SCWC 379 announcement

wa...@math.uchicago.edu

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Apr 8, 2021, 5:07:00 PM4/8/21

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Many thanks to Luciano for moderating SCWC 378 and for choosing
my clue as the winner.

For SCWC 379, please write one, two or three clues for:

SMOOTHEN (8)

and post them here. (Bonus clues, as always, are welcome.)

The deadline is end of April 19 in your time zone. Have fun!

Kevin Wald wa...@math.uchicago.edu | Extra-bright types of
http://www.math.uchicago.edu/~wald | star-circling star (5)

Duke

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Apr 9, 2021, 8:57:10 PM4/9/21

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Iron, maybe, found in article trapped in small, low nest's entrance (8)

Rob

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Apr 10, 2021, 3:07:18 PM4/10/21

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Even out odd length with a layer underneath (8)

Luciano Ward

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Apr 11, 2021, 12:16:55 PM4/11/21

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SMOOTHEN:

Press release from the morons excited the Right (8)

Luciano

Luciano Ward

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Apr 12, 2021, 1:56:40 PM4/12/21

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SMOOTHEN:

When the moon's out you can do this in the course of an evening (8)

Luciano

Luciano Ward

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Apr 13, 2021, 8:53:14 PM4/13/21

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SMOOTHEN:

Iron Lady accepts arguable point (8)

Luciano

Duke

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Apr 14, 2021, 8:20:51 PM4/14/21

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Iron plane (8)

wa...@math.uchicago.edu

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Apr 20, 2021, 4:40:28 PM4/20/21

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And now my interpretations of the clues. ??? indicates a point on which
I am confused. Please let me know about anything I have missed or
misinterpreted.

Duke:

> Iron, maybe, found in article trapped in small, low nest's entrance (8)

Iron, maybe = definition
article = THE
small = S
low = MOO
nest's entrance = N
THE trapped in S + MOO + N = SMOO(THE)N

> Iron plane (8)
double definition (Iron and plane)

Rob:

> Even out odd length with a layer underneath (8)

Even out = defintion
odd length = SMOOT (a unit of length used by MIT students
to measure the Harvard Bridge, equal to 5 ft, 7 in.)
a layer = HEN
SMOOT with HEN underneath = SMOOTHEN

Luciano:

> Press release from the morons excited the Right (8)

Press = definition
excited = anagram indicator
THEMORONS anagrammed = SMOOTHENR
Right = R
release from SMOOTHENR the R = SMOOTHENR - R = SMOOTHEN

> When the moon's out you can do this in the course of an evening (8)

you can do this in the course of an evening = SMOOTHEN
out = anagram indicator
THE MOON'S anagrammed = SMOOTHEN
??? not sure what "When" is doing

> Iron Lady accepts arguable point (8)

Iron = definition
Lady = SHE
arguable = MOOT
SHE accepts MOOT = S(MOOT)HE
point = N (compass point)
SMOOTHE + N = SMOOTHEN

Kevin Wald wa...@math.uchicago.edu | Later, after spam's covering
http://www.math.uchicago.edu/~wald | more than one egg roll (8)

Luciano Ward

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Apr 20, 2021, 5:35:30 PM4/20/21

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> > When the moon's out you can do this in the course of an evening (8)
> you can do this in the course of an evening = SMOOTHEN
> out = anagram indicator
> THE MOON'S anagrammed = SMOOTHEN
> ??? not sure what "When" is doing

You're right. 'When the moon's is out...' would have been better (but gibberish).

Luciano

wa...@math.uchicago.edu

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Apr 25, 2021, 5:18:58 PM4/25/21

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And now my judgements:

Duke:

> Iron, maybe, found in article trapped in small, low nest's entrance (8)

Nice definition, and good construction. Surface is okay.

> Iron plane (8)
Good, and misleading, surface. With regard to the construction: I much
prefer that double definitions use two completely different meanings of
the answer; here, they both use the exact same meaning.

Rob:

> Even out odd length with a layer underneath (8)

Good surface, good construction, good definition, and special bonus
points for the use of the MIT's favorite length unit, the smoot.

Luciano:

> Press release from the morons excited the Right (8)

Very smooth surface, and I very much like the way it hides the definition.
Construction is fine (I'm less keen on anagram-minus-letters clues than
plain anagrams, though I think the subtraction indicator here is very good).

> When the moon's out you can do this in the course of an evening (8)

I like the definition here a lot, and the surface is very good. As discussed,
though, the "When" ends up being extraneous here.

> Iron Lady accepts arguable point (8)

Another good surface hiding a definition very nicely. A minor quibble:
In the cryptic reading, "Lady accepts arguable" is a full sentence, and
"point" is a noun phrase, so the combination doesn't really make
grammatical sense; I think this would work better with "accepting"
in place of "accepts", so it's one noun phrase after another.

And now, the placements:
First place goes to Rob's measured clue.
Second place goes to Luciano's publicized clue.
Third place goes to Duke's entrancing clue.

Rob?

Kevin Wald wa...@math.uchicago.edu | Last .4-smoot cat near
http://www.math.uchicago.edu/~wald | one hassock (7)