Favourite cryptic crossword clues.
Rats
Sometimes some of cryptic crossword clues can be quite brilliant. Here are
some of my favourites, they are simple but good:
1) Why you are one russian man (4 letters)
2) I own a pit (4 letters)
3) H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O (5 letters)
I am sure you guys will get these with ease ... but if you don't then I will
post the spoiler later.
In the meanwhile please post yours!
BOBVL
>From: "Rats" ra...@galen.co.nz
>Date: 7/9/01 9:15 PM Eastern Daylight Time
>Message-id: <9idl0v$i6oit$1...@ID-35866.news.dfncis.de>
>
>Hi,
>
>Sometimes some of cryptic crossword clues can be quite brilliant. Here are
>some of my favourites, they are simple but good:
>
>1) Why you are one russian man (4 letters)
>2) I own a pit (4 letters)
>3) H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O (5 letters)
>
1..) Yuri (why you are I)
2...mine (DD)
3...water H to O (H O˛)
=bobvl
Rats
"BOBVL" <bo...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20010709213737...@ng-fh1.aol.com...
Daniel
news:9idl0v$i6oit$1...@ID-35866.news.dfncis.de...
> In the meanwhile please post yours!
SGEG (9,4)
daniel
BOBVL
>From: "Daniel" so...@idontwant.spam
>Date: 7/9/01 10:18 PM Eastern Daylight Time
>Message-id: <9idolf$g7r$1...@seagoon.newcastle.edu.au>
a return appearance of SCRAMBLED EGGS
H. Dumpty=
Rats
> >
> >daniel
> >
> ================
> a return appearance of SCRAMBLED EGGS
Brilliant! That is excellent! More I say! More!
Yap Yok Foo
>3...water H to O (H O²)
Bob, HO2 is formula for Florida wine
water is H2O :-)
BTW. how do you get that "to the power of" effect?
**************From Uncle Yap**************
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Dr Ivan D. Reid
wrote in <9idqd0$i9ent$1...@ID-35866.news.dfncis.de>:
>> >SGEG (9,4)
>> >daniel
There was a return of an old clue in yesterday's Grauniad (I'll
give the original, yesterday's was worded slightly differently):
Dis or dat duck (5)
--
Ivan Reid, Physics & Astronomy, University College London. i...@hep.ucl.ac.uk
GSX600F, RG250WD. "You Porsche. Me pass!" DoD #484 JKLO# 003, 005
WP7# 3000 LC Unit #2368 (tinlc) UKMC#00009 BOTAFOT#16 UKRMMA#7 (Hon)
KotPT -- "for stupidity above and beyond the call of duty".
BOBVL
>Bob, HO2 is formula for Florida wine
>water is H2O :-)
>
>BTW. how do you get that "to the power of" effect?
=======================
I know water is H²0...it was a simple typo..
The formula for making FL wine is quite simple...
Drop 5 grapes into a shotglass of Jack Daniels and crush with tongue....while
slurping...
to get the ² sign ?
Depress ALT (next to space bar) and at the same time tap 0178 into the keypad
at extreme right of keyboard
ALT + 0178 =²
ALT + 0179 =³
try it
=bobvl
James M. Shook
<ra...@galen.co.nz> wrote:
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Don't think these are quite legit....
> 1) Why you are one russian man (4 letters)
Should be "Why you are a Russian man, I hear." (or similar)
> 2) I own a pit (4 letters)
Should be "I own a pit, it's said." (or similar)
-- James M. Shook
http://www.jshook.com
James M. Shook
Ivan D. Reid) wrote:
> Dis or dat duck (5)
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EIDER?
Chris Shore
> Don't think these are quite legit....
>
> > 1) Why you are one russian man (4 letters)
> Should be "Why you are a Russian man, I hear." (or similar)
>
I think "one" is quite legit for 'i' here. Once you have tumbled to the
phonetic spelling, I don't think you need the homophone indicator to
legitimise the clue. It's suddenly quite clear that that's the only
possible
interpretation of it and it _must_ be right.
>
> > 2) I own a pit (4 letters)
>
> Should be "I own a pit, it's said." (or similar)
>
Again, I don't think you need the homophone indicator here since
this not really a homophone clue. The words sounds the same, yes, but
are also spelt the same so the homophone indicator is at best
superfluous
and at worst misleading.
Steve Grant
1) Yuri
2) mine
3) water
De gustibus non disputandum, but I wouldn't characterize any of these as
"brilliant."
Steve
--
All your base are belong to us.
http://www.angelfire.com/nj2/sjgrant
ICQ #37620434
One year, one month, one week, two days, 17 hours, 46 minutes and 2
seconds. 12172 cigarettes not smoked, saving $2,586.59. Life saved: 6
weeks, 6 hours, 20 minutes.
Dr Ivan D. Reid
wrote in <20010710081532...@ng-fe1.aol.com>:
>>From: Yap Yok Foo
>
>>Bob, HO2 is formula for Florida wine
>>water is H2O :-)
>>
>>BTW. how do you get that "to the power of" effect?
>=======================
>I know water is H²0...it was a simple typo..
Should be a subscript though. I'd be tempted to interpret that as
an OH radical with an isotope of oxygen having an atomic mass of 2 -- if
such a beast existed!
>to get the ² sign ?
>Depress ALT (next to space bar) and at the same time tap 0178 into the keypad
>at extreme right of keyboard
>ALT + 0178 =²
>ALT + 0179 =³
If you're running Windows, you should have an application called
Character Map in the Accessories folder (Start->Programs->Accessories).
Select an appropriate font (probably System or Courier New) and the whole
character map will be shown. Click on the character you want and either
copy it into the clipboard for pasting, or note the Alt-keypad sequence
given in the bottom right corner. (I don't have a British keyboard at
home, so I have to use Alt-0163 to get a £ sign.)
€€€€€€
Steve Grant
>
> I know water is H²0...it was a simple typo..
The "2" should really be a subscript, not a superscript.
Steve
--
All your base are belong to us.
http://www.angelfire.com/nj2/sjgrant
ICQ #37620434
One year, one month, one week, two days, 17 hours, 48 minutes and 27
seconds. 12172 cigarettes not smoked, saving $2,586.60. Life saved: 6
Mike Easter
> BOBVL wrote:
> >
> > I know water is H²0...it was a simple typo..
>
> The "2" should really be a subscript, not a superscript.
There are guidelines for using ascii to manage chemical subscripts and
equations; as well as formulaic superscripts in a forum like usenet.
Subscripts are "ignored" - ie H20.
Chemical equations and reactions require some parentheses:
C3H8 + (5) O2 --> (3)CO2 + (4)H2O
Superscripts are handled thusly in those environments:
E = m(c^2)
There are problems with using the various extensions of ascii too
loosely or presumptively.
To write E = mc² in some settings is going to give an unsatisfactory
result.
--
Mike Easter
Robert Briggs
> >From: Yap Yok Foo
> >BTW. how do you get that "to the power of" effect?
> =======================
> I know water is H²0...it was a simple typo..
[I'm not sure whether my newsreader will post that correctly.]
No, BOBVL, water is H(subscript-2)O.
H(superscript-2)O is something else entirely.
H(superscript-2) is "heavy hydrogen", or deuterium, which means that
H(superscript-2)O is a very odd beast, namely, a "heavy hydroxyl pair"
with an electron missing.
Rats
> "brilliant."
Then pray post yours.
Robert Briggs
> James Shook wrote:
>
> > Don't think these are quite legit....
> >
> > > 1) Why you are one russian man (4 letters)
>
> > Should be "Why you are a Russian man, I hear." (or similar)
>
> I think "one" is quite legit for 'i' here. Once you have tumbled to the
> phonetic spelling, I don't think you need the homophone indicator to
> legitimise the clue. It's suddenly quite clear that that's the only
> possible interpretation of it and it _must_ be right.
The homophone indicator certainly seems unnecessary here, and perhaps
WRONG (or, at least, wrongly placed) because it does not apply to the
whole clue.
How about: "Why you are, I hear, one Russian man"?
Horrible, isn't it? But it *does* attach the homophone indicator
properly to the components of "Y-U-R".
The suggested switch from "one" to "a" seems to have no real merit: it
obscures the "one -> i" link and doesn't aid the homophony.
> > > 2) I own a pit (4 letters)
> >
> > Should be "I own a pit, it's said." (or similar)
>
> Again, I don't think you need the homophone indicator here since
> this not really a homophone clue. The words sounds the same, yes,
> but are also spelt the same so the homophone indicator is at best
> superfluous and at worst misleading.
This time, I would say that the proposed homophone indicator is simply
WRONG.
Were it remotely necessary, we would see homophone indicators springing
up all over the shop, pretty much whenever double definitions are used.
Robert Briggs
One is from *many* years ago, in my early days with cryptic puzzles, and
I wouldn't find it so remarkable now:
Composer in Harlequins' first-half scrum (5)
The other is from 1985, and is much nicer, I think, in an absolute
sense:
Regal as Elgar, or as large, perhaps (7)
This was one of few uncompleted clues when I saw some friends'
newspaper, so I had about three letters handed to me on a plate. When I
spoke to the friends, they told me that they had arrived at the same
solution as I had, but they hadn't been convinced it was right; I
assured them that it was, and the next day's paper confirmed it.
James M. Shook
<Robert...@BITphysics.orgBUCKET> wrote:
> The suggested switch from "one" to "a" seems to have no real merit: it
> obscures the "one -> i" link and doesn't aid the homophony.
Right. It was my error in transcribing the clue. I should have said
> Should be "Why you are one Russian man, I hear." (or similar)
My only issue was with the lack of a homophone indicator. I don't recall
seeing clues in published puzzles that dispensed with them, but I could very
well be wrong about their neccessity.
BOBVL
>From: Robert Briggs
====================
My guess would be ANAGRAM
=bobvl
BOBVL
>From: Robert Briggs
===============
My guess is (Franz) LEHAR
a tangle in the first half of 'harlequin'
=bobvl
Martin DeMello
> The other is from 1985, and is much nicer, I think, in an absolute
> sense:
> Regal as Elgar, or as large, perhaps (7)
I've seen this done, more misleadingly, as
Sue is of use (7)
Took me ages to crack, but it was a wonderful feeling :)
--
Martin DeMello
Robert Arthur
I am still to find a clue to beat an old Listener:
Measure taken to prevent travel? (7)
Bob.
P & J Biddlecombe
that no longer works as well as it used to:
He smashes aces in vain, vigorously, not half! (5,10)
Peter B
In article <9idl0v$i6oit$1...@ID-35866.news.dfncis.de>, Rats
<ra...@galen.co.nz> writes
--
Peter & Jacqueline Biddlecombe (anyol...@biddlecombe.demon.co.uk)
Web site: http://www.biddlecombe.demon.co.uk
BOBVL
>that no longer works as well as it used to:
>
> He smashes aces in vain, vigorously, not half! (5,10)
>
>Peter B
I don't know exactly what you mean by' that no longer works as well etc"
Goran I. beat the crap out of all his adversaries with his mach speed aces...
It seems to work for him !
=bobvl
Brian Skinner
I think that Peter meant that the "in vain" no longer applies.
Here's an &lit, in tribute to Goran:
Split personality! (5,10)
--
Brian
Brian Skinner
> Here's an &lit, in tribute to Goran:
>
> Split personality! (5,10)
On second thoughts, I'm not sure that it's an &lit. It's 2 different
definitions of GI (he talked about multiple Gorans in his interviews)
which happen to look the same.
--
Brian
Robert Briggs
> >From: Robert Briggs
>
> > Composer in Harlequins' first-half scrum (5)
> My guess is (Franz) LEHAR
> a tangle in the first half of 'harlequin'
Didn't old Franz have a whole 'e' in his surname, not the half required
by your mangling of "Harlequins'"?
Your Elgar answer is, of course, quite correct.
Robert Briggs
>
> > A topical favourite from Don Manley, probably in his 'Pasquale' persona;
> > that no longer works as well as it used to:
> >
> > He smashes aces in vain, vigorously, not half! (5,10)
> I don't know exactly what you mean by' that no longer works as well etc"
> Goran I. beat the crap out of all his adversaries with his mach speed aces...
> It seems to work for him !
Well it took him four attempts to win the Wimbledon final (not to
mention all the years he didn't reach the final). I'd call that
smashing the things in vain three times, wouldn't you?
BOBVL
>>
>> > Composer in Harlequins' first-half scrum (5)
>
>> My guess is (Franz) LEHAR
>> a tangle in the first half of 'harlequin'
>
>Didn't old Franz have a whole 'e' in his surname, not the half required
>by your mangling of "Harlequins'"?
you lost me...what is a whole 'e'?
bob=
Chris F.A. Johnson
> > >SGEG (9,4)
> > >
> > >daniel
> > >
> > ================
> > a return appearance of SCRAMBLED EGGS
>
> Brilliant! That is excellent! More I say! More!
I don't consider these (or the previous example) to be valid cryptic
crossword clues, but they are fun.
II (10)
EE (5)
E (13)
--
Chris F.A. Johnson bq...@torfree.net
=================================================================
c.f.a....@home.com http://cfaj.freeshell.org
cf...@freeshell.org http://members.home.net/c.f.a.johnson
James M. Shook
<rob...@aptcompsys.com> wrote:
>
> I am still to find a clue to beat an old Listener:
>
> Measure taken to prevent travel? (7)
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EMBARGO?
If so, there is a nice overlap in the wordplay and definition.
Chris F.A. Johnson
> In the meanwhile please post yours!
An old Rathvon & Cox clue:
Leave the top off bug and fly repellent (4)
A couple of my own:
Right around (5)
Agree to put money on roll of dice (8)
David Howorth
& Cox):
1/6 of a sheep (5)
--
David Howorth
BOBVL
>From: "David Howorth" how...@teleport.com
>Date: 7/11/01 5:06 PM Eastern Daylight Time
>Message-id: <kd337.1618$Cu2.1...@newsread1.prod.itd.earthlink.net>
O-VI-NE
(six in one)
=baavl
Robert Briggs
The middle one of the nine letters in your invalid transcription of
"Harlequins'" as "harlequin".
BOBVL
>Date: 7/11/01 5:44 PM Eastern Daylight Time
>Message-id: <3B4CC8AB...@BITphysics.orgBUCKET>
OH GOD...how could I have been so negligent....I am so very sorry...
I'll never do that again..promise...
sheeeee-it
=boobvl
Dr Ivan D. Reid
As presented, harlequin has an odd number of letters, so only
half the 'e' would belong to the first half. Using the proper
harlequins avoids this problem...
--
Ivan Reid, Physics & Astronomy, University College London. i...@hep.ucl.ac.uk
GSX600F, RG250WD. "You Porsche. Me pass!" DoD #484 JKLO# 003, 005
WP7# 3000 LC Unit #2368 (tinlc) UKMC#00009 BOTAFOT#16 UKRMMA#7 (Hon)
KotPT -- "for stupidity above and beyond the call of duty".
Rats
> (six in one)
> =baavl
that's not exactly 1/6 (1 in 6) is it!
Chris F.A. Johnson
But the clue says one in six, or one sixth, not six in one.
John Faben
Probably a classic, but I think it's great - Hi all, by the way
> >Rats <ra...@galen.co.nz> wrote in message
> >news:9idl0v$i6oit$1...@ID-35866.news.dfncis.de...
> >
> >> In the meanwhile please post yours!
> >
> >SGEG (9,4)
> >
> >daniel
> >
> ================
> a return appearance of SCRAMBLED EGGS
>
> H. Dumpty=
David Howorth
--
David Howorth
"Chris F.A. Johnson" <ch...@home.com> wrote in message
news:Pine.LNX.4.33.010711...@cruciverbalizer.org...
BOBVL
>Date: 7/11/01 7:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time
>Message-id: <Sk537.40789$aE6.3...@news1.cableinet.net>
>
>A jammed cylinder (5,4)
>
>Probably a classic, but I think it's great - Hi all, by the way
Looks to me like the guy who composed The Pearls
JELLY ROLL
=bobvl
Alan Waldock
dinners.
My favourite, which I've probably posted before, is from the One True Times,
a few years ago now:
Some job at hand? We'll soon see! (4,3,5)
-Alan
--
Any spam in my email adddress should be commed for reply
"BOBVL" <bo...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20010711204120...@ng-mi1.aol.com...
Rats
>
> --
> David Howorth
Ok, I got it now.
zkn3
A classic cave. Spot, for example, to be avoided! (6,2,3,3)
Robert Arthur
"James M. Shook" <jsh...@mediaone.net> wrote in message
news:_Q237.23$XT4....@typhoon.ne.mediaone.net...
> In article <k8Z27.36578$aE6.3...@news1.cableinet.net> , "Robert Arthur"
> <rob...@aptcompsys.com> wrote:
>
> >
> > I am still to find a clue to beat an old Listener:
> >
> > Measure taken to prevent travel? (7)
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
>
>
> EMBARGO?
>
> If so, there is a nice overlap in the wordplay and definition.
Spot on. You'll have to go a long way to find a more perfect example of an
&lit (IMHO)
Bob.
Brian Skinner
> A repost to this group, but one of my favorites from The Nation #2760:
>
> A classic cave. Spot, for example, to be avoided! (6,2,3,3)
Spoiler
BEWARE OF THE DOG
--
Brian
Brian Skinner
> Agree to put money on roll of dice (8)
Spoiler
COINCIDE (COIN + anag DICE. Neat)
--
Brian
John Faben
"BOBVL" <bo...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20010709224441...@ng-fh1.aol.com...
> >Subject: Re: Favourite cryptic crossword clues.
> >From: "Daniel" so...@idontwant.spam
> >Date: 7/9/01 10:18 PM Eastern Daylight Time
> >Message-id: <9idolf$g7r$1...@seagoon.newcastle.edu.au>
Brian Skinner
> (1, 6, 1, 4)
I haven't a clue what this could be.
--
Brian
Craig Fothergill
The first three words fool me, but the latter half easily gives....
beware of the dog
charlotte
> The formula for making FL wine is quite simple...
> Drop 5 grapes into a shotglass of Jack Daniels and crush with tongue....while
> slurping...
That's also the method for turning wine into water. Hope the nurses
can fit the catheter before it gets too uncomfortable, Bob...
--charlotte
James M. Shook
<cr...@cfhome.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:
>>A classic cave. Spot, for example, to be avoided! (6,2,3,3)
>
>
> The first three words fool me,
Refers to "CAVE CANUM" (sp?) a Latin ("Classic") warning, meaning....
t...@rosencrantz.stcloudstate.edu
James M. Shook <jsh...@mediaone.net> wrote:
>Refers to "CAVE CANUM" (sp?) a Latin ("Classic") warning, meaning....
"Canem", if my memory of high-school Latin serves. Third declension.
-Ted
James M. Shook
t...@rosencrantz.stcloudstate.edu wrote:
> Third declension.
YIKES! High School Latin flashback! High School Latin flashback!
(just breathe normally...)
zkn3
"James M. Shook" <jsh...@mediaone.net> wrote in message
news:HoF37.2117$XT4.1...@typhoon.ne.mediaone.net...
Steve Grant
Steve
--
All your base are belong to us.
http://www.angelfire.com/nj2/sjgrant
ICQ #37620434
One year, one month, one week, six days, 16 hours, 30 minutes and 57
seconds. 12290 cigarettes not smoked, saving $2,611.76. Life saved: 6
weeks, 16 hours, 10 minutes.
Alan Waldock
news:3B505A3C...@concentric.net...
> Semper ubi sub ubi.
>
> Steve
>
Caesar adsum iam forte;
Brutus adarat.
Alan
--
Any spam in my email adddress should be commed for reply
.
zkn3
Fortibus esenero
Nobili demes trux
Si vatis enim
Cowsen dux
"Alan Waldock" <ajwa...@hotmail.spam> wrote in message
news:Fj047.100831$c27.4...@news1.rdc1.fl.home.com...
Steve Grant
>
> Caesar adsum iam forte;
> Brutus adarat.
>
> Alan
Am embarrassed to admit I don't get it :( Explanation, please? (HS
Latin was 35 years ago.)
Steve
--
All your base are belong to us.
http://www.angelfire.com/nj2/sjgrant
ICQ #37620434
One year, one month, two weeks, 9 minutes and 31 seconds. 12300
cigarettes not smoked, saving $2,613.79. Life saved: 6 weeks, 17 hours,
0 minutes.
Alan Waldock
> Alan Waldock wrote:
> >
> > Caesar adsum iam forte;
> > Brutus adarat.
> >
> > Alan
>
> Am embarrassed to admit I don't get it :( Explanation, please? (HS
> Latin was 35 years ago.)
>
> Steve
You have to try it (vaguely) phonetically.
Spoiler below...
Caesar 'ad some jam for tea
Brutus 'ad a rat
It was terribly funny back in the second form of Grammar School...
>
> One year, one month, two weeks, 9 minutes and 31 seconds. 12300
> cigarettes not smoked, saving $2,613.79. Life saved: 6 weeks, 17 hours,
> 0 minutes.
I finally quit back in '93, after some 35+ years puffing. Keep it up. It
matters.
Dafydd Price Jones
I'd written that clue" category:
Fruit with skin could be called bananas (7; hyphen)
(M)urine-extraction? (12; hyphen)
The first is by Joyce Cansfield, and the second by Colin Dexter. Yes,
that's right, the Morse chap!
Enjoy,
Dafydd.
--
| Dafydd Price Jones
dafy...@dafyddpj.demon.co.uk
Bibo ergo sum
Guy Morgan
Waldock <ajwa...@hotmail.spam> writes
>"Steve Grant" <ACE...@concentric.net> wrote in message
>news:3B505A3C...@concentric.net...
>> Semper ubi sub ubi.
>>
>> Steve
>>
>
>Caesar adsum iam forte;
>Brutus adarat.
>
Marcus sic inat!
Guy
--
Guy Morgan
*First Light Services*
Video Projects Lighting Design Technical Co-ordination Consultancy
g...@first-light-services.co.uk http://www.first-light-services.co.uk
Martin DeMello
> Here are two winners from the Azed competition which come in the "I wish
> I'd written that clue" category:
> Fruit with skin could be called bananas (7; hyphen)
> (M)urine-extraction? (12; hyphen)
Spoilers
Nut-case (?)
Mickey-taking
--
Martin DeMello
Dafydd Price Jones
>> Fruit with skin could be called bananas (7; hyphen)
>
>> (M)urine-extraction? (12; hyphen)
>
>Spoilers
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>Nut-case (?)
>Mickey-taking
>
Yes!