| # | Name | Clue | Points | Voters | Anno | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Satyen Nabar | Most see erotic reels in private (8) | 37 | 16 | {SE(-e) EROTIC}*; most= tail deletion ind, reels= anag ind, defn= private | |
| 2 | Samit kallianpur | Discovered best hotel - pricy and private [8] | 29 | 15 | (-b)ES(-t) (-h)OTE(-l) (-p)RIC(-y). Discovered (dis-covered) = indicator to delete 1st and last letters. Def = Private. [Note: Pricy = pricey (chambers)]. | |
| 3 | Sparsh Sinha | Crushed toe; cries in private (8) | 22 | 13 | Def - private, crushed - anagrind, toe + cries = esoteric | |
| 4 | Ramki Krishnan | Abstruse, secret logic, often flawed (8) | 20 | 12 | Def abstruse, anagram of (SECRET + O I), often is letter picking indicator, flawed is anagram indicator |
- Loved the surface, except for the use of ''often'' as a letter-picking indicator, doesn''t convey ''alternate'' |
| 5 | Kalyan Bandyopadhyay | Crete is old, amazing and mysterious (8) | 18 | 11 | Definition: Mysterious; (CRETEISO)* anagram indicated by amazing | |
| 6 | Ganesh Raman | Scooter that is in motion, has a wheel missing? Hard to explain | 18 | 11 | Anagram of SCOOTER I.E. minus O (a wheel missing); Anagrind: IN MOTION; Def on the right |
- Anagramming ''that is'' = ie which isn''t in the fodder, might be considered indirect |
| 7 | @LowdownCryptic | Enigmatic CEO tries getting a makeover (8) | 17 | 11 | Def = enigmatic, fodder = CEO tries, anagrind = getting a makeover | |
| 8 | Adman_i | Mystical, kinky, erotic sex nearing climax (8) | 13 | 7 | Mystical (definition), Kinky - anagram indicator, Fodder - (EROTIC)(SEx)*, Nearing climax - last letter deletion |
- How does "nearing" indicate removal of last letter? Not clear. |
| 9 | Sowmya Ramkumar | One boring secret possibly involves nothing private (8) | 11 | 8 | Def: Private, Anagram of SECRET around i, o | |
| 10 | N Anantakrishnan | Obscure secret - I love bananas | 11 | 7 | (secret I o)* Def - Obscure |
- Love = o and then anagramming seems indirect. |
| 11 | Enigmatic CEO tries wrestling (8) | 10 | 6 | (CEO TRIES)*. Anagram indicator - wrestling. Def - enigmatic. Reference to Musk / Zuck fight. | ||
| 12 | Occult sect discovered corrupt Tories sneaking in (8) | 9 | 6 | Definition = occult; "corrupt" TORIES* "sneaking into" "discovered" sECt = E(SOTERI)C | ||
| 13 | Coteries can become this? (8) | 8 | 6 | Coteries* &lit | ||
| 14 | Coteries could be mysterious (8) | 6 | 5 | Def- MYSTERIOUS Coteries* | ||
| 15 | Obscure and complex theories not initially highlighted for beginner in class (8) | 6 | 4 | THEORIES* - H +C | ||
| 16 | Obscure Tories chase extremists to Labour | 6 | 4 | Obscure = def; TORIES + CE = fodder; to Labour = anagrind Ref UK election | ||
| 17 | Once the centre of Minoans, Crete is exotic and mysterious (8) | 4 | 3 | (O CRETE IS)* , def: mysterious |
- What is the role of "once"? - ''Once'' is extraneous? |
|
| 18 | Magic secret I decoded taking a bow heartily(8) | 2 | 2 | Definition: Magic. Anno: (SECRET+I)* around (O). Bow heartily - O. Taking - Containment indicator. Decoded - Anagrind. Secret+I - Fodder. | ||
| 19 | Characteristically Coteries' ? | 1 | 1 | Anagram &lit Definition: Esoteric as in pursued in small closed groups (coteries) Wordplay: Anagrind: Characteristically (using the characters of) Fodder: coteries | ||
| 20 | Hammertoes on Viking only known by a select few | 1 | 1 | Hammer is anagrind for toes (esot) + Viking (Eric); def = only known by a select few | ||
| 21 | Obscure orgy’s initiation one in secret performed (8) | 1 | 1 | O I in SECRET*. Definition: obscure |