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

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YES I got Canada!

― Markelby (Mark C), Wednesday, 4 January 2006 17:18 (eighteen years ago) link

In in bed with the French sauce (8)

chipotle! What do I win? ("hip" in "cot" with "le" on the end)

― ailsa (ailsa), Wednesday, 4 January 2006 18:38 (eighteen years ago) link

You win my undying admiration and, perhaps more importantly, the chance to give us a new clue.

More letters:

Almost a king among gods at home is manipulator of drones. (9)

-o-e-o--e

Maybe I should have said "Northern gods"

― Redd Harvest (Ken L), Wednesday, 4 January 2006 18:54 (eighteen years ago) link

I don't have any clues handy, and I certainly don't have the skills necessary to make one up. Sorry!

― ailsa (ailsa), Wednesday, 4 January 2006 19:01 (eighteen years ago) link

Maybe I should have said "manager of drones club"

Another hint:

Hillbilly leader and first knight (4)
-ed-

The missing letters are one apart alphabetically.

― Redd Harvest (Ken L), Wednesday, 4 January 2006 19:44 (eighteen years ago) link

Answer to one in title of this thread

Answer to other in title of this one

― Redd Harvest (Ken L), Wednesday, 4 January 2006 20:29 (eighteen years ago) link

Finally, The Erl-King is a very scary poem by Goethe about a child riding with his father while being pursued by a bogeyman called the Erl-King, visible only to the child. It was turned into a Lied by Schubert. Earl King was a guitar player known for his song "Trick Bag" and another song "Come On" aka "Let The Good Times Roll," which was covered by Jimi Hendrix. Yeah, I know it was a stretch.

― Redd Harvest (Ken L), Wednesday, 4 January 2006 20:43 (eighteen years ago) link

I can't believe I couldn't get Wodehouse :(

― Archel (Archel), Thursday, 5 January 2006 09:02 (eighteen years ago) link

Finally, The Erl-King is a very scary poem by Goethe

Well, Die Erlkönig [if I did that right] is, which can either be translated as Elf King or Alder King (although I was able to google up some Erl Kings, even though I'd never come across that half-translation before).

― Casuistry (Chris P), Thursday, 5 January 2006 09:32 (eighteen years ago) link

Also, those grapes were assuredly sour.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Thursday, 5 January 2006 09:33 (eighteen years ago) link

I'd come across it as Erl-King but I'd never heard of Earl King, so I was still scuppered.

― Archel (Archel), Thursday, 5 January 2006 09:37 (eighteen years ago) link

is there a current (possible) clue? 10.42 work despair :(

― Gravel Puzzleworth (Gregory Henry), Thursday, 5 January 2006 10:48 (eighteen years ago) link

Since no-one else is:

My real life leader is female (4)

― Onimo (GerryNemo), Thursday, 5 January 2006 10:52 (eighteen years ago) link

There's still the French sauce one, or much easier:

Dead tired? (3,2,6)

xpost, sorry

― Archel (Archel), Thursday, 5 January 2006 10:57 (eighteen years ago) link

Ailsa got "chipotle" for the French sauce one.

― Onimo (GerryNemo), Thursday, 5 January 2006 10:57 (eighteen years ago) link

‘girl’? (your real life leader being g for gerry and irl = in real life?)

― Gravel Puzzleworth (Gregory Henry), Thursday, 5 January 2006 10:58 (eighteen years ago) link

Oh yes, sorry ailsa.

Girl!

― Archel (Archel), Thursday, 5 January 2006 10:59 (eighteen years ago) link

Yes :-)

― Onimo (GerryNemo), Thursday, 5 January 2006 11:04 (eighteen years ago) link

I like making clues up but they're always easy ones.

― Onimo (GerryNemo), Thursday, 5 January 2006 11:05 (eighteen years ago) link

I like easy ones!

Still working on archel's...

― Gravel Puzzleworth (Gregory Henry), Thursday, 5 January 2006 11:08 (eighteen years ago) link

I'm out of turn now, but it's actually one of my own this time:

Twisted tighter South-East, and untwisted (12)

― Archel (Archel), Thursday, 5 January 2006 11:30 (eighteen years ago) link

Archel's isn't "out of breath", is it?

― Markelby (Mark C), Thursday, 5 January 2006 11:35 (eighteen years ago) link

nice mark!

― Gravel Puzzleworth (Gregory Henry), Thursday, 5 January 2006 11:36 (eighteen years ago) link

Yep. (I think it was from the Times, that one.)

― Archel (Archel), Thursday, 5 January 2006 11:37 (eighteen years ago) link

disentangled? but why?

(I can't make the anagram work grr)

― Gravel Puzzleworth (Gregory Henry), Thursday, 5 January 2006 11:54 (eighteen years ago) link

Nope.

― Archel (Archel), Thursday, 5 January 2006 11:56 (eighteen years ago) link

Straightened...

― ledge (ledge), Thursday, 5 January 2006 12:03 (eighteen years ago) link

Composed in a hurry:

Airborne vermin? This will never fly before a long time (6)

― ledge (ledge), Thursday, 5 January 2006 12:07 (eighteen years ago) link

pigeon :)

― Gravel Puzzleworth (Gregory Henry), Thursday, 5 January 2006 12:09 (eighteen years ago) link

fiddle with crop grower before gym class (5)

― Gravel Puzzleworth (Gregory Henry), Thursday, 5 January 2006 12:10 (eighteen years ago) link

Grope. You perv.

― ledge (ledge), Thursday, 5 January 2006 12:11 (eighteen years ago) link

Anyone feel free to jump in with another clue...

― ledge (ledge), Thursday, 5 January 2006 12:23 (eighteen years ago) link

For every green there's a deviant (7)

― Onimo (GerryNemo), Thursday, 5 January 2006 12:54 (eighteen years ago) link

Heh, pervert...

Morning measure in a small amount is encompassing (7)

― Archel (Archel), Thursday, 5 January 2006 13:20 (eighteen years ago) link

Minimal?

― Onimo (GerryNemo), Thursday, 5 January 2006 14:39 (eighteen years ago) link

No. Some letters:

_ _ _ i _ n _

― Archel (Archel), Thursday, 5 January 2006 15:16 (eighteen years ago) link

ambient?

― Redd Harvest (Ken L), Thursday, 5 January 2006 15:21 (eighteen years ago) link

Yes.

― Archel (Archel), Thursday, 5 January 2006 15:24 (eighteen years ago) link

OK.

Cleaned up messed up dude on the street (6)

― Redd Harvest (Ken L), Thursday, 5 January 2006 15:31 (eighteen years ago) link

I don't really understand ambient as encompassing?

― Gravel Puzzleworth (Gregory Henry), Thursday, 5 January 2006 15:34 (eighteen years ago) link

Really, Greg? It's the, um, dictionary definition.

― Redd Harvest (Ken L), Thursday, 5 January 2006 15:36 (eighteen years ago) link

am·bi·ent
adj.

Surrounding; encircling: ambient sound; ambient air.

― Onimo (GerryNemo), Thursday, 5 January 2006 15:39 (eighteen years ago) link

For Ken's: dusted? If so, I think "on the" is a bit misleading.

― ledge (ledge), Thursday, 5 January 2006 15:41 (eighteen years ago) link

I know what you mean though Greg, it's hardly the most common usage any more - ideal for clue composers then really bwahaha :)

Yeah it's not 'on the' it's 'around', surely? But I'm no expert.

― Archel (Archel), Thursday, 5 January 2006 15:45 (eighteen years ago) link

It's a good surface reading though... I'd maybe have clued it

Cleaned up messed up dude found hanging around the street

although even then I've stuck in an arguably redundant "hanging" to make it read better.

― ledge (ledge), Thursday, 5 January 2006 15:58 (eighteen years ago) link

From the Shorter OED

adj. 1 Surrounding, encircling, encompassing; enveloping.

From Merriam Webster's Tenth:
existing or present on all sides: ENCOMPASSING

But yeah, I know what you mean: encompassing seems to imply it's in the foreground, ambient the background.

― Redd Harvest (Ken L), Thursday, 5 January 2006 16:05 (eighteen years ago) link

All right, Tom, give us a clue.

― Redd Harvest (Ken L), Thursday, 5 January 2006 16:06 (eighteen years ago) link

Exhausted, Ailsa crosses teh finish line (4)

― The Vintner's Lipogram (OleM), Thursday, 5 January 2006 16:07 (eighteen years ago) link

Shot?

(What are you saying about Ailsa, Ole?)

― Redd Harvest (Ken L), Thursday, 5 January 2006 16:11 (eighteen years ago) link

Drinking with fellow ILXers (note: quietly, gin-addled) (7)

― ledge (ledge), Thursday, 5 January 2006 16:19 (eighteen years ago) link

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