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

On 3578 I got one 3-letter word.

Doing slightly better this week, but only slightly.

I finished 3578, although didn't understand the MOTIVES clue above. 3579 is the one I'm on, and I only have 9 down. I think I read they changed setters?

idk I just loaded it up on my phone to see what a difficult Everyman looks like & I'm getting thru it at the normal rate, not seen anything that's made me go "oh c'mon!". It helps that I got three of the long clues almost instantly. Having said that I'm sure I'll hit a wall now

Yeah, this isn't as hard as I first thought, I just think the cluing and my brain are not quite on the same wavelength sometimes. I'm about halfway in.

Finally finished, with a bit on online research. These are examples of "harder than past Everyman puzzles" imo:

14 King with work in store around westward citadel
ACROPOLIS

24 Capital account without pound in it is abandoned
TBILISI

Although this one I liked a lot!

27 Employ glam rock band with energy coming back
EXERT

Yeah that was nice.

Not really enjoying cryptics all that much at the mo. Probably because since moving jobs I'm doing them on my own, where before I'd do them with a couple of colleagues every lunchtime. Maybe because I'm doing them at my desk, instead of in the pub. Perhaps because I'm no longer having a pint alongside.

all that stuff takes the shine off, true

Yeah those are the best contexts

Been doing crosswords at work with the deputy lab manager - not my boss, but my immediate superior. He's a novice so still learning the conventions/frustrations. It's been fun, yesterday we had like half an hour longer for break cause he wanted to finish it!

Been meaning to ask: why are setters always using "rejected" to mean backwards/inverted? It's one of those things you just accept but I'm not convinced it actually makes sense.

Is the thinking "rejected"="sent back"?

that wd be my guess. it's not the best but so much of cryptics is learning the jargon

Cryptics are a solo experience for me (being American, anyone I've ever showed them to reacts like I'm explaining quantum physics.) No pubs either, puzzles are mainly for my train ride to/from work. Although I've taken long car trips with my parents and had them read the clues out loud, and I solve them in my head as I drive.

Was anyone able to solve this one in the Everyman unaided?

Flower in good composition held by small child (10)

my botanical knowledge would have to be a hell of a lot better to get that unaided.

in the grauniad today "up the eiffel tower" indicates a french word. "in paris" or similar is common enough and i guess i don't mind setters getting a bit more florid if it leads to a nice surface. that wasn't the case here.

is there a list of French indicators anywhere?

Yeah that was awful even if he did question-mark it. Liked the grid on the whole though - nice and easy!

In general I think "in [place in france]" or "for [french person]" is acceptable, there's nothing wrong with "the Eiffel Tower" per se except it's awkward & feels like he's going for some weak euphemism w "poked my darling up the Eiffel Tower"

Flower in good composition held by small child = Mignonette, by the way, which I'd never heard of. Add in that "composition" = nonet and "small child" = mite, and I couldn't get this even with all the crossers.

yeah that's v tough for everyman. still at least it was an actual flower, not a river. (flower = thing that flows, if you haven't come across that delightful construction before.)

I have come across that so many times I usually think of it *before* I think of an actual flower.

Me too!

Detective wearing singlet on air got rattled (12)

Easy enough clue in today's Everyman, but one element I could see upsetting people (not me tho, I like stuff like that)

grauniad going for the web developer audience: <span>Minister from cabinet </span><i>almost</i><span> right about several bits of information </span> (9)

^ That confused me a lot because I thought your formatting error was part of the clue!

It's hardly obscure though? I'm far from a web developer and I got it, the computery bit of the clue is a p common word

the tags were included in the clue as printed

Oh haha

(They aren't on the app version)

It almost sounds like John Connor and Kyle Reese avoid Sinatra's regrets (3,3,2,7)

don't get why the setter would want to italicize "almost" anyway

also "press" for cabinet is v obscure

xp I could give this a more contemporary spin:

It almost sounds like Mad Max and Immortan Joe avoid Sinatra's regrets (3,3,2,7)

c.mon, with the letter count it's a gimme

too few to mention

but i don't get why. i recognise the terminator references and the mad max reference but...

i think last week's everyman is languishing in my bag with 0 (zero) clues done. 8(

two future men shun?

would not have got there without letter count (also, while reconstructing the pun got stuck on "Menschen" for a while, and now I'm trying to think of a not completely tortuous context where that could work... afraid I didn't like the "future"/"few to" part so much)

two future men shun?

groans, tortuously constructed ♥️♥️♥️

afraid I didn't like the "future"/"few to" part so much

i'd certainly have been cursing the compiler if i'd seen in a real crossword. even with the 'almost'.

^this post is a clue btw xp

aw

It was a cult AND a sincere post! thats why it's so clever.

*clue ffs

Two points in dog delight (7)

Made me laugh out loud on the train this morning.

still working on it...

grauniand puzzle after lex's heart today, but i struggled.

yeah it's a toughie. Got the long anagram, scratching my head over the rest

Tuesday's Guardian had Eric Clapton as an anagram of Narcoleptic, which was pretty good.

So I finished the prize crossword yesterday, but I can't for the life of me parse this clue:

Guardian Prize crossword No 26,615, 18 Down: President might introduce ads to create trends or reach family men? (4)

I have the answer but don't see how "create trends" fits in? The clue would work without it, so it must mean something, but what?

I can't solve the clue but I think trends = fads

ok that makes no sense to me still. The answer is ford (for dads), I think you're right that fads fits in somehow but I can't make it work. Seems an overstuffed clue to me but maybe it all works lovely once you can see it idk

ah then it's "might introduce ads to create trends" = F + OR + "[might introduce ads to] reach family men" = D

Oh yeah lol

Having no preference in bedroom, police enter here, finding killer in bed (9)

maybe cheeky, maybe offensive, who can say