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

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It was 'di' as in Princess Diana also known as the 'queen of hearts' (possibly a bit UK-centric?) The 'a' came from 'a nation's'.

I like your clue but cannot get it, yet.

― Archel (Archel), Tuesday, 7 February 2006 15:36 (eighteen years ago) link

(Princess) Di = Queen of Hearts

A tribe's = a nation's

― Onimo (GerryNemo), Tuesday, 7 February 2006 15:37 (eighteen years ago) link

I did wonder if it was a bit UK-centric but hard for me to tell - I thought there would have been a bit of fuss about the Bashir interview in the US too - I assumed he got the Jacko one on the back of it? But I was guessing - apologies if too obscure a reference for non-Brits.

― frankiemachine, Tuesday, 7 February 2006 15:58 (eighteen years ago) link

Bewitched?

― MrArchel (Archel), Tuesday, 7 February 2006 16:54 (eighteen years ago) link

Ha, I had thought of the Di thing, but forgot it! But then, what function does "Hear" serve?

(Don't worry, though, it wasn't too UK-centric -- I'd be a hypocrite if I were to complain about that.)

xpost: Ha, you got it! Not too US-centric, then!

― lurker #2421, Tuesday, 7 February 2006 16:55 (eighteen years ago) link

"Hear" was me being pedantic. It means "sounds like". I would have left it out if I could have written nation's without the possessive apostrophe but that would have looked wrong. As written, nation's doesn't correspond to tribes. Said aloud it does.

― frankiemachine, Tuesday, 7 February 2006 18:12 (eighteen years ago) link

I woudn't sweat it, Frankie. What's the current clue?

― Redd Harvest (Ken L), Tuesday, 7 February 2006 18:38 (eighteen years ago) link

Ah, I follow now -- thanks for explaining.

― lurker #2421, Tuesday, 7 February 2006 19:23 (eighteen years ago) link

If Mr. Archel doesn't have one handy:

Scantily-clad woman reportedly gave birth to baby horse in wake of recent accident (10)

― lurker #2421, Tuesday, 7 February 2006 19:33 (eighteen years ago) link

Centrefold?

― frankiemachine, Tuesday, 7 February 2006 20:31 (eighteen years ago) link

You've got it!

― lurker #2421, Tuesday, 7 February 2006 20:33 (eighteen years ago) link

Uh. I see "colt" in that but...? "fender"?

― Casuistry (Chris P), Tuesday, 7 February 2006 21:03 (eighteen years ago) link

reportedly gave birth = fold

Still Archel's turn to post a clue, I think

― frankiemachine, Tuesday, 7 February 2006 21:08 (eighteen years ago) link

(as in foaled)

― ailsa (ailsa), Tuesday, 7 February 2006 21:10 (eighteen years ago) link

Ohhh. Ah.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Wednesday, 8 February 2006 10:18 (eighteen years ago) link

It's *Mr* Archel's turn, not mine, I think.

― Archel (Archel), Wednesday, 8 February 2006 10:25 (eighteen years ago) link

Now I'm confused.

To be going along with:

Batting record before tea, we're told, is useless (5)

― frankiemachine, Wednesday, 8 February 2006 10:52 (eighteen years ago) link

Inept!

― ledge (ledge), Wednesday, 8 February 2006 11:19 (eighteen years ago) link

I think cricket themed clues are my favourite kind.

― ledge (ledge), Wednesday, 8 February 2006 11:19 (eighteen years ago) link

I'm the opposite :(

― Archel (Archel), Wednesday, 8 February 2006 11:24 (eighteen years ago) link

Yes, inept is of course korrect.

― frankiemachine, Wednesday, 8 February 2006 12:39 (eighteen years ago) link

This one cheats a little bit:

Root beer, frozen (9)

― ledge (ledge), Wednesday, 8 February 2006 15:37 (eighteen years ago) link

And just 'cause it works the same way:

Female's punishing triathlon (7)

― ledge (ledge), Wednesday, 8 February 2006 15:45 (eighteen years ago) link

liquorice?

― mrArchel, Wednesday, 8 February 2006 18:41 (eighteen years ago) link

never odd or even (10)

― ArtVandelay (Archel), Thursday, 9 February 2006 08:37 (eighteen years ago) link

well, maybe it should be

never odd or even? (10)

― Archel (Archel), Thursday, 9 February 2006 08:39 (eighteen years ago) link

oops sorry archel's still logged in on this computer. that clue was me though, not her. Confusing or what?

― ArtVandelay (Archel), Thursday, 9 February 2006 08:41 (eighteen years ago) link

Liquorice is correct.

― ledge (ledge), Thursday, 9 February 2006 09:39 (eighteen years ago) link

-a----r---

― art vandelay (what?), Saturday, 11 February 2006 11:53 (eighteen years ago) link

three weeks pass...

Still don't know what that is.

Dancer's brain scattered around cut-off backstreet (9)

― Dayglo Redd (Ken L), Thursday, 9 March 2006 17:17 (eighteen years ago) link

Ballerina.

I was missing this thread!

― Archel (Archel), Thursday, 9 March 2006 18:35 (eighteen years ago) link

oooh!

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Thursday, 9 March 2006 18:39 (eighteen years ago) link

Old book? (6,5)

― Archel (Archel), Thursday, 9 March 2006 18:45 (eighteen years ago) link

This one's still open and it ain't hard really...

Female's punishing triathlon (7) - or (4-3) if you prefer

― ledge (ledge), Friday, 10 March 2006 14:20 (eighteen years ago) link

Did this die again already? Ok, mine is I---M-- ... c'mon, I'm giving it away!

― ledge (ledge), Monday, 13 March 2006 09:43 (eighteen years ago) link

I don't want the thread to die but I really am baffled ledge!

Clue to mine:

--l--- ---e-

― Archel (Archel), Monday, 13 March 2006 16:19 (eighteen years ago) link

Iron Man?

― Markelby (Mark C), Monday, 13 March 2006 16:26 (eighteen years ago) link

I think I knew Ledge's before he gave the hint, but I couldn't figure out why exactly.

Are you sure that 'l' shouldn't be in fourth position, Archel?

(xpost)

― The Day The World Turned Dayglo Redd (Ken L), Monday, 13 March 2006 16:30 (eighteen years ago) link

That *particular* l is where I wanted to put it...

― Archel (Archel), Monday, 13 March 2006 16:37 (eighteen years ago) link

OK, I cheated. Now I know what it is.

― The Day The World Turned Dayglo Redd (Ken L), Monday, 13 March 2006 16:45 (eighteen years ago) link

Iron Man or Ironman is right: fe=iron, male=man, whole is a punishing triathlon... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironman_Triathlon

Ah that extra 'l' hint gave it away... Yellow Pages!

― ledge (ledge), Monday, 13 March 2006 17:03 (eighteen years ago) link

Yes!

I guess if I'd done a bit of elementary triathlon research I would have got yours...

― Archel (Archel), Monday, 13 March 2006 17:04 (eighteen years ago) link

I thought it was fairly well known but like all trivia I guess it's just a case of 'easy if you know it' :^)

― ledge (ledge), Monday, 13 March 2006 17:30 (eighteen years ago) link

Okay, so I explained the "iron man" thing to myself as "a man who does ironing i.e. a WOman"

I am not very good at cryptic crosswords. Though I did manage to half-complete two real crossword puzzles recently, which made me prouder than almost anything else.

― Markelby (Mark C), Monday, 13 March 2006 18:02 (eighteen years ago) link

I knew what the Iron Man was and after ledge gave the hint and I was sure, I could figure out how the cryptic part worked, but maybe there should have been an extra hint that "female" was supposed to be broken into two pieces?
"Female in two parts of punishing triathlon"?

― The Day The World Turned Dayglo Redd (Ken L), Monday, 13 March 2006 18:41 (eighteen years ago) link

"Female gets broken in punishing triathlon."

― Casuistry (Chris P), Monday, 13 March 2006 19:08 (eighteen years ago) link

I've been seeing a lot of clues here where the clue includes a possessive ('s) that isn't actually functional: "Female's", "Dancer's", etc.

Do published cryptic crosswords do this? I have to admit it totally throws me off, I'd always assumed that every part of the clue had to be functional.

― lurker #2421, Monday, 13 March 2006 23:17 (eighteen years ago) link

I've been seeing a lot of clues here where the clue includes a possessive ('s) that isn't actually functional: "Female's", "Dancer's", etc. Do published cryptic crosswords do this?

(I have to admit it totally throws me off, I'd always assumed that every part of the clue had to be incorporated in the answer, with nothing extra left over.)

― lurker #2421, Monday, 13 March 2006 23:19 (eighteen years ago) link

Hey, I reloaded the page to check that my first post hadn't gone through! Boo to you, lyin' cheatin' ILX server.

― lurker #2421, Monday, 13 March 2006 23:22 (eighteen years ago) link

's could also mean "is," couldn't it?

― The Day The World Turned Dayglo Redd (Ken L), Monday, 13 March 2006 23:24 (eighteen years ago) link

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