Colossus Winners (Issue 228)

BAFFLER No 228
5 x £50 Prize Cheques
Jim Clark, Fakenham; C Hollings, Hebden Bridge; J Mills, Kingswood; P Portlock, Doncaster; Ian Singer, Blyth.

GIANT CRYPTIC No 228
2 x De’Longhi ICM30 Filter Coffee Machines
G Martin, Bridgwater; D Redhead, Copmanthorpe.

2 x Bradford’s Crossword Solver’s Dictionaries
Penelope Money, France; Margaret Stanworth, Burnley.

2 x Lovatts Kitchen Packs including Tea Towel, Apron & Coffee Mug.
S Nicholson, Bradford; Maureen Noble, Barnsley.

CASHWORDS No 228
£300 Winner
Chris Womack, Biggin Hill.

5 x £40
George Connor, Donnycarney; Dorothy Dalton, Sheffield; I Rice, London; Edward Shepperd, Bognor Regis; E Smith, Inverurie.

STINKER No 228
1 x Canon 10MP Digital Camera
W Salmon, Barnet.

2 x Lovatts Engraved Weather Stations
Penny Banks, Deal; W Mortimore, Bovey Tracey.

3 x Collins Gem Packs including 2 x Collin’s Gems & 1 x Pocket World Atlas
C Cant, Chard; D Portingale, Enfield; B Revitt, Llandeilo.

THE KNOWLEDGE No 228
2 x Antique Desktop Globes
David Robinson, Billingham; W Sharrocks, Dukinfield.

Colossus 230 – gremlin

 

Pg 21 the Baffler

The clue  ‘Cellist, Paco …’ should have read ‘Guitarist, Paco …’.

With thanks to Jayne  Sullivan, of St Helens, Merseyside.

MEGA Winners (Issue 10)

Mighty Mega
1 x £200
A Kirkpatrick, Coleraine.

3 x Lovatts Puzzler’s Pack inc – Notepad & Pen Set, Booklight & Collins Gem Dictionary
Steve Brown, Cheltenham; Sheona Gillies, Leeds; T Shaw, Plymouth.

Mega Mix
1 x £100
A Taggart, Hove.

3 x Lovatts Stationery Set inc – Magnestic Paperweight, Notepad & Pen & Highlighter Set
M Hazell, Shenfield; Alan Jeffrey, Stapleford Abbotts; Eileen Lindsay, Brechin.

Mega Stinker
1 x Canon Printer, Scanner & Copier
G Lawrence, Ipswich.

2 x Lovatts Engraved Clock & Thermometer
Jane McVey, Hoylake; Aileen Tappenden, Ramsgate.

3 x Lovatts Kitchen Pack inc – Tea Towel, Apron & Coffee Mug
Tania Busbridge, Bude; E Carnell, Lincoln; R Rawlins, Winchester.

Cryptic Crosswords Winners (Issue 05)

Cryptic Arrow Contest
Solution – PANCAKE
1 x James Martin Kitchen Pack inc – Food Processor, Compact Chopper & Hand Mixer
N Davies, Aylesford.

5 x Lovatts Puzzler’s Prize Pack inc – Notepad & Pen Set, Booklight & Gem Dictionary
D Barrett, Norwich; J Hargreaves, Blackburn; Joyce Holman, Norwich; Michael Smith, Birmingham; D Stotter, Maidstone.

Cryptic Contest
Solution – PASTRIES
1 x £200
Brenda Deakin, Eastwood.

5 x Lovatts Kitchen Pack inc – Tea Towel, Apron & Coffee Mug
Sue Abolins, Didcot; J Burroughs, Newlyn; Debra Greenwood, Banstead; J Ormond, Ludlow; Da Rundle, Plymouth.

BIG Winners (Issue 218)

BIGCASH
£300 Winner
George Straker, Cramlington.

5 x £40 Winners
Dorothy Dalton, Sheffield; Kay Gozzard, Dronfield; D Hodges, Blackpool; G McMinn, Dumfries; D Wrinch, Ipswich.

Goliathon
1 x BT Studio Plus Telephone with Answer Machine
Eve Middleton, Swindon.

2 x Lovatts Engraved Glass Decanter Sets
J Wainwright, Corsham; C Walker, Bridlington.

2 x Crossword Solver’s Dictionaries
R Carter, Leigh-On-Sea; L Haswell, London.

DEMON
1 x 10 inch Portable Widescreen DVD Player
Ian McInally, Johnstone.

2 x Lovatts Engraved Clock & Thermometer
M Handford, Watford; Pat Robertson, Edinburgh.

2 x Collins Pocket Spellers
J Davis, Kettering; Pat Gannon-Leary, Gateshead.

BONANZA
Big Easy – P4
Solution: Advent Calendar
3 x Collins Gem Prize Packs
Catherine Gunn, Bathgate; P Harmer, Ringmer; A Morris, Southport.

Ninesies 1 – P8
Solution: Tinsel
3 x Lovatts Puzzler’s Packs
M Curtis, Scarborough; M Fuell, Tiverton; M Liggitt, Ringwood.

Wheel Words 1 – P10
Solution: Fruit Cake
3 x Crossword Solver’s Dictionaries
S Jones, Warwick; Bernice Lister, Woodhouse Park; Jutta Payton, Swinton.

Elevenses 1 – P14
Solution: Star
3 x Elevenses Prize Packs
Diana Hobbs, Eastbourne; John MacGregor, Heathhall; Peter Okell, Horsham.

Christine’s Cryptic – P22
Solution: Sleigh Bells
2 x Stainless Steel Kettle & Toaster Packs
Derek Varley, Morley; S Wallace, Weybridge.

Xmas Cross – P23
Solution: Goodness
2 x Pembroke Organic Hampers
Linda Bridges, Eastbourne; J Cox, Wivenhoe.

2 x Kodak Dispoable Cameras & Flash Light Keyrings
Karen Holmes, Long Preston; J Shakespeare, Cyprus.

Acrostic – P28
Solution: Christmas Stockings
3 x Collins Gem Prize Packs
P Evans, Carterton; Celia Wilkins, Meare; E Williams, Powys.

Xmas Pop Words – P33
Solution: Mistletoe
4 x 100% Musicals CD Box Sets
W Biggerstaff, Lisburn; Sue Loder, London; Denyse Spiller, Bath; Katie Wheeler, Penzance.

Do Your Block – P38
Solution: Reindeer
3 x Lovatts Out & About Prize Packs
M Bollen, Airdrie; Carole Daniel, Scarborough; B Harrison, Carnforth.

Fill-In – P38
Solution: Santa
3 x I Love Coffee Prize Packs
H Avenell, Stapleton; Doreen Edmunds, Solihull; Lisa Neale, Coventry.

Wiz Words – P39
Solution: Calling Birds
3 x Collins Electronic Crossword Solvers
Helen Skillicorn, Ramsey; Victor Smith, Fareham; R Wood, Bridlington.

Starhunt 5 – P40
Solution: Clint Eastwood
3 x Lovatts Kitchen Prize Packs
W Jewkes, Alfreton; J Punton, Edinburgh; Julie Rodger, Girvan.

Starhunt 6 – P40
Solution: Dennis Hopper
3 x £15 Prize Cheque
Samantha Neeve, Great Yarmouth; J Patrick, Halifax; S Peatey, Christchuch.

Starhunt 7 – P41
Solution: Emma Thompson
3 x Gardener’s Prize Packs
W Crockford, Petersfield; A Kittle, Polperro; F Webster, Holmes Chapel.

Starhunt 8 – P41
Solution: Gary Oldman
3 x Lovatts Stationery Sets
S Dawson, Sandbach; James Peterson, Sandness; Joan Stones, Christchurch.

Big Tougher – P44
Solution: Once in Royal David’s City
3 x Alba 2GB MP3 Players
Garry Cross, Cults; Claire Sutton, Runcorn; S Thubron, Richmond.

Elevenses 2 – P46
Solution: Carols
3 x Elevenses Prize Packs
June Clee, Tipton; P Hearn, Gainsborough; D Thomson, Mid Calder.

Wheel Words 2 – P48
Solution: Adoration
3 x Art Decp Photo Frames
P Anthony, Cannock; Janet Carter, Rugeley; P Charles, Penllergaer.

The Diamond – P50
Solution: Ghost of Christmas Past
3 x Lovatts Rainy Day Packs
S Clarke, Cambridge; V Houghton, Bognor Regis; G Mason, Lisburn.

Ninesies 2 – P59
Solution: Gifts
3 x Lovatts Puzzler’s Packs
J Allen, Henstridge; Trudy Kitto, Bishop Auckland; R Savage, Belfast.

Anarchy – P60
Solution: Butter
3 x Lovatts Gadget Prize Packs
Judy Baldwin, Hemel Hempstead; M Day, Wells; L James, Ballyclare.

Magic Squares – P62
Solution: Tarts
3 x I Love Coffee Prize Packs
J Andrew, Teignmouth; J Jones, Pinner; G Peachey, Aberdulays.

Sudoku – P64
Solution: 861745923
5 x Memory Lane Jigsaw Puzzles
L Benfold, Portsmouth; N Keep, East Grinstead; Shirley Ross, Ellesmere Port; D Rudd, Richmond; Tina Skeet, Waltham Abbey.

Findaword 1 – P75
Solution: Kris Kringle
5 x Cookbooks – Foodfacts for the Kitchen Front
Denise Brachean, London; Valerie Bullock, Hatherleigh; Carol Godson, Waterlooville; Shirley Roy, Drumaness; Wendy Spridgeon-Bailey, Barking.

Findaword 2 – P75
Solution: Frankincense
3 x DVD Box Sets – David Attenborough’s Planet Earth
Bernice Dodds, Wisbech; Rita Roby, Chorley; C Windsor, Newport.

Christmas Tree Tokens 1 – 6
Solution: 12, 16, 20, 26, 32, 54
10 x Scented Candle Sets
Val Broadbent, Leeds; V Chapman, Pulborough; Julia Gilling, Plymouth; Linda Howard, Thatcham; Pamela Nash, Eastleigh; Pauline Sievey, Bromley; Jean Taylor, Wem; Janice Thompson, Upper Stratton; J Whiston, Stoke-On-Trent; June White, Faversham.

Colossus 230 Judge Sums Up

Kidding around with cryptic
We seem to get more and more entries to the Giant Cryptic all the time. Perhaps you are all honing you lateral thinking skills by doing the crosswords in our Christine’s Cryptic Crosswords magazine which is now on sale every two months.
While most of you are successfully unravelling the devious clues, a few errors did occur in Colossus 232.
The first across clue, ‘Stories related when Nat arrives unexpectedly’, wanted the answer NARRATIVES, which is an anagram of ‘Nat arrives’. A few entries had NARRATIONS and one had NARRATATES. In cryptics you have to look for the trigger words. In that clue ‘unexpectedly’ was the trigger to say you needed an unexpected mix of the letters in the previous two words.
Another clever clue to catch out a few of you was at 34ac. ‘A little butter?’ was KID and not BIT, as some had. I’m sure if you got this one out it made you smile at the thought of that little baby goat attempting to butt!
At 9dn ‘Luggage item in which to store diamonds, for example?’ needed you to think of a pack of cards and the suit diamonds. That led you easily to the answer SUITCASE. A couple of entries had SLIPCASE.
Finally for the Giant Cryptic, at 57dn ‘Wild about mad tune’ was another anagram clue with ‘about’ as the trigger word. The answer was UNTAMED and not ENRAGED.
In the Cashwords there were only a few spelling errors to note.
‘Hurdle’ at 49dn was OBSTACLE, not OBSTICLE; ‘Hors d’oeuvre’ at 124dn was APPETISER, not APPATISER; ‘Spotted dogs’ at 160dn was DALMATIANS, not DALMATIONS and ‘Rind’ at 188dn was PEEL not PEAL.
In the Baffler some had trouble finding RAGWEED for ‘Allergy-triggering plant’. Those who are allergic to it suffer sneezing, itchy eyes and congestion – not pleasant at all. I assume those who couldn’t find the answer are lucky not to suffer from its effects.
The ‘Mythical wise Swedish king’ was DAG (not FAG). Legend has it that he could understand the speech of birds and that sparrows gathered information for him from far and wide.
Down at the bottom right-hand corner of the puzzle ‘Hip hop’ was RAP and not RAD.
The ‘Albanian kilt’ at 20ac in the Stinker was a FUSTA­NELLA. FUSTANELLE and FUSTAN­ELLI both appeared in entries. The garment has its history in the attire of ancient times and it is now mostly worn for ceremonial dress in Greece and Albania.
‘Licentious’ at 136ac was LASCIVIOUS not LISCIVIOUS and ‘Animosity’ at 157ac was MALICE not MALACE.
The ‘Colliery slack’ was CULM – a few guesses appeared here. The word possibly comes from Middle English colme, from Old English col or coal.
The most common error in the Stinker was down at the bottom at 295ac. ‘Gaffer’s assistant (4,3)’ needed you to know that a gaffer is an electrician or lighting expert on a film set, not just an affectionate name for an old man. The BEST BOY is the gaffer’s right-hand man. We didn’t take BUSH BOY or BUSS BOY. A bus boy is the assistant to a waiter.

BIG 218 Judge Sums Up

BIG Christmas Bonanza
We were thrilled to receive mountains of mail telling us how much you loved the Christmas edition of BIG with all the extra contests. We hope to bring you another bumper issue later in the New Year.
Perhaps the Christmas Demon was a little easier than usual, or you were all inspired by the seasonal good cheer, as there were not many errors noted by
our judges.
For ‘Anglo-Saxon freeman’ at 18ac some of you found this as CHURL, which we found as an alternative spelling. We found CEORL in the Oxford and Collins dictionaries.
Most of you put WASSAIL for 24ac ‘Mulled wine at Christmas’ but do you know the origin of this word? It comes from a Middle English phrase meaning
‘good health’.
Wassailing was a ceremony held in autumn to ward off evil and to drink to the health of the cider apple trees, so that they would yield
good crops.
A couple of incorrect vowels were noted in answers to 56dn and at 62dn. ‘Exuberant’ was EBU­LLIENT and ‘Palaeozoic marine crea­ture’ was TRILOBITE.
In the Bigcash we spotted a couple of entries with ACCUSED for ‘Whipped up’ at 40dn. Our clue would perhaps have been easier with (interest) after it, as the answer we needed was AROUSED i.e. whipped up /aroused interest. This fitted with PHOBIA for ‘Anxiety disorder’ at 50ac.
At 136ac the answer to ‘Aromatic burning stick’ was INCENSE not INSENSE.
A similar error occurred in the Goliathon where ‘48ac ‘Authorising’ was LICENSING not LICENCING.
The ‘Predecessor’ at 60ac was a FOREBEAR and not a FORESEER.
‘Mistreat’ was ABUSE and not ACUSE at 179dn and ‘Unknowing’ was UNAWARE not UNAWAKE
at 192ac.
Since Christine’s Cryptic was a competition in this issue I thought it timely to pass on a few tips to help those who are unsure of the tricks in these addictive puzzles.
Clue 1ac ‘Take a bow when Dora leaves courtyards transformed’ required you to remove ‘Dora’ from ‘courtyards’ and then ‘transform’ the letters left to make CURTSY, the answer to ‘take a bow’.
For ‘Extremely choosy apprentices have options’ at 5dn the straight part of the clue was ‘options’. ‘Extremely’ was a trigger to look at the extremes of ‘CHOosy apprentICES’ to find your answer.
The clue at 23dn, ‘Girl often found with fool following march’, was a play on the girl’s name April. April Fool’s day follows the month of March.
We had a couple of queries about our Diamond clue 21ac ‘Wind instrument’. Our answer was TUBA and a few readers called to say that the tuba is a brass, not wind instrument. The truth is that we are both right. Wind instruments are those where sound is made by a vibrating column of air. In the orchestra the wind is made up of woodwind and brass. Many woodwind instruments, such as the flute and piccolo, are now more commonly made of metal. The Oxford describes a tuba as a’ large brass wind instrument’.

Lucky Subscriber Draw Winners — Nov/Dec 2010

Congratulations to these five lucky subscribers who have each had their subscription outlays returned:
Mrs M Cannon, Sutton, Surrey; Mrs C Liddle, Rochester, Kent; Mr G Potter, Castle Donington, Derby; Miss V Remington, Burnley, Lancashire; Mr D Stell, Blackmill, Bridgend.