                      ACC84:  Final results

All the clues have been received (well, as far as I know) and judged.  
The winning clue was:

   Does "root cap" regularly mean "third blade"? (7)

whose author, Kevin Wald, has accepted moderatorship of the next
round.

Judging was done on the basis of both the usual cryptic
criteria (pleasing surface reading, freedom from technical
flaws) as well as adherence to the special restriction for
this contest --- which, in case you don't recall, required
contestants to write a clue which could be found on Wild Bill
O'Spanner's botany test, while yielding an answer that is the
name of a bone in the human body.

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 ACC84.  Winner designated with **,
honorable mentions with *.


CLUES only:
 
Explain separation of plant and animal origins in lab dish. (7)
Treat maple rot with regard to temple structure (8)
Transplant roses and Buddleia I left out; with third, and final, mulch
   across the back (8-6)
First, clamp squash via cells held between the blades (9)
Between reproductive enclosure and stalk, therein berried, (or nut)
   extraction. (7)
Is this why variegated petal has the French on their knees? (7)
Gladiolus body twists run in stem (7)
Root, not unknown to us, that exemplifies largely calcareous tissue (6)
Does "root cap" regularly mean "third blade"? (7)
Supports researching incredible botanical subject's origins (4)
Bone matter's part ingredient in soil (7)
Half of mandrake root less edible: what aids chewing? (8)

BONUS CLUES:

Cacti I lop off in area just above the neck   (9)
Trace a palm hybrid referring to this handy section  (10)
Tall pea hybrid found in most important ski joints ?      (7)
Ruthlessly remove uniform stem, supporting and turning head (4)



Clues, explanations, and critiques:

--------------------

Explain separation of plant and animal origins in lab dish. (7)

Explain=TELL
separation of=container indicator.  "TELL" is literally the separation in...
plant and animal origins=PAA
lab dish=PA(TELL)A.  Patella generally can refer to any shallow pan, more
specifically to a laboratory dish, and more to the point of the contest is
the bone familiarly known as the kneecap or kneepan.

> It certainly has a test question-like sense about it, at first 
> glance.  My second glance, though, is a little more disappointing:
> as far as I know, life on this planet didn't originate in glassware,
> as the clue seems to imply.  To me, anyway.  The other flaw is that 
> the definition runs afoul of the cryptic-clue convention of avoiding 
> use of a word's etymological root, and "patella" derives from the 
> Latin "little dish".
--------------------

Treat maple rot with regard to temple structure (8)

SOLUTION: TEMPORAL (one of the skull bones)
EXPLANATION:
  Treat = Anagram indicator
  Maple Rot = Anagram fodder
  with regard to temple structure = TEMPORAL

> This clue sounds more like a directive to a preservationist than
> one of Wild Bill O'Spanner's test questions.  I'm a little skittish
> about accepting "temporal" without "bone" as the name of a bone.
> "Treat" is an adequate anagram indicator, although I'm not overly
> enthused by it.
--------------------

Transplant roses and Buddleia I left out; with third, and final, mulch
across the back (8-6)

Transplant roses and Buddleia I left out
 <anag>    ROSES         BUDDLE[I]A
with third, and final, mulch 
                    [MU]L[C]H
across the back (8-6)
SHOULDER-BLADES

I hope mulch is ok in US - it's a very common gardening term here.

> "Mulch" is fine in US (it's my rationale for not raking up the 
> clippings after I mow my lawn!).  The clue's a bit on the lengthy
> side and too cryptically complex (anagram, subtraction, addition)
> for my taste, and the surface seems less a test question than
> the page of the diary of an Applied Botanist.  Or a gardener.
--------------------

* First, clamp squash via cells held between the blades (9)

First, clamp = C
squash = anagram indicator
via cells = LAVICLES
held between the blades =
CLAVICLES, attached on both sides of your sternum to your shoulder blades

> From page 124 of O'Spanner's "Beginning Botany Lab Exercises",
> no doubt.  It would seem to me that it would be exceedingly 
> difficult to clamp anything at the cellular level; otherwise, a
> good clue in all aspects.  Honorable mention to the author, 
> Merlyn LeRoy.
--------------------

Between reproductive enclosure and stalk, therein berried, (or nut)
extraction. (7)

"Between reproductive enclosure [FLOWER] and stalk" = "stem"
"therein berried" =  "'buried' in"
"(or nut) extraction." = "rnu"

"rnu"+"buried in"+"stem" = "sternum" (7).

And...if that wasn't enough, the sentence itself:

Between Reproductive Enclosure And Stalk Therein Berried Or Nut Extraction

spells "breastbone".

> Hmm.  Clever, but clunky --- the clue scans very unsmoothly.
> I may be dense, but where does "flower" come into play?  And I
> don't really see a valid definition of "sternum" anywhere.  The
> author admitted that he's a cryptic rookie who may not have met
> the requirements; I tend to agree.
--------------------

Is this why variegated petal has the French on their knees? (7)

Variegated = anag indicator
petal (anag) = PATEL
the French = LA
PATEL has LA = PATELLA = kneecap

> If this is supposed to be an &lit, the definition has extraneous
> elements; if the definition is "on their knees", it would more
> properly define "patellae" or "patellas" (depending on how Latin
> one feels), wouldn't it?
--------------------

Gladiolus body twists run in stem (7)

Gladiolus body    STERNUM definition
twists run        RNU
in stem           STE(RNU)M

> Concise and botanical-sounding, to be sure.  However, although
> O'Spanner's students ought to know botanical arcana, neither I
> nor any typical solver ought to --- and a trip to four different
> (respectible, in my opinion) dictionaries failed to turn up this
> definition of "sternum" (I don't doubt that this defintion may
> exist; it's just that I don't think it's fair to the typical
> solver).
--------------------

* Root, not unknown to us, that exemplifies largely calcareous tissue (6)

Explanation:  "Root" == RADIX
              "not unknown" -- remove X (unknown) from RADIX
              "to us" -- add RADI to US ==> RADIUS
              A bone is a lergely calcareous tissue and RADIUS is an
              example of a bone.         
       
The above clue could be a "answer in one word" kind of a question in the 
flawed botany test.

> I should think it's a pretty rare plant the root of which is 
> highly calcified.  Nice cryptic; sufficiently bony definition,
> and properly denoted as an "example" type.  Honorable mention for
> Navin Kashyap.
--------------------

** Does "root cap" regularly mean "third blade"? (7)

      blade? = SCAPULA (the shoulder blade)

      Does root = lowest part of "does" = S
      regularly mean third = middle third of "regularly" = ULA
      S + CAP + ULA = SCAPULA

   The root cap is "the protective cap of parenchyma cells that covers
   the terminal meristem in most root tips" (Webster's 10th Collegiate);
   a blade is a leaf (particularly that of an herb or grass). Thus, the
   answer to the question is "No".

> Yowza!  Tough but fair --- I'm particularly fond of the "mean
> third" technique, with "mean"'s cryptic meaning not meaning what
> "mean" does in the surface, if you know what I mean.  It certainly
> sounds like a test question.  Lots of deceptive quotation marks,
> which I, anyway, regard as valid clue devices.  The winning clue
> is from Kevin Wald.
--------------------

* Supports researching incredible botanical subject's origins (4)

Answer:  RIBS
Acrostic clue.  "origins" is indicator; Supports = definition of RIBS

> Reads more like part of a grant application than something on a 
> test.  Definition and cryptic are adequate but, as so often happens
> with an acrostic, the surface doesn't scan without some bumpines (which
> brings us back to that grant application).  Still, it's worth an
> an honorable mention to John Hakemian (leave it to "sailorjn" to use
> the most nautical-sounding bone!).
--------------------

Bone matter's part ingredient in soil (7)

Defn          mattER  incl.      HUMUS => HUM(ER)US

I know it's more horticultural than botanical, but I was attracted by 
the bone meal surface.

> Technically, humus is a constituent of soil, and so isn't truly
> its synonym.  I'm not attracted to the arbitrariness of "part"
> (just how *much* of a part of "matter"?).  The definition is of the
> "example" type; it would have benefitted from some sort of 
> indication of such (although, with bones, this is perhaps less
> crucial than broader topics).
--------------------

Half of mandrake root less edible: what aids chewing? (8)
	Half of mandrake - MAND
	root less edible - IBLE ("edible" rootless)
	what aids chewing? - MANDIBLE, the jawbone (definition)

> I can't say as I like equating "root less" to "rootless", and,
> in any case, it's pretty arbitrary as well:  I might buy "rootless"
> to truncate the last letter from a word, but not some unspecified
> number of letters.  The surface would seem more suited to the
> final exam of "Creative Cuisine 102".


BONUS CLUES:



Cacti I lop off in area just above the neck   (9)

OCCIPITAL
Cacti I lop = anagram fodder
off = anagram indicator
area just above the neck = definition of occipital

(from Paula Tanous)

--------------------

Trace a palm hybrid referring to this handy section  (10)

METACARPAL
Trace a palm = anagram fodder
hybrid = anagram indicator
referring to this handy section = definition of metacarpal

(from Paula Tanous)

--------------------

Tall pea hybrid found in most important ski joints ?      (7)

SOLUTION:  PATELLA

tall pea = anagram fodder
hybrid = anagram indicator
found in most important ski joints = definition of patella (knee) 
joints, which are the most important for skiing.

This is actually my favorite clue... but think you may not accept the 
"definition"... I wonder if it is an &lit clue??
(from Paula Tanous)

--------------------

Ruthlessly remove uniform stem, supporting and turning head (4)
	Ruthlessly remove - AX
	uniform - IS (is-, variant of iso-)
	stem supporting and turning head - AXIS, the vertebra on which the head turns

(From Gail Koontz)

--------------------

Yours in moderation,
Brian Spollen

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brian C. Spollen                          | Internet:bcs@sc.harris.com
Harris Electronic Design Automation, Inc. | I express my opinions, not Harris's
Fishers, New York 14453                   | "Taste makes Waist"
