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

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

Not all messages are displayed: show all messages (5780 of them)

View Previous Page...

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)

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

I'm a novice. Is this 'frustrating' or something similar? I'm not 100% sure how though, if it is.

― Not the real Village People, Friday, 13 April 2007 08:13 (nineteen years ago)

Oh, Jaymc's other one is "jacuzzi".

― Casuistry, Friday, 13 April 2007 08:29 (nineteen years ago)

"Frustration" almost works - "F" = failing grade up front, "rust" = endlessly out of practice (rusty), and "ration" = serving. Don't see where the tennis comes from though.

― ledge, Friday, 13 April 2007 09:09 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah I just realised it was probably 'frustration' while I was in the kitchen. Don't get the tennis either.

― Not the real Village People, Friday, 13 April 2007 09:21 (nineteen years ago)

in tennis = intense ?

― StanM, Friday, 13 April 2007 09:24 (nineteen years ago)

Stare at own goal mix up to search (6)

― onimo, Friday, 13 April 2007 10:38 (nineteen years ago)

Sorry, "in tennis" was a bit lame -- I was basically saying "the tennis word for out-of-practice, without its end". Probably should've just left that off; "frustration" is correct.

― lurker #2421, Friday, 13 April 2007 15:15 (nineteen years ago)

Stare at own goal mix up to search

Google

Am I meant to make one up if I post an answer...?

― Not the real Village People, Friday, 13 April 2007 15:23 (nineteen years ago)

Oh, Jaymc's other one is "jacuzzi".

You are correct, sir.

― jaymc, Friday, 13 April 2007 15:23 (nineteen years ago)

xpost - if you like. Or you could just throw one in at any time. Like so:

Crowd on internet forum criticise company providing travelling terpsichorean entertainment (6,5)

― ledge, Friday, 13 April 2007 15:29 (nineteen years ago)

Newspaperman is red faced, loud and drunk (5)

― Mark C, Friday, 13 April 2007 15:49 (nineteen years ago)

Copy chief sleeps around with gentleman caller (9)

― jaymc, Friday, 13 April 2007 16:02 (nineteen years ago)

Nonsense from an aging idiot (8)

― jaymc, Friday, 13 April 2007 16:05 (nineteen years ago)

Question: If you're using words backwards, anagrammed, or embedded within other words, do you need to give some indicator in the clue that that's what you've done? Like with words like "return," or "mix," or "between"?

― jaymc, Friday, 13 April 2007 16:16 (nineteen years ago)

In my experience there's usually an indicator of some sort.

― onimo, Friday, 13 April 2007 16:24 (nineteen years ago)

yes, you do. Otherwise, how will you know that that's what you're to do?

xpost

― ailsa, Friday, 13 April 2007 16:25 (nineteen years ago)

OK, let's change my most recent one to...

Nonsense from an idiot who's aging inside (8)

― jaymc, Friday, 13 April 2007 16:28 (nineteen years ago)

folderol

Except that doesn't work.

― ailsa, Friday, 13 April 2007 16:30 (nineteen years ago)

Why not, because the O is shared?

― jaymc, Friday, 13 April 2007 16:34 (nineteen years ago)

Yep, you have to give some clue to the process, and the clue has to divide very strictly between definition/synonym and wordplay. Here are some simple examples --

Party | hides in Tonga lake (4)
Mixed-up kids | lose control on the ice (4)
Lana reversed | neatnik tendencies? (4)
Stan lost his head | looking like a beach bum? (3)
Belafonte is | hirsute, they say (5)

(xpost)

― lurker #2421, Friday, 13 April 2007 16:38 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah. You'd have to have something that discounted one of the "o"s attached to one of the parts of the clue - in this case it could be the "o" at the start of older or one of the "o"s in fool so either part of the clue could be modified.

xpost

― ailsa, Friday, 13 April 2007 16:39 (nineteen years ago)

Why not, because the O is shared?

Right. You could do something about "starved for oxygen" (minus one O) but that gets very fussy.

― lurker #2421, Friday, 13 April 2007 16:42 (nineteen years ago)

Added Ecstasy to mixed drink for German kids (6)

― lurker #2421, Friday, 13 April 2007 16:44 (nineteen years ago)

kinder

― ailsa, Friday, 13 April 2007 16:44 (nineteen years ago)

Wow, nice one.

― jaymc, Friday, 13 April 2007 16:45 (nineteen years ago)

Skipping 5680 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.