Crossword roundup: Olympic clues - the last lap

The winner of the cluing competition is announced below.

The news in clues

Scorpion in Saturday's Independent prize puzzle set himself a challenge of construction, giving his theme in the top row...

1ac Symbolically, numbers 1 and 79? (4)

4ac Successful sportsperson becoming Dame, still active (9)

...which read, via the atomic number for Au, GOLD MEDALLIST. Throughout the rest of the grid was a bunch of those who have successfully top-podiumed, all athletes, and all British, and here's a moment to stop and give thanks that the contraction "Team Jeeb" as used in the build-up never seemed to catch on. Nor "top-podiumed", though that was a close one.

So we saw the man partially erased from sporting history...

2d Excessive drinking - a day of celebration for our 1/4 Across in 1980 (5)

...Steve OVETT; we saw a clue suggesting a thespian lost en route to Stratford...

22ac London borough's missing actor, our 1/4 Across in 2000 (5)

...but which went via LEWISHAM to Denise LEWIS; we travelled back in time to the sixties...

9ac Hard and abrasive - our 1/4 Across in 1968 (6)

...for David HEMERY and we met an Olympian who was last week clued via a reference to Switzerland's sporting progress...

10ac Gosh! That is our 1/4 Across in 1992 (8)

...Linford CHRISTIE. We have previously noted that Linford was not exactly happy about giving the language the new term LUNCHBOX; this time it was the Independent readership which had a concern, not about racial profiling but about some almost-swearing. The letters page the next day read:

An answer to the crossword today (4 August) required the name of Christ to be used almost as a swear word. Would you ever consider doing this to any other of the religions represented in the UK?

One of the reasons that crosswords are so versatile is that setters tend to be descriptive rather than prescriptive in their use of language; so it was with Scorpion. If people use "Christ!" in the same sense as "Gosh!" - and if the dictionaries back that up - then it's fair game for a cryptic clue. The rest is down to judgment.

And an alternative view was put the next next day by another reader, who began his letter with "Zounds!" (an expression that comes from "by God's wounds") and went on to drop a "strewth" ("God's truth"), continuing...

Nor do I think that any other faiths have got such rich linguistic pickings to choose from. You'd think that given the poor showing of religion in everyday life, he'd be grateful that Jesus got a mention at all. Blimey!

I'm not convinced that this correspondent actually wanted god to blind him. Anyway, reader. Your challenge this week, offered in a spirit of linguistic curiosity which I trust can cause no offence, is related to one of those GADS- words that the language used to abound in - GADSWOOKERS, GADSBODIKINS, GADSBUDLIKINS, and the worryingly-shaped GADSNIGGERS. It's a word which was offered as an alternative to swearing by Thomas Ingoldsby in 1842:

And as for that shocking bad habit of swearing,-
In all good society voted past bearing,-
Eschew it! and leave it to dustmen and mobs,
Nor commit yourself much beyond 'Zooks!' or 'Odsbobs!'

Maybe it's a lack of imagination on my part but I'm still not sure why you might, when you stub your toe, howl "God's hooks!" - is he fishing for men? - but apparently people did, and the phrase became GADZOOKS before being shortened. It's worth mentioning that the Italians used to have a similar expression, GADSO, from "cazzo", their word for penis, and it's this version that the undertaker uses in Oliver Twist. No blasphemy in the mortuary; just some banter.

So, whether from the membrum virile or from these hooks that god seems to enjoy so much, your cluing challenge this week is the stubby but pleasure-giving ZOOKS. Suggestions below please.

Clue of the week

With the phrase "young people" being uttered more often in Britain than at any time since the summer of looting, Gordius's deftly constructed clue in Thursday's Guardian was an especially welcome tribute...

6d One person that's glad with decrepitude? (3-3,9)

...to the OLD-AGE PENSIONER. Odsbobs!

Cluing competition

Thanks for your clues for Boris Johnson's motto CITIUS, ALTIUS, FORTIUS, SED NON CARIUS.

We have two events before announcing our winner. The first is the 100m audacity. Bronze here for MaleficOpus's double use of anagram fodder in "Alternative games saw mental ruin as coitus twice stifled". Silver to DameSweeneyEggblast for I think our first reference to another entrant, with "So, Insidian's first taut, curious clue revolves around mayor's Olympic statement". And audacity gold goes to benmoreassynt2 for a clue in something closely resembling yer actual Latin: "Per Bovem miscuit titulus artificiosus autem pauper". Mirabilis!

Next, accompany me to the podium for topical cluing. Bronze goes to Clueso's cryptic definition "Economy on track urges Boris?". Silver is jonemm's Boris's Olympics? Rubbish! An idealistic pursuit with ruinous costs, and 'false start' for party leadership. And gold for JollySwagman's terse "Boris baffled - ridiculous cost infuriates us antis".

The winner, though, is the charming misdirection in yvains' apparent poker commentary: "Shuffle fallacious three suits, nine cards ignoring the river, for games with lower stakes". Kudos to yvains and please leave this week's entries and your favourite clues from the papers below.