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

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)

Ah shit excitement got the better of me, that should be (3,3,5)

Brit not quite overcome by a task all too tricky for Li Na? (6,6)

:D

^^^ I glanced at that, and the rest of that puzzle. Gave up after 5 minutes, way too tough. I didn't get this one even looking at the answer:

Film notice written by pundits about that year’s output? (1,3,2,3,5)

An envelope (‘about’) of AYATTHER, an anagram (‘output’) of ‘that year’ in AD (‘notice’) plus ACES (‘pundits’), for the Marx Brothers film.

clear as mud eh. 'output' as anag indicator is weak, and 'aces' for 'pundits' hardly squares with most of the rentagobs you get on tv.

qiqing's has me stumped i'm afraid.

wth is ayatther?

it's all there...