Newsgroups: rec.puzzles.crosswords
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From: sc@riacs.edu (Siddhartha Chatterjee)
Subject: ACC23 results (SPOILERS)
Message-ID: <1993May17.205345.7120@riacs.edu>
Followup-To: rec.puzzles.crosswords
Keywords: ACC23, results
Sender: news@riacs.edu
Organization: Research Institute for Advanced Computer Science
Date: Mon, 17 May 93 20:53:45 GMT
Lines: 240

The entries for ACC23 are in, and have been judged.  There were 16
entries, of which five were variations on the empty clue.  The winning
clue is:
		Lking hep for yo to solv it (7,1,4)
submitted by Ian Watson, who is available to moderate ACC24.

























Here is a complete list of entries, along with the authors'
explanations and my comments.

First, the empty clues.  

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                (7,1,4)
Uday Rajan (urajan@leland.stanford.edu)
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    (7,1,4)

Alan Waldock (ajw@guardian.intel.com)
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                 !(7,1,4)

Explanation: Self explanatory!

Ray Steiner (steiner@andy.bgsu.edu)
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 (7, 1, 4)
&lit, sort of.

Stuart  (sjm@bnr.ca)
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
My clue for without a clue is:

Warren Usui (aardvark@devnet.la.locus.com)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Comment: While this was a clever &lit, I had some nits to pick about
the proper way to write the clue.  I liked Ray Steiner's version best,
with the blank spaces and the exclamation point at the end.  I
consider Warren Usui's minimalist submission is incomplete, because it
leaves out even the (7,1,4) at the end.  This general idea would
probably work better in a full crossword.

And now, the rest of the entries, in the order that I received them.
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At a loss, having only a Scrabble and a Monopoly?  (7,1,4)


    At a loss = defn

    having only a Scrabble and a Monopoly implies that one
      is without a Clue (game)

Greg Lawler (jose@math.duke.edu)

Comment: A nice clue, but the use of the name of the game was
stretching it a bit, in my opinion.  A reasonable surface reading.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Confused White wandering around unpopular activist organization (7,1,4)
  def.   WHITE    anag   around   OUT            ACLU
= WITH(OUT ACLU)E = WITHOUT A CLUE

Ilana Stern (ilana@ncar.ucar.edu)

Comment: A nice solid clue.  I could quibble about whether White
needed to be capitalized, but that's a truly minor nit.  Overall, this
was my second choice.
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Wilt thou cure a poor unresisting know-nothing?  (7,1,4)

WILT THOU CURE A ,  unresisting = no resistance (- R)
(poor = anag. ind.)  -----> WITHOUT A CLUE
know-nothing (def.)

Amitai Halevi (chr04ha@vmsa.technion.ac.il)

Comment: Going from "unresisting" to "-R" is rather close to an
indirect anagram, but the bigger problem with the clue is that the
anagram indicator is in the middle of the phrase being anagrammed.
The surface reading raises interesting questions about the speaker.
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UNCLE DIRECTIONLESS (7,1,4)

And here's my idea how it should work:

UNCLE - Direction N = UCLE - anagram to 'CLUE'. That clue should suffice
to un-clue the necessary phrase.

I have not overlooked E being a valid compass point, 'CLU' is still a good
pointer if not a recognised word! Its left to the de-cluer to appreciate the
clue!

Shanthala (sm814504@longs.lance.colostate.edu)

Comment: This clue seems to be missing a definition.  It's possible to
take "directionless" as the definition, but then it would violate the
usual convention of not overlapping different parts of the clue.
There's also nothing that clues the "without a" part of the phrase.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Between me and you, this weird cult oath we have is stupid (7,1,4)

	W I THOUTACL U E
	between I and U, anagram CULT OATH, WE surrounding

Felix Lee (flee@guardian.cs.psu.edu)

Comment: Excellent surface meaning.  However, I think that "have" does
not indicate a surrounding word, and that using "I" for "me" is
improper, since it requires a change of case.  Also, there was no
clear delimiter for the anagrammed phrase.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
t se (7, 1, 4)

    Clue is "At sea" without the letter "A".  

Guy Jacobson (guy@ulysses.att.com)

Comment: This was a clue using the same trick as Ian Watson's winning
submission.  Using "without a" as an adjectival phrase seemed a little
awkward.  This was my pick for third place.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Bewildered --- left in a condition unable to play billiards (7,1,4)

    ["Bewildered" = "without a clue"; "left" = "L", "in" = direction
    to insert, "a condition unable to play billiards" = "without a
    cue"]

Brian C. Spollen (bcs@sc.harris.com)

Comment:  Great surface meaning, but it seemed like this was clueing
only the "cue" part of the phrase, with the "without a" going along
for a free ride.
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Branch holding revealed UCLA broke, incompetent (7,1,4)

	branch = WITHE
	holding = indication of container
	revealed = OUT (as in "the secret is ...")
	UCLA broke = anagram of UCLA = ACLU
	  hence, WITH[outaclu]E
	incompetent - definition

Tovah Hollander (tovah@onion.salad.mssm.edu)

Comment: It's unclear to me what the intended surface meaning is.  The
use of "withe" for "branch" is legal but obscure.  There were too many
things going on in this clue for my taste.
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No idea why there are no leads (7,1,4)

	No idea = WITHOUT A CLUE
	there are no leads = WITHOUT A CLUE

Chris Boek (boek@mullian.ee.mu.oz.au)

Comment: An interesting double definition clue.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lking hep for yo to solv it (7,1,4)

Explanation (as if one were needed) :
It's "Lacking help for you to solve it", only "without a,c,l,u,e"

Ian Watson (ian@hpopd.pwd.hp.com)

Comment: The winning clue.  Very inventive.  I liked the unusual
device and the &lit.  I would have preferred an exclamation point at
the end, but that's a minor detail.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's what Clouseau is (bumbling ass, with it)! (7,1,4)

  composite anagram ("it's what Clouseau" = "ass" + "without a clue")
  &lit. (Inspector Clouseau (of Peter Sellers' Pink Panther films)
  is clueless (as in stupid, but the phrase is apt,
  since he's a policeman))

Roger Phillips (roger@quantime.co.uk)

Comment: The image of Inspector Clouseau gives this clue a nice
surface reading.  However, the anagram indicator is in the middle of
the anagrammed phrase.  In addition, the phrase "with it" is the
antonym of the light, so its presence in the clue was a little
disconcerting.
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