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  • SCWC 377 announcement

    From Luciano Ward@21:1/5 to All on Tue Mar 2 07:07:25 2021
    CASSOWARIES:

    A hundred boobies surround an egg, fighting one bird repeatedly (11)

    Luciano

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  • From Rob@21:1/5 to All on Tue Mar 2 08:48:36 2021
    For SCWC 377, please write one, two or three clues for:

    CASSOWARIES (11)


    Cow pushes around donkey and chases ram: they're top of the pecking order Down Under (11)

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  • From wald@math.uchicago.edu@21:1/5 to All on Fri Mar 12 05:44:42 2021
    And now, my interpretations of the clues; ??? indicates a point where I
    am unsure. Please let me know about anything I have incorrect.

    Luciano:

    Buffalo standing beside house shuts up goose and other birds (11)
    other birds = definition
    Buffalo = COW
    goose = ASS (in the sense of "fool")
    house = ARIES (a house in the astrological sense)
    COW standing beside ARIES shuts up ASS = C(ASS)OWARIES

    A hundred boobies surround an egg, fighting one bird repeatedly (11)
    bird repeatedly = definition
    A hundred = C
    boobies = ASSES (in the sense of "fools")
    an egg = O
    fighting = WAR
    one = I
    C + ASSES surround O + WAR + I = CASS(OWARI)ES

    David A:

    Antipodean fliers? Disastrous! I saw coarse failures ultimately (11)
    Partial &lit
    Whole clue = definition, in the sense that CASSOWARIES are *flightless*
    antipodean birds who would not succeed ultimately if they tried to fly ??? Disastrous = anagram indicator
    I SAW COARSE anagrammed = CASSOWARIE
    failures ultimately = last letter of failures = S
    CASSOWARIE + S = CASSOWARIES

    Rob:

    Cow pushes around donkey and chases ram: they're top of the pecking order Down Under (11)

    they're top of the pecking order Down Under = definition
    donkey = ASS
    ram = ARIES
    COW pushes around" ASS and chases ARIES = C(ASS)OW + ARIES

    Kevin Wald wald@math.uchicago.edu | Cavities containing one's http://www.math.uchicago.edu/~wald | seed for birds (11)

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  • From David A@21:1/5 to wa...@math.uchicago.edu on Sat Mar 13 05:27:46 2021
    On Friday, March 12, 2021 at 10:14:44 AM UTC-3:30, wa...@math.uchicago.edu wrote:
    And now, my interpretations of the clues; ??? indicates a point where I
    am unsure. Please let me know about anything I have incorrect.

    Luciano:
    Buffalo standing beside house shuts up goose and other birds (11)
    other birds = definition
    Buffalo = COW
    goose = ASS (in the sense of "fool")
    house = ARIES (a house in the astrological sense)
    COW standing beside ARIES shuts up ASS = C(ASS)OWARIES
    A hundred boobies surround an egg, fighting one bird repeatedly (11)
    bird repeatedly = definition
    A hundred = C
    boobies = ASSES (in the sense of "fools")
    an egg = O
    fighting = WAR
    one = I
    C + ASSES surround O + WAR + I = CASS(OWARI)ES

    David A:
    Antipodean fliers? Disastrous! I saw coarse failures ultimately (11)
    Partial &lit
    Whole clue = definition, in the sense that CASSOWARIES are *flightless* antipodean birds who would not succeed ultimately if they tried to fly ??? Disastrous = anagram indicator
    I SAW COARSE anagrammed = CASSOWARIE
    failures ultimately = last letter of failures = S
    CASSOWARIE + S = CASSOWARIES

    Rob:
    Cow pushes around donkey and chases ram: they're top of the pecking order Down Under (11)
    they're top of the pecking order Down Under = definition
    donkey = ASS
    ram = ARIES
    COW pushes around" ASS and chases ARIES = C(ASS)OW + ARIES

    Kevin Wald wa...@math.uchicago.edu | Cavities containing one's http://www.math.uchicago.edu/~wald | seed for birds (11)
    Kevin, my question is rhetorical, and disastrous is doing double duty. It's a non-starter, but they are fast devils, and quite nasty with it, descended from raptors, I believe, when possibly some of their ancestors may have had links with the
    pterodactyls??? and actually flown??? - anyway, today's version is probably as helpless as an ostrich! Disastrous! as I say.

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  • From wald@math.uchicago.edu@21:1/5 to All on Thu Mar 18 17:56:48 2021
    And now, my judgements:

    Luciano:

    Buffalo standing beside house shuts up goose and other birds (11)
    Good construction, reasonable surface.

    A hundred boobies surround an egg, fighting one bird repeatedly (11)
    I like the surface, particularly the disguised break between "one" and "bird". Construction is okay, though I'd prefer a verb that can take a singular
    subject ("will surround" instead of "surround", say) since there is no "and"
    or comma or the like to make "C ASSES" plural in the cryptic reading.

    David A:

    Antipodean fliers? Disastrous! I saw coarse failures ultimately (11)

    Disastrous here is doing double duty (in the definition, and as the anagram indicator in the wordplay); I prefer avoiding a overlap of this kind (unless it's
    the whole clue). Surface reading is good.

    Rob:
    Cow pushes around donkey and chases ram: they're top of the pecking order Down Under (11)

    I generally think of the start of a clue as its front, so I would consider "chases"
    to be backward here. Surface is fine, but I think I prefer Luciano's more concise
    take.

    And now, the winners:
    First place to Luciano's blue-footed birds.
    Second place to David A's flight-unqualified birds.
    Third place to Rob's pecking mammals.

    Luciano?

    Kevin Wald wa...@math.uchicago.edu | Elliot, who sang vacuous http://www.math.uchicago.edu/~wald | epodes about game birds (11)

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