The official bored-at-work cryptic crossword pass it on thread.

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― ledge (ledge), Wednesday, 31 January 2007 14:58 (seventeen years ago) link

(stuck at your Times one btw)

― onimo (onimo), Wednesday, 31 January 2007 14:59 (seventeen years ago) link

well bizarrely it has (so far) the same letter pattern as nugatory, ---U-A-O--

― ledge (ledge), Wednesday, 31 January 2007 15:02 (seventeen years ago) link

regulatory!

― onimo (onimo), Wednesday, 31 January 2007 15:04 (seventeen years ago) link

Excellent! Little bit disappointed at "politician" for "tory".

― ledge (ledge), Wednesday, 31 January 2007 15:06 (seventeen years ago) link

regulatory - a luger is a kind of gun

(xpost, STOP DOING THAT)

― ailsa (ailsa), Wednesday, 31 January 2007 15:08 (seventeen years ago) link

a friend and original lover (7)

― The Redd And The Blecch (Ken L), Thursday, 1 February 2007 05:45 (seventeen years ago) link

amateur?

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Thursday, 1 February 2007 08:52 (seventeen years ago) link

yes

― The Redd And The Blecch (Ken L), Thursday, 1 February 2007 12:16 (seventeen years ago) link

I get it now.

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Thursday, 1 February 2007 12:32 (seventeen years ago) link

Does "concise" = "American-style"? That spoonerism clue would be fair game in a latter-part-of-the-week NYTimes xword.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Thursday, 1 February 2007 14:34 (seventeen years ago) link

It means 'quick', the other clues are eg "household insect pest" "Salad vegetable" "horizontal bar - bird - complain"

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Thursday, 1 February 2007 14:40 (seventeen years ago) link

In honour of Ruth Crisp ('Crispa'), RIP:
The more people have of these, the more they want (5)

Excitement in my letterbox this morning: two newly published crossword books. (Should keep us going for quite a while what with the seven week old baby significantly cutting into solving time and all...)

― Archel (Archel), Friday, 2 February 2007 16:43 (seventeen years ago) link

three weeks pass...

nobody tried these on the other board, so:

crummy kids are Superman's cousins? (6,3,6)

contest failure results in argument (4)

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Saturday, 24 February 2007 17:17 (seventeen years ago) link

Onimo's fee for soul festival (8)

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Monday, 26 February 2007 04:04 (seventeen years ago) link

I dunno, archel- needs?

bone mask (6)

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Monday, 26 February 2007 21:41 (seventeen years ago) link

My brain has atrophied - can you give us some letters for these?

― ailsa, Monday, 26 February 2007 23:22 (seventeen years ago) link

crummy kids are Superman's cousins? (6,3,6)
contest failure results in argument (4)
Onimo's fee for soul festival (8)
bone mask (6)
-a---- --- ----e-
--e-
--t-----
----n-

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Monday, 26 February 2007 23:31 (seventeen years ago) link

contest failure results in argument (4)

beef

― ailsa, Monday, 26 February 2007 23:42 (seventeen years ago) link

yes

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Monday, 26 February 2007 23:50 (seventeen years ago) link

Onimo's fee for soul festival (8)

Wattstax

― jaymc, Monday, 26 February 2007 23:51 (seventeen years ago) link

yes

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Monday, 26 February 2007 23:57 (seventeen years ago) link

point coldly to island (6)

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 18:37 (seventeen years ago) link

Sicily

― ailsa, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 18:49 (seventeen years ago) link

No one ever got this one from the sandbox:

Bag lady complains about her naughty bits (7)

----a--

― jaymc, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 18:54 (seventeen years ago) link

I wanna say versace, but I don't quite get it.

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 19:58 (seventeen years ago) link

Nope...

----a-t

― jaymc, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 20:00 (seventeen years ago) link

stewart?

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 20:11 (seventeen years ago) link

lol vagrant

― onimo, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 20:45 (seventeen years ago) link

Onimo's right. :)

― jaymc, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 20:46 (seventeen years ago) link

dang! I thought of that but couldn't see how it worked until now

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 20:50 (seventeen years ago) link

i'm in on nothing, gerry! (5)

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 20:56 (seventeen years ago) link

crummy kids are Superman's cousins? (6,3,6)
bone mask (6)
-a---- --- -r--e-
-o--n-

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 21:01 (seventeen years ago) link

The second one's domino

(also, yeah, lol at vagrant - I was trying to make other rude words fit in there)

― ailsa, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 21:06 (seventeen years ago) link

yup. more letters for first one:
-a---l --- -r--e-

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 04:35 (seventeen years ago) link

(I think this is gonna be the one that finally gets me kicked off the thread)

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 04:37 (seventeen years ago) link

OK, it's Hansel and Gretel, I think, but I'm only part-way to working out why - please explain properly?

― ailsa, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 09:05 (seventeen years ago) link

oh god. awful! ;)

― Archel, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 09:06 (seventeen years ago) link

it has to do with Superman's name back on planet Krypton

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 12:08 (seventeen years ago) link

Oh good Lord, that is horrible! I got it from the crummy kids bit after playing around with what would fit in the spaces for a while.

― ailsa, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 12:25 (seventeen years ago) link

Good thing I am hiding behind this mysterious screenname ;)

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 13:29 (seventeen years ago) link

HA KEN-EL WE CAN SEE YOU IN THERE!

― ailsa, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 13:39 (seventeen years ago) link

I think you lot are all staggering genuises! I've never done cryptic crosswords, just never encountered them really but I'd like to try and give them a go. Can any of you recommend any of those "cracking cryptic crosswords" books? There's a whole load on Amazon if you follow the link below:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0550100539/ref=pd_ecc_rvi_cart_f/026-2542814-1547635

― Sarah, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 13:39 (seventeen years ago) link

I've never read a book about it ever, it's just something I've picked up over the years. This thread's probably not a bad way to start, since a lot of the answers are explained by the solver.

― ailsa, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 13:43 (seventeen years ago) link

Might have a punt on this one

― Sarah, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 13:44 (seventeen years ago) link

Yeah, most people learn by doing - but I got a few puzzles from a book and spent two weeks staring at them in utter confusion so I think I need some help... because I am SINGLE you see and thus have NO-ONE to PORE over CROSSWORDS with in the MORNING haha :) The book above says it comes with lots of examples and explained answers.

i got a grant total of TWO CLUES throughout that fortnight! Admittedly when I got them it was the best feeling ever!

― Sarah, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 13:46 (seventeen years ago) link

I am MARRIED to a chump that can't (or rather, can't be bothered to) do crosswords! This is WHY I HAVE ILE! AND FRIENDS! A WINNER IS ME!

― ailsa, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 13:51 (seventeen years ago) link

OK! I'm definitely going to get the book. Now I need stuff to qualify for super saver delivery! Of course I do. Suggest something for me! I have crosswords and "new york tendaberry" so far!

― Sarah, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 14:01 (seventeen years ago) link

Ha, the way I started was I bought earlier versions of the how-to Chambers and Telegraph books at Heathrow on the way back to States and started doing the Telegraph puzzles while we were delayed on the tarmac.

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 14:08 (seventeen years ago) link

which means that book and its puzzles must have been pretty easy if a Septic like me could get it right away

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 14:20 (seventeen years ago) link

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