Subject:      PCWC 61 results
From:         roy@cant.ac.uk (R W Thearle)
Date:         1996/08/27
Message-Id:   <4vvb5j$l0p@fennel.cant.ac.uk>
Newsgroups:   rec.puzzles.crosswords

The votes have been counted, the results are in, and
as usual I failed to predict the winner - even after receiving all the
ballots...

Congratulations to Kevin Wald on winning this round of the PCWC
by collecting a stunningly high score for

	What Dracula used to feed dogs (7)

Honourable mentions to Gail Koontz and Jake Bergman who achieved
second and third places. Jake has agreed to moderate the next contest.

Votes and comments listed below. Thanks to all who submitted and voted.

Roy

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


"Chief Inspector, it is a Clueh!"
"A what?"
"A clueh"
"You said 'clueh'"
"Yes, I know"
"Go to Cannes immediately - we believe the theif has stolen a diamond"
"Perhaps it is a baseball diamond?"
"The police are going to the dogs."

The word didn't seem to offer many possibilities 
for clever clueing, and I thought most of the 
entries, including my own, were mediocre.

I was disappointed in the repetition in the clues.  

Good word, and quite tricky, based on the number of 
technically flawed entries.  I *hate* clueing plurals, but
it's good practice. 

Thank you to the moderator for moderating!
I like clues that are clever rather than obscure.  I like to be able
to solve crossword puzzles without a lot of reference books.
Is it just me?  I really didn't like "baseball team" = nine.  I know
there are nine people on the field from one team, but I don't hear 
a lot of people talking about the "nines" or anything, the way you
hear things like "cagers" and "gridders".  

The chosen word to be clued was great, and the moderator is
a truly wonderful and gifted person.  Actually, I was disappointed
by this crop -- but then, I thought it was such a difficult word
to clue interestingly that I didn't submit an entry myself.
A tricky problem in grading is clues that used double meanings
based on teeth and dogs, since the canine teeth are so named for
their resemblance to dogs' teeth.  Is this the same meaning or not?
I didn't consider such clues invalid, but downgraded them.  By the
way, I was hoping someone would bring wolves, coyotes, etc. into it.

A lot of 'dogs' of clues perhaps. Thank you for setting the competition.

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

1st place (score 87.87%) - clue 16

    From: Kevin Wald <wald@math.uchicago.edu>
    What Dracula used to feed dogs (7)

Votes (normalized): 59 67 76 80 90 95 100 100 100 100 100

Neat clue - I liked this one a lot!

Best clue by far.

The winner (by the skin of it's teeth);  colorful surface and 
clever misdirection with "used to".

I -hate- most double definitions.  I loved this one.  
It must quite good, indeed.

Liked the imaginative Draculean double definition; Good clue. 

Excellent misleading clue ... great surface reading as well.

Servicable double definition with a nice surface.

This gets bonus points for being a double-definition, and for the
excellent surface reading.  The first definition is very clever,
maybe a tad too clever, but if I ran into it in a crossword puzzle,
I would figure it out, and be this impressed.
I give this clue 2nd place.

Great double defn.

Good clue, but downgraded for using two senses of the word that are
too closely related.

This clue has a strange aura about it.

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

2nd place (score 75.06%) - clue 9

    From: "Gail Koontz" <gail.koontz@quancon.com>
    Pooches are focus of crime in fashionable French town (7)

Votes (normalized): 47 50 60 63 70 75 78 83 100 100 100

Not bad.

Sound construction, but soso surface.

Excellent, clever clue - the best of the 'Cannes' clues by 
far.  In fact, one of the best, period.

Runnerup of the four CANNES clues with cute surface and excellent 
CANNES definer. Didn't like "focus of crime" = I. 

"Are" isn't a good connector - you're clueing one 
(singular) word, even if it happens to be plural.  "Focus"
is a questionable center-letter indicator. 

Excellent surface.  I can just imagine those snooty be-ribboned 
French poodles on a crime spree.  

Best of the Cannes-Cannes.

"Pooches" somehow seems an extra remove away from CANINES for me.
Still, a good clue; tied for the win for me, with #11.

A tad long-winded - I am not fond of FOCUS for middle letter.

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

3rd place (score 67.01%) - clue 8

    From: jbergman@bbn.com (Jacob Bergmann)
    Pointers, perhaps, for California baseball teams (7)

Votes (normalized): 10 47 50 50 56 70 80 80 80 82 100 100

Nicely hidden definition.

Nice surface, nice clue.

"for" is a one-way connective; it should follow the wordplay part
and precede the straight def., not the other way around.

A good clue! Clever use of "nines".  Just not my favorite.

The best of the 'baseball team' clues.

Best of the baseball clues; good construction and definition; 
so-so surface 

CA American-centric, "Baseball teams" = NINES iffy.
Decent surface.

I don't like baseball team = nine.  I would probably never figure out
"Pointers" = dogs.

Lovely.

"Baseball teams" -> NINES isn't very elegant, I think.

Well, I didn't know a baseball team had 9 players (how many subs?). I
do now. My favourite clue. It's a good thing the other CA9s are bonuses.

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

4th place (score 62.30%) - clue 13

    From: bcs@harriseda.com (Brian Spollen)
    Singaporan whips around in Greyhounds, for instance (7)

Votes (normalized): 17 33 38 38 50 56 60 76 80 100 100 100

Another well hidden definition (though it shouldn't be capitlized).

Clever clue with a rather strange surface.

What does "whips around" mean, in the surface? Just "travels"? And,  
is it "Singaporan" or "SingaporEan"? (I'm not sure)

Loved the Singapor(e)an whips.

Pretty good, but the surface doesn't really work whether you
read 'whips' as a noun or a verb. 

Excellent clue with funny, but slightly wierd surface.  Loved  
"Singaporan whips" = CANES.   

If you buy the topical definition for canes (and I do)
this is an absolutely spectacular clue.  Great 
double-meanings for whips and Greyhounds.  Do those in
the UK know that Greyhound is/was a big US bus line,
though?

Flawless.  Excellent surface reading, and perfect charade.  I really
love this clue.  Deliciously twisty!  (No, I didn't write it!)
I am ranking it number 1.

"Go Greyhound, and leave the driving to . . ."

Nice try, but is "Singaporan" really a word?

Defective - caning might be called whipping, but a cane is certainly
not a whip.  (And you can't say that "whips" is a verb, because then
the adjective "Singaporan" can't work.)

Is this an obscure fetish of English colonials? I'm English public
school and am not aware of the use of "Singaporan whips".

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

5th place (score 58.93%) - clue 7

    From: Scott Glazer <scottgl@Onramp.NET>
    May in Tijuanu is for the dogs (7)

Votes (normalized): 6 20 50 56 60 63 67 84 85 100

Nice surface. Don't really care for the sloppy 
'may' for 'can' though.

Is May dog-mating season over there, or something?

Lost first point for spelling; another for "sloppy" usage.  

Misspelled "Tijuana" in clue; tortured construction 

After I entered this clue, I remembered that something
"goes to" the dogs but is "for" the birds, usually.
Oh, well, I still like the surface.

This is also a perfect charade and a flawless surface reading.  
This clue gets my 3rd place.

I like this, in spite of the typo.

Nice surface; I would have found it hard to solve with the "Tijuana
is" trick and "May" -> CAN.  Downgraded slightly for misspelling.

I'll ignore the typo. No cryptic for IN.

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

6th place (score 56.97%) - clue 15

    From: Philip Rose <phil.rose@zetnet.co.uk>
    Vulcan in essential exhibition of pointed teeth (7)

Votes (normalized): 33 44 50 50 50 60 67 70 71 75

Not too sure about 'exhibition of' as a hidden word indicator.

"exhibition of" is a bit weak as a hidden-word ind. - plus, I hate
Star Trek. And, why "essential", in the surface?

A hidden word clue must have a great surface.  This one fails on 
several counts, including Leonard Nemoy's canines. 

"exhibition" needs to be "exhibits" for the wordplay 
part to read right... weak surface for a hidden word.  

A lovely hidden clue; I like "exhibition" as the indicator.  Does
the surface refer to Star Trek?  

But . . . but . . . Vulcans don't have pointed teeth -- they have 
pointed ears. *Ferengi* have pointed teeth.

And I thought Vulcans had pointed ears, not teeth.

Okay, but weak surface.  Why is the exhibition essential?

Not the only ..CAN IN ES.. but my favourite - 'cos I wrote it :-(

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

7th place (score 55.54%) - clue 10

    From: mike_holmans@cix.compulink.co.uk (Mike Holmans)
    Reversed bag contains nine dogs (7)

Votes (normalized): 0 20 33 44 50 53 67 67 75 80 85 92

I have this vision of someone drowning unwanted puppies...

What is a reversed bag? I guess 'inside out' wouldn't work.

In the surface, what is a "reversed bag"?

I read this clue after lunch and just didn't like the surface!

A good, solid clue.  Not exciting, but no problems and the
surface reads nicely.

Imaginative and sound construction, but the surface is totally 
meaningless. 

Bag is "sac" only in France. Here a reversed bag would be "kcas"/

bag = sac, without the k, bugs me.  Otherwise nice.

A perfect charade, but a less polished surface than clues I ranked 
higher.

Bags are "inverted", not "reversed".

You fiendish dognapper!  A good score for this simple clue.

No cryptic for NINE.

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

8th place (score 53.56%) - clue 4

    From: cpweiss@netaccess.on.ca (Paul Weiss)
    Dogs one in  a film festival. (7)

Votes (normalized): 0 35 40 50 50 50 56 65 67 70 80 80

Would have preferred ellipses, but at least 
there is no confusion here.

As in #2: I know "dogs" is meant to be taken as a verb, in the
surface, but it's just too strained...

Sound clue; but just doesn't sparkle!

Better CANNES clue than #3, with a decent CANNES definer; but 
surface is unlikely and...dull 

Wonderful clue from a truly warm person. 
This gets around the problem referred to in clue #3 above.

Dull, but at least no techical or surface flaws.

A fine charade, but surface is not as nice as clues I rated higher.

Poor surface.  Why would one be being dogged *in* a film festival?

Best of the CAN(I)NES clues. 

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

9th place (score 53.04%) - clue 14

    From: Cosmic Vorton <kll@lns598.lns.cornell.edu>
    The first cannibals: insane, mixed-up dogs (7)

Votes (normalized): 33 33 38 38 44 47 67 70 80 80

Cute having an anagram indicator as anagram fodder.

I struggled long and hard with the idea of following "insane"
with *another* anag. ind., and decided against it... And, I don't
like "the first" - "the first OF" would've been better, though not
for the surface...

Quite good, actually.

Didn't know dogs were the first species to eat each other... 
Can't fault the construction, except that I prefer "first OF 
cannibals" to signal "C" (or some similar device). 

"c" would be the first of cannibals, not just the 
first cannibals.

I like this clue, but I am biased -- I wrote it.  

The judges sentiment: a choppy surface.

I don't accept "the first cannibals" -> C as correct.  It should be
"The first of cannibals" or something.

Dog eat dog perhaps? 

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

10th place (score 52.12%) - clue 1

    From: sailorjn@juno.com
    "Bitches", for illustration, received #1 in French film festival (7)

Votes (normalized): 17 30 33 33 40 45 55 56 60 75 82 100

Obviously a Joan Collins film.

Didn't like splitting the container indicator 
with the contained word.

Maybe books might get prizes "for illustration", but not movies!

Surface a bit awkward, but a fair clue.

Best, by far, of the CANNES clues; solid in all facets. 

Deductions for poor definition, an unnatural grammar for
the containment indication, an extraneous '#' sign, and 
a poor surface.

This is an perfectly adequate charade, somewhat obvious.  
"For illustration" seems superfluous to the surface. 

I would have liked this better if 'Bitches' could have been worked
into the clue as more than a title.

"For illustration" is awkward in the surface reading and does not sound
like a likely subject of an award at a *film* festival.

#1 leads me to NO-I rather than just I. 

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

11th place (score 41.62%) - clue 6

    From: tomd@shasta.amd.com (Tom Deneau)
    Hundreds terminate a cat's lives! (7)

Votes (normalized): 11 20 29 33 33 38 40 40 45 50 60 100

A mere quibble - "hundreds terminate [ANINE]" gives C-ANINE-C;
"terminates" or "terminating" might give C-ANINE-S but would
more properly give ANINE-CS. Maybe CS could be clued as
"Ends of cats"?
  
Sounds more like bees and a cat with anaphylaxis.

Why "hundreds" in the &lit. reading?

Thought this much too involved... don't see the &lit, either.

Good effort, good surface, but no matter how I try, I
keep coming up with "csanine" or "aninecs" as the charade
answer.  The clue seems to require the "cs" be together 
rather than being split.

Interesting construction but &lit definition fails...could equally 
apply to the SPCA! 

Great idea but no indication of "container". As a matter of fact, the
surface reading of the clue would make me put it more like
NINEACS because of the word "terminate".

"Terminate" is not a container indicator; the wordplay
portion here spells out "aninecs."  The &lit definition
is a real stretch as well.

A nice try for an &lit, but I am not sure about "terminate" and
the surface seems to want a plural "cats".

Oooh "Cs" for "Hundreds"?  I can't buy that - it's too anachronistic.

Defective - according to the construction given, this should clue
ANINECS.  Too bad; it was a nice clue otherwise.

Didn't like TERMINATE as an inclusion indicator. Also HUNDRED-S => C-S
link is a bit iffy.

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

12th place (score 33.58%) - clue 11

    From: "paula10s@ix.netcom.com" <paula10s@ix.netcom.com>
    Review case in point for Dental Group (7)

Votes (normalized): 0 0 0 0 29 30 33 33 60 83 100

I didn't understand this one no matter how 
often I reread the explanation.
Even if 'point' somehow furnishes the missing 
'n', it would be an indirect
anagram, wouldn't it? Didn't really see 
'review' as an anagram indicator either.

Indirect anagram! Bzzt. Nice def., though.

It took me forever to figure out just how I was supposed 
to get 'N' from 'point' and I'm not wild about 'review' as
an anagram indicator

"Review" is weak anagram indicator; anagram is somewhat indirect by 
adding "point" to get final "S". 

Dental Group is a great definition but the rest of this
clue is a total shambles.

I like "Dental Group" = teeth, but I do not understand how 
"point" = N.

Either this is indirect or I don't understand how "point" becomes an 'n'.

Not bad, though "point" -> S is kind of hackneyed.  (Notice how the
composer didn't even bother to explain it?)  Still, tied for first
with #9, I say.

First of the toothy clues. I like it - runner-up

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

13th place (score 31.71%) - clue 12

    From: bshatzer@orednet.org (Bill Shatzer)
    "Showgirls", not quite as good as "10", was shown after "One Hundred and 
    One Dalmations." (7)

Votes (normalized): 0 0 0 10 13 30 40 44 65 67 80

How about   `"10" almost shown very shortly after "One hundred and one
Dalmatians" '

Long clue, and 'Showgirls' seems completely extraneous.

DalmatiAns. And, the def. for "NINES" is borderline.

Too convoluted, methinks!

Tortured to the point of pain.  And "Showgirls" deserved a zero 
as well! 

Cheating just a little, I think. One hundred and one, IMHO, would be
CI, not CA. But that's splitting hairs on an otherwise first-rate clue.

This attempt at "nines" has me doubled over in pain.

"Showgirls" seems superfluous.

This clue, while rather long, wins extra points for its creative
depiction of "cinematic scheduling gone terribly, terribly wrong". 

I understand 'not quite as good as "10"' -> 'nine', but how does 
"Showgirls" figure in to get "nines"?  Also, "and one" -> 'a' is
kinda shaky.

Too long.  Further downgraded for misspelling.

I found this too obscure. I know of no competition where showgirls
are rated.

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

14th place (score 27.92%) - clue 5

    From: DW Bullock <bullock@whio.lincoln.ac.nz>
    Do they bite the hand that feeds them? (7)

Votes (normalized): 0 0 0 0 5 17 22 25 67 82 90

Doesn't appear to be any known sort of cryptic 
clue - it certainly isn't an &lit.

I assume this is meant as an &lit., but it doesn't quite fit the 
standards...

A very funny and very clever clue! Got 1 point just for the smile 
it caused.  I'm not sure the construction is legit; but if it is, 
it's a winner!

I don't get it.

I can't even BEGIN to figure out how to comment on this one! 

Not a cryptic clue.

I will grant that "they bite" is a fine definition for teeth, but
I don't see how "them" can possibly be construed as "dogs".
"They bite" would be a terrific clue for a regular crossword.

A nice thought.  I don't think it quite comes off, because the various
parts of the two clues are intermingled, but a nice thought.

Ooh, I like it.  But it's flawed: the two senses used in the double
definition are related.  Hence I must downgrade it.  If I could
bring myself to overlook the flaw I'd make this my winner.

I had great difficulty with this clue. On balance I loathed it rather
than liked it as dogs generally are extremely faithful to the hand that
feeds them. 

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

15th place (score 26.56%) - clue 3

    From: Serge Elnitsky <elnitsky@coos.dartmouth.edu>
    Dogs I enter into competition (7)

Votes (normalized): 0 0 0 0 10 24 25 33 38 65 98

'Competition' not enough to point to 'Cannes.'

Would it have killed me to put "enterED"?? Moron.

I had to mark this down because I think "competition" without any 
qualifier is doggedly unfair...

Surface is a little awkward. Getting "Cannes" from
"competition" is a real reach.

Worst of the CANNES clues; "competition" is not an adequate synonym 
or definer for CANNES, and seems to refer to a dog show instead  
(didn't realizes Cannes held one!). 

It's a pretty far reach to expect someone to guess at Cannes when
they're only given a generic "competition" clue.

The verb tense of "enter" is wrong for the wordplay
portion: needs to be "enters."  "Competition" is
way too sketchy a definition for Cannes.

I don't like "competition" for Cannes.  

"Competition" isn't really much of a clue for "Cannes".  Perhaps "Film
Competition" or even "French Competition".

The best of the plain Cannes + I clues.  A close third for me,
behind #9 and #11, which I gave a tie win to.

Not enough overlap between a (generic) competition and the Cannes film 
festival.

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

16th place (score 9.71%) - clue 2

    From: Matthew Merzbacher <matthew@mills.edu>
    Dogs American in Estonia (7)

Votes (normalized): 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 12 20 25 40

No hidden word indicator.  Awkward reading 
without ellipses - is it about
American dogs or someone trailing an American?

Where's the hidden-word indicator?

Okay hidden word clue; but not my favorite kind of cryptic clue!

Doesn't this need a hidden word indicator? 

No hidden word indicator; dull surface 

Great idea but really needs a containment indicator so the solver knows
what he's looking for!

Invalid clue: no hidden-word indicator.  

OK, but I don't see the hidden indicator.

This needs a hidden-word indicator.

My lame clue, and I apologize.  Abstain.

Defective - no container indicator.

No hidden word indicator - first of many dogs unfortunately.

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

And comments on the bonus clues:

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

    From: "paula10s@ix.netcom.com" <paula10s@ix.netcom.com>
    American in established Dental Group

Like in #2, no hidden-word ind.

I think hidden word clues require some kind of hidden
word indicator.  This doesn't have one.

No indicator 

I like "Dental Group" = teeth, but I see no hidden indicator.

No indicator

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

    From: Roy Thearle <r.w.thearle@canterbury.ac.uk>
    Can one, with English in noon sun, get these? (7)

Nice idea that doesn't really work; too 
complex, especially 'noon sun' to get 'NS.'

I recognize very few one-letter abbrevs. "N" for "noon" and "S"
for "sun" aren't among them.

Fairly awkward surface and it would be tough to solve.  
But quite original and imaginative. 

Abbreviation madness: on top of one=I and English=E, how does one 
get "noon" = E and "sun" = S??? 

I've never heard of NS as the abreviation of noon sun, and I have never
heard the aphorism about the Mad Dogs and the Englishman. 

No indicator that NOON SUN should be abbreviated.

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

    From: "Gail Koontz" <gail.koontz@quancon.com>
    KIXS goes to the dogs (7)

K = CA?

Is KIXS a TV or radio station I'm supposed to have heard of?

Doesn't work for me.

No homophone indicator or other device to show a coded construction. 
I assume the funny surface refers to a radio station! 

I have no idea what KIXS are.  There should also be some sort of
homophone indicator, since the "K" is voiced, not used in spelling.

No indicator

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

    From: sailorjn@juno.com
    Eyeteeth extracted from Anglican in Essex (7)

Loved this one, especially the hidden word indicator!

Better than most of the non-bonus clues.

A wonderful clue - loved it!

Amusing hidden word with quirky UKish surface. 

Best container clue of the lot with a wonderful surface reading as well.

Excellent surface and perfect hidden word clue.  Do (did) they really
rip out your teeth if you don't attend services?  I would have ranked
this clue fairly high.

Good, although fairly obvious

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

    From: sailorjn@juno.com
    Golden State baseball team, at start of season, were dogs (7)

Better than most of the real entries.

Not bad.

About the same as 22 but the surface subject and verb 
don't agree which makes the surface a little awkward.

Second best of the baseball clues--almost equals #8. 

I don't like "baseball team" = nine, but this has a very nice surface
reading.   

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

    From: bshatzer@orednet.org (Bill Shatzer)
    California baseball teams are real dogs. (7)

Better than most of the real entries. 

"real" seems superfluous in the def.

Bonus clue-- the only bonus clue I liked! Not that the others were 
real dogs, or anything.......

Almost the same construction as #21 and #8, but surface is much duller.

I don't like "baseball team" = nine, but this has a very nice surface
reading.   

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

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Article 1 of 8

Subject:      PCWC 61 results
From:         roy@cant.ac.uk (R W Thearle)
Date:         1996/08/27
Message-Id:   <4vvb5j$l0p@fennel.cant.ac.uk>
Newsgroups:   rec.puzzles.crosswords
[More Headers]

The votes have been counted, the results are in, and
as usual I failed to predict the winner - even after receiving all the
ballots...

Congratulations to Kevin Wald on winning this round of the PCWC
by collecting a stunningly high score for

	What Dracula used to feed dogs (7)

Honourable mentions to Gail Koontz and Jake Bergman who achieved
second and third places. Jake has agreed to moderate the next contest.

Votes and comments listed below. Thanks to all who submitted and voted.

Roy

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


"Chief Inspector, it is a Clueh!"
"A what?"
"A clueh"
"You said 'clueh'"
"Yes, I know"
"Go to Cannes immediately - we believe the theif has stolen a diamond"
"Perhaps it is a baseball diamond?"
"The police are going to the dogs."

The word didn't seem to offer many possibilities 
for clever clueing, and I thought most of the 
entries, including my own, were mediocre.

I was disappointed in the repetition in the clues.  

Good word, and quite tricky, based on the number of 
technically flawed entries.  I *hate* clueing plurals, but
it's good practice. 

Thank you to the moderator for moderating!
I like clues that are clever rather than obscure.  I like to be able
to solve crossword puzzles without a lot of reference books.
Is it just me?  I really didn't like "baseball team" = nine.  I know
there are nine people on the field from one team, but I don't hear 
a lot of people talking about the "nines" or anything, the way you
hear things like "cagers" and "gridders".  

The chosen word to be clued was great, and the moderator is
a truly wonderful and gifted person.  Actually, I was disappointed
by this crop -- but then, I thought it was such a difficult word
to clue interestingly that I didn't submit an entry myself.
A tricky problem in grading is clues that used double meanings
based on teeth and dogs, since the canine teeth are so named for
their resemblance to dogs' teeth.  Is this the same meaning or not?
I didn't consider such clues invalid, but downgraded them.  By the
way, I was hoping someone would bring wolves, coyotes, etc. into it.

A lot of 'dogs' of clues perhaps. Thank you for setting the competition.

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

1st place (score 87.87%) - clue 16

    From: Kevin Wald <wald@math.uchicago.edu>
    What Dracula used to feed dogs (7)

Votes (normalized): 59 67 76 80 90 95 100 100 100 100 100

Neat clue - I liked this one a lot!

Best clue by far.

The winner (by the skin of it's teeth);  colorful surface and 
clever misdirection with "used to".

I -hate- most double definitions.  I loved this one.  
It must quite good, indeed.

Liked the imaginative Draculean double definition; Good clue. 

Excellent misleading clue ... great surface reading as well.

Servicable double definition with a nice surface.

This gets bonus points for being a double-definition, and for the
excellent surface reading.  The first definition is very clever,
maybe a tad too clever, but if I ran into it in a crossword puzzle,
I would figure it out, and be this impressed.
I give this clue 2nd place.

Great double defn.

Good clue, but downgraded for using two senses of the word that are
too closely related.

This clue has a strange aura about it.

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

2nd place (score 75.06%) - clue 9

    From: "Gail Koontz" <gail.koontz@quancon.com>
    Pooches are focus of crime in fashionable French town (7)

Votes (normalized): 47 50 60 63 70 75 78 83 100 100 100

Not bad.

Sound construction, but soso surface.

Excellent, clever clue - the best of the 'Cannes' clues by 
far.  In fact, one of the best, period.

Runnerup of the four CANNES clues with cute surface and excellent 
CANNES definer. Didn't like "focus of crime" = I. 

"Are" isn't a good connector - you're clueing one 
(singular) word, even if it happens to be plural.  "Focus"
is a questionable center-letter indicator. 

Excellent surface.  I can just imagine those snooty be-ribboned 
French poodles on a crime spree.  

Best of the Cannes-Cannes.

"Pooches" somehow seems an extra remove away from CANINES for me.
Still, a good clue; tied for the win for me, with #11.

A tad long-winded - I am not fond of FOCUS for middle letter.

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

3rd place (score 67.01%) - clue 8

    From: jbergman@bbn.com (Jacob Bergmann)
    Pointers, perhaps, for California baseball teams (7)

Votes (normalized): 10 47 50 50 56 70 80 80 80 82 100 100

Nicely hidden definition.

Nice surface, nice clue.

"for" is a one-way connective; it should follow the wordplay part
and precede the straight def., not the other way around.

A good clue! Clever use of "nines".  Just not my favorite.

The best of the 'baseball team' clues.

Best of the baseball clues; good construction and definition; 
so-so surface 

CA American-centric, "Baseball teams" = NINES iffy.
Decent surface.

I don't like baseball team = nine.  I would probably never figure out
"Pointers" = dogs.

Lovely.

"Baseball teams" -> NINES isn't very elegant, I think.

Well, I didn't know a baseball team had 9 players (how many subs?). I
do now. My favourite clue. It's a good thing the other CA9s are bonuses.

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

4th place (score 62.30%) - clue 13

    From: bcs@harriseda.com (Brian Spollen)
    Singaporan whips around in Greyhounds, for instance (7)

Votes (normalized): 17 33 38 38 50 56 60 76 80 100 100 100

Another well hidden definition (though it shouldn't be capitlized).

Clever clue with a rather strange surface.

What does "whips around" mean, in the surface? Just "travels"? And,  
is it "Singaporan" or "SingaporEan"? (I'm not sure)

Loved the Singapor(e)an whips.

Pretty good, but the surface doesn't really work whether you
read 'whips' as a noun or a verb. 

Excellent clue with funny, but slightly wierd surface.  Loved  
"Singaporan whips" = CANES.   

If you buy the topical definition for canes (and I do)
this is an absolutely spectacular clue.  Great 
double-meanings for whips and Greyhounds.  Do those in
the UK know that Greyhound is/was a big US bus line,
though?

Flawless.  Excellent surface reading, and perfect charade.  I really
love this clue.  Deliciously twisty!  (No, I didn't write it!)
I am ranking it number 1.

"Go Greyhound, and leave the driving to . . ."

Nice try, but is "Singaporan" really a word?

Defective - caning might be called whipping, but a cane is certainly
not a whip.  (And you can't say that "whips" is a verb, because then
the adjective "Singaporan" can't work.)

Is this an obscure fetish of English colonials? I'm English public
school and am not aware of the use of "Singaporan whips".

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

5th place (score 58.93%) - clue 7

    From: Scott Glazer <scottgl@Onramp.NET>
    May in Tijuanu is for the dogs (7)

Votes (normalized): 6 20 50 56 60 63 67 84 85 100

Nice surface. Don't really care for the sloppy 
'may' for 'can' though.

Is May dog-mating season over there, or something?

Lost first point for spelling; another for "sloppy" usage.  

Misspelled "Tijuana" in clue; tortured construction 

After I entered this clue, I remembered that something
"goes to" the dogs but is "for" the birds, usually.
Oh, well, I still like the surface.

This is also a perfect charade and a flawless surface reading.  
This clue gets my 3rd place.

I like this, in spite of the typo.

Nice surface; I would have found it hard to solve with the "Tijuana
is" trick and "May" -> CAN.  Downgraded slightly for misspelling.

I'll ignore the typo. No cryptic for IN.

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

6th place (score 56.97%) - clue 15

    From: Philip Rose <phil.rose@zetnet.co.uk>
    Vulcan in essential exhibition of pointed teeth (7)

Votes (normalized): 33 44 50 50 50 60 67 70 71 75

Not too sure about 'exhibition of' as a hidden word indicator.

"exhibition of" is a bit weak as a hidden-word ind. - plus, I hate
Star Trek. And, why "essential", in the surface?

A hidden word clue must have a great surface.  This one fails on 
several counts, including Leonard Nemoy's canines. 

"exhibition" needs to be "exhibits" for the wordplay 
part to read right... weak surface for a hidden word.  

A lovely hidden clue; I like "exhibition" as the indicator.  Does
the surface refer to Star Trek?  

But . . . but . . . Vulcans don't have pointed teeth -- they have 
pointed ears. *Ferengi* have pointed teeth.

And I thought Vulcans had pointed ears, not teeth.

Okay, but weak surface.  Why is the exhibition essential?

Not the only ..CAN IN ES.. but my favourite - 'cos I wrote it :-(

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

7th place (score 55.54%) - clue 10

    From: mike_holmans@cix.compulink.co.uk (Mike Holmans)
    Reversed bag contains nine dogs (7)

Votes (normalized): 0 20 33 44 50 53 67 67 75 80 85 92

I have this vision of someone drowning unwanted puppies...

What is a reversed bag? I guess 'inside out' wouldn't work.

In the surface, what is a "reversed bag"?

I read this clue after lunch and just didn't like the surface!

A good, solid clue.  Not exciting, but no problems and the
surface reads nicely.

Imaginative and sound construction, but the surface is totally 
meaningless. 

Bag is "sac" only in France. Here a reversed bag would be "kcas"/

bag = sac, without the k, bugs me.  Otherwise nice.

A perfect charade, but a less polished surface than clues I ranked 
higher.

Bags are "inverted", not "reversed".

You fiendish dognapper!  A good score for this simple clue.

No cryptic for NINE.

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

8th place (score 53.56%) - clue 4

    From: cpweiss@netaccess.on.ca (Paul Weiss)
    Dogs one in  a film festival. (7)

Votes (normalized): 0 35 40 50 50 50 56 65 67 70 80 80

Would have preferred ellipses, but at least 
there is no confusion here.

As in #2: I know "dogs" is meant to be taken as a verb, in the
surface, but it's just too strained...

Sound clue; but just doesn't sparkle!

Better CANNES clue than #3, with a decent CANNES definer; but 
surface is unlikely and...dull 

Wonderful clue from a truly warm person. 
This gets around the problem referred to in clue #3 above.

Dull, but at least no techical or surface flaws.

A fine charade, but surface is not as nice as clues I rated higher.

Poor surface.  Why would one be being dogged *in* a film festival?

Best of the CAN(I)NES clues. 

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

9th place (score 53.04%) - clue 14

    From: Cosmic Vorton <kll@lns598.lns.cornell.edu>
    The first cannibals: insane, mixed-up dogs (7)

Votes (normalized): 33 33 38 38 44 47 67 70 80 80

Cute having an anagram indicator as anagram fodder.

I struggled long and hard with the idea of following "insane"
with *another* anag. ind., and decided against it... And, I don't
like "the first" - "the first OF" would've been better, though not
for the surface...

Quite good, actually.

Didn't know dogs were the first species to eat each other... 
Can't fault the construction, except that I prefer "first OF 
cannibals" to signal "C" (or some similar device). 

"c" would be the first of cannibals, not just the 
first cannibals.

I like this clue, but I am biased -- I wrote it.  

The judges sentiment: a choppy surface.

I don't accept "the first cannibals" -> C as correct.  It should be
"The first of cannibals" or something.

Dog eat dog perhaps? 

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

10th place (score 52.12%) - clue 1

    From: sailorjn@juno.com
    "Bitches", for illustration, received #1 in French film festival (7)

Votes (normalized): 17 30 33 33 40 45 55 56 60 75 82 100

Obviously a Joan Collins film.

Didn't like splitting the container indicator 
with the contained word.

Maybe books might get prizes "for illustration", but not movies!

Surface a bit awkward, but a fair clue.

Best, by far, of the CANNES clues; solid in all facets. 

Deductions for poor definition, an unnatural grammar for
the containment indication, an extraneous '#' sign, and 
a poor surface.

This is an perfectly adequate charade, somewhat obvious.  
"For illustration" seems superfluous to the surface. 

I would have liked this better if 'Bitches' could have been worked
into the clue as more than a title.

"For illustration" is awkward in the surface reading and does not sound
like a likely subject of an award at a *film* festival.

#1 leads me to NO-I rather than just I. 

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

11th place (score 41.62%) - clue 6

    From: tomd@shasta.amd.com (Tom Deneau)
    Hundreds terminate a cat's lives! (7)

Votes (normalized): 11 20 29 33 33 38 40 40 45 50 60 100

A mere quibble - "hundreds terminate [ANINE]" gives C-ANINE-C;
"terminates" or "terminating" might give C-ANINE-S but would
more properly give ANINE-CS. Maybe CS could be clued as
"Ends of cats"?
  
Sounds more like bees and a cat with anaphylaxis.

Why "hundreds" in the &lit. reading?

Thought this much too involved... don't see the &lit, either.

Good effort, good surface, but no matter how I try, I
keep coming up with "csanine" or "aninecs" as the charade
answer.  The clue seems to require the "cs" be together 
rather than being split.

Interesting construction but &lit definition fails...could equally 
apply to the SPCA! 

Great idea but no indication of "container". As a matter of fact, the
surface reading of the clue would make me put it more like
NINEACS because of the word "terminate".

"Terminate" is not a container indicator; the wordplay
portion here spells out "aninecs."  The &lit definition
is a real stretch as well.

A nice try for an &lit, but I am not sure about "terminate" and
the surface seems to want a plural "cats".

Oooh "Cs" for "Hundreds"?  I can't buy that - it's too anachronistic.

Defective - according to the construction given, this should clue
ANINECS.  Too bad; it was a nice clue otherwise.

Didn't like TERMINATE as an inclusion indicator. Also HUNDRED-S => C-S
link is a bit iffy.

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

12th place (score 33.58%) - clue 11

    From: "paula10s@ix.netcom.com" <paula10s@ix.netcom.com>
    Review case in point for Dental Group (7)

Votes (normalized): 0 0 0 0 29 30 33 33 60 83 100

I didn't understand this one no matter how 
often I reread the explanation.
Even if 'point' somehow furnishes the missing 
'n', it would be an indirect
anagram, wouldn't it? Didn't really see 
'review' as an anagram indicator either.

Indirect anagram! Bzzt. Nice def., though.

It took me forever to figure out just how I was supposed 
to get 'N' from 'point' and I'm not wild about 'review' as
an anagram indicator

"Review" is weak anagram indicator; anagram is somewhat indirect by 
adding "point" to get final "S". 

Dental Group is a great definition but the rest of this
clue is a total shambles.

I like "Dental Group" = teeth, but I do not understand how 
"point" = N.

Either this is indirect or I don't understand how "point" becomes an 'n'.

Not bad, though "point" -> S is kind of hackneyed.  (Notice how the
composer didn't even bother to explain it?)  Still, tied for first
with #9, I say.

First of the toothy clues. I like it - runner-up

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

13th place (score 31.71%) - clue 12

    From: bshatzer@orednet.org (Bill Shatzer)
    "Showgirls", not quite as good as "10", was shown after "One Hundred and 
    One Dalmations." (7)

Votes (normalized): 0 0 0 10 13 30 40 44 65 67 80

How about   `"10" almost shown very shortly after "One hundred and one
Dalmatians" '

Long clue, and 'Showgirls' seems completely extraneous.

DalmatiAns. And, the def. for "NINES" is borderline.

Too convoluted, methinks!

Tortured to the point of pain.  And "Showgirls" deserved a zero 
as well! 

Cheating just a little, I think. One hundred and one, IMHO, would be
CI, not CA. But that's splitting hairs on an otherwise first-rate clue.

This attempt at "nines" has me doubled over in pain.

"Showgirls" seems superfluous.

This clue, while rather long, wins extra points for its creative
depiction of "cinematic scheduling gone terribly, terribly wrong". 

I understand 'not quite as good as "10"' -> 'nine', but how does 
"Showgirls" figure in to get "nines"?  Also, "and one" -> 'a' is
kinda shaky.

Too long.  Further downgraded for misspelling.

I found this too obscure. I know of no competition where showgirls
are rated.

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

14th place (score 27.92%) - clue 5

    From: DW Bullock <bullock@whio.lincoln.ac.nz>
    Do they bite the hand that feeds them? (7)

Votes (normalized): 0 0 0 0 5 17 22 25 67 82 90

Doesn't appear to be any known sort of cryptic 
clue - it certainly isn't an &lit.

I assume this is meant as an &lit., but it doesn't quite fit the 
standards...

A very funny and very clever clue! Got 1 point just for the smile 
it caused.  I'm not sure the construction is legit; but if it is, 
it's a winner!

I don't get it.

I can't even BEGIN to figure out how to comment on this one! 

Not a cryptic clue.

I will grant that "they bite" is a fine definition for teeth, but
I don't see how "them" can possibly be construed as "dogs".
"They bite" would be a terrific clue for a regular crossword.

A nice thought.  I don't think it quite comes off, because the various
parts of the two clues are intermingled, but a nice thought.

Ooh, I like it.  But it's flawed: the two senses used in the double
definition are related.  Hence I must downgrade it.  If I could
bring myself to overlook the flaw I'd make this my winner.

I had great difficulty with this clue. On balance I loathed it rather
than liked it as dogs generally are extremely faithful to the hand that
feeds them. 

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

15th place (score 26.56%) - clue 3

    From: Serge Elnitsky <elnitsky@coos.dartmouth.edu>
    Dogs I enter into competition (7)

Votes (normalized): 0 0 0 0 10 24 25 33 38 65 98

'Competition' not enough to point to 'Cannes.'

Would it have killed me to put "enterED"?? Moron.

I had to mark this down because I think "competition" without any 
qualifier is doggedly unfair...

Surface is a little awkward. Getting "Cannes" from
"competition" is a real reach.

Worst of the CANNES clues; "competition" is not an adequate synonym 
or definer for CANNES, and seems to refer to a dog show instead  
(didn't realizes Cannes held one!). 

It's a pretty far reach to expect someone to guess at Cannes when
they're only given a generic "competition" clue.

The verb tense of "enter" is wrong for the wordplay
portion: needs to be "enters."  "Competition" is
way too sketchy a definition for Cannes.

I don't like "competition" for Cannes.  

"Competition" isn't really much of a clue for "Cannes".  Perhaps "Film
Competition" or even "French Competition".

The best of the plain Cannes + I clues.  A close third for me,
behind #9 and #11, which I gave a tie win to.

Not enough overlap between a (generic) competition and the Cannes film 
festival.

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

16th place (score 9.71%) - clue 2

    From: Matthew Merzbacher <matthew@mills.edu>
    Dogs American in Estonia (7)

Votes (normalized): 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 12 20 25 40

No hidden word indicator.  Awkward reading 
without ellipses - is it about
American dogs or someone trailing an American?

Where's the hidden-word indicator?

Okay hidden word clue; but not my favorite kind of cryptic clue!

Doesn't this need a hidden word indicator? 

No hidden word indicator; dull surface 

Great idea but really needs a containment indicator so the solver knows
what he's looking for!

Invalid clue: no hidden-word indicator.  

OK, but I don't see the hidden indicator.

This needs a hidden-word indicator.

My lame clue, and I apologize.  Abstain.

Defective - no container indicator.

No hidden word indicator - first of many dogs unfortunately.

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

And comments on the bonus clues:

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

    From: "paula10s@ix.netcom.com" <paula10s@ix.netcom.com>
    American in established Dental Group

Like in #2, no hidden-word ind.

I think hidden word clues require some kind of hidden
word indicator.  This doesn't have one.

No indicator 

I like "Dental Group" = teeth, but I see no hidden indicator.

No indicator

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

    From: Roy Thearle <r.w.thearle@canterbury.ac.uk>
    Can one, with English in noon sun, get these? (7)

Nice idea that doesn't really work; too 
complex, especially 'noon sun' to get 'NS.'

I recognize very few one-letter abbrevs. "N" for "noon" and "S"
for "sun" aren't among them.

Fairly awkward surface and it would be tough to solve.  
But quite original and imaginative. 

Abbreviation madness: on top of one=I and English=E, how does one 
get "noon" = E and "sun" = S??? 

I've never heard of NS as the abreviation of noon sun, and I have never
heard the aphorism about the Mad Dogs and the Englishman. 

No indicator that NOON SUN should be abbreviated.

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

    From: "Gail Koontz" <gail.koontz@quancon.com>
    KIXS goes to the dogs (7)

K = CA?

Is KIXS a TV or radio station I'm supposed to have heard of?

Doesn't work for me.

No homophone indicator or other device to show a coded construction. 
I assume the funny surface refers to a radio station! 

I have no idea what KIXS are.  There should also be some sort of
homophone indicator, since the "K" is voiced, not used in spelling.

No indicator

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

    From: sailorjn@juno.com
    Eyeteeth extracted from Anglican in Essex (7)

Loved this one, especially the hidden word indicator!

Better than most of the non-bonus clues.

A wonderful clue - loved it!

Amusing hidden word with quirky UKish surface. 

Best container clue of the lot with a wonderful surface reading as well.

Excellent surface and perfect hidden word clue.  Do (did) they really
rip out your teeth if you don't attend services?  I would have ranked
this clue fairly high.

Good, although fairly obvious

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

    From: sailorjn@juno.com
    Golden State baseball team, at start of season, were dogs (7)

Better than most of the real entries.

Not bad.

About the same as 22 but the surface subject and verb 
don't agree which makes the surface a little awkward.

Second best of the baseball clues--almost equals #8. 

I don't like "baseball team" = nine, but this has a very nice surface
reading.   

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

    From: bshatzer@orednet.org (Bill Shatzer)
    California baseball teams are real dogs. (7)

Better than most of the real entries. 

"real" seems superfluous in the def.

Bonus clue-- the only bonus clue I liked! Not that the others were 
real dogs, or anything.......

Almost the same construction as #21 and #8, but surface is much duller.

I don't like "baseball team" = nine, but this has a very nice surface
reading.   

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

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Article 1 of 8

Subject:      PCWC 61 results
From:         roy@cant.ac.uk (R W Thearle)
Date:         1996/08/27
Message-Id:   <4vvb5j$l0p@fennel.cant.ac.uk>
Newsgroups:   rec.puzzles.crosswords
[More Headers]

The votes have been counted, the results are in, and
as usual I failed to predict the winner - even after receiving all the
ballots...

Congratulations to Kevin Wald on winning this round of the PCWC
by collecting a stunningly high score for

	What Dracula used to feed dogs (7)

Honourable mentions to Gail Koontz and Jake Bergman who achieved
second and third places. Jake has agreed to moderate the next contest.

Votes and comments listed below. Thanks to all who submitted and voted.

Roy

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


"Chief Inspector, it is a Clueh!"
"A what?"
"A clueh"
"You said 'clueh'"
"Yes, I know"
"Go to Cannes immediately - we believe the theif has stolen a diamond"
"Perhaps it is a baseball diamond?"
"The police are going to the dogs."

The word didn't seem to offer many possibilities 
for clever clueing, and I thought most of the 
entries, including my own, were mediocre.

I was disappointed in the repetition in the clues.  

Good word, and quite tricky, based on the number of 
technically flawed entries.  I *hate* clueing plurals, but
it's good practice. 

Thank you to the moderator for moderating!
I like clues that are clever rather than obscure.  I like to be able
to solve crossword puzzles without a lot of reference books.
Is it just me?  I really didn't like "baseball team" = nine.  I know
there are nine people on the field from one team, but I don't hear 
a lot of people talking about the "nines" or anything, the way you
hear things like "cagers" and "gridders".  

The chosen word to be clued was great, and the moderator is
a truly wonderful and gifted person.  Actually, I was disappointed
by this crop -- but then, I thought it was such a difficult word
to clue interestingly that I didn't submit an entry myself.
A tricky problem in grading is clues that used double meanings
based on teeth and dogs, since the canine teeth are so named for
their resemblance to dogs' teeth.  Is this the same meaning or not?
I didn't consider such clues invalid, but downgraded them.  By the
way, I was hoping someone would bring wolves, coyotes, etc. into it.

A lot of 'dogs' of clues perhaps. Thank you for setting the competition.

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

1st place (score 87.87%) - clue 16

    From: Kevin Wald <wald@math.uchicago.edu>
    What Dracula used to feed dogs (7)

Votes (normalized): 59 67 76 80 90 95 100 100 100 100 100

Neat clue - I liked this one a lot!

Best clue by far.

The winner (by the skin of it's teeth);  colorful surface and 
clever misdirection with "used to".

I -hate- most double definitions.  I loved this one.  
It must quite good, indeed.

Liked the imaginative Draculean double definition; Good clue. 

Excellent misleading clue ... great surface reading as well.

Servicable double definition with a nice surface.

This gets bonus points for being a double-definition, and for the
excellent surface reading.  The first definition is very clever,
maybe a tad too clever, but if I ran into it in a crossword puzzle,
I would figure it out, and be this impressed.
I give this clue 2nd place.

Great double defn.

Good clue, but downgraded for using two senses of the word that are
too closely related.

This clue has a strange aura about it.

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

2nd place (score 75.06%) - clue 9

    From: "Gail Koontz" <gail.koontz@quancon.com>
    Pooches are focus of crime in fashionable French town (7)

Votes (normalized): 47 50 60 63 70 75 78 83 100 100 100

Not bad.

Sound construction, but soso surface.

Excellent, clever clue - the best of the 'Cannes' clues by 
far.  In fact, one of the best, period.

Runnerup of the four CANNES clues with cute surface and excellent 
CANNES definer. Didn't like "focus of crime" = I. 

"Are" isn't a good connector - you're clueing one 
(singular) word, even if it happens to be plural.  "Focus"
is a questionable center-letter indicator. 

Excellent surface.  I can just imagine those snooty be-ribboned 
French poodles on a crime spree.  

Best of the Cannes-Cannes.

"Pooches" somehow seems an extra remove away from CANINES for me.
Still, a good clue; tied for the win for me, with #11.

A tad long-winded - I am not fond of FOCUS for middle letter.

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

3rd place (score 67.01%) - clue 8

    From: jbergman@bbn.com (Jacob Bergmann)
    Pointers, perhaps, for California baseball teams (7)

Votes (normalized): 10 47 50 50 56 70 80 80 80 82 100 100

Nicely hidden definition.

Nice surface, nice clue.

"for" is a one-way connective; it should follow the wordplay part
and precede the straight def., not the other way around.

A good clue! Clever use of "nines".  Just not my favorite.

The best of the 'baseball team' clues.

Best of the baseball clues; good construction and definition; 
so-so surface 

CA American-centric, "Baseball teams" = NINES iffy.
Decent surface.

I don't like baseball team = nine.  I would probably never figure out
"Pointers" = dogs.

Lovely.

"Baseball teams" -> NINES isn't very elegant, I think.

Well, I didn't know a baseball team had 9 players (how many subs?). I
do now. My favourite clue. It's a good thing the other CA9s are bonuses.

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

4th place (score 62.30%) - clue 13

    From: bcs@harriseda.com (Brian Spollen)
    Singaporan whips around in Greyhounds, for instance (7)

Votes (normalized): 17 33 38 38 50 56 60 76 80 100 100 100

Another well hidden definition (though it shouldn't be capitlized).

Clever clue with a rather strange surface.

What does "whips around" mean, in the surface? Just "travels"? And,  
is it "Singaporan" or "SingaporEan"? (I'm not sure)

Loved the Singapor(e)an whips.

Pretty good, but the surface doesn't really work whether you
read 'whips' as a noun or a verb. 

Excellent clue with funny, but slightly wierd surface.  Loved  
"Singaporan whips" = CANES.   

If you buy the topical definition for canes (and I do)
this is an absolutely spectacular clue.  Great 
double-meanings for whips and Greyhounds.  Do those in
the UK know that Greyhound is/was a big US bus line,
though?

Flawless.  Excellent surface reading, and perfect charade.  I really
love this clue.  Deliciously twisty!  (No, I didn't write it!)
I am ranking it number 1.

"Go Greyhound, and leave the driving to . . ."

Nice try, but is "Singaporan" really a word?

Defective - caning might be called whipping, but a cane is certainly
not a whip.  (And you can't say that "whips" is a verb, because then
the adjective "Singaporan" can't work.)

Is this an obscure fetish of English colonials? I'm English public
school and am not aware of the use of "Singaporan whips".

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

5th place (score 58.93%) - clue 7

    From: Scott Glazer <scottgl@Onramp.NET>
    May in Tijuanu is for the dogs (7)

Votes (normalized): 6 20 50 56 60 63 67 84 85 100

Nice surface. Don't really care for the sloppy 
'may' for 'can' though.

Is May dog-mating season over there, or something?

Lost first point for spelling; another for "sloppy" usage.  

Misspelled "Tijuana" in clue; tortured construction 

After I entered this clue, I remembered that something
"goes to" the dogs but is "for" the birds, usually.
Oh, well, I still like the surface.

This is also a perfect charade and a flawless surface reading.  
This clue gets my 3rd place.

I like this, in spite of the typo.

Nice surface; I would have found it hard to solve with the "Tijuana
is" trick and "May" -> CAN.  Downgraded slightly for misspelling.

I'll ignore the typo. No cryptic for IN.

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

6th place (score 56.97%) - clue 15

    From: Philip Rose <phil.rose@zetnet.co.uk>
    Vulcan in essential exhibition of pointed teeth (7)

Votes (normalized): 33 44 50 50 50 60 67 70 71 75

Not too sure about 'exhibition of' as a hidden word indicator.

"exhibition of" is a bit weak as a hidden-word ind. - plus, I hate
Star Trek. And, why "essential", in the surface?

A hidden word clue must have a great surface.  This one fails on 
several counts, including Leonard Nemoy's canines. 

"exhibition" needs to be "exhibits" for the wordplay 
part to read right... weak surface for a hidden word.  

A lovely hidden clue; I like "exhibition" as the indicator.  Does
the surface refer to Star Trek?  

But . . . but . . . Vulcans don't have pointed teeth -- they have 
pointed ears. *Ferengi* have pointed teeth.

And I thought Vulcans had pointed ears, not teeth.

Okay, but weak surface.  Why is the exhibition essential?

Not the only ..CAN IN ES.. but my favourite - 'cos I wrote it :-(

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

7th place (score 55.54%) - clue 10

    From: mike_holmans@cix.compulink.co.uk (Mike Holmans)
    Reversed bag contains nine dogs (7)

Votes (normalized): 0 20 33 44 50 53 67 67 75 80 85 92

I have this vision of someone drowning unwanted puppies...

What is a reversed bag? I guess 'inside out' wouldn't work.

In the surface, what is a "reversed bag"?

I read this clue after lunch and just didn't like the surface!

A good, solid clue.  Not exciting, but no problems and the
surface reads nicely.

Imaginative and sound construction, but the surface is totally 
meaningless. 

Bag is "sac" only in France. Here a reversed bag would be "kcas"/

bag = sac, without the k, bugs me.  Otherwise nice.

A perfect charade, but a less polished surface than clues I ranked 
higher.

Bags are "inverted", not "reversed".

You fiendish dognapper!  A good score for this simple clue.

No cryptic for NINE.

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

8th place (score 53.56%) - clue 4

    From: cpweiss@netaccess.on.ca (Paul Weiss)
    Dogs one in  a film festival. (7)

Votes (normalized): 0 35 40 50 50 50 56 65 67 70 80 80

Would have preferred ellipses, but at least 
there is no confusion here.

As in #2: I know "dogs" is meant to be taken as a verb, in the
surface, but it's just too strained...

Sound clue; but just doesn't sparkle!

Better CANNES clue than #3, with a decent CANNES definer; but 
surface is unlikely and...dull 

Wonderful clue from a truly warm person. 
This gets around the problem referred to in clue #3 above.

Dull, but at least no techical or surface flaws.

A fine charade, but surface is not as nice as clues I rated higher.

Poor surface.  Why would one be being dogged *in* a film festival?

Best of the CAN(I)NES clues. 

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

9th place (score 53.04%) - clue 14

    From: Cosmic Vorton <kll@lns598.lns.cornell.edu>
    The first cannibals: insane, mixed-up dogs (7)

Votes (normalized): 33 33 38 38 44 47 67 70 80 80

Cute having an anagram indicator as anagram fodder.

I struggled long and hard with the idea of following "insane"
with *another* anag. ind., and decided against it... And, I don't
like "the first" - "the first OF" would've been better, though not
for the surface...

Quite good, actually.

Didn't know dogs were the first species to eat each other... 
Can't fault the construction, except that I prefer "first OF 
cannibals" to signal "C" (or some similar device). 

"c" would be the first of cannibals, not just the 
first cannibals.

I like this clue, but I am biased -- I wrote it.  

The judges sentiment: a choppy surface.

I don't accept "the first cannibals" -> C as correct.  It should be
"The first of cannibals" or something.

Dog eat dog perhaps? 

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

10th place (score 52.12%) - clue 1

    From: sailorjn@juno.com
    "Bitches", for illustration, received #1 in French film festival (7)

Votes (normalized): 17 30 33 33 40 45 55 56 60 75 82 100

Obviously a Joan Collins film.

Didn't like splitting the container indicator 
with the contained word.

Maybe books might get prizes "for illustration", but not movies!

Surface a bit awkward, but a fair clue.

Best, by far, of the CANNES clues; solid in all facets. 

Deductions for poor definition, an unnatural grammar for
the containment indication, an extraneous '#' sign, and 
a poor surface.

This is an perfectly adequate charade, somewhat obvious.  
"For illustration" seems superfluous to the surface. 

I would have liked this better if 'Bitches' could have been worked
into the clue as more than a title.

"For illustration" is awkward in the surface reading and does not sound
like a likely subject of an award at a *film* festival.

#1 leads me to NO-I rather than just I. 

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

11th place (score 41.62%) - clue 6

    From: tomd@shasta.amd.com (Tom Deneau)
    Hundreds terminate a cat's lives! (7)

Votes (normalized): 11 20 29 33 33 38 40 40 45 50 60 100

A mere quibble - "hundreds terminate [ANINE]" gives C-ANINE-C;
"terminates" or "terminating" might give C-ANINE-S but would
more properly give ANINE-CS. Maybe CS could be clued as
"Ends of cats"?
  
Sounds more like bees and a cat with anaphylaxis.

Why "hundreds" in the &lit. reading?

Thought this much too involved... don't see the &lit, either.

Good effort, good surface, but no matter how I try, I
keep coming up with "csanine" or "aninecs" as the charade
answer.  The clue seems to require the "cs" be together 
rather than being split.

Interesting construction but &lit definition fails...could equally 
apply to the SPCA! 

Great idea but no indication of "container". As a matter of fact, the
surface reading of the clue would make me put it more like
NINEACS because of the word "terminate".

"Terminate" is not a container indicator; the wordplay
portion here spells out "aninecs."  The &lit definition
is a real stretch as well.

A nice try for an &lit, but I am not sure about "terminate" and
the surface seems to want a plural "cats".

Oooh "Cs" for "Hundreds"?  I can't buy that - it's too anachronistic.

Defective - according to the construction given, this should clue
ANINECS.  Too bad; it was a nice clue otherwise.

Didn't like TERMINATE as an inclusion indicator. Also HUNDRED-S => C-S
link is a bit iffy.

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

12th place (score 33.58%) - clue 11

    From: "paula10s@ix.netcom.com" <paula10s@ix.netcom.com>
    Review case in point for Dental Group (7)

Votes (normalized): 0 0 0 0 29 30 33 33 60 83 100

I didn't understand this one no matter how 
often I reread the explanation.
Even if 'point' somehow furnishes the missing 
'n', it would be an indirect
anagram, wouldn't it? Didn't really see 
'review' as an anagram indicator either.

Indirect anagram! Bzzt. Nice def., though.

It took me forever to figure out just how I was supposed 
to get 'N' from 'point' and I'm not wild about 'review' as
an anagram indicator

"Review" is weak anagram indicator; anagram is somewhat indirect by 
adding "point" to get final "S". 

Dental Group is a great definition but the rest of this
clue is a total shambles.

I like "Dental Group" = teeth, but I do not understand how 
"point" = N.

Either this is indirect or I don't understand how "point" becomes an 'n'.

Not bad, though "point" -> S is kind of hackneyed.  (Notice how the
composer didn't even bother to explain it?)  Still, tied for first
with #9, I say.

First of the toothy clues. I like it - runner-up

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

13th place (score 31.71%) - clue 12

    From: bshatzer@orednet.org (Bill Shatzer)
    "Showgirls", not quite as good as "10", was shown after "One Hundred and 
    One Dalmations." (7)

Votes (normalized): 0 0 0 10 13 30 40 44 65 67 80

How about   `"10" almost shown very shortly after "One hundred and one
Dalmatians" '

Long clue, and 'Showgirls' seems completely extraneous.

DalmatiAns. And, the def. for "NINES" is borderline.

Too convoluted, methinks!

Tortured to the point of pain.  And "Showgirls" deserved a zero 
as well! 

Cheating just a little, I think. One hundred and one, IMHO, would be
CI, not CA. But that's splitting hairs on an otherwise first-rate clue.

This attempt at "nines" has me doubled over in pain.

"Showgirls" seems superfluous.

This clue, while rather long, wins extra points for its creative
depiction of "cinematic scheduling gone terribly, terribly wrong". 

I understand 'not quite as good as "10"' -> 'nine', but how does 
"Showgirls" figure in to get "nines"?  Also, "and one" -> 'a' is
kinda shaky.

Too long.  Further downgraded for misspelling.

I found this too obscure. I know of no competition where showgirls
are rated.

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

14th place (score 27.92%) - clue 5

    From: DW Bullock <bullock@whio.lincoln.ac.nz>
    Do they bite the hand that feeds them? (7)

Votes (normalized): 0 0 0 0 5 17 22 25 67 82 90

Doesn't appear to be any known sort of cryptic 
clue - it certainly isn't an &lit.

I assume this is meant as an &lit., but it doesn't quite fit the 
standards...

A very funny and very clever clue! Got 1 point just for the smile 
it caused.  I'm not sure the construction is legit; but if it is, 
it's a winner!

I don't get it.

I can't even BEGIN to figure out how to comment on this one! 

Not a cryptic clue.

I will grant that "they bite" is a fine definition for teeth, but
I don't see how "them" can possibly be construed as "dogs".
"They bite" would be a terrific clue for a regular crossword.

A nice thought.  I don't think it quite comes off, because the various
parts of the two clues are intermingled, but a nice thought.

Ooh, I like it.  But it's flawed: the two senses used in the double
definition are related.  Hence I must downgrade it.  If I could
bring myself to overlook the flaw I'd make this my winner.

I had great difficulty with this clue. On balance I loathed it rather
than liked it as dogs generally are extremely faithful to the hand that
feeds them. 

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

15th place (score 26.56%) - clue 3

    From: Serge Elnitsky <elnitsky@coos.dartmouth.edu>
    Dogs I enter into competition (7)

Votes (normalized): 0 0 0 0 10 24 25 33 38 65 98

'Competition' not enough to point to 'Cannes.'

Would it have killed me to put "enterED"?? Moron.

I had to mark this down because I think "competition" without any 
qualifier is doggedly unfair...

Surface is a little awkward. Getting "Cannes" from
"competition" is a real reach.

Worst of the CANNES clues; "competition" is not an adequate synonym 
or definer for CANNES, and seems to refer to a dog show instead  
(didn't realizes Cannes held one!). 

It's a pretty far reach to expect someone to guess at Cannes when
they're only given a generic "competition" clue.

The verb tense of "enter" is wrong for the wordplay
portion: needs to be "enters."  "Competition" is
way too sketchy a definition for Cannes.

I don't like "competition" for Cannes.  

"Competition" isn't really much of a clue for "Cannes".  Perhaps "Film
Competition" or even "French Competition".

The best of the plain Cannes + I clues.  A close third for me,
behind #9 and #11, which I gave a tie win to.

Not enough overlap between a (generic) competition and the Cannes film 
festival.

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

16th place (score 9.71%) - clue 2

    From: Matthew Merzbacher <matthew@mills.edu>
    Dogs American in Estonia (7)

Votes (normalized): 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 12 20 25 40

No hidden word indicator.  Awkward reading 
without ellipses - is it about
American dogs or someone trailing an American?

Where's the hidden-word indicator?

Okay hidden word clue; but not my favorite kind of cryptic clue!

Doesn't this need a hidden word indicator? 

No hidden word indicator; dull surface 

Great idea but really needs a containment indicator so the solver knows
what he's looking for!

Invalid clue: no hidden-word indicator.  

OK, but I don't see the hidden indicator.

This needs a hidden-word indicator.

My lame clue, and I apologize.  Abstain.

Defective - no container indicator.

No hidden word indicator - first of many dogs unfortunately.

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

And comments on the bonus clues:

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

    From: "paula10s@ix.netcom.com" <paula10s@ix.netcom.com>
    American in established Dental Group

Like in #2, no hidden-word ind.

I think hidden word clues require some kind of hidden
word indicator.  This doesn't have one.

No indicator 

I like "Dental Group" = teeth, but I see no hidden indicator.

No indicator

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

    From: Roy Thearle <r.w.thearle@canterbury.ac.uk>
    Can one, with English in noon sun, get these? (7)

Nice idea that doesn't really work; too 
complex, especially 'noon sun' to get 'NS.'

I recognize very few one-letter abbrevs. "N" for "noon" and "S"
for "sun" aren't among them.

Fairly awkward surface and it would be tough to solve.  
But quite original and imaginative. 

Abbreviation madness: on top of one=I and English=E, how does one 
get "noon" = E and "sun" = S??? 

I've never heard of NS as the abreviation of noon sun, and I have never
heard the aphorism about the Mad Dogs and the Englishman. 

No indicator that NOON SUN should be abbreviated.

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

    From: "Gail Koontz" <gail.koontz@quancon.com>
    KIXS goes to the dogs (7)

K = CA?

Is KIXS a TV or radio station I'm supposed to have heard of?

Doesn't work for me.

No homophone indicator or other device to show a coded construction. 
I assume the funny surface refers to a radio station! 

I have no idea what KIXS are.  There should also be some sort of
homophone indicator, since the "K" is voiced, not used in spelling.

No indicator

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

    From: sailorjn@juno.com
    Eyeteeth extracted from Anglican in Essex (7)

Loved this one, especially the hidden word indicator!

Better than most of the non-bonus clues.

A wonderful clue - loved it!

Amusing hidden word with quirky UKish surface. 

Best container clue of the lot with a wonderful surface reading as well.

Excellent surface and perfect hidden word clue.  Do (did) they really
rip out your teeth if you don't attend services?  I would have ranked
this clue fairly high.

Good, although fairly obvious

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

    From: sailorjn@juno.com
    Golden State baseball team, at start of season, were dogs (7)

Better than most of the real entries.

Not bad.

About the same as 22 but the surface subject and verb 
don't agree which makes the surface a little awkward.

Second best of the baseball clues--almost equals #8. 

I don't like "baseball team" = nine, but this has a very nice surface
reading.   

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

    From: bshatzer@orednet.org (Bill Shatzer)
    California baseball teams are real dogs. (7)

Better than most of the real entries. 

"real" seems superfluous in the def.

Bonus clue-- the only bonus clue I liked! Not that the others were 
real dogs, or anything.......

Almost the same construction as #21 and #8, but surface is much duller.

I don't like "baseball team" = nine, but this has a very nice surface
reading.   