Subj:	ACC87 Results, winners and comments

Well, I'm glad that's over!

Lets start with the list of winners:

Pos Name                       Number of winning clues
1   Bill Shatzer               5
2   Karen Lingel               4
3=  Kevin Wald                 2
3=  Matthew Merzbacher         2
3=  Gail Koontz                2
6=  Ed Coulson                 1
6=  Jake Bergmann              1
6=  David Bullock              1

Congratulations to Bill, who like a surprising few actually entered a
clue for every word. He's only entered three contests so far and I
couldn't convince him to moderate. Perhaps in a few contests time
Bill? Karen has agreed to moderate (which saves Kevin Wald from
moderating again!)

I didn't really choose an overall winning clue (too many to choose
from, but I'll mark the ones I really liked with a *). Moderators
comments are preceeded by >.

What follows are the best clues for each word, along with any other
clues I feel interesting enough to talk about. Please remember that
these comments are very personal, and you almost certainly won't agree
with them. Sorry to those of you whose clues missed the boat and
congratulations to the winners.

Another point, I haven't spellchecked this document, or done much more
than a brief proofread. Please forgive any spelling
mistakes/typos/grammatical errors/ramblings.

1. HUTS
1 Housing units that suffice initially! (4)

  Housing units that suffice = fodder
  initially                  = acronym indicator
  entire clue is defn. (&lit)

> Nice, simple, clean and that very rare thing -- a real &lit.

A similar styled clue came from Bill Shatzer:

Earliest houses; unheated temporary shelters? (4)

    Earliest     houses;  unheated   temporary   shelters?
(the first of)  (H)ouses;(U)nheated,(T)emporary (S)helters;
&lit.

> Both very good. I just thought the surface and overall definition
> was slightly better in Matthew's clue.

CHILLI

>I got myself in trouble with this word. As many of you kindly pointed
>out. The most common spelling of Chilli is 'chili' in the states. Ah
>well. It didn't matter too much and I hope chilli was easier to clue.

The winner was Ed Coulson:

3.  Cold one comes with hot food (6)
    CHILL+I.  The surface meaning of "cold one" is the slang for
    beer, though this may be primarily American usage. 

> I was familliar with cold one for beer (everyone seemed to need to 
> explain every bit of Americanism after my spelling of chilli labelled me
> a Brit). The surface made me not worry too much about the 'comes with'.
> Noone really seemed to do the cold/hot stuff brilliantly though
> although almost everyone tried.

7. NOISELESSLY
> I thought that this one would be tough, but we had some great clues. Jake
> Bergmann edged it with

Number one tennis player-- tricky, but without a smash (11)

   number               NO
   one                  I
   tennis player        (Monica) SELES
   tricky               SLY
   without a smash      definition

>A great charade. With the added advantage of the possible 'anagram of
>TENNIS PLAYER without the A' alternative interpretation. I also like
>the "without a smash" as the definition. It fits in well to the 
>surface and is suffiently distracting. This clue gets a *

>The next best clue also involved SELES, and an alternative tennis, 
>lack of noise definiton, from Bill Shatzer:

Tennis star Monica is only playing around without a racket. (11)

tennis star Monica = Seles, as in Monica Seles
is only = anagram fodder
playing = anagram indicator
around = around "Seles"
without a racket = definition.

>This was was another excellent clue (and there were more for this
>word), narrowly losing becuase of slightly inferior surface (IMHO),
>and because I had plenty of anagrams, or partial anagrams already.
>Please don't go claiming it was because I though racket was spelt
>wrongly :-)

9 GAMBLE

>Bill Shatzer game up with the winner here:

"Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." he said, taking a
minute to place a wager. (6)

"Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." he said = (Clark) GABLE
taking a minute = adding "M"
to place a wager = definition
GA+M+BLE

>Slightly long, but it needs to be, this clue added a nice variation to
>the puzzle. It's probably a bit too easy, but so what?
>One other clue stood out here, from Matthew Merzbacher:

Strategy of Risk game is to hold Brazil at end (6)
  Strategy of Risk = defn.
  game             = GAME
  is to hold       = charade indicator
  Brazil at end    = BL -> GAM(BL)E

>Nice surface, but I wasn't really sure about the definition, but the
>Brazil at end = BL let it down. The B is definitely at the start, ends
>or extremes perhaps, but I don't think 'end' is fair on the solver

10 FOWL

>Gail Koontz won here:

Mouthy, smelly bird (4)
 Mouthy - homophone indicator
 smelly - FOUL > FOWL
 bird - definition of FOWL

>This wasn't actually my favourite clue for this word, but it was close
>and I needed another homophone. I particularly liked the unusual
>homophone indicator, and the imagery in the surface. It also goes very
>well with the next clue, and could almost be one sentence.

>My favourite clue was a charade from Kevin Wald:

Loud bird (e.g., chicken or duck) (4)

     e.g., chicken or duck = FOWL

     Loud = F (musical notation)
     bird = OWL

>I much prefer Kevins definition, and in fact i deliberated over
>FOWL=BIRD for quite a while. I eventually found a definition where
>FOWL means bird in things like guineafowl etc. quite old, but I
>suppose valid. A lot of you did it anyway. Unfortunately for Kevin I
>already had too many charades. Still it deserves a *.

11 ECHO

>Gail weighed in with this clue too. It links well with the previous
>one, and I love the imagery of the surface: It gets a *

Parrot is part of jungle choir (4)
 Parrot - definition of ECHO
 is - connector
 part of - hidden word indicator
 jungle choir - hiding place for E-CHO

>Nice unusual definition, nice surface. Don't mind the extra 'is' at all.
>Karen Lingel came up with the same defintion in her clue:
>Parrot and ape (4), which whilst nice using those animals is a double
>definition from the same meaning. It could equally (and probably
>better) be a clue for COPY.
>Almost all other clues were also hidden words, Kevin Walds the next
>best. The short and concise:

11) Repeat part of the chorus (4)

     Repeat = ECHO

     part of = hidden-word indicator
     (part of) thE CHOrus = ECHO 

>Very solid clue, but just lacks that little something.

13 SCENIC
>I received a few homophone clues here, but none really hit the mark,
>anyway, even if it meant too many anagrams elsewhere, I love the
>surface on this one from Karen Lingel:

    Flummoxed since Clinton started having views (6)
         flummoxed       = anagram indicator
         since           = anagram fodder (SCENI)
         Clinton started = C
         having views    = defn.

>It seemed especially topical with all the US presidential campaign
>coverage on at the moment.

15 AUDIOVISUAL
>I was concerned about this word. It did seem  difficult to clue, but
>Bill Shatzer left all the others for dead with this neat
>straightforward anagram clue:

I avoid usual mixtures of sight and sound. (11)

 I avoid usual        mixtures         of sight and sound.
(anagram fodder) (anagram indicator)     (definition)

>So there we are, for those of you who claimed that no-one would be
>able to clue audiovisual. I think Matthew Merzbacher deserves a
>mention for his attempt at a homophone for this word (!)

President of German car manufacturer reportedly relates to both
sight and sound (11) 
  President of German car manufacturer = AUDI OFFICIAL
  reportedly                           = homonym indicator
  relates to both sight and sound      = defn.

>It really made me cringe. No offence Matthew.

16. EMBARK
I got far too many Dorothy's Aunt clues here, and most of them stuck
out like sore thumbs. The best was Bill Shatzers, which, at least
brought Toto into the picture too.

To begin with, it sounds like Toto followed Dorothy's aunt.(6)

To begin with, it sounds like Toto  followed  Dorothy's aunt.
(definition)        (bark!)         (after)     (auntie EM)

>When used to mean to start something, embark is usually followed by on
>or upon, but I let that pass here. I was surprised noone went for a
>double definition: Start to board a ship, or that type of thing, a
>good double definition clue would have been nice... A few people linked
>bark (a type of boat) with to board definition but noone really got
>things to gel.

17 ASHY
>The winner for this clue was from Matthew Merzbacher. Yet another
>Clinton clue, I'm in danger of turning this crossword into a themed
>one.

Pale from seeing part of Arkansas hysteria (4)
  Pale                = defn
  from seeing part of = container indicator
  ArkansAS HYsteria   = fodder

  surface note: What President Clinton might be.

>I must admit I'm still not really sure about this clue. Up until the
>last minute my winner was from Kevin Wald:

18) Burnt, like the _Encyclopaedia AEgyptiana_? (4)

     Burnt? = ASHY

     like the _Encyclopaedia AEgyptiana_? = ASHY
        ("Ash" is a name for the a+e ligature, which appears
        twice
  in "Encyclopaedia AEgyptiana".)

>I just loved this clue. Unfortunately (well in my dictionaries, at
>least), ash is the name of the o+e ligature. A really nice attempt,
>and the kind of originality I love and not too bad a pun either. A
>real shame.

>After Kevin probably the next best clue was Karen's, but it was a
>charade and I was right up there with a third of charade clues, I had
>to let it pass:

     A modest pale (4)
          a      = A
          modest = SHY
          pale   = defn.

         (Surface could be a description of a house paint.)

HAND GRENADE
>The winner here was Bill Shatzer with this simple anagram. Nice, neat,
>pretty easy. But then, if always think it's nice to have an easy clue
>down the length of the left hand side, enables you to get into the
>puzzle, rather than just jumping in at the deep end with trickier
>ones.

Small army missile range had end reconstructed.  (4,7)

Small army missile   range had end    reconstructed.
  (definition)      (anag. fodder)  (anag. indicator)

>A _very_ close second place came from Ed Coulson:

1. Explosive applause angered comic (4,7)

   Explosive=def.
   applause=HAND
   angered=fodder
   comic=indicator=>GRENADE

>I liked this because of the unusual anagram indicator and well hidden
>definition, but... but I can't quite remember why this clue didn't
>win. I think I had a small problem with applause=hand. It was a very
>close thing.

2 TRIUMPHED

>I got a lot of different and unusual clues for this word, and then I
>chose this anagram from Karen Lingel:

    Surprisingly, the rum dip was a smashing success (9)
          surprisingly           = anagram indicator
          the rum dip            = anagram fodder  (TRIUMPHED)
          was a smashing success = defn.

>The surface reading just touched me in a way I can't quite explain.
>It's a very solid clue, with a slightly unusual definition, but it's
>the imagery in the surface that wins it for me.

>I also liked Ed Coulson's attacking the referee clue:

Attempted to grab referee headfirst, and was victorious (9)

   (not that I countenance such unsportsmanlike activity!)

   Attempted=TRIED
   to grab= container indicator
   referee= UMP (which you may know is US slang, at least, for
   umpire)
   headfirst=H was victorious= defintion of TRI(UMPH)ED

4 HUES

>Bill Shatzer actually won this word, but clearly very close, not least
>because he entered an almost exactly identical clue was Matthew
>Merzbacher. Bill's clue:

Reclusive billionaire asks for shades. (4)

Reclusive billionaire = HUGHES, as in Howard Hughes
asks for = homophone indicator
shades = definition

[comment:  And, in fact, Hughes spent the last several years of
his life in a darkened hotel room with all the shades drawn.]

>And Matthew's:

Reclusive Howard called for shades (4)
  Reclusive Howard = HUGHES
  called           = homonym indicator
  for              = linkage
  shades           = defn.

>Very close. Bill edged it in my mind because he used billionaire
>instead of Howard. Using a proper name always looks a bit messy in my
>mind and Howard Hughes, I think, is sufficiently famous to be clued by
>just billionaire.

>A few people tried a homophone using Hugh Grant, using grants to mean
>hugh's. I felt this was unfair. There are many more famous Grants than
>Hugh 'I-can-only-play-myself' Grant, and I don't like him much
>either!!!

IDYLLICALLY
>A very hard word to clue, all those L's and Y's. Some of you came up
>with acceptable offerings even then. Kevin Wald won with his effort
>describing the friendly seal hunters (sorry, that's just what the
>surface did for me, in bad taste, I know)

5) I'd club one hundred (splitting fifty-fifty with a 
         friend, pleasantly) (11)

     pleasantly = IDYLLICALLY

     club = Y
     one = I
     hundred = C
     fifty-fifty = LL
     a friend = ALLY
     LL with ALLY = LLALLY
     IC "splitting" LLALLY = LL(IC)ALLY
     ID + Y + LLICALLY = IDYLLICALLY

>I'm going to make a confession now, I didn't really think about
>Y=club. With no explanation from Kevin, I just assumed, I suppose,
>that it was a standard abbreviation. Can someone tell me if it's
>valid/standard/obvious because I'm not sure now. 

CELLO
>Karen Lingel wins this with the only reversed hidden word in the
>puzzle. A bit of variety and a solid surface. Great:

    Stringed instrument is part of returned collection (5)
          stringed instrument = defn.
          is part of          = hidden indicator
          returned            = backwards
          cOLLECtion          = hiding place

SPOONFULS
>Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. How nasty am I including such a hard word.
>Got a fair few "fools spun wildly", and some stuff with spools, but
>the best of an average bunch (for a horrible word, don't get me wrong.
>I don't think anyone was particularly pleased with their clue):

8 SPOONFULS                                       
    Begins sampling porridge (or oatmeal) never finishing up
    last small scoops (9)
          begins    = initials
          Sampling  = S
          Porridge  = P
          Or        = O
          Oatmeal   = O
          Never     = N
          Finishing = F
          Up        = U
          Last      = L
          Small     = S
          scoops    = defn.

          (Note: I found this word the hardest to clue.  This
          clue is pretty lame but I was pleased with the
          American/British translation (porridge/oatmeal) it
          includes.)

>This is probably as lame as Karen says, but it's alright. I think I am
>allowed one alright clue in the grid. Hopefully it will be solved
>quickly and then forgotten about. Of course, if we were really setting
>a crossword, we'd have realised that spoonfuls was difficult to clue
>and changed the grid, but that wasn't possible in this contest. Sorry.

ACRID

>There were basically two ways to clue this word, C in ARID and R in
>ACID. Kevin wald was the winner with his adjective overload:

11) Caustic, dry, biting, visceral sarcasm (5)

     Caustic = ACRID

     dry = ARID
     visceral sarcasm = C (innermost letter of "sarcasm")
     ARID "biting" C = A(C)RID

>I had to look up visceral, and whilst, when refering to insides, it
>usually means to bodies, I think it works well being a synonym to central.
>I haven't given a * our for a while so Kevin can have one for this clue.

>At one point in my thoughts Matthew Merzbacher's drug induced afair
>was winning:

Bitter reality found in LSD (5)
  Bitter   = defn.
  reality  = R (see note)
  found in = charade indicator
  LSD      = ACID -> AC(R)ID

  note: defending the use of 'reality' for 'R', I note that in
  mathematics,
        R stands for the real numbers.

>Great surface, but just that reality=R put me off slightly. I
>appreciate that R is used to represent the real numbers in mathematics
>(I do have a degree in Mathematics), I don't really go with reality=R.
>It's probably one of those that you'd get used to if the same compiler
>used it again and again, but coming afresh I'm not so sure. Having
>said that I think it's more valid that Y=club earlier, so it's
>probably me not realising the context. I think I'll give Matthew a *
>anyway.

TOUR
>A few of you were going to the ancient city of UR, and I couldn't
>really split them. A few experimented with the backwards route but
>never quite got there clearly enough for my liking. The winner was
>David Bullock, with this different format clue:

14. Not the first holidaymaker to take a trip (4)

    holidaymaker = tourist
    not the first (minus IST) = TOUR
    take a trip = defn                

>I know that tour and tourist have the same etymology, but I think it's
>acceptable here. Argue with me if you don't like it!

Whew! That's done. Sorry for those of your clues that I didn't have
time to discuss-- I had quite a few clues to wade through.

I'd appreciate feedback from anyone on this contest, and if anyone is
lacking an idea for a future ACC and has time on their hands then feel
free to copy my idea-- I'd like to enter, and get in touch because I
have a few ideas how things can be improved.


So it's over to Karen Lingel for ACC88. Good luck everyone.
Lee
-- -------------------------------------------------------------------------
What happens if you tie a piece of     Lee McGinty (lee@ehiltd.dircon.co.uk)
buttered toast to a cat's back and                   
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