                    PCWC65:  Final Results

Much to other entrants' chagrin, Paul Weiss grabbed the top spot with:

    Disappointment at Charing Cross (7)

Paul won't be moderating PCWC66, though; Matthew Merzbacher, whose clue, 

    Dismay as head and feet of gangster are wrapped in chain (7)

garnered a 4th-place finish, has graciously agreed to run the next
round.

I'll take this opportunity to carp once more about the formatting
of the ballots:  the scripts used to generate scores and collate
the comments are *very* picky about format.  Particularly the 
spaces on *both* sides of the equals sign, and to the right of 
the right parenthesis on a comment line; each comment line must
start with a number and a right parenthesis.  Failure to do so
exposes your valuable ballot to possible errors as my swift but
all-too-human fingers attempt to make corrections.

Here's the complete list of clues, comments, etc.
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I expected a lot more anagrams of "a Grinch", particularly at this time
of year. (Perhaps everyone expected there to be a lot, and therefore 
didn't submit any.) 

Here's my scoring of this contest.

Good word - I found that my personal understanding of the word
was different from the dictionary. I think there were a few 
others with the same.

I've heard of CHA = TEA, but it's not in my big fat
dictionary.  I conclude that it's regional slang and
I won't be able to give it top marks.

Overall, the clues were generally pretty good - certainly better
than average for a PCWC.  

Having never heard it before, I tried to find "CHA", but couldn't 
locate it in any of my rather pathetic dictionaries (including
ONLINE WEBSTER).  I assume it's accepted slang, since it was used
in a couple of clues.
Then I looked up AGR.  Of course, I couldn't find that either, but
I have a sterner complaint about those clues -- It isn't right to
use REACTOR -> ADVANCED GAS-COOLED REACTOR -> AGR, since REACTOR
then self-clues.  Had you used "power station", or some such, I
wouldn't complain.

good word chosen. mostly so-so clues; the gem among these
stands out.  one problem that's been widespread in rpc
contests recently is choice of indicators.  we seem to be
rather unforgiving of surface readings that scan unnaturally,
but allow clues with poor cryptic readings to pass relatively
unscathed.  the cryptic reading is, imo, much more crucial
in that it actually produces the answer word itself, whereas
the surface reading is just for amusement's sake.  truth be
told, when i solve an easy cryptic xword, i don't even
notice the surfaces!!!
my sources don't agree on the def. of chagrin, so i let pass
some defs that, initially, i was uncomfortable with.

Was glad to see the relative lack of duplication with this word.

I'm most impressed!  This was a very difficult word for me to clue:
its single sense, with few words that are even close to synonyms,
makes it hard to work the definition into anything.  And yet this
is the best batch of PCWC entries I've seen for ages.  Good enough
to make it hard to pick winners -- and in fact, the one I would
really want to win is down in the bonus clues.

The chosen word was interesting, since it has a subtle meaning.
I allowed latitude in the definition.  The clues I ranked highest
were those in which the indicator was flawlessly merged into the
surface, and extra points to clues with misdirection.
Clues were punished for things I don't know: fish=CHAR, reactor=AGR
tiny king=GR, tea=CHA.  I found CHAR in the dictionary, and I guess
I'll take your word for AGR, so consider me enlightened on those fronts.
However,  I couldn't find tea=CHA in my dictionary
(I vaguely remember CHAI=tea, also not in my dictionary.) 
I can believe king=R, but have no idea how G=tiny. 

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1st place (score 78.92%) - clue 17
From Paul Weiss

    Disappointment at Charing Cross (7)

Votes (normalized): 40 50 59 63 67 75 75 78 80 89 90 98 100 100 100 100

Clever anagram, but Cross=angry=anagram indicator a bit of a stretch. 

The winner. As a Londoner by birth, I really appreciated this clue.
Charing Cross is the landmark from which all GB road distances are
measured and thus the focal point of the gold-paved roads in London

Not convinced about Cross=anagram but I really wish I were!

My choice for first place.  Neat and to the point.   A killer.

Very nice - short with a more than decent surface.  Minor
quibble - "disappointment" isn't quite "chagrin"  

Nice!

This would be brilliant if I bought 'cross' as an 
anagram indicator.  But I don't.

I hate it when someone shows me just how bad my clue was
by coming up with a winner like this.  Superb job!

Very good clue.  Interesting use of cross as an anagram indicator.

see earlier clues re disappointment.  i used to frown upon capitalization
of words that should be lowercase in the cryptic reading; i've softened
on that (this appears frequently in *real* puzzles, including those
by ec&hr.)  "at" doesn't work as a def-crypt link.  the biggest prob
is the anagram ind.

Excellent surface, and a great misleading anagram indicator.

Gee, I'm glad *I* didn't submit a Charing Cross clue too.

Oooh, good one.  Although "charing" is not much of an anagram,
the fodder is nice and hidden, with the anagram indicator which is
clever and subtle.   
This ranks a close #2 behind "Castro's Glorious Revolution".

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2nd place (score 72.81%) - clue 6
From Richard Irving

    Laugh & smile after company head's embarrassment.  (7)

Votes (normalized): 40 50 60 63 63 67 78 80 80 81 83 83 88 88 89

This is my clue.  I like it.  But I didn't score it.
I'm surprised there weren't more Laugh="HA" clues.

I like the idea and a good charade, but the definition uh, uh

Nice solid clue. Good use of   apostrophe-s.

Very nice surface.  Again, embarrassment is not quite 
chagrin (chagrin is a feeling in its noun form - an 
embarrassment might _cause_ chagrin but it is not, itself,
chagrin.)  Ah, well, I'm being picky, picky, picky.  A more 
than decent clue.

Well-constructed.

I'd use "and" instead of "&".  More important, lose the final stop (".")!

Good, though I find the use of 's misleading.

nice surface, fine construction.
p.s. lose the stop.

Solid charade with a great surface, a report from when the
firm's chairman blew his lines in the shareholder meeting.

Tied for second place with #10 and #14.  The ampersand is peculiar,
but never mind, it doesn't affect anything.

I'd be chortling myself!  A good charade and a nice surface.

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3rd place (score 71.46%) - clue 18
From Bill Shatzer

    Restraint snagged garter ends, creating a feeling of embarrassment (7)

Votes (normalized): 30 40 56 63 65 67 67 73 75 75 78 85 100 100 100

Not suitable for a "family" magazine, but a pretty good container.
But the choppy def'n hurts the surface.

Long-winded clue without good effect

A little stretched but it's very nice!

Quite well done, but probably too many words.

Well constructed.  The winner even though it's naughty.

I don't think RESTRAINT -> CHAIN is completely fair.  While a CHAIN is
a RESTRAINT, the opposite isn't really true.  A tough call, especially
since I had the same problem when I was cluing the word.

Excellent charade with a really amusing surface reading. Note to the

Good clue.  The surface seems a bit confused.  What is the
restraint that is being spoken about in the surface?

removing "a feeling of" would improve the clue, imo.  i like the
b&d surface; imo, it would be improved by using "humiliation" as
the def.  third place.

Great, funny surface in this container charade, with its only
fault is being wordy.  Why not just "causing embarrassment"?

Not bad.  But in this field that's not good enough.

The surface is quite evocative, but isn't the point of S&M to inflict
embarassment?  Never mind.  The charade is fine, although somewhat 
obvious.

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4th place (score 64.90%) - clue 1
From Matthew Merzbacher 

    Dismay as head and feet of gangster are wrapped in chain (7)

Votes (normalized): 17 25 33 33 50 60 63 75 78 78 86 88 89 100 100

The single letter "r" is more "foot" than "feet", I would say.

Good container clue.  Straight forward.  Good surface.  
Only neagtive is feet of gangster might indicate "er"

'Dismay' as a definition vexed me somewhat otherwise basic
containment clue

foot not feet

Head is one, feet are two.

Quite good - the surface is pretty smooth and the cryptic is solid.

"chain" in plaintext makes it a bit obvious.

Surface is a little rough, and "feet" doesn't quite work for
last letter ("foot" would be okay but would make the surface
worse).

Only one foot is being wrapped up here.

My clue -- Abstain.  I do have a question, though.  I hope that
some of the judges will comment on the en clair issue.  I considered
whether or not to put "chain" en clair or coded into the charade.

Good charade ... however, feet might indicate more than one letter at
the end of "gangster"!

Very good.  Perhaps should be singular foot rather than feet.

surface okay.  uncoded "chain" is a minus, yet easy-to-fix.

Excellent container charade with a great surface, marred only
by the "en clare" use of "chain."

Excellent.  Powerful surface image, solid construction.
First place, though I would have ranked bonus clue #22 even higher
if allowed to.

A good, striking surface, but an obvious charade.  It would have been
a little tougher if you used a synonym for "chain", but that probably
would have hurt the surface.

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5th place (score 62.13%) - clue 14
From R.W. Thearle

    Irritation makes you start to chuckle, laugh and smile (7)

Votes (normalized): 33 34 44 50 50 50 63 65 65 67 75 78 78 80 80 82

Basic charade with extraneous "you"  Not bad though.

I like this clue - good charade and wonderful antithesis in the
surface

The to gets in the way (start to = T not C).

I really like this clue, in form and surface.  The "makes
you" is a little extraneous.

Too bad the "you" is superfluous.  Otherwise, a nice clue with
a fine surface.  

What's "you" doing?

The 'you' spoils the cryptic construction.

Good clue, but "you" is extraneous.

Great charade, but I'm not sure how irritation could ever achieve that!

Very good clue.  Though, I've never had an irritation that caused
me to feel this way!

i was surprised to not see more cluers use this construction.
"you" is way extraneous.  surface is a big minus, unless you
are referring to someone else's irritation making me laugh.  :-{

Similar to #6, but the "to" between "start" and "chuckle"
makes this one rate much lower. 

Now there's a healthy reaction!  Very nice themed surface in the
cryptic portion.  Tied for second place with #6 and #10.

A good (although surreal or absurd) surface.  

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6th place (score 61.97%) - clue 4
From Kevin Wald

    Fish conceals overlong tail, in embarrassment (7)

Votes (normalized): 0 15 20 38 44 59 64 67 80 88 88 89 89 90 100

A Fish is embarassed?  Also difficult container/charade.

I cannot imagine fish ever being embarrassed

Like it. The comma isn't needed.

Great.  I suppressed the impulse to comment on the
implausibility of this concealment.  After all, I was
responsible for that fish named Kelvin throwing a
party back in PCWC 63.

Hmmm.  Bass?  Trout? Tuna? Perch?  I'd go through a real long
list of fish before I'd stumble onto "char".  I think this type of
clue is a little unfair, and for that reason marked this 'un down
And, "embarrassment" is not quite a synonym for
"chagrin".  Still, not bad.

The indirect anagram combined with the obscure fish makes
this one essentially impossible.

Not sure why 'overlong' rather than 'long'.  Otherwise
it's alright.

Bonus marks for surface - looks like a plot summary for a
book by Mr. Rogers ("Just the way you are").

Cute charade with a good surface reading.

Very good.  Hard to imagine an embarrassed fish, though.

amusing surface (if a bit fantastic!)   fine construction.  second place

"Char" is a little obscure, but the rest of this container-
is excellent.

Humorous.

Fish=CHAR doesn't do anything for me.  Although the surface is
fine, I can't imagine a fish being embarrassed, except in kiddie books.

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7th place (score 59.38%) - clue 15
From Chew Yoke Lim

    Arching in confusion and embarrassment. (7)

Votes (normalized): 20 47 50 50 50 50 50 50 54 56 60 67 75 83 89 100

Very good anagram.  I like it.  Actually my best score.

Don't like the surface sense

I have arched with pleasure... but not embarrasment?
I suppose a cat might....

My cat can arch, but I'm a little stiff in the spine.

The surface is a little strange - I have a difficult time imagining
anything "arching in confusion".  But, short, sweet and the cryptic
portion is solid.

How does one arch?

Surface is strange, but otherwise okay.

My cat liked this clue, because it describes him. 
I did, too. Second place

Lose the final stop (".")

Good anagram, but the surface seems strained.

Good clue.  I find the surface lacking, though.  It does not make
sense to me.

anagram ind. seems weak.  surface has probs; i can envision
arching in confusion, but embarrassment?!?
p.s. lose the stop

An excellent anagram clue in everything but the surface meaning,

No surface - why arching?

Bonus points for being a one-word anagram.  Anagram indicator 
fits nicely in the surface with the definition.  However, "arching"
is a little stand-out-ish.

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8th place (score 59.21%) - clue 8
From Pete Mitchell

    An anxiety-filled lunch: a grinder? (7)

Votes (normalized): 0 25 25 33 38 47 56 60 61 63 78 83 89 90 100 100

Better surface than the last clue.  Still choppy with the colon.  
Why the "?"?  This isn't punny.

Nice firm container clue, but I don't like it and then the
explanation ruined it

Definition fails for me. The charade is also overloaded.

"an" sounds like a particular case of anxiety, or a variety of
anxiety, in the definition.  And this clue is better off
without the '?'; the subsidiary whiff of anxiety detracts
from the clue, in my opinion.

We can, I suppose, refer to "an anxiety", but could we refer to
"a chagrin"?  The "an" is superfluous and misleading as well..
And the surface doesn't do much for me.  But certainly a
more than honorable attempt.

Better without "an", which doesn't really work for the
definition.

Not bad, a little bumpy in the surface reading.

I think CHAGRIN is more than one anxiety, and FILLED doesn't really
suffice as a hidden-word indicator, but the surface is very nice.

Interesting run on clue.  I thank the author for teaching me about
a grinder.  Never heard of that before.  I do not see, however, how
this relates to an anxiety-filled lunch.

one of the best pcwc clues in a while.  a true gem.  the ind. is
well hidden (particularly due to the adj/verb trickery), the
punctuation ('-' & ':') is devilish, the construction is flawless,
and we get a sweet pun in the surface that has absolutely nothing
to do with the cryptic reading (another great misleading aspect.)
the *only* problem i can find is the question mark, which is needed
for the pun, but misleads the solver even more in an already tricky
clue.  a real beaut; easily first place.

Hidden word similar to #8, with a good surface, but "anxiety"
doesn't define CHAGRIN in my book.  And I LIKE grinders!

The hidden word indicator doesn't work very well for me.

The surface is nice and punny!  I like the hidden indicator.
This clue has some nice indirection, making me want to either
fill "lunch" with "anxiety", or anagram "filled".
This is my Number 3.

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9th place (score 56.59%) - clue 21

    Smile after half a dance results in disappointment. (7)

Votes (normalized): 30 50 50 50 50 53 54 56 56 56 60 60 63 63 100

Smile after half a dance dissappoints you.  Were you expecting?
A home run?  Kind of an average clue otherwise.

Good charade and construction spoilt by the poor definition

Surface doesn't quite get there.

"You're a wonderful dancer, have you come here before?"
[Very cute, but what awful breath!]
"Let's stop and get some refreshment, shall we?"
[Sees smile for the first time]
[Omigawd, half the teeth are gone!]

Very good.  Almost flawless in fact.  A top three in my book.

Going home alone, eh?

"half a dance" is better than the other cha-cha clue.

Why would a smile result in disappointment ? 

Good clue.  Takes you back to high school dances.

the fifth appearance of disappointment as a def.  perhaps i'm not
using the right sources?!?!?   didn't like the surface.

Much superior to #11, the other cha-cha clue. 

Well, it's better than the other cha-cha clue.  Smile results in
disappointment?  I don't care for that too much.

Is it the half-dance that causes disappointment, but you smile anyway,
or does the smile cause the disappointment?  

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10th place (score 55.89%) - clue 20

    Head start in racing accident causes humiliation (7)

Votes (normalized): 0 25 33 40 41 50 56 60 63 65 67 70 75 78 83 89

Good clue.  I like anagram/containers better than deletion/anagrams. 

Fair anagram + charade

I think the surface would be better with a dash after racing.
[no pun intended]

How can an accident have a head start?

OK - although the anagram indicator should generally
be a verb, adj., or adv and not a noun and I'm not really sure
what a "head start in a racing accident' would be.

How do you have a head start in an accident?

How do you have a head start in an accident?

Might have won except that I don't quite know 
how you get a head start in an accident.

The best anagram-charade of the contest.  This is what one should
look like.  The rest of you should pay attention.  And I dislike 
anagram-charades as a rule.

Another great charade with a smooth surface that really holds well together.

Good clue.  However, surface is unclear to me.  How could jumping
the gun happen in an accident?

"head's start" or "start of h" is preferred, cryptically.
i can't make sense of the surface; how does one get a head
start in an accident, and why would having this head start
be humiliating.

A good start, even for an anagram-plus clue, but "accident" is
not IMHO a good indicator. Many others were available.

I can see having a head start in a race, but how to have a head
start in an accident?

Oooh:  Is it the head of "start" or the start of "head"?  "Accident"
is a good anagram indicator.  But how do you get a head start in
an accident?

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11th place (score 54.52%) - clue 3

    Castro had a glorious revolution, inducing neighbors' initial vexation. (7)

Votes (normalized): 17 20 25 33 39 41 50 50 56 56 60 63 75 89 100 100

Some of those neighbors are still a mite vexed, I imagine.

A pretty easy acrostic clue.  But the surface is weak.

Good basic acrostic.

Love the surface! Impressed. My winner.

Very nice.  "Initial" does sound, however, as though
it's acting on one word only.

Nice acrostic with a logical surface.  Perhaps overly long but an
acrostic of a seven letter word is gonna be long, of necessity.
No major flaws.

should be "initials" or "initially"?

I'm not a big fan of acrostics, and "initial" needs to be
"initials" or "initially" to work here, which would spoil
the surface.

The acrostic indicator doesn't indicate.  Only refers 
to 'neighbor', because it's singular.

In a complete puzzle, this would be a fine clue.  In a one-word 
contest, it will fall short, due to lack of pizzazz.

I like it ... great surface reading!

Surface is not very clear.

poor ind. in that we are taking several initials.  using a one-letter
word in a crostic seems inelegant.  surface has slight probs (neighbors
of what/who?)  overall, not bad.
p.s. lose the stop.

A plural acrostic indicator would've scored higher.

Contrived sounding, like most acronym clues.  I don't think the simple
use of the word "initial" constitutes an adequate acronym indicator, either.

I like this one.  Mostly because "glorious revolution" is such
a great (but misleading) anagram indicator.  Particularly because
CASTRO + N (neighbors' initial) gives 7 letters.  Oooh, you would
have fooled me!
I rank this number 1, slightly higher than "Charing Cross".

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12th place (score 54.29%) - clue 10

    Perhaps a Grinch caused disappointment (7)

Votes (normalized): 0 20 25 38 45 50 56 60 67 67 69 70 78 83 88

Perhaps -- but I think things picked up after he gave the Whos
their stuff back.

Straightforward anagram clue.

Had to look 'Grinch' up - don't read many Ami children's books
though have heard of Dr Seuss. But it did spoil this clue for me

A what?

Can't bring myself to vote for a Grinch.

"Perhaps" just doesn't do it as an anagram indicator, IMHO.
Other than that, it's certainly OK.

Mine.  Abstain

There's only one Grinch, so there can't be "a Grinch".  Further, the
name "Grinch" came from chagrin (according to Dr. Seuss, who should 
know).

Don't know if Dr. Seuss is well enough known worldwide to consider
grinch a valid word ... that's why I submitted a similar clue only as a
bonus clue :-(

Good clue.  Is the word 'perhaps' used as an anagram indicator?

not my fave anagram ind. or crypt-def link.  is there more than
one grinch?  (i.e. i question "a")  not sure about that def; doesn't
disappointment lead to chagrin?  however, a cute, seasonal clue.

Great anagram clue marred by a so-so definition. Unlike some,
I find "perhaps", in the right context, an OK anagram indicator.

Perhaps a Grinch helped make a fine clue!  Tied for second place
with #6 and #14.

Nice, seasonal surface.  A little too obvious an anagram.

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13th place (score 46.63%) - clue 19

    There's disappointment in ranching without noontime wrangling (7)

Votes (normalized): 0 20 22 33 40 44 50 50 50 53 55 63 67 75 78

Again, I hate deletion/anagrams like this.  
Also surface makes no sense.  "Noontime wrangling"?

Arbitrary abbreviation

I believe N is used for noon in the US: benefit of the doubt!.
A little stretched in the surface.

This would be a tough clue to solve but subtractive anagrams
almost always are.  A good surface and a solid cryptic.  Again,
the minor quibble that "disappointment" isn't quite "chagrin."
I liked it anyway.

Defn is slightly buried.

It's not bad, but 'wrangling' is the wrong part of 
speech for the anagram indicator.

Drop "There's".  The anagram indicator is pretty far away from the
fodder, given that it isn't an exact anagram.

author ... do you subscribe to the S/M Times?   ;-)
Well, cowpoke, it seems a mite stretchy to consider the handling and
saddling of horses as indicative of an anagram. Unless, of course, the
horses are stampeding!

Good clue.  I do not like the use of noontime for N.  Not sure why
those cowfolk would want to be doing all that wrangling out in the
midday sun!

see eariler clues re disappointment.  "noontime" hurts the surface,
but that's forgivable.  my main prob with this clue is the use of
"wrangling" as an anagram ind.  neither def of "wrangle" strongly
supports this usage (unless i'm herding up the letters??)
still, a decent clue.  "there's" could be dropped.

Marked down for "noontime"= N and misplaced, but good indicator.
Also don't rate anagram-minus clues highly anyway.

Anagram-with-deletion clues are usually ugly and here is no
exception.

Wrangling is a nice anagram indicator, and meshes well with ranching.
I dispute that noontime=N though.  (I also dispute that 
"noontime wranGling" = G, but no one has tried to claim that yet.)

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14th place (score 45.74%) - clue 11

    Quick step, halved smile, rueful sensation (7)

Votes (normalized): 17 30 33 33 33 33 40 47 50 50 50 56 63 63 67 67

Even with the surface note, I couldn't figure out what it meant. 

Reasonable charade, but not convinced abou a 'halved smile'. 
You'ld grimace then attempt half a smile

Unsteady surface. Not sure what a halved smile is?

The cryptic is flawless, the surface a little obtuse.  Still it has
a beat and you can dance to it.  I'll give it a seven, Dick.

I'm never too keen on clues which need surface notes...

What's a halved smile?

A legal construction and all that, but completely
unsolvable.  And what is a halved smile?

I think "quick step" is a bit tricky for "cha-cha".

somewhat choppy, awkward surface reading!

I read your surface note, but found the surface still lacking.
I like the use of cha-cha halved for CHA, though.  Clever.

i'm not sure about that def, and the surface is quite a stretch,
even given your explanation.  (halved smile?)

Tortured charade; I thought "quick-step" was a style of 
marching; only plus was the right-on definition.

Poor surface, strong field, bad score.

This is a nice use of "cha-cha", however, I am not sure what
a "halved smile" would be.

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15th place (score 45.44%) - clue 5

    Tea and a smile makes up for disappointment

Votes (normalized): 0 15 17 22 33 40 44 44 50 50 60 60 63 75 76 78

"Makes up" is a good link, and so is "for", but "makes up for"
seems a bit strange.

Not being a tea drinker, I'd have trouble with this.  Also "up" 
implies some sort of reversal indicator (especially if this is a
down clue.  No number of letters indicator is another minor miss.

Nice little charade

Good attempt at a surface but technically stretched:
the a and for are not needed.

Solid, near flawless, and, alas, unexciting.  Technically good and 
certainly acceptable as one of 36 or so clues in a typical
puzzle.  But by itself, it's just a little mundane.  

Nice surface, but what's the "for" do in the wordplay?
I'm not wild about CHA for "tea".

Self-explanatory, but ungrammatical, ain't it?

Somehow the clue seems marred by being forced to use the word "up" to
convey the intended surface meaning. For example, the charade would
correctly read "Tea and a smile makes disappointment", but then the
surface is lost. The "up" incorrectly conveys the idea of a reversal clue.

Good.  Cha is the Chinese word for tea.  Perhaps the clue should
reflect this.

def. off?  disappointment causes chagrin?  long crypt-def link, but a
cute surface, and good charade.

I thought it was "Tea and Sympathy"...think tea=cha is a real
cliche and don't think disappointment is a solid defn.

Fine surface, good construction.  Downgraded a bit for the exotic
foreign word "cha".

Tea=CHA doesn't do anything for me.  Nice surface though.

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16th place (score 41.39%) - clue 2

    Bitterness comes from charring.  Cook rejects first roast (7)

Votes (normalized): 0 17 30 31 33 33 33 33 35 38 40 45 50 56 88 100

"Cook charring" or "charring cooks" or "charring cooked" would
be better cryptic grammar than "charring cook". 

Bitterness for def'n is a stretch.  But I don't like deletion anagrams.
Rough Surface.

Definition left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Structure lets it down: cook is in the wrong place for me.
Perhaps.... Embarrassment: cook charring first roast  is dismissed.

Cook should not come after the anagram ingredients.

This just misses for me.  "Dismay" is not quite "chagrin" and
"cook" as an anagram indicator in this construction doesn't
quite work.  ("Cook charring" or "charring cooked" would do it
but "charring cook" just doesn't quite click.)  Not bad though.

"cook" and "rejects" are the wrong tense; should be "first of roasts".

Is chagrin bitterness?  "Cook rejects" would have to be
"Cooked rejecting" to work for the wordplay, and I don't
like "first roast" for "first of roast".

I'm disquieted by the improper case and tense in the cryptic reading,
but such a nice surface.

It seems to me that forcing the removal of the letter "R" changes this
into an indirect anagram.

seems like there is a *great* clue that could be made from this.
not sure about that def.  the '.' is clumsy, and the two parts don't
really "fit" right in the surface reading.  the three indicators
seem not quite right:  "cook" doesn't point to the fodder; "rejects"
animates the subtraction fodder; "first *of* roast" is preferred.

Downrated as an anagram-minus, which must have a great 
surface to score well. This one is strange and choppy.

Awkward reading, and I don't accept "first roast" as a clue for R.
It needs to be "first OF roast", "roast's head", etc.

A good surface but an obvious charade. (Or am I just getting better 
at this?)  I dispute the action of the "cook" for the anagram 
indicator.  "charring cooked" would be correct;  "cook rejects"
means to anagram "rejects".

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17th place (score 35.14%) - clue 7

    Bewitch a grindstone to have a feeling of mortification (7)

Votes (normalized): 0 0 22 22 25 25 30 30 33 38 44 50 63 67 78

Bewitch a "what"???  Bad surface hurts a good hidden word clue.

I think mortification is a tad strong for this definition

Suface failure.

The cryptic is fine but the surface leaves me a little perplexed.

huh? (and I don't like "to have")

Surface is too contrived.

What?

If it's a stone, shouldn't it be "mortarfication" :-)

Good effort, but I find that the surface impossible to visualize.

full points for cryptic reading.  no points for surface reading.

Solid hidden word with excellent dfinition, but the surface
is...rather silly.

My clue, and how pitiful it looks beside this fine selection.
I abstain in the hope of getting a higher score.

The surface is rocky.  It doesn't make a lot of sense and the 
definition part is obvious. 

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18th place (score 26.85%) - clue 12

    Feature about reactor causes annoyance (7)

Votes (normalized): 0 0 10 11 17 17 20 24 25 25 25 33 33 50 50 90

I don't think anyone not working for nuclear plant would get this!
I couldn't get it--and I used to work at one!  (True!)

Runner-up. Same charade as my own pitiful entry, but an umpteen-
fold better construction.

Not happy with feature about; creates rather than causes?

Obscure reference

Arrgh!  "Advanced gas-cooled reactor"?  Being a literate,
generally well-read person with access to normal reference
materials, I would have _never_ figured out that "reactor" was
supposed to equal "AGR".  Never!  Not even after seeing the 
answer!  Why not "agriculture" = "agr"- which
is at least an abbreviation listed in standard desk 
dictionaries?  The "AGR" definition kills this 'un for me.  :-(

"Feature" is too general for CHIN.  AGR is far too
obscure an abbreviation.

"Feature" is too vague for 'chin'.  I'll take your 
on the reactor thing.

I have some trouble with FEATURE -> CHIN, and lots of trouble with
REACTOR -> AGR (see preface note).

Criminy ... no flames telling me I'm a dolt, please, but I do have a
degree in physics and I've never seen or heard this particular short form
for an advanced gas-cooled reactor. "Annual general meeting" deja vu!!

Good clue, but it relies on knowing that an advanced gas reactor
is an AGR.  I think that this is a bit of a stretch.

not hot about feature->chin (unless preceded by "kirk douglas".)
even if agr is common (never heard of it), seems like use of
"reactor" is not very cryptic.  not my fave crypt-def link.

AGR also means Abbreviations Give Rashes. Too many faults to
mention them all.

I'm a techie and I never heard of an "AGR".  Not acceptable.

AGR does nothing for me.  "Feature" by itself is too general
to mean chin.

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19th place (score 23.64%) - clue 16

    Embarass a puny king in bondage(7)

Votes (normalized): 0 0 0 0 0 4 10 11 33 35 38 40 44 50 50 63

The "GR = a puny king" connection is unclear to me (a benighted USian). 
Does GR perhaps stand for "George Rex" in the same way that ER stands 
for "Elizabeth Regina" -- and if so, why "puny"?  

Why does "puny king"=GR?

I struggled long and hard about which George was the 'puny king'
'GR' has a clicheed charade of just 'king' in British crosswords
after the late king (our present queen's father)

Better without the puny. I am not sure that chain = bondage.

Sorry to be so dull, but is this George Rex or something?
That is, the late King of England?
In which case, I don't like the "puny" as an abbreviator,
either.

I'm afraid the "puny king" = "GR" goes right over my head.  I do
know that GR could abbreviate Georgius Rex (any of the six of
'em) but why any of 'em would be considered particularly puny 
escapes me.  Perhaps this is a Britishism beyond the ken of us 
colonials?

Not sure about the puny king. 

"Bondage" could be CHAINS but not CHAIN.  I don't get GR
for "a puny king"--I assume it's a provincialism.

Spelling counts.  Sorry.

I guess GR stands for "George Rex"?  Was he small?  Which George?
Please help me, as the last King we had was George III, and I
understand there have been a few more since then.

I can't figure out how a puny king is GR??

Interesting clue, but I do not understand why a puny king is GR.

overlooking the spelling error.  i can see bondage->chains, but not
chain.  i don't feel "a puny" is necessary.  so-so surface.  not bad;
perhaps a really great clue can be made from the parts of this clue.

Huh?!? Misspelled and wrong part-of-speech definition. Can someone
figure out how "GR" defines "puny king"?

I know that R is a king, but I have no idea why a puny king should
be GR. An unexplained obscurity and a spelling error add up to last place.

Surface is ok.  GR does nothing for me.  

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20th place (score 20.21%) - clue 9

    After tea a crank phone call caused embarrassment (7)

Votes (normalized): 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 11 14 20 38 40 50 53 88

The dreaded indirect anagram strikes again.

Indirect anagrams (even ones that appear easy like this one) just 
aren't fair. 

"Charade and fodder" - what a beautiful way of describing an
- cross toes and fingers against the devil - indirect anagram

Nice solid clue and good surface.

Aha!  The dreaded indirect anagram!  Naughty, naughty.  

surely it should be "cranky", not "a crank"?

There's that CHA = tea again, and--more important--
the GRIN is an indirect anagram.

Indirect anagram.  String it up.

Uh oh - indirection.  PHONE CALL -> GRIN -> RING is a no-no.

Sorry, it's those embarassing indirect anagrams that get you every time.

Good clue.  Cute surface.  I do find the use of CHA for TEA
a bit misleading.  CHA is Chinese Tea, if you like.

an okay clue that i gave a poor score to due to the indirect anagram.

Tea=cha is a cliche, but you really blew the points with the
indirect anagram. Bzzzt.

Nice surface.  Downgraded a bit for the exotic foreign word "cha",
and some more for the indirect anagram.

This is a nice evocative surface, with the "crank" fitting
so nicely with "phone call" that it is a subtle anagram indicator.
It is too bad tea=CHA means nothing to me, otherwise this would
have ranked very high.

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21st place (score 15.98%) - clue 13

    "Reactor in China...." - an annoyance when you miss the ending (7)

Votes (normalized): 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 20 22 25 50 50 67

Rougher surface than the last similar clue and that lowers the score.

I was far too taken with using the 'China Syndrome' reference

Several possibilities here but I think this just misses.
How about ...
Reactor in China: missing article creates embarrasment.

Obscure reference.  And *The China Syndrome* had nothing to
do with Chinese power plants, so why are you suggesting it
did?

"Advanced gas-cooled reactor" again.  Still a killer for me,
although, other than that, it's a mighty fine clue.

These AGRs seem to be welll known, but I've never heard of them
(no marks off though)

Did two people come up with "reactor" for AGR independently?
What is it, some locally well-known abbreviation?  The defn
shouldn't be buried in the middle.

The better nuke clue.

See preface note regarding REACTOR -> AGR.  Also, it's convention
to put the definition at one end of the other.

Ditto on the short form here! The surface reads awkwardly I think.

Good clue, but this one too relies on the reader knowing that
a reactor is an AGR.  I think that this is a stretch.

see clue 12 re agr.  the surface is too indirect; both parts may
refer to the movie, but they don't link together well.  the major
flaw is the the def is in the middle of the clue, which is a no-no,
even if it scans correctly.

Can't believe that TWO cluers thought "AGR" was a fair
abbreviation! ...thought it was difficult to surpass #12, but 
this one has a obscure abbrev., misplaced curtailment indicator, 
off definition, and a surface that, despite your comment re 
Jane Fonda movies, is very artificial.

I'm a techie and I never heard of an "AGR".  Not acceptable.
Curious how both clues using AGR defined "chagrin" the same way --
were they really from the same person, both being used by mistake?
This one has no surface reading either, and an awkward structure.

I am not sure I get the surface.  I believe the definition should
go at one end, not in the middle.  AGR does nothing for me.

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22nd place (score 0.00%) - clue 22

    Vexation caused by series of items about "Missing Third -GRY" (7)

Votes (normalized): none

Very Apt with the constant posting of -GRY question!  :-)
A little tough to solve though.

HO HO HO : Like it.

Hmmm.  I guess I like it but I'm not quite sure.  

Nice idea - should be "-GRY, missing third"

Good try, but I don't buy "missing third, GRY" as meaning
"GRY, missing third".

Even though it's an inside joke it would have won on
my ballot.

cute, althought "series of items" is awkward in the surface.  i see
potential for a better way to get "chain" here -- "chain letter"
posts are just as frequent!

That third "GRY" always leads to torture!

THIS ONE should be the winner!  Flawless construction, smooth and
wonderfully topical surface; it has everything.

YES YES YES!  Oh, I love it!  A very nice surface in-joke, which
works as an excellent charade. 

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22nd place (score 0.00%) - clue 23

    For a sense of mortification, try to confuse a Grinch (7)

Votes (normalized): none

Just too choppy to be a good clue.

A what?

The "try to" is extra and the surface would read as well without
those words.

Defn is slightly buried.  What's "try to" for?

I like my Grinch clue better.  But I'm biased.

it's a stretch to get the two halves of the surface to fit together.
extraneous words hurt the cryptic reading.

Great anagram clue. Would have rated very high with me.

Another nice clue down in the bonuses.

An obvious anagram.  I would think that confusing a grinch would 
lead to satisfaction, rather than mortification.

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22nd place (score 0.00%) - clue 24

    Early misdeeds leave charming eccentric with feeling of failure (7)

Votes (normalized): none

This is a bit weak.  First it's a deletion/anagram. And it has poor
indicator for the deletion part.  Early misdeeds leave="-M"?  

Yes - like it a lot. Up there with my winner.

Very good - an almost perfect subtractive anagram with a nice
surface.  This 'un would be a top three with me if it was eligible
for votes.

"Early" won't work as a first-letter indicator.

don't like the ind. to get the 'm'.  should be "leaves" in the
cryptic reading.  i also don't think that "eccentric" points to
the fodder.  isn't chagrin a feeling *caused by* failure?

Anagram-with-deletion *and* an improper letter-extraction indicator.
Lucky I wasn't balloting on this one.

Nice surface; straightforward subtraction/anagram.  Perfect,
but it doesn't have that spark.

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