The Stickler Weekly 135 Solution

A recent Stickler Weekly brought up an interesting question about a clue that could be considered ambiguous, with two answers valid according to wordplay and crossing letters in the grid. This was the clue in question: Shut down stall (4). The answer given in the solution was FOLD, a double definition, but a number of solvers offered HOLD as a valid answer. My first response was to dismiss the claim as I didn’t think “Shut down” and HOLD were synonymous enough, as to hold might be to shut down temporarily, but note that “temporarily” is a key part of definition and that’s not in the clue. However, it still could fit with some latitude given. The Australian Crossword Club (ACC) runs competitions each month through their magazine, CrOzworld, where members need to submit solved puzzles to get a chance at a prize. It’s common for alternative answers to be offered by members, usually (understandably) with short clues that have multiple word possibilities. (The HOLD/FOLD pattern of ?O?D has 34 possibilities according to the Australian Oxford, so it’s not uncommon for a word other than the intended answer to be a close fit especially for double definitions). I think the ACC tend to allow entries that could be right as it’s hard to argue against a claim that’s close. So if this was a ACC competition I’d allow both HOLD and FOLD, but I would also say that if HOLD was the answer, then the clue isn’t a good one. I believe FOLD is a better answer that matches the clue and the setter’s usual attention to detail. Effectively, if the answer is HOLD, “Shut down” and “stall” have the same meaning in this double definition – an approach I rarely take – my double definitions are almost always TRUE. However it is the setter’s job to make sure there is no ambiguity, so I have slipped up here.