November 23 2011
Bling-Bling
Hip, hip….I’m back on air, and finally smiling. Thanks for patience during this blackout, where Telstra did its best impression of a lethargic janitor getting around to fixing a dripping tap, four days after the plink-plink was reported. Time to move on, and celebrate that Storm from so long back:
Boy oh boy, did we make some merry hell with repeater words. The contest drew 100-plus entries, including such promising newbies as DM and Crucifer. We also saw Mr X toy with an imagined repeater grid. (Be careful X – as madness lies that way.)
Just a note before I roll out the best. The new Storm custom is to self-select your best stuff before the usual late Thursday deadline, just to streamline the judging side of things. We also have a Popular Choice ritual, where all players rank their own top three from the Storm.
So, to prove your creations were far from so-so, the shortlist, and winners:
TOM-TOM: Drum combined with [MAJOR MAJOR] features in two Bowie hits. [Kudos to Mr X for taking the meta-theme tack. Look for a DA double-theme in 2012, I hunch.]
PAWPAW: It’s a soft, slippery fruit – use two hands [Rufus-like in its sweetness, as styled by Boniface.]
TINTIN: Colour-in cartoon character [One I’ve used before, which means I hear-hear Boniface’s approach. Reads very well.]
NANA: She takes two short naps [Criseyde has fun with Granny siestas, though this still needs moulding to make the &lit tighter: She has more than one nap, quietly dropping off!]
HUMBERT HUMBERT: Pervert them – rub repeatedly [Grammar seems a tad awry, but JD’s prurient motif for Lolita’s lech is beyond question.]
SING SING: Two-timing snitch in jail [Splendid surface from LR, with a deft repeater signpost as well. Very close to the chocolates.]
MUU MUU = Low sounding frock [A kapow luau from JD.]
THIRD PRIZE: TESTES: Match-point requires ultimate tennis balls [Maybe ‘brass’ instead of tennis here? But Crucifer’s debut is a dazzler.]
SECOND PRIZE: TWENTY TWENTY: XXXX-rating suggests supervision? [SK throws every parenting lobby groups into a tailspin with a top-drawer clue.]
FIRST PRIZE: SAME OLD SAME OLD: Male lead’s moods change in “Groundhog Day” [Think of Bill Murray as the harried news hack, and you can’t look past SK’s other creation. A unique & zestful anagram for a duplicated & jaded solution.]
Proving SK’s win in the preceding Storm was no fluke. The globe-trotting man of mystery is in rare form and needs to be overhauled, I suggest. (Or perhaps you preferred other clues, some not even listed here – then tell us your own top three.) New Storm next week, with some puzzle play in between.
Comments
SK — 23 November at 05:06PM
Welcome back online DA! I feel humbled and honoured to be awarded a one, two podium finish. Muchos gracias.
SK — 23 November at 05:11PM
Oops....apologies for the Latino spelling error.
The entry that made me laugh the most was Bon's PAWPAW. I also liked X's discovery of MAJOR TOM in duplicate.
Sam — 23 November at 05:27PM
Well done SK and Crucifer - I also liked JD's MUU MUU
Em — 23 November at 05:40PM
Thanks again for the fun DA, and sorry you had no fun with Telstra. Congrats to SK, Crucifer, and all!
I was reminded of Ren and Stimpy on the weekend, and now wish I'd had a crack at happy happy joy joy. Or that someone else had, as they would have done a better job!
LR — 23 November at 05:50PM
Glad you're back on the cyber-air DA.
Twenty Twenty wins it for mine.
I should know better than to give votes to both Crucifer and Anax, but that's the kind of guy I am. 2 and 1 respectively.
In other news, the drummer Pete Best is an anagram of a rhythmic exercise (4,4)
Crucifer — 23 November at 06:29PM
Welcome back!
Very happy to pick up a third place with my first humble effort. Still finding my way around here (is there voting to be done...?) but enjoying the journey.
DA — 23 November at 06:40PM
Crucifer, re the voting system, it's a simple matter of lodging your own preferences once the results are filed, saying which clue(s) took your own fancy, eg:
1st - sing sing
2nd -20/20
3rd - pawpaw
You may agree with my reckoning, or disagree slightly, or put my opinions to the torch. All players are welcome to respond (creating a popular choice) and no, you can't vote for your own - natch.
JD — 23 November at 08:24PM
At last you're back and all is well again. Some excellent entries, and you seem to have judged them well. 20/20 was so good - and to get 2 good clues for one entry is remarkable. Congrats to Bon. for channelling DA with Tintin. For what it's worth, I liked pompom too. Will there be a storm this week? A squall perhaps?
Crucifer — 23 November at 08:54PM
@DA Thanks. And do we submit our choices by email?
DA — 23 November at 09:04PM
Just a post is fine. Call it an open ballot. Soon as we draw enough voters, I'll run up the tally and declare the popular choice winners.
(Doing an online poll is the other road I mused, but that's a pain with so many possible candidates.)
JPR — 24 November at 05:01AM
small point i think Groundhog's Murray was a weatherman not a news hack...
DA — 24 November at 06:32AM
A met hack, true.
JPR, as for onya, here's the Gospel According to Macq:
// (say 'onyuh)
interjection Colloquial good on you! Also (when addressing more than one), onyas.
DA — 24 November at 06:46AM
Seems SK wins the lollies in the vox pops too, though with his 20/20 clue. While JD - with her muu-muu - can consider herself unlucky.
Boniface's pawpaw was also goodgood.
Criseyde — 24 November at 07:23AM
Welcome back DA. Thanks for the mention, and your improvement. Maybe the definition could be changed to Telstra Faults Onhold?
Loved SK's Twenty Twenty. Also liked Muu Muu, Sing Sing and Pawpaw.
SK — 24 November at 07:33AM
Thanks all for the Viewers' Choice Award.
And DA you have been too generous, giving me a gold star the last three storms. The cheque is in the mail ;)