Many thanks to Luciano for running the previous contest.

For ASCWC 267, please submit up to three cryptic clues for:

WINTER (6)

The deadline is just before midnight, your time, Saturday, November 27.

Duke

Window in Terra's passage? (6)

WINTER:

Season went wrong, one assumed, before middle of March (6)

Luciano

WINTER:

Decline low-interest houses (6)

LUCIANO

On Saturday, 20 November 2021 at 11:20:34 am UTC+11, Duke wrote:

> For ASCWC 267, please submit up to three cryptic clues for:
>
> WINTER (6)

Spend December to February on an island in the Arctic Ocean and write about nuclear explosion (6)

Steve = : ^ )

WINTER:

Guevara’s moving out of cathedral city for three months (6)

Luciano

Hibernia to the Romans discussing who's first to bury? (6)

On Wednesday, November 24, 2021 at 4:35:09 PM UTC-3:30, David A wrote:
> Hibernia to the Romans discussing who's first to bury? (6)
Adjust: Hibernia to the Romans discussing who first to bury? (6)

On Friday, November 19, 2021 at 4:20:34 PM UTC-8, Duke wrote:
> Many thanks to Luciano for running the previous contest.
>
> For ASCWC 267, please submit up to three cryptic clues for:
>
> WINTER (6)
>
> The deadline is just before midnight, your time, Saturday, November 27.
>
> Duke

Almost last call! Get those clues in!

> Spend December to February on an island in the Arctic Ocean and write about nuclear explosion (6)
>
> Steve = : ^ )

Another time of year for Steve to cryptically write about Northerners' primacy (6) [past-the-deadline bonus clue]

Here are the clues for WINTER together with my attempts to decipher them. As you can see, I'll need some help, please.

From Mark Iredell:
Window in Terra's passage? (6)
Hidden word (" 's passage"); def. is the whole clue

Bonus:
Another time of year for Steve to cryptically write about Northerners' primacy (6)
Help, please. Anagram ("cryptically") of WRITE + first letter of Northerners'. The definition is "Another time of year for Steve," but I'm not sure why.

From Luciano Ward:
Season went wrong, one assumed, before middle of March (6)
anagram of WENT with I before R; def. is "season"

Decline low-interest houses
Hidden word ("houses"); def. is "decline"

Guevara's moving out of cathedral city for three months (6)
WINCHESTER minus CHES; def. is "three months"

From Steve:
Spend December to February on an island in the Arctic Ocean and write about nuclear explosion (6)

Help, please. I see "Spend December to February" as a definition. I see "write about + nuclear" giving me WINTER, although (a) I'm not sure "n" really abbreviates "nuclear" and (b) without an insertion indicator, I think this would give me WITERN. So I think I'm off-base here. I see "nuclear explosion" possibly resulting in the so-called "nuclear winter," but then "nuclear" would be pulling double-duty. I don't get the "on...Ocean" part, unless it's part of a really long definition. I couldn't find a Winter Island in the Arctic, but there is one off Antarctica, where presumably winter is June-ish to September-ish. Or am I missing the point(s) here?

From David A:
Hibernia to the Romans discussing who first to bury? (6)
W ("who first") + INTER; def. is "Hibernia to the Romans"

I have now located the Arctic's Winter Island! So I'm thinking this clue has two definitions plus wordplay
(a) Spend December to February; (b) an island in the Arctic Ocean; (c) anagram ("explosion") of "write" about "n," abbreviating "nuclear." Yes?

> From Steve:
> Spend December to February on an island in the Arctic Ocean and write about nuclear explosion (6)
> Help, please. I see "Spend December to February" as a definition. I see "write about + nuclear" giving me WINTER, although (a) I'm not sure "n" really abbreviates "nuclear" and (b) without an insertion indicator, I think this would give me WITERN. So I think I'm off-base here. I see "nuclear explosion" possibly resulting in the so-called "nuclear winter," but then "nuclear" would be pulling double-duty. I don't get the "on...Ocean" part, unless it's part of a really long definition. I couldn't find a Winter Island in the Arctic, but there is one off Antarctica, where presumably winter is June-ish to September-ish. Or am I missing the point(s) here?

On Tuesday, 30 November 2021 at 7:37:47 am UTC+11, Duke wrote:
> I have now located the Arctic's Winter Island! So I'm thinking this clue has two definitions plus wordplay
> (a) Spend December to February; (b) an island in the Arctic Ocean; (c) anagram ("explosion") of "write" about "n," abbreviating "nuclear." Yes?
> > From Steve:
> > Spend December to February on an island in the Arctic Ocean and write about nuclear explosion (6)
> > Help, please. I see "Spend December to February" as a definition. I see "write about + nuclear" giving me WINTER, although (a) I'm not sure "n" really abbreviates "nuclear" and (b) without an insertion indicator, I think this would give me WITERN. So I think I'm off-base here. I see "nuclear explosion" possibly resulting in the so-called "nuclear winter," but then "nuclear" would be pulling double-duty. I don't get the "on...Ocean" part, unless it's part of a really long definition. I couldn't find a Winter Island in the Arctic, but there is one off Antarctica, where presumably winter is June-ish to September-ish. Or am I missing the point(s) here?

I didn't know there was a Winter Island in the Arctic and it doesn't play any part in my clue. It seems to me that you equate December to February with winter without considering that this is only the case in the northern hemisphere. Winter is June to August in the southern hemisphere. That's why you missed Mark's clue. He's in the US; I'm in Australia.

So, to define WINTER, "December to February" needs an example indicator to locate it in the northern hemisphere. I happened to choose an island in the Arctic Ocean (for reasons I will explain in a minute).

The (not) missing insertion indicator is "about". "Write about nuclear" means insert "n" into write. It doesn't matter where you insert it because the anagram indicator, "explosion", comes last, so the anagramming happens after the insertion.

N = Nuclear is in Chambers.

If the surface seems a little arbitrary, the largest nuclear explosion to date (ever, hopefully) was Russia's Tsar Bomba, which was detonated a little over sixty years ago above Severny Island, which is in the Arctic Ocean. So I guess the clue's about going there to research what effect the explosion had on the island. Or something ...

Thanks for moderating,
Steve = : ^ )

Here are the entries in ASCWC 267, together with my thoughts. The winner, however, is not revealed until the end. This way the suspense is maximized.

From Mark Iredell:
Window in Terra's passage? (6)
Hidden word (" 's passage"); def. is the whole clue

Very poetic. M-w.com is not buying Terra for "earth," but I read more science fiction than it does.

Bonus:
Another time of year for Steve to cryptically write about Northerners' primacy (6)

Help, please. Anagram ("cryptically") of WRITE + first letter of Northerners'. The definition is "Another time of year for Steve," since Steve's Australian winter is not when Mark's is.

Sure. In solving this clue it helps to know something about a particular Steve.

From Luciano Ward:
Season went wrong, one assumed, before middle of March (6)
Anagram of WENT with I before R; def. is "season"

Nothing wrong here, though I'm not sure what it means for a season to go wrong. Winter was too hot, maybe?

Decline low-interest houses
Hidden word ("houses"); def. is "decline"

"Low-interest houses" is great. I don't love the definition. To me "winter" in its metaphorical sense connotes lying low, being inactive, whereas decline has that feeling of moving lower.

Guevara's moving out of cathedral city for three months (6)
WINCHESTER minus CHES; def. is "three months"

And why wouldn't he? Guevara can only be one thing, but this is a nice find.

From Steve:
Spend December to February on an island in the Arctic Ocean and write about nuclear explosion (6)
Anagram ("explosion") of WRITE about N; def. is "spend...ocean."

Nice long definition by example which might have benefitted from "for example," since clearly there are other ways to winter. The explanation regarding the bomb helped.

From David A:
Hibernia to the Romans discussing who first to bury? (6)
W ("who first") + INTER; def. is "Hibernia to the Romans"

"Who first to bury" is very good. I can't verify that "Hibernia" is Latin for winter. I can find "hiberno" ("in the winter time," "spend the winter") but I think Hibernia is pretty much just "Ireland."

And the winner is...Mark, for his sci-fi poeme-en-prose. Take it away Mark!