Hotchpotch v. gallimaufry

In Competition No. 2761 you were invited to provide an example of critics debating a trivial point in an absurd way.

This challenge was inspired by the parody, at the end of N.F. Simpson’s A Resounding Tinkle, of critics solemnly discussing whether the play they have just seen is a ‘hotchpotch’ or a ‘gallimaufry’.

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Alexander Larman

Beware the middle of Lidl

I liked Chris O’Carroll’s dissection of the nuances of ‘myriad’ and ‘plethora’, and both Basil Ransome-Davies and G.M. Davis neatly captured the childish, foot-stomping undercurrent that sometimes characterises the exchanges between squabbling critics. The entries that most impressed though, in a smallish postbag, are printed below and earn their authors £30 apiece. Adrian Fry wins the bonus fiver.

Did the doors in this production work for you?

To the extent that they allowed the characters ingress and egress, incontestably so.