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

--/-a--/--n/-a-

we want hen fap

pls to dissect, thy bardy bacon sandwich

whew\and then\fap

I used "small" as an indicator for initial letter, I'm not sure if that's allowed but I feel like I've seen it in the less rigorous puzzles

"ye ejaculation", nice. thought that archaism must indicate something. i'm not down with 'small' but overall a+ v creative, love to see more along these lines.

Make drunk supply a beer in it (9)

If "supply" is doing what I think it does in this, I've never seen that before and it's clever.

that anagram jumps out at you (me) anyway

Yeah, wasn't hard at all (Everyman), I just liked supply.

I've seen supply before & was impressed, yeah. Enjoy stuff like that

sorry for British, today's Guardian

According to Spooner, Rooney's scandal is to put on a few pounds (4,6)

Ha, I figured it out without even knowing who Rooney is.

American version: Gretzky, Kramer, Knight

I went for Mickey at first, before I just looked at the length of the two words and went 'duh.'

Re: supply as an anagrind, I had resort yesterday, another good double usage. I'd seen that used several times before, but it still catches me and gets me trying to fit 'spa' in there somewhere.

Apprehensive when a vote is taken about your vitals (7)

I'm all done cooking piece of meat (9)

an easy one from chifonie, except the fifth letter is i. guardian reading ukippers will be up in arms.

(and the seventh letter is L)

Not gonna lie, that confused me for a sec

finished the everyman this week, first time in a while. the two hardest bits:

Recent plays by key dramatist (7)

Elephant keeper, married with a husband no longer in the game (6)

the one i can't explain is:

Man on board heard in the dark (5) (NIGHT. is that a homophone for KNIGHT? ah, yes. chess board.)

Rattigan? Nope. The ur-terence.

Comprehensive schooling not big on Roman playwrights, it seems.

me neither

I looked up a list of playwrights and it was obvious enough, especially as i had half the letters. Anagram of RECENT with an extra E (the 'key' part of the clue).

Apprehensive when a vote is taken about your vitals (7)

c'mon, this is rufus level. also:

Take part in march against rogues' gallery holding the ultimate banner (11)

Got the 1st one now, vg

Can't remember if rufus-level is good or bad

Rufus is super easy level, and some of his cluing is a bit suspect ime. I don't mind his puzzles though.

Rufus is super easy level, and some of his cluing is a bit suspect ime

yep, that's about my level.

What paper is he in? Istr he made easy xwords that were nonetheless fun cause lots of themes &c, or am I thinking of someone else? Did a Simpsons themed one once eg

Rufus is in the Guardian. Ledge, you always seem (to a newbie like myself) like a cryptic go to guy in this thread?!

rufus is good entry level stuff but even as a relative beginner i don't enjoy him - either the answer leaps out at you or if it doesn't the clue's rarely written in such a way that i'm motivated to think about it for long

arachne is easily my favourite i think

xp i meant my own clues - super easy and often a bit suspect. really need to go have a go at doing a full puzzle instead of the odd "ooh that'd make a good clue" moment of inspiration.

Rufus appears under that name in the Guardian and does the easy Monday puzzles, but has done stuff under other names for most other papers too (particularly the Telegraph iirc, although they don't name their setters)

I quite like his Monday Graun puzzles or at least think they're unfairly maligned but then they are, to quote ledge, "about my level"

(haven't finished a cryptic in so long I'm not sure I even have a level any more. got ledge's second, not the first)

I just this second got the second - actually brilliant imo

I like Paul, s/he seems to be quite consciously aiming for some kind of nu-auracaria upstart status, tho I'm a xword dilettante & can't really remember who is who

I seem to either complete grids or get no clues at all, & couldn't tell you why. Completed the guardian in hardly any time whilst on MDMA once

I was thinking of a different person before I think, not rufus

yeah I really liked the second! please could someone give a poor moron a letter or other additional hint for the first?

btw

Man on board heard in the dark (5) (NIGHT. is that a homophone for KNIGHT? ah, yes. chess board.)
― koogs, Tuesday, March 17, 2015 6:30 PM

that "on board" thing appeared in a couple of Guardian Quicks recently! fine by me but my cryptic-fearing quick-crossword companion was not amused
http://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/quick/13964 12D "All the men on board? (5,3)"
http://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/quick/13965 17A "Horse's head on board (6)"

paul is my bf's favourite and has definitely been upgraded since araucaria died. they've brought out a few new ones in the past couple of weeks, i enjoyed screw's debut.

i really feel like there's a massive gap in the market for a setter with, like, modern references...not just the occasional beyoncé clue but incorporating modern slang. my least favourite aspect of them are the old-fashioned slang/military abbreviation shit that i just don't care about at all.

-n--o-- xp

Too many &lits in Rufus. Like I'm hanging with someone constantly making puns.

Maybe said before, but Paul is probably my favourite setter with Aur. gone – surprising and smart clues in any given puzzle, his* range of references & expected knowledge is vg for the modern Guardian audience, really good themer.

btw can I say again my friend's history and culture of crosswords book is great and everyone should read it:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Two-Girls-One-Each-Knee/dp/0141977108/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426718920&sr=8-1

Chapter on the nyt xword in the simpsons quotes ilx (nabisco) iirc.

*he is male

^I'm interested, I read that dreadful hornbyesque book about being a crossword fan

just remembered that I did already know paul's sex cause I met a guy in a pub who knew him, there is some hilarious anecdote behind his name or something iirc

Oh I asked for your friend's book for Christmas after yr previous mention and thoroughly enjoyed it, ty woof's friend

I liked the end-of-chapter roundup of some of the best/worst of the Telegraph quick crossword puns; these things brighten my life now I a) don't have the brainpower for cryptics b) have a local pub which takes the Torygraph

i really feel like there's a massive gap in the market for a setter with, like, modern references...not just the occasional beyoncé clue but incorporating modern slang.

ikwym - but I think there are setters who could do it (& would really really enjoy exploring a new field of play), but it's about the venue more than anything – you've got to publish somewhere where the audience will see smh references as fair. (sorry, too sleepy & tipsy to put together a whole ship-in-reverse hms/smh clue there)

fuckboys incapacitated as per Spooner (8)

modern slang still doesn't mean i'm able to work it out :(

ps thanks for the letters wins, I had a feeling I was failing due to some voting time-based ignorance and tbh I still am but now the answer and likely components are apparent I'll do some googling, eh

no idea on the Spoonerism but perhaps it will come to me at 3am as these things often do

i didn't get the 'your vitals' part, but the two bits are both things and match up with the definition so i guess that's ok.

oh, i see now. more classic ledge assemble-from-tiny-bits cluing. 8)

"I.O.U.s" might've been better

whoops I overlooked the "is" in the clue, missed the "s" in my mental rearrangements of the deduced answer, and was going "huh, well 11am must be a standard parliamentary division time or something"

sorry ledge, it is a perfectly fine clue to people who can read

still really liked the second clue!

"I.O.U.s" might've been better

old chestnut, mate. (plus the 'is' was already clued.) i considered 'oxford university heads' or similar but thought that was too obvious.

anyone else exasperated by arachne this sat? SPOILERS, but legend != leg end, coupledoms not an actual word iirc.

i've definitely seen words split like that before, i thought that clue was terrific (and the puzzle in general confirmed why she's my favourite, all her sentences are amusing/elegant in themselves and cryptically she's so neat)

and i rarely have to squint or side-eye her definitions