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

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Yes it's SMEGMA TARTS backwards, sans one M. Charming!

― ledge, Friday, 9 March 2007 17:10 (nineteen years ago)

Wow.

― Casuistry, Friday, 9 March 2007 18:53 (nineteen years ago)

I guess I could've gone with

"A million prostitutes on their backs is a clever scheme indeed (9)"

But it wouldn't have enriched the world quite as much, I don't think.

― lurker #2421, Sunday, 11 March 2007 21:59 (nineteen years ago)

Cowardly policeman starts greeting in middle of paddywagon (6)

― ledge, Sunday, 11 March 2007 23:01 (nineteen years ago)

Yellow?

― lurker #2421, Sunday, 11 March 2007 23:45 (nineteen years ago)

Messed-up, vile, super-revolting (9)

― lurker #2421, Sunday, 11 March 2007 23:46 (nineteen years ago)

yup. xp.

repulsive.

― ledge, Sunday, 11 March 2007 23:48 (nineteen years ago)

Yup!

Skinny girl's imaginary friend adds to my body image? (7)

― lurker #2421, Monday, 12 March 2007 15:09 (nineteen years ago)

two weeks pass...

Sophisticated poster gets fork, followed by pen, another fork and shortened key for Song of Tomorrow (2,5,7)

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

-- --i-- -i-----

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 15:56 (nineteen years ago)

-- --i-- -i----e

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 18:12 (nineteen years ago)

Skinny girl's imaginary friend adds to my body image? (7)

Are you sure this is 7?

― jaymc, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 18:48 (nineteen years ago)

(I was thinking "gamine.")

― jaymc, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 21:13 (nineteen years ago)

I always enjoy the solutions to lurker #2421's clues, but I don't even try to solve them.

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 21:22 (nineteen years ago)

Ha, I'll take that as a compliment! :)

jaymc, it's definitely 7. "Gamine" is a nice thought, though.

The dashes thing would give it away, I think, so here's a hint: the solution doesn't involve any anagramming.

― lurker #2421, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 22:45 (nineteen years ago)

waifish?

― jaymc, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 22:55 (nineteen years ago)

Nope....you're, er, coming at it from the wrong angle.

Aw, hell:

--a----

― lurker #2421, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 22:59 (nineteen years ago)

sparish?

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Wednesday, 28 March 2007 11:09 (nineteen years ago)

Nope!

--a-o--

― lurker #2421, Wednesday, 28 March 2007 15:47 (nineteen years ago)

How about, as a means of achieving both closure and continuity on this thread, setters post one extra letter a day until the clue is answered?

― ledge, Thursday, 29 March 2007 13:48 (nineteen years ago)

ok, here's mine:
-- --i-e -i----e

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Thursday, 29 March 2007 14:02 (nineteen years ago)

I thought it might be "anatomy" but wasn't happy enough with why to post. Now there's another letter I'll throw that out there and hope someone can explain how it fits together. (Probably being stupid here, sorry)

― a passing spacecadet, Thursday, 29 March 2007 14:03 (nineteen years ago)

you're probably right:
ana+to+my

but i dunno why skinny girl's imaginary friend = ana

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Thursday, 29 March 2007 14:05 (nineteen years ago)

Ana = shortened "anorexia" (there are "pro-ana" internet communities which are all "thinspiration" pictures of corpses etc).

― Sarah, Thursday, 29 March 2007 14:08 (nineteen years ago)

I am stuck on my stupid 'how to do cryptic crosswords' book by the way. It has suddenly got harder or I have got stupiderder.

― Sarah, Thursday, 29 March 2007 14:09 (nineteen years ago)

ana = from anorexia
mia = bulima

It's a way that girls with EDs refer to their diseases.

― ENBB, Thursday, 29 March 2007 14:11 (nineteen years ago)

so wherefore the "imaginary friend"?

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Thursday, 29 March 2007 14:24 (nineteen years ago)

They are personifications of the diseases, I presume.

― ledge, Thursday, 29 March 2007 14:26 (nineteen years ago)

Anatomy is right! And yeah, anorexics/bulimics are known to refer to their friends "Ana" and "Mia" as codewords/personifications.

― lurker #2421, Thursday, 29 March 2007 16:12 (nineteen years ago)

And ya see, it's clever because it uses "to my", and the apostrophe and the bebop and the...

</cosby>

― lurker #2421, Thursday, 29 March 2007 16:13 (nineteen years ago)

haha I was thinking of 'Ana' as a skinny Anna and 'Tom' as imaginary friend because he's everyone's fake pal on myspace :)

― onimo, Thursday, 29 March 2007 16:15 (nineteen years ago)

(this was in reverse engineering the puzzle of course)

― onimo, Thursday, 29 March 2007 16:16 (nineteen years ago)

anorexics/bulimics

that should read "certain a/bs within certain online communities", obv

― lurker #2421, Thursday, 29 March 2007 16:16 (nineteen years ago)

Nordic bird gets the flatbed treatment, as it were (12)

― lurker #2421, Wednesday, 11 April 2007 04:01 (nineteen years ago)

Scandinavian. Cute!

― Casuistry, Wednesday, 11 April 2007 05:21 (nineteen years ago)

Memo in re: ammo (8)

― jaymc, Thursday, 12 April 2007 16:20 (nineteen years ago)

bulletin?

army hq costs nothing but heroin addiction ensues (8)

― Will M., Thursday, 12 April 2007 16:26 (nineteen years ago)

yep :)

― jaymc, Thursday, 12 April 2007 16:26 (nineteen years ago)

freebase?

― ailsa, Thursday, 12 April 2007 16:26 (nineteen years ago)

Lodging has nothing but slabs of ribs (8)

― jaymc, Thursday, 12 April 2007 16:33 (nineteen years ago)

barracks.

I really REALLY wish I could make these up as well as I could solve them.

― ailsa, Thursday, 12 April 2007 16:38 (nineteen years ago)

French blame in the Italian bath (7)

― jaymc, Thursday, 12 April 2007 16:52 (nineteen years ago)

Dad picks up the tab for fruit. (6)

― jaymc, Thursday, 12 April 2007 17:05 (nineteen years ago)

The second one's "papaya", right? Though I don't see where the third A comes from.

In tennis, endlessly out-of-practice serving gets failing grade upfront, causes vexation (11)

― lurker #2421, Thursday, 12 April 2007 18:24 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, it's "papaya." I'm taking luxuries: do all the letters have to be accounted for? I still don't really know the rules here.

― jaymc, Thursday, 12 April 2007 21:17 (nineteen years ago)

The one before "papaya" doesn't really obey the rules, either. :(

― jaymc, Thursday, 12 April 2007 21:27 (nineteen years ago)

Yes, all the letters have to be accounted for. Every word in the clue has to be reflected in the answer, as well.

― Casuistry, Thursday, 12 April 2007 21:40 (nineteen years ago)

Go get that Rathvon/Cox book I linked to. It's worth it! Especially if you find it remaindered like I did.

― Casuistry, Thursday, 12 April 2007 21:40 (nineteen years ago)

This would work:

Dad, pick up the tab for a fruit! (6)

― lurker #2421, Thursday, 12 April 2007 22:51 (nineteen years ago)

("Dad" = pa, "pick up the tab for" = pay, "a" = a, so everything is accounted for)

― lurker #2421, Thursday, 12 April 2007 22:52 (nineteen years ago)

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