Newsgroups: rec.puzzles.crosswords
Path: bryson.demon.co.uk!demon!pipex!doc.ic.ac.uk!agate!howland.reston.ans.net!gatech!asuvax!kennedy
From: kennedy@asuvax.eas.asu.edu (Ralph Kennedy)
Subject: PCWC10 Winners
Message-ID: <1993Feb17.213511.8810@asuvax.eas.asu.edu>
Organization: crosswords
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1993 21:35:11 GMT
Lines: 615


     Here are the winners for PCWC10.  The top five are listed
here:

  12. Is it crime and disorder that permit us to make distinctions? (12)
           from Edward Carney (CARNEYE@BoysTown.ORG) who is unable to
           moderate PCWC11.

   2. What armies do against homosexuals is wrong: indict armies! (12)
           from Roger Phillips (roger@quantime.co.uk), also unable to
           moderate.

  10. Carelessly cram it inside, but treat it specially (12)
           from Christopher Boek (boek@mullian.ee.mu.OZ.AU), who
           will be moderating PCWC11 once he receives the handy-dandy kit.

  15. Doctor trains medic and intern: I give different treatment (12)
           from Guy Jacobson (guy@ulysses.att.com).

  13. Discern a mid-air insect collision (12)
           from Mark Brader (msb@sq.com), and my personal fave for what
           that's worth (absolutely nothing since I can't vote).


There were 20 clues and 17 voters; maximum total 323.0

Scores:

	Clue	total	 %max	rank	  mean	 st.dev	 median
	----	-----	 ----	----	  ----	 ------	 ------
	  1	180.0	 55.7	  7	 10.59	  5.10	 10.50
	  2	228.5	 70.7	  2	 13.44	  3.86	 12.50
	  3	109.0	 33.7	 18	  6.41	  5.87	  5.50
	  4	137.0	 42.4	 14	  8.06	  5.39	  6.00
	  5	191.0	 59.1	  6	 11.24	  4.68	 12.00
	  6	 77.0	 23.8	 20	  4.53	  2.53	  4.50
	  7	111.5	 34.5	 17	  6.56	  3.89	  5.50
	  8	178.0	 55.1	  8	 10.47	  4.54	 10.50
	  9	148.5	 46.0	 13	  8.74	  5.51	  9.50
	 10	221.5	 68.6	  3	 13.03	  3.83	 13.50
	 11	 96.5	 29.9	 19	  5.68	  4.71	  5.50
	 12	238.5	 73.8	  1	 14.03	  4.06	 14.50
	 13	200.0	 61.9	  5	 11.76	  4.77	 11.50
	 14	167.0	 51.7	 10	  9.82	  6.04	  9.50
	 15	206.5	 63.9	  4	 12.15	  4.27	 11.00
	 16	124.0	 38.4	 16	  7.29	  5.79	  4.50
	 17	152.0	 47.1	 12	  8.94	  3.15	  9.00
	 18	162.5	 50.3	 11	  9.56	  4.07	  9.50
	 19	126.5	 39.2	 15	  7.44	  3.68	  8.50
	 20	174.5	 54.0	  9	 10.26	  5.26	 10.50

Vote distribution histograms:

           3 |                     X                 
           2 |                     X                 
           1 |    XX  X  X   X  XX XX  X    X XX   XX
Clue #1      |_______________________________________
                                  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
              0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

           3 |                  X                    
           2 |                  X      X          X  
           1 |               X  XX  XX X X   X  XXXXX
Clue #2      |_______________________________________
                                  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
              0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

           3 |                                       
           2 |X  X              X  X                X
           1 |XX XXXX    XX     XX X                X
Clue #3      |_______________________________________
                                  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
              0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

           3 |        X                              
           2 |        X                              
           1 |  X  XX X XXX  X  XX X X           XXX 
Clue #4      |_______________________________________
                                  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
              0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

           3 |                                       
           2 |                  X        X      X    
           1 |      X X XX      XX   XXX X X X  X   X
Clue #5      |_______________________________________
                                  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
              0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

           3 |     X                                 
           2 |     X      X                          
           1 | XX XXX XXXXXX X X X                   
Clue #6      |_______________________________________
                                  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
              0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

           3 |                                       
           2 |     X    X X     X                    
           1 |    XXX XXXXX  X  XX         X  X      
Clue #7      |_______________________________________
                                  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
              0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

           3 |                                       
           2 |           X         X          X      
           1 |   X      XX   X  XXXXXX   X    X  XX  
Clue #8      |_______________________________________
                                  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
              0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

           3 |                                       
           2 |   X                   XX              
           1 |X  X XX    XX     XX   XX  X  X  X  X  
Clue #9      |_______________________________________
                                  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
              0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

           3 |                           X           
           2 |                       X   X    X      
           1 |        X   X      X X X X X  XXX XX X 
Clue #10     |_______________________________________
                                  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
              0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

           3 |     X                                 
           2 |X    X         X                       
           1 |XXX XX     XX  X  XX     XX   X        
Clue #11     |_______________________________________
                                  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
              0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

           3 |                                    X  
           2 |                         X          X X
           1 |           X   X   X X X X X XXX    XXX
Clue #12     |_______________________________________
                                  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
              0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

           3 |                     X                 
           2 |                     X        X        
           1 |X         X   X   XX X X X  X X X X X X
Clue #13     |_______________________________________
                                  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
              0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

           3 |                              X        
           2 |   X X         X              X        
           1 |   X XX      X X   X  X       X XX  XX 
Clue #14     |_______________________________________
                                  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
              0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

           3 |                                       
           2 |                  X                 X  
           1 |           XX  X XXX XX   X X  XX X XX 
Clue #15     |_______________________________________
                                  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
              0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

           3 |        X                              
           2 |        X                              
           1 | XX XXX XX XX      X     X X  X     XX 
Clue #16     |_______________________________________
                                  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
              0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

           3 |                  X                    
           2 |          X X  X  X                    
           1 |        X X X  X  XX XXXX   X  X       
Clue #17     |_______________________________________
                                  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
              0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

           3 |                                       
           2 |            X  X     X                 
           1 |    X     XXX  X  XX XXXX      X XX    
Clue #18     |_______________________________________
                                  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
              0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

           3 |                                       
           2 |            X    XX        X           
           1 |X   X   XXXXX    XXX X X   X           
Clue #19     |_______________________________________
                                  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
              0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

           3 |                                       
           2 |          X          X           X     
           1 |   X X    XXX     XX X X     X XXX    X
Clue #20     |_______________________________________
                                  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
              0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9


Comments:

 1. Note difference aids in metric conversion (12)

 This and the others I "tied" with it (2 8 14 15 17 18)
 are all way too tendentious or tied too closely to
 current events.

 Pretty good, but poor surface reading.

 A solid anagram.  Reads fairly well, though I'm not sure what it means.

 It took me a while to understand the surface reading, but I like
 this -- no wasted words.  Tie for second place.

 Technically good but the surface reading is not great.

 The surface reading is poor, no matter whether "note" is a noun or a verb.
 A low score.

 Say what?  What does this clue mean?

 The straight reading wasn't that smooth.


 2. What armies do against homosexuals is wrong: indict armies! (12)

 Good &lit., but the flow stumbles after the colon.

 I think the "!" is reserved for &lit clues (where the whole clue
 means the word).  Otherwise good.

 Very good anagram and topical too.

 Surface reading not as good as its cousin (no. 14) but the fact that
 there is an anagram indicator makes is a slightly better clue overall

 Nice topical surface reading, but the repetition of "armies"
 downgrades it a bit.  Still, tied for second place.  See also clue 14.

 Nicely topical.

 I tend to dislike clues specifically oriented towards
 particular time specific events in specific countries.
 So this scored badly for me.

 Probably would be easy to solve but nice theme.
 It would be nice if the interruption of the colon
 could somehow be avoided.


 3. Choosy criminal is endlessly involved in strange diets (12)

 "Choosy" is not the right part of speech but the
 cleverness of the rest is too good to resist.

 Nice.

 Not sure that DISCRIMINATE can be an adjective.

 Choosy != discriminate.   Discriminating, maybe. 

 Choosy is not a good definition of discriminate. However, I do
 like the surface reading and the charade is good.

 I don't think "choosy" is a good definition of "discriminate",
 but otherwise this is good.

 Bad def.; although indiscriminate is an adjective, discriminate 
 is not.  Decent surface reading, however.

 Flawed, DISCRIMINATE is not an adjective. Indiscriminate and discriminating
 are.

 My dictionary doesn't show discriminate as an adjective


 4. Compare record pace with one minute (12)

 This and the others I "tied" with it (5 6 7 10 16 19)
 are equally deficient in either lack of cohesion or
 syntactic tortuousness.

 A nice charade, reads extremely well. Definition is loose, and I don't
 like "with" as an inclusion indicator.

 What a nice charade.  I don't really like with=contains, but
 the surface reading's so nice and deceptive, this ties for first.

 Compare is not a good definition and the surface reading is not great.

 "With" isn't a good containment indicator, and the surface reading
 is also weak.

 Weak def.

 There should be some indication that "one minute" is inside DISC RATE
 Nice race theme, though


 5. Tell butcher, "Cram it inside" (12)

 Nice short anagram clue, with misleading definition and creative
 anagram indicator.

 Tell is not a good definition, but I do like the reading.

 Terse and to the point.  A low runner-up, and deserves to be better,
 but the competition is stiff.  See also clue 10.

 Tell apart, maybe.  Tell?

 Tell is far too  weak a definition.

 Nice deceptive clue.  Nice anagram indicator.
 Not totally comfortable with just "tell" as the definition.


 6. Discern bad misdirection, changing order to anarchy, initially (12)

 Too hard.

 A little too indirect, the clue doesn't read well enough on the surface to
 justify this.

 The surface reading here is too awkward.

 Poor surface reading and overly complex cryptic construction.
 Second-last place.

 Too convoluted for my simple brain.

 Order = O??.  Also kind of indirect to unscramble, then change a letter.
 Also the straight reading doesn't seem that smooth.


 7. Commit timid race sin thoughtlessly!  (12)

 Nice, but "Commit" is extraneous.

 An OK &lit.  "Thoughlessly" ain't a great anagram indicator, and
 "timid" doesn't play any part in the definition, either.

 I don't think thoughtlessly is a legitimate anagram indicator. 
 The reading is also awkward.

 The general idea is nice, but the implementation isn't.  Discrimination
 need not be timid or thoughtless, and "commit...thoughtlessly" isn't
 much of an anagram indicator.  A low score.

 'thoughtlessly'?  'timid' race sin?

 Very clever idea which doesn't quite come off -- that is
 I don't find it quite close enough to be an &Lit.

 I don't like thoughtlessly as an anagram indicator.
 Also, commit seems like an extra word here.


 8. Have a predisposition to indict a miser falsely (12)

 Doesn't have the cachet of 3, 12, 9 or 20, but is a 
 good effort.

 Not a good definition.

 OK anagram. Surface reading so-so and definition not great.

 Pretty good clue although have a predisposition is really not a
 good definition.

 Good, smooth reading, if a bit less interesting.  Tied for second.


 9. Administer Channel Islands badly - note the difference (12)

 Could have come from the Telegraph.  Not at all bad.

 Can't accept CI - should at least have an abbreviation indicator -
 Since I'm voting from a non-European country it's too obscure.

 Don't like use of CI as anagram fodder without at least an indictation
 that an abbreviation is called for.  This is too indirect.

 Charade/anagram is fine and the reading is OK.

 Not bad, but not quite as smooth as some others, and downgraded for
 the use of initials in the anagram.

 An indirect anagram since one has to translate 
 Channel Islands to CI, then unscramble.


10. Carelessly cram it inside, but treat it specially (12)

 Not quite as misleading or terse as #5 (the butcher), but perhaps
 slightly better reading.  And a nice anagram.

 A little awkward in the reading, but basically a nice clue.

 Yet another runner-up whose only fault is that other clues are
 even better.  This really was a good crop of clues!  Look at
 the different treatment of the same anagram here and in clue 5.

 Nice clue -- though I would prefer the second 'it' to be omitted.

 Decent anagram.


11. Do the Tides Resorts admit most but not all?  Unlawful! (12)

 Better off using "Resort", and the "CRIMINA" is the weakest link
 in this clue.

 A little too arch and abstruse to be a realistic clue.

 &lit aspect good, but I don't like indirectness of "crimina".

 Fair &lit.  A bit loose on the form of the definition and the wording.

 I like the sense, but the punctuation and "most but not all"
 seems a little unfairly deceptive.

 Both the charade and the &lit are a bit stretched for my taste.

 Very good surface reading, but the cryptic part is way too complex.
 Saved from a score near the bottom by the very nice anagram indicator
 "resorts".

 Dislike. Too topical and 'special interest'. I simply do not
 understand it.

 The cryptic reading doesn't quite parse.
 Should be most but not all "of" unlawful.
 I like the Tides Resorts part and I have
 a soft spot for &lit attempts.


12. Is it crime and disorder that permit us to make distinctions? (12)

 Very nice surface meaning. "that permit us" was a little problematic,
 but tolerable.

 I love the 'Is crime and disorder' bit - it works really well
 I don't understand the 'that permit us' bit, but the rest of
 the clue is wonderful.

 Sounds like a real sentence...almost.  Reminds
 me of a line from John Ashbery.

 A solid anagram that reads well. I'm not all that pleased with the
 excessive "that permit us" linking the two parts of the clue.

 Beautiful surface reading but a little wordy.  Tie for first.

 A solid clue with a couple of extra words.

 Very good surface reading, but I the "that permit us" damages the
 cryptic part rather badly.  A low runner-up.

 My winner. However, it is a tad wordy in the definition part. Very
 nice anagram and indicator in the first part, though.

 "that permit us" is a bit wordy for just
 a connective phrase.


13. Discern a mid-air insect collision (12)

 Surface reading too fanciful for my taste.

 Definitely needs an editor, but has real potential.

 A decent anagram (but "a" is superfluous)

 Technically a fine clue and the surface reading is just silly
 enough that I like it.  My favorite of the clues.

 My own clue, which I liked until I saw all the others.
 I'll give it a middling rating.

 Reads very nicely.  "collision" as an anagram
 indicator seems a bit of a stretch.


14. Indict armies for what they do against homosexuals (12)

 Comparable with #2, but the absence of an anagram indicator weakens
 it.

 No anagram indicator.

 Not as good as the similar #2 -- there's no clear anagram indicator
 and no good separation of the definition from the rest.  And it's too
 unstructured to qualify as an &lit, in my book.

 Alas, no anagram indicator.

 Surface reading very good but has the techincal flaw of lacking an
 anagram indicator.  A perhaps winning clue would be "Indict armies
 wrongfully for what they do against homosexuals" but the clue
 writer probably did not want to make the anti-PC statement.

 Clue 2 seems the better working of this theme.  This one avoids the
 repeated wording with a pronoun, but also has no anagram indicator,
 which is a worse flaw.  A combination of both treatments would
 probably have been the winner.

 Nicely topical.

 Too US-specific, and too 'topical' for my taste. Much neater than
 clue 2, however.

 No anagram indicator keyword.


15. Doctor trains medic and intern: I give different treatment (12)

 A nice anagram/charade with a consistent medical theme.  Could
 read a bit more smoothly.

 Surface reading and charade/anagram are both OK but not great.

 Not bad at all.  The "intern I" is particularly nice.

 I do not buy 'intern I' and meaning 'put i inside' -- simply
 does not work for me.

 Nice cryptic reading and nice straight reading.
 Minor flaw is the semicolon which breaks up the
 straight reading smoothness.


16. Hold one with brown skin back in this offense in Brooklyn! (12)

 Nice &lit.!  "this offense" -> "dis crime" is cute, although a little
 hard to find.

 Another creative but not-quite-there &lit. The clue suggests that
 we are looking for a noun, rather than a verb, and the Brooklynese is
 a bit indirect when combined with the charade.  Still, it appeals to
 me more than the other &lits.

 The &lit surface reading is a bit stretched; however, overall a
 good attempt at an &lit clue.

 Again, a very good surface reading with an over-complex cryptic
 construction lurking behind it.  *Brooklyn*?  A low score here.

 Homonyms are tricky, and unless thay are VERY obvious I tend
 to disfavour them. This one does not work. I am sure
 that even in Brooklyn 'crime' is not pronounced 'KRIMM' !


17. Judge lady's anti-crime organization (12)

 Nice and short, and makes some sense.  Not crazy about the definition
 which is a small stretch.

 Short and sweet but not an exceptional surface reading.

 Can we give poor Lady Di a rest now?

 Would prefer 'princess's' for 'lady's'.

 lady = DI is too indirect (princess would be better).
 other than that, a nice cryptic.


18. Wacky/satiric mind -- English draw a distinction (12)

 A dandy anagram/charade - could read a bit more smoothly.

 Compact and sensible.  Tie for second.

 Solid clue although a little awkward.

 Amusing, but downgraded for the use of an abbreviation in the anagram.

 I didn't really like E = english (although it is in
 my Websters)


19. Badly cast die held edge in contest (12)

 A nice charade, but I think the definition is quite far off.

 Another solid clue in which I wish the surface meaing made a little
 more sense.

 Badly written clue holds last place in contest.  Surface reading is
 awkward, "contest" is a poor definition of "discriminate", and the
 cryptic part, while adequate, is rather complex.

 I cannot accept 'contest' as a definition.

 Good game theme but I feel a die would
 cause someone to hold an edge rather than
 hold the edge itself.


20. Refined Medicis train to use good judgement (12)

 Could have been improved, but the Medicis are
 a nice touch.

 A good anagram (but I dispute the author's claim that this clue
 qualifies as an &lit)

 "Medicis train" is too unusual phrase to make this a top clue.

 The winner, by a small margin.  Solid surface reading and a nice simple
 cryptic construction.

 Too convoluted -- and thereby obvious -- for my taste.


--Ralph Kennedy      {ames,gatech,husc6,rutgers}!ncar!noao!asuvax!kennedy
                        {allegra,decvax,ihnp4,oddjob}--^
                                          ^---------------The Wrong Choice
                             internet: kennedy@asuvax.asu.edu
