| # | Name | Clue | Points | Voters | Anno | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Madhusudan H | A sport where forwards outrun opponents, tackle blockers and land lethal headers (8) | 39 | 18 | Acrostic; Defn: A sport |
- Best of the acrostics - smooth surface (would have preferred lovely to lethal!) - Smooth enough! |
| 2 | N Anantakrishnan | France to Brazil - basically all love playing this game | 29 | 16 | { F to B(razil) ALL O (love) }* |
- Appealing in its simplicity! |
| 3 | Textrous | Set up some recreational lab to offer a means of entertainment (8) | 28 | 15 | Def: a means of entertainment, reverse containment: recreational lab to offer (Down clue) |
- Lovely rev tel. The surface doesn''t quite gel. - Clever! |
| 4 | Sowmya Ramkumar | Bicycle kick stopping defeat in game (8) | 21 | 11 | Def: Game F(-bOOT+B)ALL Kick - Boot Bicycle - cycling indicator to make it OOTB, Defeat - Fall, Stopping - Insertion indicator |
- Great surface. I don''t think ''bicycle'' can be used as a cycling indicator as it''s not an instruction or an action that the fodder is doing. - Not sure about bicycle as an indicator |
| 5 | Nicholas Loader | Global phenomenon of flu, essentially, after ignoramus eats diseased bat | 20 | 13 | Global phenomenon |
- Brilliant! |
| 6 | @LowdownCryptic | Clinical lab to offer partial backing for competitive activity with fake injuries (8) | 20 | 10 | ClinicaL LAB TO OFfer - hidden (partial) reversal (backing) for definition (competitive activity with fake injuries) |
- Lovely rev tel. The surface doesn''t quite gel : ( |
| 7 | Gayathri Viswanath | Twisted boot in tumble in this game (8) | 18 | 12 | Def - game F(BOOT*)ALL | |
| 8 | Ganesh Raman | Moron carrying bat to play league soccer | 18 | 12 | MORON (FOOL), CARRYING (Containment indicator), BAT TO PLAY: TBA (Anagram of BAT), LEAGUE: L, Def: SOCCER |
- That''s a smart surface! I just wonder about the position of the anagram indicator |
| 9 | Samit Kallianpur | Very upset by loud cry heard in game [8] | 18 | 9 | [F ( oot<<) + bawl hp]. Very = too. Upset = reversal ind. By = juxtaposition ind (can mean either side of). Loud = F. Cry = bawl. Heard = Hp indicator. Def = Game |
- After instead of by would be better? - Great surface. I wouldn''t say that ''very'' = ''too''. |
| 10 | @qpheevr | ‘Beautiful’ game of back-to-back blunders at the outset, in front of everyone (8) | 17 | 11 | beautiful game = def.; OF back = FO; TO back = OT; Blunders at the outset = B; everyone = ALL |
- I wonder if beautiful is too subjective an adjective, but I also think a lot of people would agree that it''s beautiful but still... ''Of back-to-back'' is a clever find! |
| 11 | Game played too boisterously primarily in autumn, say(8) | 16 | 12 | Defn is game, (anagram of too+ b)in fall(autumn) |
- Fantastic surface. I think a verb anagram indicator in the past tense needs to follow the fodder to be grammatically logical. |
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| 12 | Lunatic holding broken bat left this game(8) | 15 | 8 | Definition: This game; Anno: {FOO(BAT*)L}{L}; Lunatic=FOOL; Broken bat=TBA; Left=L; Holding=Containment indicator | ||
| 13 | Loft a lob shot? Wrong sport! | 13 | 9 | Anagram (shot) *LOFTALOB. A golf or tennis phrase hence the wrong sport. | ||
| 14 | Slide around, kick, move from beginning to end in this game (8) | 12 | 10 | F(OOTB)ALL. Slide= FALL, Kick =BOOT, move from beginning to end = B moves to the end giving OOTB. FALL around OOTB. Def: this game. The whole clue is an extended def | ||
| 15 | Play for kicks? | 12 | 8 | CD | ||
| 16 | It gives billions their kicks? (8) | 10 | 4 | Punny CD | ||
| 17 | Fellow with spectacles gangling enthralls boy in game (8) | 9 | 4 | F OO T (B) ALL. Def: game. F fellow OO spectacles TALL gangling B boy |
- Nice idea. Do you mean ''spectacle dangling''? - "spectacles gangling enthralls" does not seem to make sense. |
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| 18 | What's played by leading characters in fatuous obsession of the brainless that everyone's following? | 7 | 6 | inits F(atuous) O(bsession) O(f) T(he) B(rainless); + ALL (everyone). Def = "what's played" (&lit, if you're so inclined 😉) |
- Why “brainless”? - I think the perfect adjective to describe this is...bold! |
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| 19 | Game in which players score, kick and dive according to Rev Spooner [8] | 7 | 5 | Spoonerism is Boot (kick) Fall (dive). Def = Game in which players score |
- Foot and Boot don’t rhyme unfortunately - Great surface. BOOT and FOOT are not the same vowel sound in my part of the world for this to work as a spoonerism : ( - The vowels in BOOT and FOOT sound different, so the spoonerism doesn’t work - Spoonerism would be but (rhyming with put) fall not BOOT - only a visual spoonerism, unless you assume the revd to pronounce "boot" with a short ŭ |
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| 20 | Sports season? Bought new boots not originally seen! | 7 | 5 | Sports -def , season = fall around boots- S* |
- Great surface but football is only one sport. - I like your direction of thought ! ''Sports season'' is smooth but is originally seen ''s'' seems questionable to me |
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| 21 | Twin loves initially to dance after end of golf game (8) | 6 | 6 | OO T BALL after F. Definition: Game | ||
| 22 | Sport played initially between a lot of beginner leagues(8) | 6 | 4 | Def - Sport, played - anagrind, b(initially between)+a+lot+of+l(beginner leagues)= football |
- Great surface. I don''t think ''beginner'' alone can be used as a letter selection indicator; it needs to be ''beginner of / in / from'' : ) |
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| 23 | Back & forth argument over irregularities of ballot (8) | 5 | 3 | (of battolt)*; Definition: a topical issue that is the subject of continued argument |
- Great surface. I don''t think ''irregularities'' as a nounal anagram indicator words in this situation with it preceding the fodder. Also, I don''t think ''over'' is a valid connector. - I’m not sure the definition works; it’s too vague. - Iffy definition? |
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| 24 | To pay for dinner, Argentinian leader overturns one game? | 4 | 4 | CHARADE + SUBSTITUTION: Def: game, FOOT BILL - I (one) + A (Argentinian leader) |
- Nice wp. I''m not sure the surface works. |
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| 25 | It's the start of the full-on, official tournament: 11 chasing after a ball, all-out! | 3 | 3 | {FOOT} as acrostic, {Ball - all} (all-out) {A} {11}. My questionable attempt at a &lit-ish clue! |
- The wp gives FOOTABLL instead of FOOTBALL. - Great surface. It seems a bit odd to take out ''all'' and then out it back in. I''m not sure your wordplay works; it seems to be: F + O + O + T + AB + LL |
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| 26 | Basically figure out of the box and land goal finally in this sport (8) | 3 | 3 | First letters of (indicated by basically) figure out.... landing; L from goal finally (last letter); Definition: sport. | ||
| 27 | Codes for launching pigskin? (8) | 3 | 3 | Double Definition. / Def 1: "Codes for launching" = the briefcase containing the nuclear launch codes — nicknamed the "football" — which accompanies the US President. / Def 2: "pigskin" = the football used in the gridiron game. |
- I think this is one of those references that leaves many people scratching their head. - what? |
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| 28 | Beautiful game of pay party {8} | 2 | 2 | Pay : Foot Party : Ball Beautiful game : Football |
- I can see your thinking. I don''t think the surface works ie what is a ''pay party''? - I don’t really understand the surface reading |
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| 29 | Pay the lowly writer driven out by a corrupt entertainment industry (8) | 2 | 2 | Pay = FOOT BILL / the lowly writer driven out by a = I replaced by A / corrupt entertainment industry = definition |