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

I've started it, it's not so bad. As ever the special instructions are confusingly worded so they sound more complicated than they are - basically each set contains two complete clues, definition and all, and you have to add a letter to one of the solutions to form a new word. Does that make sense?

what's this about now?

saturday's guardian holiday crossword.

it's not on the site because it has two grids. i can post it if you're interested.

is this it? https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/2017/dec/24/jumbo-everyman-christmas-crossword

no. two identical 15x15 grids with special instructions

It's the prize xword

this must be it https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/2017/dec/23/prize-crossword-no-27388

That's the one

each set contains two complete clues, definition and all

no, one is undefined!

ps happy christmas!

Oh sure the new words aren't defined, I just mean that neither of the clues is just the wordplay part (which is what I usually dislike about "not further defined"), so eg a (6;6) has a pair of complete clues inc definitions but one will be for a 5-letter word & then you just need to add a letter to make another word. By maskerade's standards, not that annoying imo!

And yes, merry x(word)mas!

hmm putting it like that doesn't sound so bad. i've only been looking at this with the 1% of my attention left over from looking after a 21 month old, maybe that explains my difficulties.

Nice one in the Gdn today:

After drink, rock group has drugs for another group (8)

got stuck on '...eloes' then thought hmm maybe it's not elo, bingo.

Oh that's a great one! Took me Ledge's comment to get it though

Couldn't get it, had to cheat and peek. "ES" for drugs bugs me.

This one made me laugh recently: Vegetable rubbish in dump (6)

Can someone tell me that drinks one please? I think I have it but not sure...

Supremes

Guessed REM right away as it's a short name that could fit in other words. Didn't get the rest.

that's what i thought but wasn't sure about 'sup'.

sup = drink

Continuing the musical theme:

Type of rock garden looked a mess to begin with (4)

Glam

Here's my horribly formed clue for the day:

Submit before backwards hood and spread end out and in (10,6)

how about a hint?

DN

Laughed out loud at this one in the Guardian:

Home with red exterior? Blow me! (8)

Novel end for festival with electronic beams wrapping displays up (3,10)

please to explain. 'end of festival' is l, 'electronic' is e, 'beams' is in there as well, but the rest of it?

"displays up" = serab = "bares" up, beams = smiles. It's pretty tortuous but I think it works?

i hope it was a down not an across clue...

This was a good one from Saturday's Guardian:

Children's book in minor novel (3, 5)

Bewildered risible shits (7, 5)

lol

invisiturds

*applause*

Guardian Cryptic crossword No 27,595, 17 Down: Jimmy Carr, with offshore banking, primarily fiddled (7)

I think I get it but I don't know how. Is it a word that could be split in two to form a verb?

Not sure I know what you mean. It’s a verb, one word, you could split it into two words but then it wouldn’t be a verb

like 'X is going to .... ...'

No sorry idgi

I think I done it wrong, will think on

i done got it, it's good. don't think it's strictly ximenean though, apologies for nit-picking. it's good, it's fun, that's all that matters \o/

presumably summat to do with first violin

there was another great clue in today's Graun:

Let's take most of Harrison Ford's fantastic film (7, 2, 3, 4, 3)

I don’t think I’ll ever understand what ximenean means because I don’t see anything remotely cheaty about the jimmy carr clue

I looked up the Jimmy Carr one. I'll forever be a newb at these but what part hints at the meaning of the answer?

I was doing what i always do which is madly guessing the word then trying to retcon the clue.

oh nm I see it now

one day i will understand a single cryptic crossword clue

> I looked up the Jimmy Carr one. I'll forever be a newb at these but what part hints at the meaning of the answer?

SPOILERS

With the Jimmy Carr one, "Carr with offshore banking" contribute letters to the answer and "primarily fiddled" tells you how to get and what to do with those letters which leaves "Jimmy" as the definition. Then you just have to rely on your knowledge of Victorian criminal slang 8)

I don’t think I’ll ever understand what ximenean means because I don’t see anything remotely cheaty about the jimmy carr clue

Well it's the worst kind of old-fashioned prescriptivist pedanticism which even i rmde at; but although the words are in the right order, Carr, with offshore banking, primarily can't really mean carr & wob. The second comma is the problem - Carr, with offshore banking primarily, would be ok, and more or less leave the surface reading intact.

Let's take most of Harrison Ford's fantastic film (7, 2, 3, 4, 3)

some kind of anag, 'something of the something something', need letters!

ok duh