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

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"Forge the mine path". Primarily used in Minecraft when building a path into a mine.

ledge, Saturday, 20 December 2014 22:16 (nine years ago) link

It's tough but I'm enjoying it, clues are pretty straightforward and the instructions are clear and not a huge stumbling block.

ledge, Saturday, 20 December 2014 22:18 (nine years ago) link

I mean I'm like less than a quarter done.

ledge, Saturday, 20 December 2014 22:18 (nine years ago) link

Director of films to include head of penis? Almost - pianist

tl;dr, gukbar, morbis detrius (wins), Saturday, 20 December 2014 22:49 (nine years ago) link

(4,4)

tl;dr, gukbar, morbis detrius (wins), Saturday, 20 December 2014 22:49 (nine years ago) link

nope... gonna add an extra hint to mine.

Little bleeder's reported break in to Electronic Arts' south Devon seaside office? (8,3)

--d--t--/---

ledge, Monday, 22 December 2014 13:41 (nine years ago) link

I'm stumped

tl;dr, gukbar, morbis detrius (wins), Tuesday, 23 December 2014 15:10 (nine years ago) link

Got it. (not sure why it's office though?)

oppet, Tuesday, 23 December 2014 15:29 (nine years ago) link

Oh, 'outpost in Devon' makes sense though.

oppet, Tuesday, 23 December 2014 15:31 (nine years ago) link

I threw a question mark in there to indicate something fishy but I think it's ok, if EA had an office in T------ you'd just call it EA T------. Like errrrrr DKNY?

ledge, Tuesday, 23 December 2014 17:40 (nine years ago) link

r-d--t--/k--

ledge, Tuesday, 23 December 2014 17:45 (nine years ago) link

Guardian prize now the usual war of attrition, was hoping the parents would help but they'd completed less than me.

ledge, Tuesday, 23 December 2014 18:30 (nine years ago) link

Omg just got it

tl;dr, gukbar, morbis detrius (wins), Tuesday, 23 December 2014 20:41 (nine years ago) link

radiator key!

tl;dr, gukbar, morbis detrius (wins), Tuesday, 23 December 2014 20:42 (nine years ago) link

:)

ledge, Tuesday, 23 December 2014 20:53 (nine years ago) link

That kind of cryptic definition would normally have me decrying the compiler as a scoundrel.

ledge, Tuesday, 23 December 2014 20:54 (nine years ago) link

It gets by because we like "little bleeder"

tl;dr, gukbar, morbis detrius (wins), Tuesday, 23 December 2014 20:56 (nine years ago) link

Did you get mine?

tl;dr, gukbar, morbis detrius (wins), Tuesday, 23 December 2014 20:56 (nine years ago) link

Nope, give us letters!

ledge, Tuesday, 23 December 2014 22:03 (nine years ago) link

Given up on the guardian in a huff, if anyone can explain how "comrade - stan's" is at all cryptic for "oliver" - well it probably won't change my mind.

ledge, Wednesday, 24 December 2014 20:45 (nine years ago) link

yeah but like

idgi

tl;dr, gukbar, morbis detrius (wins), Wednesday, 24 December 2014 21:43 (nine years ago) link

btw

--n-/-a--

tl;dr, gukbar, morbis detrius (wins), Wednesday, 24 December 2014 21:45 (nine years ago) link

those chuckleheads were the first thing I thought of, that still ain't no cryptic clue.

ledge, Wednesday, 24 December 2014 21:48 (nine years ago) link

Yeah unless "Oliver" is another word for "comrade" or sth

tl;dr, gukbar, morbis detrius (wins), Wednesday, 24 December 2014 21:49 (nine years ago) link

sth to do with the Song of Roland or...?

(don't even know if I'm overreaching here; did not attempt said crossword as the gimmick was beyond me, by which I don't even mean adding letters but the whole not knowing where to split the clues thing)

club mate martyr (a passing spacecadet), Wednesday, 24 December 2014 22:04 (nine years ago) link

Cromwellian perhaps, but that kind of "guess which Stan this refers to" isn't unheard of in cryptics

Noodle Vague, Wednesday, 24 December 2014 22:05 (nine years ago) link

not especially hard but i always appreciate arachne and her politics:

Ends of Rice, Brown and Garner? Time for anger (6)

lex pretend, Thursday, 1 January 2015 15:10 (nine years ago) link

nice

Gombeen Dance Band (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 1 January 2015 15:32 (nine years ago) link

(talking of hard, i don't think i've ever been as irritated with a crossword as that maskarade prize one from the other week)

lex pretend, Thursday, 1 January 2015 15:38 (nine years ago) link

There was a pop at ukip voters in the Boxing Day one, can't remember the setter

Gonna post this once more & then give solution

Director of films to include head of penis? Almost - /pianist/ (4,4)

--n-/-a--

bife claro (wins), Thursday, 1 January 2015 23:52 (nine years ago) link

Oops zing

Director of films to include head of penis? Almost - pianist(4,4)

--n-/-a--

bife claro (wins), Thursday, 1 January 2015 23:53 (nine years ago) link

Lang Lang

Thread could do w some more cryptic penile insertions

joe selfie (qiqing), Friday, 2 January 2015 07:11 (nine years ago) link

Took me a little while to come up with this one

Cheeky old man, measure with huge one out and give head direction, faint ring of a one hit wonder? (4,5)

joe selfie (qiqing), Friday, 2 January 2015 08:53 (nine years ago) link

Bit long i know but here's a clue a la wins

--n-/--u--

joe selfie (qiqing), Friday, 2 January 2015 23:17 (nine years ago) link

Objective: refuse to be heard in a thriller about a duck? (9)

I couldn't get this one for the life of me. Homonym AND a double definition!

The Thelonius Monk of nu-ki? (Dan Peterson), Monday, 5 January 2015 18:24 (nine years ago) link

Damn that is a tough one. All I can think is "equitable" fitting if the solution is another word for "objective", but I can't see how that works. Is refuse homonym something like nix/nicks or waste/waist? Still doesn't really help. Is duck referring to a type of duck eg pekin?

No bites for my clue so can I just

Wang Chung

joe selfie (qiqing), Monday, 5 January 2015 23:05 (nine years ago) link

>>> Is refuse homonym something like nix/nicks or waste/waist?

Neither. And part of my problem was the way I pronounce said word is not exactly a homophone with the word they're seeking, so I just didn't hear it.

Hint: G_L _ _ _ _ _ _

The Thelonius Monk of nu-ki? (Dan Peterson), Monday, 5 January 2015 23:19 (nine years ago) link

Goldeneye?

joe selfie (qiqing), Monday, 5 January 2015 23:25 (nine years ago) link

Yep. I pronounce 'deny' with a long e, so duh-nye just wasn't popping into my head. Plus not a fan of recent James Bond films and never heard of the duck.

The Thelonius Monk of nu-ki? (Dan Peterson), Monday, 5 January 2015 23:29 (nine years ago) link

today's Graun

Not too heavy a sea? That's fortunate (4,2,4)

Ratt in Mi Kitchen (Neil S), Tuesday, 6 January 2015 12:55 (nine years ago) link

oof, the goldeneye clue

some brilliant ones in the NYD arachne that gave us the relatively easy Rice/Brown/Garner clue upthread (er yes i've only just finished it). particularly enjoyed:

Split from husband, heading off to give birth in cowshed (5)
Do successors occupy country, having ousted last PM? (7)
Perfectly embodies the ultimate in courageous soldier material (5)
Six ducks living on Scottish islands, one with more than one tongue (8)

i think she might be my favourite setter by far

lex pretend, Tuesday, 6 January 2015 13:02 (nine years ago) link

idg qiqing's clue

bife claro (wins), Tuesday, 6 January 2015 13:31 (nine years ago) link

I'm not sure but I'll have a go at parsing it thus: wang = cheeky word for old man (penis), c - measure (celsius?), take one out of huge = hug + add N (header direction), Wang Chung = one-hit wonder. Bit of a slog imo.

you've got no fans you've got no ground (anagram), Tuesday, 6 January 2015 14:18 (nine years ago) link

AND Wang Chung had three top 10 hits here in the US.

The Thelonius Monk of nu-ki? (Dan Peterson), Tuesday, 6 January 2015 15:09 (nine years ago) link

Er, actually just two. And "Dance Hall Days" wasn't one of them.

The Thelonius Monk of nu-ki? (Dan Peterson), Tuesday, 6 January 2015 15:12 (nine years ago) link

I did suggest it was a bit long, overworked a tad, but hard to do w/o sacrificing nudgenudgewinkwinkoohergeorgeformby. Getting the n in there was a slog, but hard to do otherwise. It was initially going to be something like "curved spine" for penis but I couldn't get it to work for Wang Chung that easily and wanted it to resemble wins's clue.

I figured there would be dissent to the one hit wonder status, which is why I included a question mark. There's debate about it because they weren't really a one hit wonder but are sometimes tagged as such, AND in the UK they were known for one song afaik.

Getting a bit clever but wang is also a word meaning cheek and faint ring refers to Wang Chung meaning "yellow bell". Otherwise anagram otm.

joe selfie (qiqing), Tuesday, 6 January 2015 17:17 (nine years ago) link

Of course they were originally called Huang Chung which would have made it even more difficult.

you've got no fans you've got no ground (anagram), Tuesday, 6 January 2015 19:55 (nine years ago) link

Notices from Social Security about something that is to be shared. (5)

I so wanted this to be SPOTS.

The Thelonius Monk of nu-ki? (Dan Peterson), Wednesday, 7 January 2015 14:42 (nine years ago) link

It isn't?

ledge, Wednesday, 7 January 2015 14:59 (nine years ago) link


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