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

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Ohhh. Ah.

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

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

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

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 (twenty years ago)

Inept!

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

I think cricket themed clues are my favourite kind.

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

I'm the opposite :(

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

Yes, inept is of course korrect.

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

This one cheats a little bit:

Root beer, frozen (9)

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

And just 'cause it works the same way:

Female's punishing triathlon (7)

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

liquorice?

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

never odd or even (10)

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

well, maybe it should be

never odd or even? (10)

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

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 (twenty years ago)

Liquorice is correct.

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

-a----r---

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

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 (twenty years ago)

Ballerina.

I was missing this thread!

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

oooh!

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

Old book? (6,5)

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

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 (twenty years ago)

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 (twenty years ago)

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 (twenty years ago)

Iron Man?

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

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 (twenty years ago)

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

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

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

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

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 (twenty years ago)

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 (twenty years ago)

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 (twenty years ago)

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 (twenty years ago)

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 (twenty years ago)

"Female gets broken in punishing triathlon."

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

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 (twenty years ago)

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 (twenty years ago)

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 (twenty years ago)

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

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

Yes, "'s" often secretly means "is" in cryptics. The "Female" clue is fair.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Monday, 13 March 2006 23:25 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, I really like 's for is! I'm always kinda appalled by how many published newspaper crossword have some minor pronoun fluff going on, do people really not mind?

― Gravel Puzzleworth (Gregory Henry), Monday, 13 March 2006 23:50 (twenty years ago)

minor pronoun fluff
??

― The Day The World Turned Dayglo Redd (Ken L), Monday, 13 March 2006 23:54 (twenty years ago)

I MIND.

― Archel (Archel), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 11:55 (twenty years ago)

New clue! I'll have a think over lunch...

― ledge (ledge), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 12:27 (twenty years ago)

I also mind when setters use [example of a thing] instead of [thing itself] in clues, wihout alluding to the fact. But that might be too much Ximenes.

― Archel (Archel), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 13:10 (twenty years ago)

You mean like "monet" as a clue for "painter" instead of vice versa? Yeah that's bad and wrong. I like when the definition is just an attribute of the answer though, e.g. (ropey example off top of head):

"painted waterlilies make bizarre memento, not me" (5)

― ledge (ledge), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 13:34 (twenty years ago)

minor pronoun fluff

Redd - I mean when instead of '[clue 1] [clue 2]' or '[clue 1] for [clue 2]' or '[clue 1] to [clue 2]' all of which are lovely you get something like '[clue 1] of [clue 2]' (unpleasant but bearable} or '[clue 1] his [clue 2]' (horrible)...

― Gravel Puzzleworth (Gregory Henry), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 15:32 (twenty years ago)

Is there a current clue?

― Gravel Puzzleworth (Gregory Henry), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 04:33 (twenty years ago)

I would try to come up with one, but my brain is really really boring tonight.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 04:35 (twenty years ago)

Did this one ever get answered?

never odd or even? (10)

― lurker #2421, Wednesday, 15 March 2006 05:37 (twenty years ago)

Palindrome?

― Casuistry (Chris P), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 05:40 (twenty years ago)

yes. palindrome is right... well done!

― art vandelay (what?), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 10:01 (twenty years ago)

These can be raw and red inside when lucky number comes up (6)

― The Day The World Turned Dayglo Redd (Ken L), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 14:46 (twenty years ago)

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