Subject:      Results of PCWC 60
From:         kll@lns598.lns.cornell.edu (Karen L Lingel)
Date:         1996/08/04
Message-Id:   <4u2sn6$7jf@lnsnews.lns.cornell.edu>
Newsgroups:   rec.puzzles.crosswords

Folks -- Congratulations to the winner of PCWC 60, Paula, 
(Paula10s@ix.netcom.com)  who came up with this excellent clue:

    Break one's word in order to take another's place  (5)

Paula cannot moderate the next contest, and neither can the 1st runner-up,
Scott Glazer (scottgl@onramp.net) who gave us:

    Heads of State ponder England's long losing streak (5)

So the honor of moderating PCWC 61 falls to 2nd runner-up Roy Thearle 
(r.w.thearle@canterbury.ac.uk) who brought us:

    Shift to hex to display characters (5)


-------------------
A couple of words from your moderator:  I came under some criticism for
listing a duplicated clue twice ("Mean time" clues 3 and 17).  I did this as a 
mini-psychology experiment to see if exactly the same clue would get exactly 
the same score. In fact, they did not.  Two people ranked clue 17 higher
than clue 3, and one person thought clue 3 was better than clue 17, which
put clue 17 in 5th place, while clue 3 came in 7th place!  
What this means as a psychology experiment, I don't know, but I sure
hope there aren't just 3 people out there trying to mess with my head.
(Although there were plenty more who couldn't even follow the formatting
rules correctly.)  Anyway, as a scientist, I find it fascinating to
note that the systematic uncertainty on the rankings is +/- 2 ranks.

Anyway, it was fun.

----------------------------------------
Comments on PCWC 60 as a whole:

I thought the clues were pretty weak this time.  My highest grade was a
9.5.

Not exactly the best word to pick, you can't even find a decent
anagram for it (and the number of double def. clues exceeded my
expectations).  However, I must say that when writing cryptic
crosswords, one should be able to deal with all kinds of words.
G'Job! :)

contrast with "corpse" -- many definitions, few wordplay options.
as expected, there is a deluge of (mostly uninspired) double-def.
with such a word, i really look for a misleading clue (see "wave to hawk").
what really surprised me was that there were as many S+PELL clues
as there were S(P)ELLs!  i thought the latter was the obvious construction,
esp. with such a flexible word like "sell".  i found many of the charades
to be tortuous, which is a shame because that's my favorite device.
very few clues had major technical flaws -- a sound batch.

The word lent itself to a variety of definitions; unfortunately, 
that encouraged double definition clues where neither definition 
was inspired.   

Less duplication than usual.

A nice word - it's good to see short & simple words on occasion!

* The chosen word to be clued was... an interesting choice, because
a couple of days before I sent in the ballot, I received the
September issue of Games World of Puzzles, and found in it a cryptic
with the clue: "Taking a turn peddling around front of park (8)"
The creator of #5, at least, will find that one easy to solve!
* If I was moderating and found the same clue submitted independently
by two entrants, I'd put it in the ballot only once, not letting the
voters know what had happened.  If it wins and both entrants want to
moderate, the job can go to the one who submitted first.

I didn't like the word to clue, but looking at the entries, nobody
did. Great word! <g>

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

1st place (score 73.86%) - clue 6

    From: Paula10s@ix.netcom.com
    Break one's word in order to take another's place  (5)

Votes (normalized): 24 43 50 50 56 75 75 82 83 96 100 100 100 100

Good DD, I like the novel first def.

Interesting wordy double definition

this is one heck of a double-def clue.  true, not as terse as the others,
but what a beaut.  the first def. is clever in the way that it blends in
with the surface.  it is also uncoventional, and would warrant a '?' if 
it didn't occur in the first half of the clue.  flawed, but "in order"
keeps making me grin.  first place.

You almost lost me on the first definition; even having "gotten
it" and appreciating it's craftiness, I'm a little discomfitted
by it --- I think it's the "one's".

One of better dbldefs. 

Aside from a weak surface, a lovely Double Def.

Brilliant!  Head and shoulders above the field.  First place.
I particularly admire the way "in order" goes with the preceding
words in the cryptic reading, but the following words in the surface.

I actually read this as a triple definition. Pity the surface means
nothing.

Break one's word in order??  Huh??

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

2nd place (score 67.15%) - clue 7

    From: Scott Glazer <scottgl@onramp.net>
    Heads of State ponder England's long losing streak (5)

Votes (normalized): 0 25 30 50 60 75 75 83 88 93 94 100 100

Excellent surface, I like the use of streak.  However, the initial
thing is not one of my favorites.  

this is one heck of an acronym clue.  great surf, and solid construction.
"streak" doesn't seem quite right -- a "stretch" of bad weather, perhaps.
but that's a minor, imho thing going on there.  beautiful - 2nd place.

Another weathered clue; this one's definition's closer to the 
mark.  One might expect such dignitaries to have something
less frivolous to discuss, but the surface is pretty smooth.

Great acrostic clue, with an excellent definition and a great, 
meaningful surface.  My choice for winner. 

"Spell" means short period - "streak" means long period.

If they would only let Eddie "The Eagle" enter more events, perhaps
they'd have a better chance.

I don't like acrostic clues, but this one does read better than #2.
However, the definition "streak" for "spell" also seems stretched.

I was tempted to give this 0 points, as an indignant Englishman.
However I'm a Brit (there is a difference <g>). streak=spell 
I don't quite think so.

Looks like the winner to me.  A real beauty.  

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

3rd place (score 64.82%) - clue 15

    From: Roy Thearle <r.w.thearle@canterbury.ac.uk>
    Shift to hex to display characters (5)

Votes (normalized): 16 33 40 50 53 56 67 69 75 75 80 93 100 100

Are you allowed to have 3 defs?  Seems like you kind of needed all
three for the surface...

Very cool triple definition.

Triple definition?!  OUCH!

hey, i gave you a great score despite your using an illegal(?) cryptic
device.  this could have easily avoided ("use hex ..."), so i didn't
penalize you for your cleverness.  i loved the disguisement of "to hex",
as well as the third def.  what gave me problems was the surface;  it
is more accurate to say one uses hex to display bytes (or any memory
unit).  maybe i'm missing something, but i *should* know what i'm
talking about, right?  :-{

Pretty good clue, resorting to a somewhat obscure 
second definition and a third one which seems a bit
awkward.  Surface is slightly geeky, but so am I.

Blew my chips! 

While I like the surface & the attempt, I don't see "shift" (place) 
as a great defn.  And I've never heard "spell" used as a verb for
casting magic (my inferior dictionary backs me up, but who's surprised
by this?).

An excellent clue for this computer-literate audience.  The first of
the three definitions is a bit stretched, but I'll buy it all the same.
Second place after the even better #6, way ahead of all others.

"Display characters" doesn't read "spell" for me.

Great try at a triple, but I don't think "to hex" and "spell" are
same parts of speech.   

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

4th place (score 60.96%) - clue 1

    From: bobg@cullen.demon.co.uk
    Time for some witchcraft (5)

Votes (normalized): 30 31 31 38 50 67 67 69 71 75 75 80 82 88

I like double meanings.  Pretty basic, though.

The connector word "for" weakens this double definition
clue somewhat,  but it does have a nice surface.

second def. seems slightly imperfect (like saying an orange is some fruit).
other than that, it is certainly apt, but not flashy enough to place.

Pretty good double definition, although both are pretty
straightforward; good surface.

One of the more pleasing dbldefs, with a real surface meaning. 

The a spell is some witchcraft, I would say that "Time" isn't a
great second definition.  Still, high marks for smooth surface.

Short and simple.

Basic Double definition. A tad too obvious though.

The first of many double definitions, including mine.  This one is 
fairly straightforward, but with less fluent surface reading.

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

5th place (score 59.70%) - clue 17

    From: Kevin Wald <wald@math.uchicago.edu> and/or Lee McGinty <lee@ehiltd.dircon.co.uk>
    Mean time (5)

Votes (normalized): 13 20 27 33 45 50 60 75 81 86 88 99 100

Excellent.

I like this one a lot better than #3.

Great surface!  Er... deja vu?

it is certainly apt, but not flashy enough to place.

You and the author of #3 seem tuned to the same frequency!

Twin brother to #3. Same comment, same score. 

See clue #3

This other great mind tied for second!

Agreeably short, but "spell" for "mean" seems a bit stretched to me.

A pity this clue was duplicated. Sound but very obvious double
definition.

Lemme scroll up here, see what I gave the other one.  Oh yeah. 

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

6th place (score 58.73%) - clue 4

    From: bcs@sc.harris.com
    Break witch's charm (5)

Votes (normalized): 13 18 20 25 44 63 64 64 67 87 100 100 100

Break is a verb in the clue, but as a syn for spell it's a noun, which
is kind of a no-no.  

"witch's" is a tad extraneous in the second def.  other than that, it
is certainly apt, but not flashy enough to place.

Think "break" is stretching it as definition of SPELL. The fact that 
a work "break" is a "spell" of time doesn't make it a definition. 
DO you think that "lunch hour" is a definition of SPELL?? 

I don't think "break" is a valid definition for spell - might have helped if
you'd given their common meaning (verb? noun?)

I like "break" for spell.

Short, sweet, and snappy, with a good surface.  My favorite!

I don't buy the first definition; as a verb, I spell you if you are
taking a break, but a break is not a spell.

Very good surface, best of the double definitions

Graded slightly ahead of "Mean time".

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

7th place (score 57.42%) - clue 3

    From: Kevin Wald <wald@math.uchicago.edu> and/or Lee McGinty <lee@ehiltd.dircon.co.uk>
    Mean time (5)

Votes (normalized): 13 20 29 33 44 45 60 73 75 81 86 88 100

The mean def is a bit contrived, but points for DD

Great surface!

it is certainly apt, but not flashy enough to place.

Excellent clue:  a surface which implies nothing of either
definition; the first definition is tough but fair.

Both definitions are ok, but this is a cryptic clue? Twin in group. 

See clue #17

Two great minds thought alike on this. They both tie for second!

Agreeably short, but "spell" for "mean" seems a bit stretched to me.

A pity this clue was duplicated. Sound but very obvious double
definition.

The first of two identical clues, though none the worse for that.

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

8th place (score 47.40%) - clue 8

    From: phil.rose@zetnet.co.uk
    State, letter by letter, postage - primarily in exchange for cash (5)

Votes (normalized): 0 17 18 19 27 43 50 60 69 69 70 75 100

Good def but not good surface.

Long awkward clue without a good surface payoff

good news: the cryptic reading is flawless (unlike the other s(p)ell clue).
bad news:  the surface reading i have yet to figure out, and it seems
that you are delivering the solution to the solver's doorstep.  3rd place

Fine definition and cryptic, but the surface --- especially
the first half --- only offers the vaguest of meanings.

A difficult, but solid clue; my only quibble was with "primarily" 
as a first-letter indicator. Second place. 

Nicely hidden definition

Nice job of obscuring the surface

No surface reading: state postage in exchange for cash?  I also don't
like the adverbial first-letter indicator.

I don't usually have the longest clue. At least I've won something <g>

Although the straight definition works well, the surface reading of
the clue is incomprehensible.

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

9th place (score 47.22%) - clue 2

    From: hudelson@pi.math.wsu.edu
    The basics:  Simply print each Latin letter!  (5)

Votes (normalized): 0 0 13 31 33 50 50 50 57 60 63 73 88 93

&lits are good, but... latin letter?  And "basics" doesn't exactly
connote initials.  Good though.

Game attempt.  Acrostic indicator is questionable; the 
&lit definition isn't too bad, though.

"The basics" = "take first letters" is a bit of a stretch.

cute idea.  however, "the basics:" seems extraneous to the definition
(unless you are defining "spelling"), in which case, no &lib.  "basics"
doesn't seem to be the best acronym indicator.  finally, "latin" seems
quite arbitrary in the surface, which normally wouldn't hurt, but since
you are going for the &lib, it takes away from the elegance of the clue.
in my opinion, of course.  :-)

Nice idea; "Latin" seems driven mostly by cryptic need;
the acrostic indicator is not one that I'd use, for what
that's worth.

I tried hard, but I couldn't get a &lit. definition out of the 
entire clue. 

Unfortunately, "The basics:" doesn't contribute to the definition. Nice try, 
though. 

Somewhat contorted, as might be expected from this kind of attempt.

I don't care for acrostic clues because they tend to be wordy.
This one has the additional problem of very strained acrostic
indicator -- "basics" has nothing to do with first letters.
Further downgraded for "! as &lit indicator"; the solver is
supposed to figure out how to read the clue.

Average acrostic. "Basic" to me does not imply first. Also are Russians
or Arabs not allowed to spell.

A good &lit try, but the acrostic indicator is not compelling, nor is
the definition.

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

10th place (score 47.06%) - clue 11

    From: Sofiya B Vasina <sofiya@cs.arizona.edu>
    Turning music records draw in the Spanish incantation (5)

Votes (normalized): 17 20 23 25 38 38 45 50 50 50 65 67 71 100

It makes sense when it's all spelled out (sorry, couldn't resist) but
all together it's just a little too much.

The word "music" is extraneous in both the surface and 
the wordplay.  The surface doesn't make all that much
sense.

maybe i'm whacked, but the seemingly nonsensical surface kills this clue
which is otherwise outstanding.  minor quibble:  in the cryptic reading,
shouldn't that be "*draws* in"?

Good cryptic and definition; the surface is fair, but 
"draw in" just doesn't quite ring true for me.

"draw in" spoils surface.   

Too much crosswordese.

Ay Caramba!

Construction okay, but surface very weak.

record=lp and the(Spanish)=el are definite cliches.

"I buried Pablo, I buried Pablo".   But seriously, 
this could have been written more concisely

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

11th place (score 41.14%) - clue 10

    From: Matthew Merzbacher matthew@mills.edu
    Relieve senate leader and Rhode Island senator (5)

Votes (normalized): 0 6 17 20 23 25 31 50 55 63 75 85 86

I like the RI senator thing (so much I used it in my clue too) but
having SENATE in there twice takes something away though.  

Yes, too US-specific.  Look it up?  Is that what cryptic clues are
all about?

double use of "senate" seems inelegant.  us-centricity aside, i have
real problems with the use of "pell".  either the solver *won't* know
it (and i'll do double-crosses if i want to look in references, thank
you), or they will.  in the latter case, this clue is way easy.
while sound, not flashy enough to place.

Good definition and surface; cryptic flawed, IMHO, by the
the need to know an official with a less-than-household name
(although your "reference" point is well-taken; as a matter of
fact, one of my dictionaries defines "Pell Grant" without
giving the Senator his own reference).

Despite your apology, too provincial for a multicultural group. 

Can you get such reference works outside the US? He's not listed in
any of my reference books (including Britannica/Brewers/World Chronicle/
OED/Times Atlas/Roget/L'Empereure). A trip to the college library didn't help,
either.

My own (lousy) clue.  Abstain.

Toto, we're NOT in Rhode Island any more.  It takes more than a long
career in a foreign government to make someone famous.

Two clues refer to Mr/Mrs/Ms/Miss Pell. At least this cluer 
apologised for the Usan reference. Can you please provide a 
the reference I am supposed to use (URL will do <g>)
BTW spell=relieve is given as Australian usage in my reference
book - so a culturally mixed clue?

The distinguished gentleman from the great state of Rhode Island turns 
up frequently enough that I think he has attained the status of cliche
(though not quite up to IRAE status).  So points off not for obscurity
but for obviousness.  But a good clue, nevertheless. 

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

12th place (score 40.23%) - clue 16

    From: jose@cauchy (Greg Lawler)
    Children in school do this backwards and forwards: addition (5)

Votes (normalized): 0 0 0 6 18 20 25 56 63 67 71 75 79 83

Interesting, but you can't really have "addition" distribute to
backwards and forwards.  Maybe if you had "additions" in the plural?

Weak definition, too-convoluted wordplay

Does this conform to cryptics rules at all?

now this is getting too clever!  i admire your effort, however.
the def. seems a tad general (children in school do lots of things, like
receive their ritalin, walk through metal detectors, undergo strip 
searches, etc.).  "addition" is a nice synonym for either of your
elements (although "in addition" is more accurate for p.s., no?).
finally, the surface seems a bit stilted.

Innovative cryptic element; I approve.  Surface-wise,
though, I can't say as I've heard of "forward" and
"backward" forms of mathematical addition.

Imaginative!  Almost the winner. 

Children in school do a lot of things, and the subsidiary indication
is too convoluted to work out which of them...

Cute.  Impossible, but very cute.

Gets points for creativity, but the novel construction strikes me
as completely unsolvable.

I was intrigued by this clue. Children don't just spell in school.
At least in Britain, you're lucky if they can spell in school. The
cryptic was very clever: I was phased by the use of "ell" to mean
a building extension, but my dictionary confirmed it as Usan usage.

Too complicated, and an ell is not an addition.   

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

13th place (score 40.01%) - clue 19

    From: That Ken Guy <ken.stern@yale.edu>
    Relieve Southern Rhode Island's Senator

Votes (normalized): 0 17 19 20 23 31 38 50 55 60 63 71 75

Damn, this clue is good.  Hope the people who didn't write it think so
too :)

Once again, too US-specific...

a slight, and i do mean slight, improvement on #10.  "southern" doesn't
seem right in the surface.  see #10 for additional comments re "pell".

Rather like #10, but with a surface which is less than
factual (Senators representing entire states, not one
half or the other, as would appear to be implied here).

Provincial clue very similar to #10. BTW, is "Southern Rhode Island" 
anywhere near Providence, you-all?? 

Same problem as #10

Bonus points for going after Claiborne.

Toto, we're NOT in Rhode Island any more.  It takes more than a long
career in a foreign government to make someone famous.

Two clues refer to Mr/Mrs/Ms/Miss Pell. I wish I had heard of her.

I like the other Rhode Island clue slightly better.  

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

14th place (score 36.91%) - clue 18

    From: bshatzer@orednet.org
    Southern half all topsy-turvy for a while. (5)

Votes (normalized): 0 13 20 20 25 33 40 45 47 50 50 50 57 67

the construction and definition are fine, although i much prefer
the latter.  (i prefer this extraction of "pell" to the other).
i didn't like the surface as much.

Nice cryptic; surface seems indistinct.

I consider this an indirect clue; surface sucked anyway. 

Too complicated, poor surface.

"pell-mell"="topsy-turvy" I don't think so.

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

15th place (score 35.95%) - clue 12

    From: fyj@psu.edu (Edward Coulson)
    Recitation period? (5)

Votes (normalized): 0 0 0 9 20 20 25 33 63 64 65 69 100

Recitation just doesn't work for SPELL.  I have a soft spot for
two-word DD's though.  

the '?' is unwelcome.  didn't like the first def -- seems far
too general to use here.

Nice surface; the first definition, even with a question
mark floating about at the end, is a little iffy.  Then
again, having attended an elephantine US university, I
*can* vouch for the tendency for a recitation to cast a 
spell of somnolence on me.

By your reasoning, "Recitation" would be a definition for poetry. 

Recitation refers to the act, not the content, except 
where explicitly written for a public address, which spells aren't.

Though a spell is recited, that doesn't make "recitation" a clue for
"spell".  One could just as easily suggest "music"

I don't like the first definition, and the surface idiom is foreign
to me.

Overloaded with academic jargon.

This one is mine so I abstain.  I will be interested to see how it 
scores against all these other double definitions.

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

16th place (score 35.51%) - clue 9

    From: Clay Colwell <eris@bga.com>
    Turn in Gospel Lamb (5)

Votes (normalized): 0 9 13 31 33 38 38 40 50 50 50 53 57

Nice to see a hidden word but the surface doesn't really make sense.

The surface doesn't mean much here.

"Turn" = "spell"?  Hmmmm.....

the cryptic reading is flawless.
the surface reading i have yet to figure out.
an uninspired hidden-word clue, imho.

Decent enough clue in general; flawed somewhat by the 
over-obvious homophonic presence of the word being clued.

OK construction, but meaningless surface. 

Somewhat meaningless

Turn it into what?  Gyros!

Unimpeachable construction, nice double meaning of "turn in", and an
agreeable brevity.  However, not being of the applicable religion,
I have no idea whether the phrase Gospel Lamb sounds natural (making
a good overall clue that I would rank third) or forced (in which case
I would drop it well back in the field after all).  So I won't vote
on this one.

This definition of spell was given as Australian usage in my dict..
Also Gospel derives from God's Spell so I was reluctant to consider
this sort of clue.

Concise but obvious.

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

17th place (score 33.89%) - clue 14

    From: "Gail Koontz" <gail.koontz@quancon.com>
    Stand in the midst of puppies in a noisy, confined space (5)

Votes (normalized): 0 0 0 0 0 25 31 31 38 38 40 71 100 100

The "midst of puppies" is the only questionable one, but it's fine.
My winner.

Nice surface, but throwing a homophone in as a container
portion is foul play.

overall, a fine, sound clue.  minor quibble: "noisy" doesn't seem to be
the best hom. ind.  major quibble: i don't like hom. results as fodder
to other wordplay.  this practice should be placed in a "confined space"
along with indirect anagrams.  sorry you should suffer for my prejudice.

Can't say as I like homophone clues adulterated with 
other cluing techniques; sorry.

Otherwise charming clue with a great surface was spoiled by "noisy" 
as a homophone indicator. Also think that a hom. as part of a charade 
is at least partially indirect and probably unfair. 

"Noisy" doesn't indicate homophonic equivalence

Massive indirectness.  Looks like a homophone-charade.

I'd rather have kittens -- could we change the word to STELL? :-)
Nice clue, except that for me it takes more than a reference to sound
to make a soundalike indicator.

Very good construction and idea. I nearly did the same myself, but
couldn't get a surface reading. 

Plus points for humor, Minuses= convoluted clue, straight def

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

18th place (score 29.46%) - clue 13

    From: jbergman@bbn.com (Jacob Bergmann)
    School, gym-- gets sick after first period (5)

Votes (normalized): 0 0 0 0 15 17 25 25 25 38 56 60 67 86

I like the PE and the LL, but the "after first" is a bit contrived and 
the s for school doesn't work.

"Gets" is awful as a connective in this charade 

"gets" is way extraneous -- signals a containment that isn't there
(contrast with "and", or even the ambiguous "with").  Other than
that, the construction is fine, but the surface is stilted.

Surface, choppy -- "school" abbreviation seems arbitary.

Not bad, but hate clues that use series of individual letters. 

"Sick after first" is somewhat dubious.

Lots of quasi-directness here.

Too complicated, and the abbreviation School -> S is too rare for me.

S=school? no abbreviation indicator; gym=PE I though was a Briticism
so I'm peeved 'cos I wanted to use it but didn't. I also found the
"after first" cryptic difficult.

Lose the comma.  Otherwise a nice clue.

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

19th place (score 20.19%) - clue 5

    From: egglesto@cs.albany.edu
    Wave to hawk on top of peak (5)

Votes (normalized): 0 0 0 9 15 17 23 25 25 25 30 33 60

those points are all for surface.  the def is too obscure, nd ON is not
a containment indicator.

Spiffy surface, but several elements don't work.  "Wave"
as a definition of "Spell" seems wrong - it's a HEAT Wave
but a HOT Spell.  "On" is a terrible containment 
indicator.

Since when is "on" a containment indicator??

"to hawk" defines "to sell", not "sell", but i did that in an earlier
pcwc and no one complained.  abstain.  hopefully, i'll be rewarded for
the verbage<->nounage that i pulled off twice.

Sure fooled me, probably because I don't think "on" is a
sufficient inclusion indicator and "wave" connotes to me
something more dramatic than "spell", even meteorologically.

Sure didn't like "on" as a containment indicator...Waiter, I want 
some glass on my gin & tonic? 

Doesn't wave refer to movement, and spell to duration? Also, "on" doesn't
indicate containment. Extra marks for the hawk.

I guess you mean that "Hot spell" is the same as "Heat wave".  It doesn't
pass my muster, though, since you never see "Heat spell" or "Hot wave"
Warning: "to hawk" -> SELL which then is used as fodder in a charade
is just on the legitimate side of indirectness in my book.

Okay, a cold wave is the same as a cold spell, but I don't see that it
follows that "wave" means "spell".  Good clue otherwise.

Inventive clue. However, not sure about the wave=spell unless it is 
weather forecasters' jargon. Also "on" doesn't work as a container.

"On" can't signal containment, and "wave" is too remote to be a 
straight definition.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Bonus Clues

----------------------------------------
20) From: Jake Bergmann jbergmann@bbn.com
20) Give a break to first three speeders with law degree (5)

LL for generic law degree isn't really fair.

that would be "first three *of* speeders" in the cryptic reading, no?
i'll take your word on "ll" - based on your description, it seems that
this is similar to using "master's degree" to define "m".

Okay; don't much like the "generic law degree" construct.

Has to be "first three of speeders" to work 

I consider "first speeder" for S an error; "first three speeders"
for SPE is no better.  And I've never heard of a law degree that's
just LL without another letter.

Surface doesn't make it. Also what is a generic law degree?

----------------------------------------
21) From: Sofiya B Vasina <sofiya@cs.arizona.edu>
21) Electric guitar maker without sound extension played for enchantment (5)

Except for the indirect anagram (which you noticed, I'd bet this is
why it was a bonus clue) this is fantastic.  

obviously, this clue would've died if it were an official entry.  (why
not just have "les paul" in the clue?).  i normally hate sub-anagrams,
but here, at least the letters are consecutive and in order, and i love
the computerese!

Indeed, the *dreaded* indirect anagram:  so why not use 
"Les Paul" directly?  The "sound extension" is an even 
geekier reference than the "hex" in #15.

Very, very, indirect anagram. 

My goodness, does this one require specific knowledge!

Not just an indirect anagram, but it's an anagram of a charade of
a charade (ie double indirect anagram) of a jargon reference. Who
the heck is Les Paul? I've heard of Fender, but that's it.

The solution is hidden enough without using indirect anagram!

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22) From: Clay Colwell <eris@bga.com>
22) Sheep skin and belly contents: ingredients for one? (5)

Interesting.  

i see why you added that last phrase.  i would've preferred
"sheep skin and belly contents?!", which i think is an imperfectly
fine &lib.

Glad you chose this one as your bonus! 

Surely this is a clue for "haggis"?

I like the repeated anatomic motif, but it's hard to make the reading come
out right.  ": ingredients for one" could be considered a concatenation
indicator, I suppose, on the cryptic side; but the definition still
isn't really a definition.

Where is the eye of newt? As a spell ingredient this isn't occult
enough.

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23) From: gail.koontz@quancon.com
23) ESP, around the fifties, was a compelling attraction (5)

"ESP Around" is really PSE, not SPE.

nice surface.  "the" is extraneous.

Good surface (just when did Kreskin get his start, anyway?);
not-so-hot definition.

Good clue with a good surface. 

I keep wanting to read "around" as a container indicator rather than an
anagram indicator, but still it's not bad.

Use of "around" to indicate anagram is brilliant, especially
with the misleading punctuation. I'm not so sure about the
definition though.

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24) From: David Eggleston <egglesto@cs.albany.edu>
24) Relieve pressure in dump (5)

:-P, indeed.  But seriously, "dump" is a dodgy synonym
for "sell" without any desperate-stock market intonations.

Ummmm. If you mean what I think you mean, this is brilliant. 

No comment.  Definitely no comment.

"dump"="sell" - I don't get it.



-k- 
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Karen Lingel, Physicist and Penguinist