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

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Does "concise" = "American-style"? That spoonerism clue would be fair game in a latter-part-of-the-week NYTimes xword.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Thursday, 1 February 2007 14:34 (nineteen years ago)

It means 'quick', the other clues are eg "household insect pest" "Salad vegetable" "horizontal bar - bird - complain"

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Thursday, 1 February 2007 14:40 (nineteen years ago)

In honour of Ruth Crisp ('Crispa'), RIP:
The more people have of these, the more they want (5)

Excitement in my letterbox this morning: two newly published crossword books. (Should keep us going for quite a while what with the seven week old baby significantly cutting into solving time and all...)

― Archel (Archel), Friday, 2 February 2007 16:43 (nineteen years ago)

three weeks pass...

nobody tried these on the other board, so:

crummy kids are Superman's cousins? (6,3,6)

contest failure results in argument (4)

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Saturday, 24 February 2007 17:17 (nineteen years ago)

Onimo's fee for soul festival (8)

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Monday, 26 February 2007 04:04 (nineteen years ago)

I dunno, archel- needs?

bone mask (6)

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Monday, 26 February 2007 21:41 (nineteen years ago)

My brain has atrophied - can you give us some letters for these?

― ailsa, Monday, 26 February 2007 23:22 (nineteen years ago)

crummy kids are Superman's cousins? (6,3,6)
contest failure results in argument (4)
Onimo's fee for soul festival (8)
bone mask (6)
-a---- --- ----e-
--e-
--t-----
----n-

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Monday, 26 February 2007 23:31 (nineteen years ago)

contest failure results in argument (4)

beef

― ailsa, Monday, 26 February 2007 23:42 (nineteen years ago)

yes

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Monday, 26 February 2007 23:50 (nineteen years ago)

Onimo's fee for soul festival (8)

Wattstax

― jaymc, Monday, 26 February 2007 23:51 (nineteen years ago)

yes

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Monday, 26 February 2007 23:57 (nineteen years ago)

point coldly to island (6)

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 18:37 (nineteen years ago)

Sicily

― ailsa, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 18:49 (nineteen years ago)

No one ever got this one from the sandbox:

Bag lady complains about her naughty bits (7)

----a--

― jaymc, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 18:54 (nineteen years ago)

I wanna say versace, but I don't quite get it.

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 19:58 (nineteen years ago)

Nope...

----a-t

― jaymc, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 20:00 (nineteen years ago)

stewart?

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 20:11 (nineteen years ago)

lol vagrant

― onimo, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 20:45 (nineteen years ago)

Onimo's right. :)

― jaymc, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 20:46 (nineteen years ago)

dang! I thought of that but couldn't see how it worked until now

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 20:50 (nineteen years ago)

i'm in on nothing, gerry! (5)

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 20:56 (nineteen years ago)

crummy kids are Superman's cousins? (6,3,6)
bone mask (6)
-a---- --- -r--e-
-o--n-

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 21:01 (nineteen years ago)

The second one's domino

(also, yeah, lol at vagrant - I was trying to make other rude words fit in there)

― ailsa, Tuesday, 27 February 2007 21:06 (nineteen years ago)

yup. more letters for first one:
-a---l --- -r--e-

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 04:35 (nineteen years ago)

(I think this is gonna be the one that finally gets me kicked off the thread)

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 04:37 (nineteen years ago)

OK, it's Hansel and Gretel, I think, but I'm only part-way to working out why - please explain properly?

― ailsa, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 09:05 (nineteen years ago)

oh god. awful! ;)

― Archel, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 09:06 (nineteen years ago)

it has to do with Superman's name back on planet Krypton

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 12:08 (nineteen years ago)

Oh good Lord, that is horrible! I got it from the crummy kids bit after playing around with what would fit in the spaces for a while.

― ailsa, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 12:25 (nineteen years ago)

Good thing I am hiding behind this mysterious screenname ;)

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 13:29 (nineteen years ago)

HA KEN-EL WE CAN SEE YOU IN THERE!

― ailsa, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 13:39 (nineteen years ago)

I think you lot are all staggering genuises! I've never done cryptic crosswords, just never encountered them really but I'd like to try and give them a go. Can any of you recommend any of those "cracking cryptic crosswords" books? There's a whole load on Amazon if you follow the link below:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0550100539/ref=pd_ecc_rvi_cart_f/026-2542814-1547635

― Sarah, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 13:39 (nineteen years ago)

I've never read a book about it ever, it's just something I've picked up over the years. This thread's probably not a bad way to start, since a lot of the answers are explained by the solver.

― ailsa, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 13:43 (nineteen years ago)

Might have a punt on this one

― Sarah, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 13:44 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, most people learn by doing - but I got a few puzzles from a book and spent two weeks staring at them in utter confusion so I think I need some help... because I am SINGLE you see and thus have NO-ONE to PORE over CROSSWORDS with in the MORNING haha :) The book above says it comes with lots of examples and explained answers.

i got a grant total of TWO CLUES throughout that fortnight! Admittedly when I got them it was the best feeling ever!

― Sarah, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 13:46 (nineteen years ago)

I am MARRIED to a chump that can't (or rather, can't be bothered to) do crosswords! This is WHY I HAVE ILE! AND FRIENDS! A WINNER IS ME!

― ailsa, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 13:51 (nineteen years ago)

OK! I'm definitely going to get the book. Now I need stuff to qualify for super saver delivery! Of course I do. Suggest something for me! I have crosswords and "new york tendaberry" so far!

― Sarah, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 14:01 (nineteen years ago)

Ha, the way I started was I bought earlier versions of the how-to Chambers and Telegraph books at Heathrow on the way back to States and started doing the Telegraph puzzles while we were delayed on the tarmac.

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 14:08 (nineteen years ago)

which means that book and its puzzles must have been pretty easy if a Septic like me could get it right away

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 14:20 (nineteen years ago)

Because, as I may have said before, I''ve really gotta struggle to do the puzzles in the FT or the Times of London, and pretty much stick to the slim pickings of puzzles in American English.

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 14:24 (nineteen years ago)

Anyway, somebody give us a clue, please!

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 14:27 (nineteen years ago)

and not a crummy one

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 14:44 (nineteen years ago)

Witty banter becomes stale in time (8)

― ledge, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 15:42 (nineteen years ago)

badinage!

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 15:48 (nineteen years ago)

HOW did you get that! Explain for a thicko please :(

I was thinking ok, so you put the word "stale" inside the word "time" and get something like "witty banter"?!

― Sarah, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 15:49 (nineteen years ago)

"stale in time" = "bad in age".

There's a great book by Henry Ravthon and Emily Cox that explains the idea to American types and has a bunch of their puzzles, easier ones and harder ones. They make some of the best puzzles in the US (regular style as well -- actually they made my favorite regular crossword evah!).

― Casuistry, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 16:10 (nineteen years ago)

Sarah, that's why it's a good clue, because there's a couple of ways to approach it and it's not immediately obvious - your approach is also a good one, and one that's used a lot.

― ailsa, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 16:14 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, I got that Cox and Rathvon book and the Games Magazine cryptic book (I wonder if this still exist?) too.

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 16:22 (nineteen years ago)

What a nerd, scraping away at them books, when I should have been out parading!

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 16:26 (nineteen years ago)

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