Cryptic Thurs 8/5/14

I spent a few hours yesterday in the chair at the hair salon getting my colour done - a twice a year treat. While there I had my two cryptics from Thursday and Friday's DA to while the time away. I don't like the typical magazines you find in waiting rooms. There's only so much celebrity gossip one can take before becoming bitter at the state of journalism and what passes for "news". That said both stylists working there were curious and I gave a few tips on how to solve the puzzles. Again someone who says "I've never understood those crosswords."  Oh where are the mentors!? I'm trying to address that shortfall. Cryptic crosswords should be for everyone, not the persistent, elitist few. Ok, they're not elitist, that's my jealousy talking.

Thursday:

I like to make notes and scribble over the page and break down the clues so they make sense. I draw a rectangle around what I think is the definition, a line under signposts and wiggling line under anagrams. I say "Signpost" because it's the language used by the compilers of crosswords. They're also known as anagrinds. Signposts are hint words to tell you something needs to be done. Like in 1A, here the word wobbly is a hint that something is off balance. 17A uses a partial anagram and says "nib" is broken. 23A "get its aims" looks weird and we are told to correct that. 1D is rather direct with Demolish "OK. Yes use taper" It helps when reading a clue if there are combinations of words that add up to the number of letters in the clue. The letters and words in the anagram are called the fodder. Here's an explanation of anagrinds, fodder and such from the compiler Dean Mayer known as Anax and he writes for The Guardian.

There are lists of common signposts available online and when starting out it's valuable to have a list around to scan when you're reading a clue that otherwise looks like a word salad, it could be giving direction to unscramble an anagram.

1A - "Ok, no peeping knee" is a weird mix of words and turns out to be an anagram hinted by wobbly and means to persist.

8A - I don't quite get the phrasing "following each compass point" but I settled on EAST and TERN for the "seabird" but only after I'd had the cross letters.

9A - I dabbles with scrambling "is sore" "Espania" and once I had a few down clues just grabbed a list of "Italian Composers" and scanned until one fit.

11A - "Measures" is the definition. "Adjoining grounds" gives YARDS and a "check mark" is a TICK.

12A - Don't know, no idea, clueless to whole thing.

14A - Moribund, what's that mean? Oh, what a dreary word. What does that have to do with our definition "Generations too young"? Nothing. I've just realised this is a container clue. I answered purely from the definition. But look there it is: moribUND ERA GEnerations. Sneaky. In a served a container signpost.

15A - A fun clue once I understood it, very clever. Going through the list of "root vegetables" that an "I" in them to remove and put a "You/U" in it's place. You can see I tried Radish first and quickly found Turnip became TURN UP, for "Arrive"

17A - I guessed quickly "Seaman" was our definition and went through a list of naval titles. Rabbit hole task. The clue tells us clearly what it wants. "Not happy" SAD about, broken "nib" About here is telling us to put the word SAD on either end of NIB which is to be scrambled to give us the name of a seaman SINBAD.

19A - I didn't get this. I knew CO had to be reversed but I couldn't figure out enough to confident to write anything in.

22A - Here we have to wonder if "Before" or "Reversed" is the definition. Since both are signposts for word placement in clues we have to consider the middle "A mount" and this instance it refers to a mountain. There's not many four letter mountains and fewer that spell a word when put backwards. ETNA is "reversed" to give ANTE a prefix for before.

23A - "Gets its aims" is a weird phrase - why would aims be plural? correct hints to an anagram. "Describe as disgraceful" is our definition for STIGMATISE.

25A - This one is a double definition. We SUBJECT someone to a stimulus and we refer to the one being stimulated as a SUBJECT.

27A - I could guess the ending might be EST but didn't want to write that in. I can also see "returN VIA" as a partial reversed container (Not sure that's a thing or a coincidence) but I did not get this clue.

1D - Demolish "OK. Yes, use taper" is an anagram KEEP YOUR SEATS for "don't get up"

2D - "Then 50%" means take half of then, EN and "sued" about or around the "right" or R for ENSURED for "guaranteed"

3D - I didn't first recognise struggles as an anagram signpost because the surface looked like a legit clue. "Pervades or" is fodder and when unscrambled gives OVERSPREAD as "cover the surface" but I'm not entirely happy the definition meets the solution.

4D - I understood that KINGS was to embrace something but couldn't think of anything to fill the space. I didn't trust the direction to use the last extremes of "nation" , extremes beaming the first and last of the indicated word would give the NN, but I'd never heard of KENNINGS to mean "Figurative phrases" I'd lived in Scotland and knew Ken to mean understand. I left it.

5D - An ellipses clue can mean the first and second clue (6D) are a linked phrase. I have no idea what the compiler, NS (Nancy Sibtain) was trying to get from us. I can see how "I've discovered" can mean EUREKA but "Stockade" being there is elusive.

6D - Um...clueless. So idea what six tests has to do with INST or what INST even means or how it relates to EUREKA.

7D - I had the G from 1A and took a gamble that"Hark" would be LISTEN to give GLISTEN for "Sparkle" I guess LIST could be for "note" but that leaves GEN which I don't see fitting.

10D - ???...nope. I've got nothing, even with the solution INDEPENDENTLY.

13D - "All too numb" is the fodder to move in this anagram clue. Definition is "uncompromising position" OUT ON A LIMB.

16D - I understood there was a partial anagram involved with "green" needing scrambled but couldn't understand the first part of the word. "business" is to be CO "not opener" means to use the first letter of not N for CONGENER, which means of the same kind.

18D - This one you have to follow the directions. Nobly accepts "thanks" or TA to mean "Especially" NO TA BLY.

20D - I needed the cross letters to get this and only then via the definition "is Asian". I can see CHIN is "part of the face" and "see" needs adjustment to give CHINESE.

21D - A double definition clue. A pain in your side and a needle gives STITCH. Too clever for me.

24D - "However" YET "one" I gives "Himalayan resident" YETI. "Snow cone?"


You know, it takes me several hours/days to solve the puzzle and then a few hours to write them all up. I hope someone will get some help and inspiration for this effort! For now, for purely selfish reasons, I'll keep going. I'm still a beginner myself and the going over the solutions helps me figure the clues out. Even while I'm typing "I don't know!" sometimes the answer comes. It's always liberating to get the answer.

I have finished the Friday DA but will write that up in the morning. It was hellish (for me) and I really needed the help of the amazing people over at The DA Trippers to get me through.