia) in CONTACT (meeting); defn= negotiate - Nice
- This was my favorite of this type of clue, but there were too many similar surfaces.
6 AMRITA MAJUMDAR Losing lead actor can mess with time and commitment (8) 15 10 {(-A) CTOR CAN }*+ T, COMMITMENT - def - Love the sense of "Losing lead actor" and how subtly "can mess" pairs with it.
7 Gayathri Viswanath Russia's leader in meeting for a pact (9) 15 9 Def - Pact, CONT(R)ACT ---
8 Aaron Riccio (@thatcrypticguy) Squeeze right into DM? (8) 13 7 "Squeeze" for CONTRACT; "R" for "right," inside of "CONTACT" for "DM" (direct message): CONT(R)ACT - Great surface!
9 Thejaswi Udupa Compact type of bridge 13 6 DD. - Compact surface, too; elegant.
- Have seen it so many times before . And I think they share the same root too
10 R Nagendra Prasad Right in touch for an agreement (8). 11 6 CONT(R)ACT ---
11 --- Put out a hit on Bond (8) 11 6 Double definition (from Chambers) 2. Bond, 8.Undertaking or agreement to kill(criminal slang). Reference James Bond 007. - Natural, smooth double.
12 --- Capture of Russian leader by Confederate leads to a treaty (8) 11 5 Russian leader = R in confederate = contact ---
13 --- Fraud on estate agreement 11 5 CON / TRACT = Estate, Agreement - definition ---
14 --- Opposite view about model agreement (8) 11 5 CONTRA opposite view C about T model def: agreement ---
15 --- Undertake to swindle large piece of land. (8) 9 7 Undertake=Def; CON (SWINDLE) + TRACT (LARGE PIECE OF LAND) - Sounds like the plot of a film; I''m in.
16 --- Bond's liaison welcomes the Premier of Russia (8) 9 6 Cont(R)act. Liaison = Contact. Welcomes = container indicator. The Premier of Russia = R. Def = Bond ---
17 --- Catch or a hit? (8) 9 6 Double definition. To catch can mean to contract (an illness) and a "hit" is a contract (to kill somebody) in organized crime. - Feels like the surface needs a little more, but I also admire the succinctness.
- Great DD; I think it would even work without "a"
- Supari...ha ha! Nice clue
18 --- Come to terms with shrink 9 5 double def - Very nice.
19 --- Scrutinize real estate deal (8) 8 5 con + tract; definition = deal ---
20 --- Agree to get purse for Bond (8) 8 4 Quadruple Definition - Agree, to Get, Purse (as in tighten) and Bond are all synonyms for contract - "Agree" doesn''t quite work for me but the other three are great!
- Ambitious--you did twice as much work as necessary.
21 --- Trick and plot to make a bond (8) 7 7 def:bond. trick=con, plot =tract. (con+tract) ---
22 --- Bond's crime district(8) 7 6 Bond as def/ crime is con/ district is tract ---
23 --- Bad actor has new court document to sign 7 6 N (new) inside ACTOR* + CT. def = "document to sign" ---
24 --- Undertake baffling case in court (8) 7 5 Definition: Undertake; case: Carton; baffling : anagrind; in: containment indicator; court: CT; (C{CARTON}*T): CONTRACT - Indirect anagram
- indirect anagram of ''carton''
- Love the surface, but the indirect anagram of "baffling CARTON" instead of "CASE" doesn''t work for me.
25 --- Genghis followed sound written agreement (8) 7 5 Khan + tracked homophone - If only he (and others warmongers like him) would!
- Khan and con are not homophones IMO
26 --- Tense bond with shrink (7) 6 4 Triple definition - Tense (as in, muscles contracted / tensed), bond, shrink (used in the therapist sense in the surface) - tense and shrink are the same meaning though.
27 --- Russian leader to get hold of pens to sign a treaty (8) 6 4 Def: to sign a treaty (Contract as a verb), Russian leader=R, to get hold of=CONTACT, CONTACT pens, i.e. encloses R ---
28 --- Bond criminal caught picking up paintings [8] 6 4 criminal = CON; caught = CT (PS. Ct and C are both valid abbreviations of caught); picking up paintings = taking back ART = TRA. Definition: BOND ---
29 --- Catch prisoner by finesse, subduing resistance (8) 6 4 def = catch, CON (prisoner) + TACT (finesse) around R (resistance) ---
30 --- Prison yard? 5 4 Attempted CD. Con tract - an area for prisoners to be outdoors. - What is the definition? Prison yard = con tract but not contract
31 --- Narcotic prepared with a bit of tramadol. No one to deal! (8) 5 3 (NARCOTIC+T-I)*. Def: to deal ---
32 --- Shrink is endlessly on track in Connecticut (8) 4 4 Shrink (definition) = ON TRAC ("endlessly on track") inside CT ("Connecticut") - I like the wordplay, but it''s hard to see that "endlessly" refers to "on track" as a phrase instead of the component parts.
33 --- Fiddle with circular arrangement (8) 4 3 CON(fiddle)+ TRACT(circular as in leaflet) . Def: Arrangement ---
34 --- Hustle plot deal {8} 4 2 Hustle : Con plot : tract Deal : CONTRACT ---
35 --- A Carl Sagan book about Romeo hiring an assassin. (8) 3 2 CONTACT (Carl Sagan book) about R (NATO alphabet Romeo). Definition: informal, to hire an assassin is to contract them. - Cute concept, but "hiring an assassin" would suggest "contracting"
- Good surface, but the definition ("hiring...") doesn''t grammatically agree with CONTRACT; maybe it can be a gerund ("hiring of an assassin")?
- Hiring an assassin would be ''contracting''?
- Wouldn''t it be contracting , then ?
36 --- Content of market cart no customer returned - that's a bargain (8) 3 2 Def: That's a bargain. Reverse telescopic. Content of: Telescopic indicator. Returned: reversal indicator. T CART NO C << - Surface strains a bit, but that''s a nice find (and literally so)
37 --- Pact shown on slide in C-Span 2 2 def: Pact ; shown (connector) ON slide in (insert) C span TRACT = C[ON]TRACT - Span = TRACT, in the context of C-SPAN is very clever, but it''d be "on" C-SPAN, not "in" it.
- This would ruin the surface but grammatically I think it would have to be "ON sliding in..." or "ON slides in..."
38 --- Carton broken during vacation of court obligation 2 2 *carton in CT, Definition: obligation ---
39 --- Treaty offset without disheartened Ukraine (8) 2 1 Def: Treaty - COUNTERACT-UE offset = counteract, U(KRAIN)E ---
40 --- Don't counteract until evitable beginners leave to shrink..(8) 2 1 Don't is anagrind for counteract, until evitable beginners leave ( minus u and e), shrink is the definition. - Does not need anagramming - COUNTERACT -U -E directly gives CONTRACT
- Had a bit of trouble following the surface sense, sorry!
41 --- Shrink, caught engaging in narco deal, served time 2 1 Def = shrink, [anagram of Ct (caught) & Narco] + T (time) ---
42 --- Wheelbarrow goes back after working in court to find the middle ground(8) 1 1 Defn: To find the middle ground; Wheelbarrow=Cart; Goes back=Reversal indicator; Working=On; Court=CT. ANNO: (C(on)(cart<--)t) ---
43 --- Deal against law's right? On the contrary 1 1 Con (rt<=) act def:deal ---
44 --- add Royal touch to squeeze (8) 1 1 def: to squeeze - clue: insert R in CONTACT ---
45 --- Cheat counterfeiting art? Case of complicit cut (8) 0 0 CON (ART)* CompliciT; Definition: Cut (as in, to shorten a word or phrase) ---