                      ACC66:  Final results

All the clues have been received and judged.  The winning clue was:

   The mirthful Fergie and Di, and those two grasping leaders of York and
   Wales -- four foes, hurt by idle talk's inaccuracy? (3, 5, 5, 2, 7) 

by Kevin Wald, who will be unable to accept moderatorship of ACC67.

Matthew Merzbacher, with the runner-up clue

   Circles hold the corners at Reversi (7)

has graciously consented to run the next contest in this series.

All the clues received were, at least, what I'd consider
reasonably good clues, usually leaving me to designate winners 
and runners-up on the basis of somewhat minor technical flaws
and my own particular preferences in clue styles.  

The complete list of clues, (in the order that I received them, in 
case you're curious), authors' explanations, and my comments 
(prefixed with a ">") for ACC66.  Winner designated with **, 
runners-up with *.

If you wish to correspond with me regarding these results, you'd
best do so via e-mail (bcs@sc.harris.com).  I am currently able
to send articles to rec.puzzles.crosswords, but am unable to receive
them.

The clues for ACC66 (without explanations):
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Circles hold the corners at Reversi (7)
Archie and Jughead, in front of Veronica, lose 1-100 to Bill's speedy 
   play (3,9,2,6)
If king and lady strikes match, be they bloody murderers? (7)
The mirthful Fergie and Di, and those two grasping leaders of York and
   Wales -- four foes, hurt by idle talk's inaccuracy? (3, 5, 5, 2, 7) 
Antonio, Italian trader (3,8,2,6).
Return to the devil's land wearing a halo for a challenging match
   of darkness and light. (7)
Play hell (too disturbed to contain it) (7)
Polo, perhaps, played dramatically? (3,8,2,6)
Sounds more regal than playful (4,4)
Wealthy hermit is Pumbaa's Greek friend? (5,2,6)
Tschaikowsky opus 51 permeates exotic June dream, too (5,3,6)
Use yardstick as rule to assess for size  (7,3,7)

Bonus clues for ACC66 (without explanations):
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Robin Goodfellow's nocturnal fancy in August (1,9,6,5)
Play by ear after Elvis reaches fifty (4,4)
Play ball to lose? Our shortstop's very corrupt. (5,7,4)
Irish son wagered initial hand on Scotsman (7)
Half stalking, half learning -- he's no fool (4, 4)
A seasonal story ? (3,7,4)
Does his peddling out of a gondola ? (3, 9,2,6)
Twain relates changing a Christmas account.
--------------------------------------------------------------------



The clues for ACC66 (with explanation, and my comments):
--------------------------------------------------------------------
OTHELLO:

* Circles hold the corners at Reversi (7)

  Circles	=	OO
  hold		= 	container indicator
  the		=	THE
  corners	=	LL (a corner is an L, so corners are multiple Ls)
  		=>	O(THE LL)O
  Reversi	=	defn.

> Frankly, I'm apparently not world-wise enough to be familiar with
> "Reversi", but I'll accept the cluer's implied assertion that it's 
> another name for the board game, "Othello".  As such, nicely done; 
> the surface captures a popular (and mostly successful) strategy of 
> the game.  Cryptically, a solid construction, with the imaginative
> "corner" tactic, with which I had been previously unaccustomed, but
> enjoyed nevertheless.  A runner-up, by Matthew Merzbacher.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA:

Archie and Jughead, in front of Veronica, lose 1-100 to Bill's speedy play
(3,9,2,6)

       Archie and Jughead = TWO GENTLEMEN (!)
                 in front = comes before...
                       of = OF
     Veronica, lose 1-100 = VERONICA without I-C
                       to = to give...
       Bill's speedy play = definition (2GoV has a character named Speed)

> What, no Reggie?  Surface has a great them, with the exception of
> "Bill" --- a Riverdale denizen who I, at least, am unfamiliar with.
> I'll go with the cryptic part, but I'm not entirely satisfied with 
> the definition:  the "Bill" reference is clever, but, whereas there 
> is a character named Speed, he's not exactly the focal point of the 
> play (indeed, he pretty much disappears after the beginning of the 
> fourth act; I think I'd have preferred "protean play").  Given the 
> nature of the definition and the questionable gentlemanliness of 
> Archie and Jughead, a question mark at the end of the clue would 
> not have been inappropriate.  
--------------------------------------------------------------------
MACBETH:

If king and lady strikes match, be they bloody murderers? (7)

Answer: Macbeth

king -> def.
lady -> aux. def. (lady macbeth)
bloody murderers -> fun ref to the lovely pair and indirectly to the play
strikes -> anagram
match be -> fodder

The surface style is also (very) slightly shakespearean

> I guess the "be they" sounds slightly Shakespearean (actually, it
> sounds a little more like pirate-talk to me).  There's some 
> significant awkwardness in the "king and lady strikes"; according
> to the rules of English I know, that should be "strike" (either that,
> or the "and" should be an "or").  I don't really think "king and lady" 
> is sufficient as a definition; coupling it with "bloody murderers" 
> makes it a little better, but not quite enough. 
--------------------------------------------------------------------
THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR:

** The mirthful Fergie and Di, and those two grasping leaders of York and
Wales -- four foes, hurt by idle talk's inaccuracy? (3, 5, 5, 2, 7) 
      
      The mirthful Fergie and Di? = THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR

      leaders of York and Wales = YW
      four = IV
      hurt = anagram indicator
      foes (anagrammed) = ESOF
      idle talk's = WIND'S
      YWIVESOF by WINDS = YWIVESOFWINDS
      inaccuracy = ERROR
      grasping YWIVESOFWINDS, ERROR = ERRYWIVESOFWINDSOR
      those two = THEM
      THEM + ERRYWIVESOFWINDSOR = THEMERRYWIVESOFWINDSOR

> An admirable clue, for the most part.  I'm particularly fond of
> the punny definition.  The surface is a bit lengthy; then again,
> there are 22 letters to clue, and the "leaders of York and Wales"
> necessitated by the cryptic meshes in very nicely with the "Fergie
> and Di".  The only complaint that I have is with the "grasping ...,
> error" cryptic construct:  without a comma preceding "inaccuracy" 
> in the clue itself, it would more naturally imply that "them"
> grasps "ywivesofwindsorerror".  The winner, by Kevin Wald
--------------------------------------------------------------------
THE MERCHANT OF VENICE:

Antonio, Italian trader (3,8,2,6).

This double definition doesn't really need explanation.

> Yes it does.  Lacking an actual explanation, I'm left to guess that
> the first definition --- Antonio --- defines the name of play in
> which he is the title character, and second definition --- "Italian 
> trader" --- is a generic equivalent of the phrase.  As such, it borders
> on being a double definition in which the two definitions aren't all 
> that different, and the surface reading, while okay, is really 
> rather similar to the two definitions, as far as I'm concerned.
> There's nothing "illegal" about any of this, but neither does
> it seem to be too intellectually stimulating.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
OTHELLO:
 
* Return to the devil's land wearing a halo for a challenging match
of darkness and light. (7)
 
Return TO = OT
the devil's land = HELL
wearing a halo = add O
for = connector
a challenging match of darkness and light = OTHELLO (the board game)

> Wonderful (and utterly non-theatrical) surface reading; perhaps
> a little lengthy, given the relatively short play title involved.
> The definition is clever; accurate without being overly obvious in
> its intended sense of "board game".  Good, efficient cryptic. 
> A runner-up by Jason Y. Kim.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
OTHELLO: 

Play hell (too disturbed to contain it) (7)

OT(HELL)O

Play = Def.
hell = HELL
too -> OTO
disturbed = Anag. Indic.
to contain it = Containment Indic.

> Good job of making "play" not sound theatrical, although the resulting
> definition is pretty sparse.  The cryptic pieces are all in good
> order.  The surface is okay, but, to me, seems to lack something.
> Perhaps it's the lack of a true noun that either plays hell or 
> is played hell with.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
THE MERCHANT OF VENICE:

Polo, perhaps, played dramatically? (3,8,2,6)

    ----
   THE MERCHANT OF VENICE

     < [Marco] Polo, merchant venturer to the court of Cathay etc >
                     --------
> Good definition (or, rather, good use of the duality of the word
> "Polo", wisely placed at the front of the clue) and surface.  I can
> see what the cluer is getting at with "played dramatically", but it
> still feels too indirect to me, even with the question mark. 
--------------------------------------------------------------------
KING LEAR:

Sounds more regal than playful (4,4)

Sounds = homophone indicator
more regal = kinglier
playful = indirect reference to play

KING LEAR

> Not too bad a homophone, although "kinglier" has one more syllable
> than "King Lear", at least when I pronounce it.  The use of 
> "playful" is clever, but more indirect than I care for.  Nice
> surface.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
TIMON OF ATHENS:

Wealthy hermit is Pumbaa's Greek friend? (5,2,6)
--------------    ++++++++++++++++++++++

Wealthy hermit = 'Timon of Athens', a formally-rich man who goes broke
                 and finds that his "friends" have deserted him.  He 
                 becomes a hermit, and while digging to find roots for
                 food, discovers a wealth of gold.

Pumbaa's Greek friend =
                 Pumbaa's friend is Timon (from "The Lion King",
                 accent on the second syllable)
                 Greek  = "of Athens"
> Clever to capitalize on that certain Disney movie (good thing for
> you my kids spent months singing "Hakuna Matada" :-); the straight
> definition, "wealthy hermit", though, isn't descriptive enough
> on its own.  Too, it's debatable whether Timon, in his "hermit
> mode", truly accepted the gold as his own, and would accurately be
> called "wealthy".  In short, I think I'd have preferred "Hermit
> who discovered gold" as the definition portion.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
ROMEO AND JULIET:

* Tschaikowsky opus 51 permeates exotic June dream, too (5,3,6)

        Tschaikowsky opus        definition (the so-called Fantasy-Overture
                                            *Romeo and Juliet*)
        51                       LI
        permeates                container signal
        exotic                   anagram signal for JUNEDREAMTOO
          ROMEO AND JU(LI)ET

        Hope I got you thinking of another play, for a moment.

> Sure, for a moment; but long enough to check the end-of-clue letter 
> count.  Good clue --- the surface is just smooth enough to keep
> the anagram part from standing out too obviously, and the cryptic
> parts go togther properly without extraneous words.  Is there an
> actual, published Op. 51 by Tchaikovsky (sp?) --- it looks to me 
> like he composed only 32 major works in his entire lifetime, and
> a "real work" would have been preferable (although is only a minor
> flaw in my book).   A runner-up, by Jake Bergmann
--------------------------------------------------------------------
MEASURE FOR MEASURE:

Use yardstick as rule to assess for size  (7,3,7)

Use yardstick = MEASURE; as = FOR; rule = MEASURE
Assess for size is MEASURE FOR MEASURE and is the definition.
But come to think of it, both phrases are interchangeably
definitions. Guess it is a "double definition" clue then.:-)
I do not know if Divine Brown did this when she gave Hugh
Grant a 6 out of ten in the tools department!:-)

> The pieces all go together, cryptically at least.  However, I don't
> really think of either part as an actual definition --- as far as
> I can tell, this clue is composed of two "charade" cryptics (that
> is, neither part *defines* either Shakespeare's play or the phrase
> "measure for measure", meaning "in compensation for") --- I wouldn't
> use the title/phrase in the kind of literal, measurement-oriented
> senses that you've used (as a definition, that is).
--------------------------------------------------------------------
THE WINTER'S TALE:

Twain relates changing a Christmas account.

Explanation:  Twain relates  -- anagram
                    Changing -- anagram indicator
                    A Christmas account - definition

Solution -- A Winter's Tale

> Despite the slightly unnatural flow of the "relates changing"
> part, the surface is pretty good.  The definition is a possible
> synonym for the play's title; as such, it's passable.  But it
> bears no relation to Shakespeare's play, which had nothing to
> do with Christmas (Leontes' consultation with an oracle of
> Apollo would lead one to conclude that the play is set in a
> pre-Christian era), or even winter, in a literal sense.  By the
> way, according to my volume of the Bard's works, the title starts
> with "The" rather than "A".
--------------------------------------------------------------------

BONUS CLUES:
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Robin Goodfellow's nocturnal fancy in August (1,9,6,5)

Puck aka Robin Goodfellow, a rougish sprite wreaked havoc one summer's night.

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM

YAP Yok-Foo 
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Play by ear after Elvis reaches fifty (4,4)

(KING L)EAR

Play = Def.
by = Link word
ear = EAR
after = Charade Indic.
Elvis = KING
reaches = Charade Indic.
fifty = L

---

Play ball to lose? Our shortstop's very corrupt. (5,7,4)

LOVES LABOURS LOST

Play = Def.
ball to lose Our ->  LOE LABOUR LOST
shortstop = SS
very = V
corrupt = Anag. Indic.

Chris Rimmer

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Irish son wagered initial hand on Scotsman (7)

Irish son = MAC (one of the reasons I submit this as a bonus clue is
		that I reckon not too many people know the Irish
		language (Gaeilge).   
		Interestingly, names such as MacMahon, McCormack etc
		with the leading Mc, Mac mean "Son of Mahon" etc)
wagered = BET
initial hand = H

MACBETH

Una Kirby

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Half stalking, half learning -- he's no fool (4, 4)

Half stalking = 'King'
Half learning = 'Lear'
'He's no fool' = Well, he isn't.  The Fool is the smart one, and 
                 King Lear isn't so smart.

C. J. Burke
--------------------------------------------------------------------
1. A seasonal story ? (3,7,4)
        THE WINTER'S TALE

2. Does his peddling out of a gondola ? (3, 9,2,6)
        THE MERCHANT OF VENICE

Kamal A. Shah
--------------------------------------------------------------------
  
Yours, in moderation,
Brian Spollen
