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

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)

i got that :D

after a frustrating spell, enjoyed y'day's and am enjoying today's G crosswords v much

(really liked "home 3 home" yesterday - the way 3d was reused was smarter than that type of clue normally is)

didn't do very well yesterday, today's proving much more productive

and by "didn't do very well" I mean I was unable to get a single clue ;_;

Was a bit unsure whether this one worked TBH:

Market oven guards alternatively (5)

yeah that's fine i think, slightly dodgy syntax at worst

i didn't get a single clue on saturday -_- hate it when that happens.

haven't got that one yet

quite liked

25 What Beatrix of the Netherlands used to do in the shower, according to rumour (5)

groan, but a good groan. that surface is quite funny.

that was my cotd. there were a few other saucy ones, think picaroon needs to take a cold shower.

Haha yeah, it seemed to be a bit of a theme today! "Topless 17 gives you the horn" made me laugh.

keep this filth in the Private Eye crossword where it belongs IMO

araucaria double grid this weekend blew my mind a bit

have actually got a few answers but still no idea which grid i should be putting them in

we got about half done this lunchtime, leaning v heavily on wiki pages for the two composers. grid a composer was the first answer we got, quite a few of the clues not too hard & gettable without specialist knowledge.

the thing which most baffled me was that the named composer went into grid a, the unnamed into grid b, yet NEITHER OF THEM WERE NAMED AT ANY POINT

i assumed grid a for the most "obvious" composer

the named composer was the answer to one of the clues!

i thought that would be it but i couldn't see a single clue which gave you either answer!

10 across, hidden word.

OH FOR FUCK'S SAKE EFWJN,FSELNKEAOPWOPJE'L;NFENLKC/KNCMCAS<:CS';CDDDD

how long did i spend going "but wagner doesn't have 5 letters"

also that means my grids are wrong YAY

i remember this thread when people would post clues, not references to clues printed in some other place...

pdf here: http://static.guim.co.uk/ni/1364300029019/Guardian-Easter-prize-cross.pdf

10A: A party member’s first defence from clever dick’s composer (5;5)

(that's a clue for both answers and is probably missing something, the way they do on these themed crosswords)

cryptic crosswords can be pretty depressing huh

got ZERO of today's araucaria and barely understand the definitions even after looking them up

they always remind you that YOU KNOW NOTHING

not you personally obv

ideally they remind you that YOU KNOW SOMETHING as well, but the days when you just draw a complete, total blank are just...ugh

I never attempt Araucaria, too mind boggling, but I just glanced at today's and got one (I think) in seconds!

And another. Most of this looks insane, though.

A little weak this one but best I can do at the moment (v hungover):

Iron lady cut short but illness (5)

*by illness, fucking phone