We had a good participation with 29 entries and 29 voters. One of the setters did not vote.
Some setters spotted the Indonesian music ensemble GAMELAN (new word for me!) and smartly used it in the clue.
Here are the results
5th place with 16 points: Aashirwad’s clue that used GAMELAN
Piano incorporated in Indonesian music ensemble’s programmes (4,5)
4th place – 18 points – to Sampath Srinivasan
Deftly manages to cover Premier League strategies (4, 5)
3rd place – 21 points – to Textrous for
Dreadful mental gaps allow no time for strategies (4,5)
2nd place with 25 points – Kalyan’s recipe clue
Step-by-step approaches for cooking lasagne, essentially simple (4,5)
And the winner with 29 points – Satyen Nabar (again!) for
Artfully manages to retain power with liberal strategies (4,5)
Thanks everyone! Over to you Satyen.
Top 10
| # | Name | Clue | Points | Voters | Anno | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Satyen Nabar | Artfully manages to retain power with liberal strategies (4,5) | 29 | 13 | MANAGES* around (P + L); artfully= anag ind, to retain= cont ind, power= P, liberal= L, def is strategies | – You cannot use ‘with’ like this. There’s a subtle nuance to it, like there is with ‘about’. (Pundit JEE) – Topicality point (verlainex) |
| 2 | Kalyan Bandyopadhyay | Step-by-step approaches for cooking lasagne, essentially simple (4,5) | 25 | 12 | Anagram (cooking) LASAGNE (standard UK spelling) + MP (middle letters of siMPle); Def.: Step-by-step approaches | – This is such a great clue idea, spoiled by the wrong indicator/cryptic grammar – ‘to cook’ would have saved it. But take a point for lasagne. (Pundit JEE) – Definition for Wordplay is not good cryptic grammat (Avtaar) – Nice, but def for wordplay could have been avoided (samit kallianpur) |
| 3 | Textrous | Dreadful mental gaps allow no time for strategies (4,5) | 21 | 11 | MENTALGAPS* (“dreadful” is the anagrind) – T (allow no time), def: strategies | – Point for describing how I feel in high-stakes crossword competitions (verlainex) |
| 4 | Sampath Srinivasan | Deftly manages to cover Premier League strategies (4, 5) | 18 | 11 | Anagram with containment and abbreviation; def = strategies; deftly (anagrind) MANAGES* ; to cover (containment); PL = Premier League | |
| 5 | Aashirwad | Piano incorporated in Indonesian music ensemble’s programmes (4,5) | 16 | 9 | GAMELAN is a traditional Indonesian music ensemble (very soothing music btw). Here, P (piano) goes into GAMELAN’S. “Programmes” as definition | – I came up with the same idea. I also had an &lit prepared. I should have gone with the &lit. Too many gamelans making noise. But take points for sharing the same thought membrane. (Pundit JEE) – Programmes is a bit weak as a definition for game plans I’d have said (verlainex) |
| 6 | samit kallianpur | Most gay men play no sports primarily. Coaches might make them (4,5) | 15 | 8 | [Ga(-y) Me(-n) Pla(-y) N(-o) + S]. Most = indicator to delete last letters from fodder. Sports primarily = S. Def = Coaches might make them. | – Them? Them, who? Sports? Or gay men? Or those? (Pundit JEE) – I love the surface to bits but the wordplay is very involved! (verlainex) |
| 7 | @LowdownCryptic | Distorted MAGA lens taking in Trump’s latest schemes (4,5) | 15 | 8 | Anagram (distorted) of MAGA LENS taking in P (Trump’s latest); Def: schemes | |
| 8 | Pundit JEE | Playbooks from Indonesian ensembles including piano (4,5) | 13 | 7 | Gamelans containing P, Def – playbooks (playbooks is a very familiar term for the Juilliard goers) | |
| 9 | VENKATESAN P | Prepare a new sample adopting good tactics (4,5) | 12 | 8 | (A+N+SAMPLE*) around (G). Good – G. New – N. Sample – Part of fodder. Adopting – Container indicator. Prepare – Anagrind. Definition – Tactics. | – There’s nothing offensive in this clue. Take points. (Pundit JEE) |
| 10 | Veera Raghavan | Criminal manages to nab record about strategies (4,5) | 11 | 6 | PL<- in MANAGES*. About: reversal indicator. Definition: strategies | – Very nice wordplay (verlainex) |
Congrats to the toppers and all those who participated.
Over to Satyen Nabar for the next contest.
Here’s the link to the full results
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