Azed PD (Printer's Devilry) puzzle - clue comparison (long!)
P & J Biddlecombe
(a) proposed procedures for an informal comparison of PD clues to the
word used in the current Azed clue-writing competition
(b) an explanation of what Printer's Devilry clues are, followed by some
examples
(c) some brief notes on Azed competitions to give some context
(d) some clues and answers from last week's Azed puzzle to suggest how
to go about solving PD clues
(e) some more examples, without answers, to try
(f) my submitted clue for the Azed comp, plus some rejects and reasons
for rejecting them, so that you can see that there are often many
possibilities.
(g) answers to (e)
(a) proposed procedures for an informal comparison of PD clues
--------------------------------------------------------------
Could those who want to have their PD clues to "gismo" discussed send
them to me by e-mail, by the end of Tuesday, your time, please. This is
not a contest, so I'll include your name with the clue(s) unless you
request anonymity, and I won't be trying to produce a formal set of
results. When you send your PD clue(s), please also send the full
"undevilled" version of the passage.
On Wednesday evening (UK time), I'll post the list of clues received.
Those interested can then say which ones they like best (preferably with
reasons). I'll make my own comments in a separate message from the list
of clues). I'll try to remember to post the winning clue(s) when they're
announced by Azed, to see how accurate our assessments were, though this
may be several weeks away.
You're welcome to submit "bonus" clues like the rejects listed below,
but as in a proper contest, please identify one clue as your best shot.
(b) what Printer's Devilry clues are; some examples
---------------------------------------------------
Here's one form of the standard rubric for PD puzzles:
Each clue is a passage from which the printer has removed a hidden
answer, closing the gap, taking liberties sometimes with punctuation and
spacing, but not disturbing the order of the remaining letters. Thus in
the sentence "Now that it's so much warmer, can't I let the boiler go
out?", MERCANTILE is hidden. The printer might offer as a clue: "Now
that - it's so much wart, the boil: ergo, out!". Each passage when
complete makes some kind of sense.
PD clues are expected to make at least as much sense in their
"undevilled" form (the complete version) as in the clue itself (a.k.a.
the "devilled" version). The clue is also allowed to make sense,
however. An Azed slip from about 8 years ago says: "The best PD clues
are those in which the devilled version makes as much or almost as much
sense as the undevilled." This means that the example for MERCANTILE
above might not do so well these days - the clue itself doesn't make
much sense.
Usually, this sentence is added to the rubric:
Preference is given to clues in which breaks before and after the word
omitted (before and after omission) do not occur at the ends or
beginnings of words in the clue.
[Most PD puzzles achieve this for all but one or two clues at most, and
usually for the lot. Clues that don't achieve this usually get nowhere
in Azed competitions.]
More examples:
The current example used by Azed in the rubric is:
Vaulting above tunnel roof appears inane, scary.
Answer: PESTO
"Undevilled" version: Vaulting above tunnel roof appears in an escape
story. (Refers to the Great Escape & similar Sunday afternoon movie
fare.)
The most convincing example of multiple word-break changing that I can
remember is:
Bunter-whine starts, with jaw open: "Cease, condone, Wharton please."
Answer: MINARET
"Undevilled" version: Bunter whines "Tarts with jam in are twopence - a
second one, Wharton please".
(I believe Wharton was a character in the Billy Bunter stories, and
comestibles like jam tarts were very high on the Bunter priority list.)
It's usually easier to make convincing clues by not changing any word
breaks:
Children taking piano lessons soon learn the sign ff. (6) ("ff" ideally
in italics)
Answer: ORACLE
"Undevilled" version: Children taking piano lessons soon learn the sign
for a clef.
(c) brief notes on Azed competitions
------------------------------------
One puzzle a month has a plain-definition clue for one answer. Solvers
submit their clue for it with the puzzle solution, and Azed judges them.
When the puzzle uses a clue-type like Printer's Devilry, so do the
competition clues. In the style of a flower show, there are 1st, 2nd and
3rd prizes, followed by VHCs and HCs (very highly / highly commended).
The winner gets a trophy of some kind to put on the mantelpiece for a
month, and points are accumulated over the year so that those with
enough minor placings get a consolation prize at the end of the year).
The full results, including printed clues for 1/2/3/VHC, a list of HC
entrants, and comments from Azed, are issued in a monthly "slip".
Chambers is the reference dictionary for Azed puzzles, so any gripes
about the obscurity of words therein are irrelevant.
(d) some clues and answers from last week's Azed puzzle
-------------------------------------------------------
To provide a few more examples and a few solving tips, here are some of
the easier clues (for me at least) from last week's Azed PD puzzle.
Capitals are used for the hidden answer or bits of it, and asterisks for
unknown letters of it.
I'm not sure you'd call at our mam's tone. (7)
"I'm not sure you'd call" looks pretty convincing - "our mam's tone"
less so. Next, I noticed that you could have "stone" as the last word
of the undevilled version, and that tourmaline is a mineral, giving a
possible: I'm not sure you'd call a tourmaLINE ***m stone. Then it's
not far to "... a tourmaLINE A GEm stone", giving LINEAGE as the answer,
tourmaline being a mineral rather than a precious stone.
For those visiting, fare on the tractor is always fun. (5)
Where do you find tractors? On farms. What can you do on them? Ride -
So:
For those visiting, farM, A RIDe on the tractor is always fun. (MARID
turns out to be a word. Just as in other Azed puzzles, finding
something to fit the wordplay is the first step, sometimes followed by a
check in the big red book.)
Seeing the old dear in need of a rest, a scout finds hat (5).
"Old dears" are usually female, and a seat is a good place for a rest,
so:
Seeing the old dear in need of a rest, a scout finds hER A SEat
Ace bamboozled the opposition (6)
This is a very good clue because there's no obvious weakness, but
remembering that a ruse might be used to bamboozle gives:
A c*** RUSe bamboozled the oppostion,
and that ruse must be a cUTE RUSe.
The collier has to hack loads all day (5).
Colliers deal with coal, which usually comes in sacks so:
The collier has to h**** Sack-loads all day
and he must therefore "hEAVE Sack-loads".
General techniques for PD clue-solving have already been suggested. To
these, I'd add one tip: Watch for the letters A, I and S - all of them
can be involved in changes of word-break, as you can often shift an S at
the beginning of a word to the end of the previous word by making it
plural or possessive, and because a and I are single-letter words.
When getting on to the harder clues, checking letters are obviously a
help, but it's sometimes necessary to consider putting a sequence like
L*TT*RS into every theoretically possible break-point in the clue and
consider whether it can be made to work, and which possibilities
(LITTERS/LETTERS in this case actually do work). One clue that should
have been easy for me this week was: "The top register could hardly
exclude Marley (4)", for which I had GAE* from checking letters, i.e.
either GAEA or GAEL. I kept trying to fit this into "Marley",
wondering, for example, who Marga Elley might be. When I tried other
possibilities I realised what a chump I'd been to miss the connection
between Marley and reggae, the undevilled version being "The top reggae
lister ...". I'm sure lots of people got this one very quickly.
(e) some more examples, without answers
---------------------------------------
Here are some to have a go at, one of which fails the word-break
standard. Most are Azed prize-winners, so the answers may be unfamiliar
words.
The colonel said we could take the major road (6)
A PD's to result from closed passages (6)
Rome's face is strangely not italic (6)
His partner's large-size mares hold a problem for the groom (5)
A nice axe is needed for scalps (5)
The next five all have the same 7-letter answer, which was used in
another Azed comp:
Winner: 'As a non-worker', the faithful drone, 'does the Queen beg
favours?'
2nd: Marilyn Monroe was a damsel town people adored
3rd: Replaying drawn Cup match means fatigue, FA-style. Shoot-outs are
better
My effort (VHC, my best ever Azed result):
Mrs. Bartok, watched by son Peter, playing "Mikrokosmos" on the piano.
(f) my submitted clue for the Azed comp, plus some rejects
----------------------------------------------------------
The word to clue this month is: Gismo
My entry is:
Doggie's pet hate
Undevilled version: Dog is moggie's pet hate
Here are some rejects, with "/" at the break and snippets of the
undevilled version in brackets where I think you might need it. These
will all reappear when I send out all the clues I receive, so please
don't comment on them yet.
Do/g's foe
Dog is mog's foe (mog = moggie = cat in Chambers)
Very short at 7 letters, but a bit "telegramese".
A raconteur is amusing, but awa/re, witty [... a wag is more
...]
Rejected because the "but" gives a hint that a comparison is coming up
- "is more witty" in this case.
Others rejected for the same reason
A puddle is wet, but a bo/re, messy
A kiss is nice, but a sno/re intense
- or maybe "... but as no rein, tense", which I only just
noticed as a possibility
A cat is nice, but ado/re loyal
A snail's nasty, but as lu/re, repellent [.. a slug is more ...]
Also considered:
Excavations are hard to find if di/ving about [... dig is moving ...]
(moving digs don't seem very plausible)
Gi/ving, or boat is sailing - it's all the same
(a gig = a boat of some kind, rejected as the clue doesn't make enough
sense)
I like pasta with fun/ked bacon and tomato [... fungi, smoked bacon ...]
(rejected as the word "funked" is obviously where the break happens)
That should be enough rejects to make some spoiler space.
(g) Answers to sample clues, and undevilled versions
----------------------------------------------------
SCARAB
The colonel said we could take the major's car abroad
(The fact that the break is between "major" and "road" in the clue is
the failure to match the word-break standard)
NEATEN
Apnea tends to result from closed passages
MANATI
Roman, a Times face, is strangely not italic
DEATH
His partner's large size made a threshold a problem for the groom
LINGA
An ice axe is needed for scaling Alps
4 from one Azed comp: ELASTIN
Undevilled versions:
Winner: As a non-worker, the faithful drone does the Queen bee lasting
favours.
2nd: Marilyn Monroe was a dame LA's Tinseltown people adored.
3rd: Replaying drawn Cup match means FA tie lasting. UEFA-style shoot-
outs are better.
My effort (VHC, my best ever Azed result):
Mrs. Bartok watched Bela's tiny son Peter playing "Mikrokosmos" on the
piano.
[I think I checked that "Mikrokosmos" is intended for young pianists,
and that their son was called Peter. I enjoyed getting another Peter B
into my clue but I doubt that Azed or anyone else noticed!]
Enough already,
Peter B
--
Peter & Jacqueline Biddlecombe (p...@biddlecombe.demon.co.uk)
Web site: http://www.biddlecombe.demon.co.uk
David Tyler
"P & J Biddlecombe" <pete&j...@biddlecombe.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:kAuGcKAM...@biddlecombe.demon.co.uk...
> This message contains:
>
> (a) proposed procedures for an informal comparison of PD clues to the
> word used in the current Azed clue-writing competition
> (b) an explanation of what Printer's Devilry clues are, followed by some
> examples
> (c) some brief notes on Azed competitions to give some context
> (d) some clues and answers from last week's Azed puzzle to suggest how
> to go about solving PD clues
> (e) some more examples, without answers, to try
> (f) my submitted clue for the Azed comp, plus some rejects and reasons
> for rejecting them, so that you can see that there are often many
> possibilities.
> (g) answers to (e)
>
>
> Peter B
> --
> Peter & Jacqueline Biddlecombe (p...@biddlecombe.demon.co.uk)
> Web site: http://www.biddlecombe.demon.co.uk
I admire pretty much every part of this posting! It inspired me to have a go
at "gismo", even though I didn't send one in. Is this rubbish?:
Is "Matrixophilia" a Neo Lover complex?
dave
David Tyler
paddy...@hotmailnospamplease.com
> >Wonderful post snipped>
> > Peter B
> > --
> > Peter & Jacqueline Biddlecombe (p...@biddlecombe.demon.co.uk)
> > Web site: http://www.biddlecombe.demon.co.uk
>
> I admire pretty much every part of this posting! It inspired me to have a go
> at "gismo", even though I didn't send one in. Is this rubbish?:
>
> Is "Matrixophilia" a Neo Lover complex?
SPOILER (ROT13)
Vf "Zngevkbcuvyvn" n arbybtvfz bire-pbzcyrk?
Works for me, but I've never tackled a PD in my life. Having read
Peter's description, I'm not sure I'll ever be able to!
- Paddy
--
Paddy Grove, Cambridge, UK
Remove 'no spam please' from email to reply
P & J Biddlecombe
<da...@pozzitive.demon.co.uk> writes
I don't think it's rubbish. I'll add it to the set of clues I received,
for more detailed comment in a couple of days.
I think I've heard an experienced Azed competitor state that in a PD
contest, practically any clue that follows the basic rules competently
will get an HC.
Richard Sabey
I realise why I hate this gimmick: when tackling a normal crossword,
I grep a word list only as a last resort, but this is a necessary
part of tackling a PD clue!
>A PD's to result from closed passages (6)
>NEATEN
> Apnea tends to result from closed passages
No wonder I couldn't get this one, despite spotting the obvious break.
I nominate this one as the clue which was not an Azed prize-winner but
a transatlantic ringer.
>A nice axe is needed for scalps (5)
Not a good one, as you have to look them up to find out which of
ALING, LINGA, INGAL is a word.
Congrats for getting a VHC for your
> Mrs. Bartok, watched by son Peter, playing "Mikrokosmos" on the piano.
A pity that a name seems to be needed merely for the surface, to make the
telegraphese of "son" lacking an article not so bad.
>MANATI
> Roman, a Times face, is strangely not italic
This is awful. Roman is not a (type)face. "Roman" is an adjective denoting
a property which a font might or might not have, and the setter should not
have expected the solver to associate it with Times in particular.
The word "strangely" is strange here. The devilry doesn't use it, yet it
wrecks the undevilled reading because it is not strange at all that a roman
face is not italic; no font can be both roman and italic. This clue didn't
deserve to win any prizes.
P & J Biddlecombe
Sabey <crypt...@hotmail.com> writes
>Thank you for those PD clues. Trying to solve them at my computer,
>I realise why I hate this gimmick:
PDs are like Marmite (salty yeast extract spread that some Brits put on
their breakfast toast) - nobody seems to "quite like" them.
>when tackling a normal crossword,
>I grep a word list only as a last resort, but this is a necessary
>part of tackling a PD clue!
Not here. Does that mean you couldn't have used any of the methods
described for the easier clues in last week's puzzle?
>
>>A PD's to result from closed passages (6)
>>NEATEN
>> Apnea tends to result from closed passages
>
>No wonder I couldn't get this one, despite spotting the obvious break.
>I nominate this one as the clue which was not an Azed prize-winner but
>a transatlantic ringer.
None of the clues are transatlantic. In Chambers, this spelling is "esp
N. Am." but not shown as exclusively so. The clue that wasn't a prize-
winner was the one for SCARAB.
>
>>A nice axe is needed for scalps (5)
>
>Not a good one, as you have to look them up to find out which of
>ALING, LINGA, INGAL is a word.
Is that really so bad? If you never have to check for a range of
possibilities when solving a plain Azed, you're better at this game than
I am. A single checking letter from another clue would have fixed this
problem.
>
>Congrats for getting a VHC for your
>> Mrs. Bartok, watched by son Peter, playing "Mikrokosmos" on the piano.
>
>A pity that a name seems to be needed merely for the surface, to make the
>telegraphese of "son" lacking an article not so bad.
That was the best I could do once I'd spotted "Bela's tiny" / "by" as a
"hiding place" for the answer. If there's a way of using "by" in this
way that gives smoother phrasing in the clue and works in the undevilled
version, let me know what I missed!
>
>>MANATI
>> Roman, a Times face, is strangely not italic
>
>This is awful. Roman is not a (type)face. "Roman" is an adjective denoting
>a property which a font might or might not have, and the setter should not
>have expected the solver to associate it with Times in particular.
Why not? Times Roman is a _very_ well-known typeface name.
>The word "strangely" is strange here. The devilry doesn't use it, yet it
>wrecks the undevilled reading because it is not strange at all that a roman
>face is not italic; no font can be both roman and italic.
Not even Times New Roman Italic?
Italic also means "pertaining to Italy". I think that's why it's
supposed to be strange that Times Roman, at least in the form seen every
day in the paper, is not italic.
>This clue didn't
>deserve to win any prizes.
I can't remember what else was offered, though I can remember finding
MANATI harder than ELASTIN when I entered.