| # | Name | Clue | Points | Voters | Anno | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raj Jayaram | Attack in vain - so sad! (8) | 41 | 22 | Attack = def; in vain so = fodder; sad = anagrind | |
| 2 | Arjun Mukerjee | Occupation resulting from leaders of important nations vacillating about seeking intervention of NATO (8) | 37 | 21 | Acrostic, def "occupation" |
- Fantastic clue (NL) - Yup, that''s a good acrostic |
| 3 | Dr. MJ | Putin’s plan? Storming in with no visa | 32 | 19 | Def= Putin’s plan, Storming = anagrind, (innovisa)* |
- Great surface. ''Putin''s plan'' as def would need a DBEI. |
| 4 | Madhusudan H | Oddly, Vladimir's non violence is offensive (8) | 31 | 13 | Alternate letters of "Vladimir's" {vaiis} + {non} , violence (anagrind), offensive (defn.) |
- "Violence" as a noun does not really seem like an anagrind - Lovely surface. A noun as an anagram indicator? - This might cause a kerfuffle in the anagram rules debate :-) - This one has it all: timely, good anagrind indicator, and succinct - violence as anagrind after fodder is not valid IMO |
| 5 | Manish Jhaveri | Offensive entry with no visa perhaps [8] | 27 | 17 | IN (entry) + VISANO*; Def = offensive |
- Can’t find “in” noun to mean entry - Makes sense |
| 6 | Samit kallianpur | Conquering insomnia? Very difficult, without some medicine! (8) | 27 | 13 | [Insomnia + V]* - m. Fodder = Insomnia + V (very). Difficult = Anagrind. Without some medicine = deletion indicator for M. Def = Conquering |
- I think deletion indicator shouldn''t appear after anagrid. Would have given more points for this clue otherwise - I''m sorry one of the best surfaces I''ve seen and nicest wordplays but I''m not convinced by ''difficult'' as an anagrind. I note that it''s been used on CCS before so I might cop some backlash. Just my opinion (NL) - Very standing for V as part of anagram fodder doesn''t look clean |
| 7 | Ramki Krishnan | What is happening in Ukraine is naturally very appalling…shocking indifference of nations' leaders (8) | 25 | 17 | Def = what is happening in Ukraine, acrostic clue from "is.. nations'", leaders is acrostic ind |
- A good acrostic, just slightly edged out of my vote by the other one - Great surface. I''d say that you need a DBEI for ''what is happening in Ukraine'' = invasion. - Lovely clue (NL) |
| 8 | Adman_i | Hotel accepts fake visa when faced with zero occupancy | 25 | 16 | Hotel - Inn, Fake - Anagrind for visa, Zero - O, Occupancy - Definition |
- Great surface. - I liked this, but what was the "when faced" part of the surface? - Occupancy is not the right def for Invasion. But for that, a nice construction - Tremendous clue (NL) |
| 9 | Lily Geller (@lilygeller) | Striking at one nation, Vlad's oddly admitted, is an act of war (8) | 19 | 11 | Def: "an act of war." Wordplay: I NATION – AT ("striking at"), with VAS (odd letters of "Vlad's") inserted ("admitted"); IN[at][VAS]ION |
- I read somewhere that Vlad wasn''t short for Vladimir, but I still liked this - I really like your clue. It took me a long time to unravel the annotation; could it have been streamlined? |
| 10 | Ganesh Raman | Visa number forged to penetrate Indian borders - that’s infringement | 18 | 9 | Anagram of ‘ VISA NO.’ contained in IN (borders of INDIAN); ‘Forged’ as anagrind; ‘Penetrate’ as containment indicator; Def : Infringement |
- Great surface. I don''t agree with number > no* being acceptable despite the discussion the other week. - Using ''no'' in place of ''number'' as part of anagram fodder doesn''t look very clean. But some might agree. |
| 11 | Offensive batting versus Australia is all about running (8) | 15 | 8 | Def: Offensive. Charade. IN+V+A+(SI<)+ON. IN = Batting, V=versus, A = Australia, SI = is all about, ON = running |
- “All” is not needed and tends to confuse. Good clue deserving points. - I love cricket surfaces; is the abbreviation for Australia not AU? |
|
| 12 | Interruption in traveling - No Visa! | 13 | 8 | Def - interruption. In (No Visa)* Anagrind - traveling |
- Beautiful clue (NL) - Lovely surface. I believe intransitive verbs as anagram indicator need to come after the fodder ''no visa traveling'' - traveling doesn''t seem to be clean anagrind, though many use, trasnporting is, |
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| 13 | Is Ivan (the Terrible), one most offensive? (8) | 13 | 7 | Def: Offensive, Anagram of IS IVAN* + ON(-e) (most - indicating most of) |
- "Is Ivan (the Terrible)" suggests ISIVANTHE is the anagram fodder - "the" spoils the cryptic grammar - Another great use of Ivan the Terrible but not a fan of ''most'' instead of ''most of'' (NL) |
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| 14 | One new visa will be arranged after unlawful entry | 11 | 12 | I (One) N(New) VISA* ON(after) |
- “Will be” seems to mar the cryptic reading. Getting arranged or just arranged would have made it excellent - Great clue (NL) - Nice - would work better with just "visa arranged" - "will be" is not required |
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| 15 | Attack by belligerent Russians in old Kiev’s eastern border after killing leaders of some stubborn Ukrainian resistance (7) | 10 | 6 | Anagram (belligerent) of {(RUSSIANS IN O V(from Kyiv)- S,S,U,R (acrostic)}. Def Attack |
- Occurs to me that you could also have clued that deletion with "removal of USSR" - This might cause a bigger kerfuffle in the anagram rules debate |
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| 16 | Endless clamour from the East after crazy, vain incursion (8) | 9 | 8 | Endless clamour from the East = (NOIS)<= after VAIN*. Def = incursion | ||
| 17 | Offensive, mad , vain essentially beastly leader from the east | 9 | 7 | OFFENSIVE= Def. Mad = Anagrid (VAIN)* + S (Essentially beastly) + ION ( No1 <<) |
- Bravo! (NL) |
|
| 18 | So vain in absurd raid {8} | 9 | 6 | So vain in : fodder, absurd : anagram indicator, raid: INVASION | ||
| 19 | Unwelcome intrusion in sight and American leader is a bit ineffectual (8) | 9 | 6 | In sight is in vision/ a is I / unwelcome intrusion is def |
- Lovely idea. I think ''where'' would work better than ''and'' - Marvelous clue (NL) - Use of ''is'' in Substitution indicator, ''American leader is a bit ineffectual'' does not seem correct |
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| 20 | Leaderless minion grabbing short vase for assault (8) | 9 | 5 | INION (leaderless minion) containing VAS (short vase). Container indicator - grabbing. Def - assault. |
- Being picky because this has made it into my top selected clues but ''for assault'' sounds a bit unusual in the surface (NL) - This one made me laugh, thinking about those Despicable Me movies |
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| 21 | Bad vino is an assault. (8) | 9 | 3 | Anagram indicator: bad "vino is an" Definition: assault. |
- I''m hearing this in the voice of Paul Giamatti''s character in "Sideways" - Surface reading does not seem to make much sense. - This provided much needed levity! |
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| 22 | Intrusion is via non-violence? | 8 | 6 | Def: Intrusion Wordplay: anagram (is via non)* anagrind = violence. Also, works as an (ironic) extended def. |
- "Violence" as a noun does not really seem like an anagrind - I love that "non" gets anagrammed by the "-violence" indicator; short and sweet - Lovely surface. A noun as an anagram indicator? |
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| 23 | Abrupt, loud uprising following Ivan the Terrible’s attack [8] | 8 | 5 | nois(-y)<< following ivan* |
- "Ivan the Terrible" suggests IVANTHE is the anagram fodder - Excellent clue (NL) - The "the" spoils the cryptic grammar |
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| 24 | Assault on Ivan is unlawful (8) | 7 | 6 | (on Ivan is)* anagrind - unlawful, def - assault | ||
| 25 | So vain perhaps after fashionable arrival | 6 | 5 | (SO VAIN)* after IN (fashionable). Def: arrival |
- Great clue (NL) |
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| 26 | Attack becoming so in vain | 6 | 4 | Attack - definition, becoming - anagrind, so in vain* |
- Feel like ''becoming'' should follow fodder not precede it (NL) - It should be - Lovely idea. ''becoming'' as the anagram indicator needs to come after the fodder {abc* becoming solution) |
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| 27 | Flying avion, nations outside NATO make forced entry(8) | 6 | 3 | Defn: Forced entry; Anno=(avion+nations-NATO)* Anagrind=Flying; Exclusion indicator=Outside |
- Great surface. To me, ''nations outside NATO'' means either containment OR NATO minus nations. |
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| 28 | ....Capturing one new holder reportedly ideally in progress (8) | 5 | 9 | One _I, new _N, holder reportedly vase-e, ideally_ I, in progress _on | ||
| 29 | War is so much in vain | 5 | 4 | War is- INVA(S)I(O)N |
- Great surface. There is no indicator for splitting up the S / O so that they don''t appear together in the solution. - I don''t think there is a clear indicator that SO is to be treated as two letters and inserted separately - Nice surface - but how does it indicate that S-O has to be split? - Probably for the umpteenth time ''what is the role of much in the wordplay and where is the insertion indicator?'' (NL) |
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| 30 | Unfortunately savior having no right to enter bar in raid (8) | 5 | 4 | (SAVIOR-R)* in INN Def: Raid | ||
| 31 | Imagine avoiding employer primarily for a change in occupation(8) | 5 | 3 | Defn is occupation, imagine is envision, (envision -e +a)* |
- I don''t love the indirect anagram, but that''s a great and misleading use of "occupation" - Indirect anagram - Indirect anagram #3 (NL) - Lovely surface. imagine > envision* is an indirect anagram |
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| 32 | Attack in vain? So prepared! (8) | 5 | 3 | (in vain so)* | ||
| 33 | Raid’s vision: an upheaval | 5 | 3 | Raid (Invasion) is anagram (upheaval) of (vision an) | ||
| 34 | Offensive invitation to get rid of the computer department and use a small-time replacement? (8) | 5 | 2 | INVASION (Offensive) = INV(IT)A(T)ION, getting rid of IT (computer department) and with S (small) replacing T (time) |
- Fantastic clue just a bit long. Would recommend making it less wordy. Just my opinion. Absolutely accept if others love it. Have to be picky because it''s in my selection of favourites (NL) |
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| 35 | Stupid oligarch starts getting involved in futile military adventure (8) | 4 | 3 | IN VA - S(tupid) - I - O(ligarch) - N = MILITARY ADVENTURE (Def) |
- I think there needs to be clearer instruction that VA/I/N is being split by S and O separately - Lovely surface. The order of elements of the clue doesn''t really match the order of letters in the solution. The solution of your clue should be IN VA SO IN or IN V SO IN or IN VAI SO N - Wonderful clue (NL) |
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| 36 | Konstantin V as 1 (one) contributing to occupation. | 4 | 1 | hidden |
- 1 substituting i in a telescopic clue does not look clean. - A great idea. It''s a bit clunky having 1 (one) - Great idea for hiding ''invasion'' but I don''t understand the function of one in parentheses in the surface and it feels like it should be ''receiving contribution by'' for example in the wordplay (NL) - The "1 (one)" bit is cute but doesn''t help the surface |
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| 37 | Attack crushed deer meat with middle teeth replaced by one setter. | 3 | 2 | def:attack, deer meat - venison ; middle teeth ="e" replaced by one setter = "ai" ; 'crushed' is anagram indicator : (venison-e+ai)* |
- deer meat > venison* is an indirect anagram - indirect anagram - Indirect anagram #1 (NL) |
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| 38 | Do mostly save back an atom, on an attack (8) | 2 | 8 | Do- in / mostly save back- vas / an atom-ion |
- Good |
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| 39 | Savio beaten up inside local causing unwelcome intrusion(8) | 2 | 3 | Def - unwanted intrusion , IN(SAVIO*)N | ||
| 40 | Assault in Virginia is around technology at heart | 2 | 2 | In VA is<-- techNOlogy = invasion/attack |
- How does the reversal indicator work for both is<< and no<
- I think there needs to be a reversal indicator for techNOlogy? |
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| 41 | Ivan goads Simon heartlessly, to attack | 2 | 2 | Ivan* goads (anagrind) INVA Simon heartlessly, SI(-m)ON to def: attack |
- Great idea. I would omit the comma. Anagram indicators shouldn''t be in the present tense other than as a gerund and then they should appear before the fodder. - Would prefer ''goaded'' for wordplay (NL) |
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| 42 | Forced entrance to turn NATO vision to left (8) | 2 | 2 | Def on Left. Turn is anagram indicator for nato vision, and TO to be excluded (left) | ||
| 43 | Attack, a mix of useless, endless noise. | 2 | 1 | {VAIN + NOIS}; USELESS = VAIN; ATTACK=Def. |
- Great surface. useless > vain* is an indirect anagram. - indirect anagram - Indirect anagram #4 (NL) - Indirect partial anagram for VAIN as useless |
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| 44 | Setter never initially vibes with an impudent boy for infiltration | 1 | 3 | Setter_I, never initially_n, vibes_v, an_a, impudent_I, boy _ son. Infiltration is the definition |
- can an acrostic indicator work in two directions? - For wordplay, initially needs to precede OR follow *all* the words you''re taking first letters from and how does i get into son? (NL) - Great idea. The acrostic indicator can''t be in among the words from which the letters are taken ie it needs to be ''Setter initially never vibes''. Having ''with'' means you should have W in the solution. I can''t see an indicator for inserting the ''I'' into SON. - Simple and good one. |
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| 45 | Alien attack is something turned back when queen becomes atomic? (8) | 1 | 1 | "Alien attack" is the clue for INVASION; "something turned back" is an INVERSION, and if the ER (for "queen") becomes an A (for "atomic"), that's INV{er->A}SION. |
- A lovely sci-fi story. I think you would need a DBEI for alien attack = invasion. I''m not sure that the surface is realistic. |
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| 46 | One van is drifting continuously in a flood | 1 | 1 | I VANIS* ON (continuously) = {in} a flood |
- Clever approach, and a nice (sad) visual |
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| 47 | Annexe the trendy five with an issue(8) | 0 | 5 | Trendy-in,five-v,issue-son |
- Lovely wordplay. You have a POS mismatch between annexe and invasion (verb / noun). (The nounal version of annexe is like an addition to a tent for example.) What does ''trendy five'' mean in the surface? - Something seems to be missing here - Where does the final i come from? (NL) |
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| 48 | Unauthorised entry into Ukraine ? On one's privacy too (8) | 0 | 1 | DD |
- Both defs are the same - Current one! Good! - root issue (NL) |
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| 49 | Endless noise echoed after useless chaos for encroachment (8) | 0 | useless = vain, *vain + nois returning |
- Great surface. useless > vain* is an indirect anagram - Indirect (partial) anagram used for vain, useless chaos = vain chaos - indirect anagram - Indirect anagram #2 (NL) |