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

Woah. Never seen a letter-bank clue before ot a fan on the whole but this is brilliant: Snatch, using every element as needed in whatever way possible (5-2-5-3)

*and not

remaining clue of mine:

_ U _ _ E _

Summer?

_ UM _ E _

can I apologise in advance for this one btw

Number!

yuss

Not bad imo

idgi - I know number is anaesthetic...

no = #

more cold = more numb

sorry

got that "Snatch" clue btw but i'll leave it for a bit if you want.

now i see how they can work i can live with them but there's something about the inexactitude that niggles

Ok. I would whinge that you need the dot in no. for it to work but will let you off 'cause hamburger.

Ah how about: More cold? No.

Xp

Letter banks seem less intuitive/natural than other clues but this could be bullshit. I like the idea though.

Dont mind either those guys imo clue was fine

lol I knew I would be breaking at least one rule! Will go with ledge's rewrite. Here's one: I kept trying to come up with a clever spoonerism-type clue for the dish "leek gratin". Sth about a dish containing tongues? but I couldn't make it work. Any ideas?bitl

my friend sent me this once & I take no responsibility whatsoever:

septic cunt (5)

lol yuk yuk lol yuk

Wouldn't be surpised to see that in Private Eye. Maybe in the Guardian in a decade or two. And the Times when hell freezes over.

Vegetarian dish? It contains tongues according to Spooner. Legions of xword fans complaining that's not how you pronounce gratin (or latin).

answer please for the slow-witted amongst us

which one?

septic feline cunt.

septic feline or chicken cunt.

nope, still don't get it

if a wound is infected it may produce an unpleasant yellow fluid

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/Mollie_Sugden_as_Mrs_Slocombe.jpg/200px-Mollie_Sugden_as_Mrs_Slocombe.jpg

lol thanks guys I'm not firing on all cylinders I don't think!

Vegetarian dish? It contains tongues according to Spooner. Legions of xword fans complaining that's not how you pronounce gratin (or latin).

aha, so "spooner" clues need to work out loud. Never knew that. Something about the main course containing tongues & the starters being mixed up? idk this shit is hard! I can't believe ppl come up with these for a living. I'm a big fan of Paul at the moment.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Archibald_Spooner

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoonerism

"A spoonerism is an error in speech or deliberate play on words in which corresponding consonants, vowels, or morphemes are switched"

so, "greek, latin" (tongues, as in languages) -> "leak gratin" (vegetarian dish)

Nah mate it don't work!

Unless you pronounce gratin like a pleb

I'm ok with it, or would be if I'd spelt leek correctly - swapping letters rather than sounds is valid, I think.

Aiming for that tricky ILG crossover market:

Book about time-travelling platformer ultimately precursor to massive videogame and movie franchise (4,6)

I mean if anyone wants to come up with a less obvious definition part there be my guest.

classic ledge clue there. got it from the def and the 4,6 then had to reverse engineer it.

'****'s game'?

I am the rufus of this thread.

Oh nice. I'm not a gamer but I actually understand that one because my friends made me play the game in question once.

Another one of mine, less dickish than last time:

As mum, dad, sis or bro (11)

friday and saturday in the guardian were actually impossible

Oh shit I fucked it up.

As mum, dad, sis, or bro (11)xp

like the double game referencing there ledge, nicely done!

really hate cryptic clues that rely on tenuous definitions (how does "nut" = "admirer" - IT DOESN'T) or phrases that NO ONE ACTUALLY SAYS or the perennial rage-inducing military/cricketing abbreviations

> (how does "nut" = "admirer" - IT DOESN'T)

nut as in 'crazy fan of'. 'car nut' for instance. or 'sports nut'.

Haha they sure do love their cricket, it's true! It's the only reason I know half of those terms.

xp it only works if you squint. it's just a really tenuous definition.

no problem with 'nut' or cryptic/obscure definitions in general. it's a key way of making clues harder or have better surface readings. and something i clearly need to improve on.

Synonyms for nut used in that way: enthusiast, fan, aficionado, buff, devotee, follower, admirer, aficionada. Totally fair imo, and just unusual enough to make me groan and eyeroll a bit, but that's a good thing!

On another note, a recent puzzle I completed had clues referencing both REM and Dr. Dre; along with with Mariah Carey clue upthread pop music is making inroads!

Free from the clutches of big labels, Fugazi at last breaks into Indiana and Delaware. (5)

There was also this in yesterday's Guardian Quiptic, which I kicked myself for having to press "Cheat" on:

8D. Vicious uprising takes care of swells (8)

(I normally like the Quiptic but I made slow progress of yesterday's and cheated for probably the last quarter of it so I could go to bed - although if I take a few unsolved clues to bed they often come to me overnight)

xp nice one!

Yeah, I forgot to say, a bit wordy but very nice surface on that one, Dan.

I used to like the NME crossword's occasional token semi-cryptic clues, mostly anagrammed band names. Haven't looked at one in over a decade; do they still do those?

Ha, Vicious uprising!

I didn't think up Fugazi, that's from The Nation. After doing a number of puzzles set by their new, younger setters, I went back to some they were reprinting from their old setter, Frank Lewis, originally published in the 40s. Lots more purely cryptic clues + looser cluing style + many more fusty and dated references = not nearly as much fun.

... and those new guys are really working the word bank cluing discussed upthread.

Redistributing assets each time, wholesaler lowers prices. (10,10,10)

A nice one from today's Guardian:

Celebs ill-equipped for dinner parties (8)