Results: Clue writing contest 2017: Hobnob
Winner
Steve Randall, Reading
Hard for a baboon when displaced to interact with others
Hard for a baboon = instruction to replace A with H=hard, in “baboon”
when displaced = anagram indicator
to interact with others = definition
One definition of “hobnob” is “socialise informally (especially with those of higher status)”, and the definition here includes that while allowing a slightly wider field, maybe including activities like hunting in groups as well as socialising, in the surface story. I’m sometimes reluctant about language in the cryptic reading like “A for B C” rather than “A for B in C”, but here this terseness contributes to a lively surface reading, as does “when displaced” rather than a single word anagram indicator.
Good clues Eli Persky, Holloway, London Piers Ruff, Eastleigh, Hampshire Lynne Davis, London NW7 Elizabeth Manning, Malvern, Worcestershire Richard Warren, Coventry St John Daly, Harborne, Birmingham Paul Stevenson, Wimbledon, London David Jarvis, Brokenborough, Wiltshire Ross Harrison, Dechmont, West Lothian Neil Mondal, Harrow, London Some comments on other clues Biscuit mix From burner phone dial associate Knock about with maiden hundred, two overs with no ball returned, then bowled! Clue writing contest 2020 Lepanto You are invited to write an original cryptic clue for the word above, in our cryptic crossword style. Email your entry to puzzle.entries@sunday-times.co.uk. The contest closes on Monday, May 20 and the best entry wins a £25 Waterstones voucher. Clue writing homepageAdvertisement
Hard sweet nearly twisted jaw
The key to this concise clue is the definition using of “jaw” in its “talk at length” sense, to which the Oxford Dictionary of English adds “chatter”. The wordplay is H=hard, followed by a reversal of BONBO(n). “Twisted” isn’t in one list of reversal indicators, but its dictionary definitions include “rotate”, which is on that list. In the same source of cryptic clue indicator lists, “twisted” is an anagram indicator, but “rotated” isn’t. I can understand having one of those is/isn’t pairs from the possibility one of the two words having more or wider relevant meanings, but not having both of them. In case Eli has another go and does a bit better, it’s his turn for the occasional reminder to provide a full postal address in each emailed entry.
Best part of sweet served up, topped with hard biscuit
This is a clue for a down answer, with the same wordplay, and a surface story in which “best part” seems to mean “tastiest part” rather than “most”. The definition here is “biscuit” as Hobnobs is a very well-known brand. Some people seem to think that well-known brands shouldn’t be used in cryptic crosswords, but they have been for a mighty long time – “paper” indicating Mail, Sun, Mirror or others and “airline” or maybe “carrier” indicating BA or El Al most often are both stock fare.
Biscuit that’s part of range connected to Duke of Cornwall?
The surface reading for this clue is entirely about biscuits, but suggests those made by Duchy Originals, a brand set up by the then Duke of Cornwall in 1990 and now rebranded as Waitrose Duchy Organic, which I’m pretty sure cost a fair bit more than Hobnobs, so there is deception in the clue. In the cryptic reading of the clue, “part of range” means HOB, and “Duke of Cornwall?” indicates NOB in its “person of wealth or high position” meaning.
Associate kitchen appliance with posh type of person
This clue uses the same wordplay. For me, the story doesn’t quite work without indicating a particular kind of kitchen appliance, and in a real-life puzzle scenario, I think I’d be suggesting something like “Associate Aga in part with posh type of person” and wondering if the setter could think of a better alternative to “Aga in part”.Advertisement
Ferret and fat cat meet and rub shoulders
Here’s the same wordplay with an animal story – a hob is a male ferret, a nob is a “fat cat”, and “rub shoulders” is an apposite version of “socialise”.
Biscuit to mix with the cream
This is a double definition, combining the biscuit and the “elite” meaning of “cream”, which strictly needs us to believe that the people of high status are the best people, or that “cream” has a slightly wider meaning than the one in our main reference dictionaries, so a final question mark might be added.
Man squeezing closer to woman after a little laugh and chat
The man in this clue is Bob, and “closer to woman” is woman’s final N, which he “squeezes” after HO, which makes sense as a smaller laugh than ho-ho. “closer to woman” isn’t quite as good as “closer of woman” or probably more usefully “woman’s closer”, but the surface story is worth it.
Mix up?
I have a hazy memory of reading somewhere about elements in a perfect football match, from a spectator’s point of view. I’m pretty certain that a saved penalty was one of them, and a debatable sending-off may have been another. In a cryptic crossword equivalent, the list might include a clue with fewer letters than the answer. This one is a cryptic definition, based on the “especially with those of higher status” part of the “chat” meaning, and although this clue is very short, it includes a question mark which could be seen as an indication of “especially” rather than “always”. It’s the kind of cryptic definition for which the checking letters should really come from clues that are fairly easy and not other cryptic definitions, but if it did, I think it would be appreciated.
Associate of Russian banker appears after his detention ends
The wordplay in this clue makes double use of a river that’s generally underused in cryptic clues — Russia’s Ob, one of the three major rivers flowing through Siberia to the Arctic Ocean, along with the Yenisei and the Lena (from which Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov got his pseudonym). “Banker” is an alternative to “flower” as a teasing alternative to “river” as a river has banks, just as a double-decker has a double deck. The rest of the wordplay is the H and N which are the two ends of “his detention”.Advertisement
Reformed, nabob who wants a wife and consort
This clue uses an anagram of “nabob who” which lacks or “wants” A and W=wife. I think the surface reading works better without the comma. The surface story is good, but an alert solver might think that if the nabob is reformed, the wife and consort should be the same person, and wonder why both are mentioned. Finding something that contributes to the wordplay and links well with the adjacent definition is something clue writers are bound to look for, but ideally you want something that doesn’t create something like apparent tautology.
This is a double definition, and there’s nothing wrong with it as a cryptic clue. But eight people chose it, and although they included some who have won, most of our really regular winners didn’t, and I’m guessing that they might well have thought of it and realised that others probably would.
The wordplay this clue is intended to convey is HOB = burner, plus NOB = a homophone of “knob”. Strictly speaking, the hob of a cooker is the part with the burners, rather than a burner, but you could argue that it’s still a thing that burns. My bigger problem is with equating dial and knob. They’re both things that can be used to make selections, but I can’t see that they are ever the same thing. We allow a category name like “vehicle” to define anything that is a vehicle, but we don’t allow a word to define another word simply because it’s in that category.
This clue starts with “knock about” as the definition. The entrant said that “knock about with” was the definition, but “knock about with” matches “hobnob with” rather than “hobnob”, and as “with” can mean “consisting of”, it’s still fine as the next word. The wordplay starts with “maiden hundred”, which is supposed to indicate H. But logically speaking it’s as wrong as “first hundred” meaning H. Repeating something I’ve said many times, “first” followed by a noun in English always means the first instance of the whole of the thing. Your first birthday was a whole birthday, for example. Although some crossword setters get away with this use of “first”, Sunday Times ones don’t. In the next part of the wordplay, “with” meaning “containing” for NB inside OO is logically OK as with can mean “including”, though I don’t think it’s used very often, maybe because “with” can mean quite a few things.Advertisement