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

(actually, looking again, i'm not sure i read the definition correctly. but it'll do)

this page is no help: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaf_shape

nor this one: http://wordsmith.org/anagram/

got it tho.

yeah, it's actually 'violin-shaped', especially when applied to descriptions of leaves, not 'shaped like a leaf'. 8(

everyman 3550:

Joker, male, is seen on Baghdad river (9)

easy to work out from the bits (especially as i had 3 of the letters) but a word i'd never heard before.

my favourite this week:

Arms race participant? (9)

that's gotta be one of the easier everymen, finished in ten mins. btw everyman, is that the setter's name or a target audience description in need of degendering?

Always assumed the latter

i have 1.3 left to get.

cashier? minister of *space*?

cashier, yep. other meaning is obscure but flickers dimly in my brain. not space. c'mon. you can do it.

i don't see why cashier is cashier.

Dismiss teller (7)

ok, teller = definition. where does 'dismiss' come in? oh, synonym - http://www.thefreedictionary.com/cashier didn't know that...

to tell = state.

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2011/0726/576x324_hifive.jpg

why does that bloke clapping have two right hands?

I had never seen the Baghdad river answer either. Was that the same puzzle that had a bizarre clue about Italian leader (DUCE) involved in something, that just didn't work?

I came up with this one at the train station this morning, I think it works.

Dad can attempt beginning film. (6)

(everyman 3550 was this week's)

It was: Gathered action involves Italy's leader (7) = DEDUCED. I see DEED and DUCE, but the 'involves' part just didn't work in this imo.

3548 was the italian leader one

Gathered action involves Italy's leader (7)

action = DEED
italy's leader = DUC
DE(DUC)ED = gathered

Yes, but Italy's leader was DUCE not DUC. The setter actually admitted he got that one wrong.

i think you are right, i'm trying it on there with DUC

(google turns up some hits but if you look at them they are nonsense)

I thought involves was somehow meaning 'includes a part of' or 'shares a vowel with' or something else I didn't understand, but I had no idea it was actually an error.

No one wants to try mine? Dad can attempt beginning film. (6)

P_T_ _ _

Here's a pretty easy one I did for the Merriam Wenster word of the day:

Cyril composed poem (5)

Wasps sting bears, yo (4)

Patina!

I got your latest one too (it's good) but I'll leave for others for a bit

The wasps one isn't mine, it's from The Nation, but I laughed.

is that wasps as in WASPs? Can think of an answer but can't really justify it.

No

There's a bit of misdirection in this one

Quite clever misdirection imo.

I just did an Everyman with what must be a record (for me) number of words I had never heard of, or usages I had never seen:

Guncotton
Auster (for South wind)
Snaffle
E'er (for always)
Lay (for a song)
Rum (for unusual)

Russian opera reportedly runs with blood online? (6,4)

Not sure I'm getting this. It's Prince Igor. Runs = prints, and gore = blood. Is the "online" making it "E"-gore?

Good grief...

Yeah a bit of a stretch.

Had to cheat for psst *hangs head in shame* - it's a pretty straight clue, the lesson for me is to examine my preconceptions. I was so sure 'wasps sting' couldn't harbour any hidden words that I didn't even look. Gave it to some friends yesterday, they didn't get it either. Then we had a long discussion about the similarity or otherwise of psst and yo and the likelihood of us using either of them.

That's what's good about it, it's deceptive (& the solution being vowelless helps w that)

yo & psst aren't exactly synonymous but they can both be used to mean "listen up" so it works imo

also:

Rum (for unusual)

(Guardian prize spoiler warning) apparently a lustrum is a period of five years. Who knew.

I made this one up today:

Found during warmup: pet sheep, pig and frog, for example. (7)

nice :)

ty! One of the things I've discovered since getting addicted to cryptics is that every word I see I compulsively deconstruct in my head.

Me too, although it rarely leads to a well defined clue. Here's one I struggled to fashion last night, somewhat lacking in finesse as usual:

Verbally introduced to a champagne socialist, primarily in charge within department for investigating the fundamental nature of things (11)

tl;dr

the rufus version: philosophy squared up to a science (11)

zrgnculfvpf, i am guessing. "met a" and then some handwaving.

Ha I like "champagne socialist" there but I don't think it quite works

Male, brother of Rodney, and a boy for Champagne Socialist (9)

Sorry for British

xp met a phys sounds like fizz, socialist primarily = S, IC within. is how i break it down to an extent. i think it's sound...

xp should've got that quicker, suppose i should be grateful it took a while to drag him from memory.

hah apologies again

Here's my (super simple) made up one for today:

Urinate in South Dakota, go quickly! (5)

SPEED

Suggestion of pain in arse leads to arguing (6)

Rowing

Sorry I don't have any clues to hand, will try to find something in tmrws paper

> tmrws

got it! "tomorrow's"

Lol

Wait, I've got one, it's my first go at a clue so be easy on me

Picture from the mad sight, get kicks (3,3,4)