OK, for those of you who have done the crossword or just want to see what the answers are, the solution is on my Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/posts/55659653. I’m not putting it up here so there’s no risk of an inadvertent spoiler.
If you would like an explanation of any of the clues, just ask! And let me know if you’d like to see more cryptic crosswords or other word puzzles along with my word tastings.
I think cryptic crosswords are fun. If you’re not familiar with them, the way it goes is that each word is described two ways – once by meaning and once by some aspect of its form (usually spelling or sound) – but it’s done in a clever and coy way. An example would be “Booze works heartlessly in writer’s oeuvre (5)” as a clue for BOOKS: if you take BOOZE WORKS and remove the middle of it (ZE WOR) – in other words, if you have it heartlessly – you get BOOKS, and that’s also described as a writer’s oeuvre.
Anyway, here’s a small one. I made it available for my Patreon patrons early yesterday as a bonus for their paying something ($1, $2, or $5 a month) for all my articles that the rest of you get for free. I’ll make the solution available tomorrow on Patreon… but it won’t be visible to non-patrons until a bit later.
ACROSS
A1 Eclipses? Take them to the beach! (9)
A3 Wise raptor or incomplete fowl? (3)
E3 Strum weirdly… and “drang!” (5)
A5 Steals eel unexpectedly, dies (9)
A7 Alive, busy, jumping—a nasty way to do things (9)
A9 Allows to buy preparation for physical with Olivia (4,3)
DOWN
A1 Winter comes too soon, brings deficit (9)
C1 Nothing, just French flax the back way (3)
C5 Almost erupts badly in gush (5)
E1 Draining last of fuels, engines out of order (9)
G1 Eliot’s April in a wild Celt’s rule (9)
I1 Sounds all at once torpid (7)
Want to get things like this crossword and its solutions sooner, or just feel good about paying a bit for what you get on Sesquiotica? Go to https://www.patreon.com/sesquiotic. That’s also where you’ll get the answers to this crossword… in a couple of days.
And let me know if you’d like to see more of these!
Here’s the solution to the cryptic crossword. If you’d like an explanation for any of the clues, ask away! Continue reading
For fun, because everything is unusual just now, and people may want some diversion, I have decided to make a cryptic crossword. It’s been years since I’ve made one, and never before for this blog, but what the heck.
Some of you know what cryptic crosswords are all about. This is one of those, and there is nothing unduly untoward about it; in fact, it’s smaller than most, and you’ll probably find it generally not too hard.
Some of you, however, will be unfamiliar with cryptic crosswords. They have a more spaced-out grid than the usual American ones, so you can’t fill in a word completely just by filling in all the words that cross it, but that’s not the fun part. It’s “cryptic” because each clue gives the answer two ways – one with a definition and one using wordplay – but you have to figure out which part is the definition and which is the wordplay, because it’s not made obvious for you. The wordplay can involve an anagram (signalled by a descriptor such as “mixed-up”), a pun (signalled by something suggesting “sounds like”), or a deconstruction of the form into smaller bits. Sometimes it’s something a bit more out of left field.
The first example I was ever given was the clue “Country song about sailor.” The solution is ARABIA. Why? Because it’s a country, and in form it’s a song (ARIA) about (on either side of) a sailor (AB – a short form for Able-Bodied Seaman). Other examples that come to mind are “A girl’s lies are savoury things,” which solves to HERBS (because HER = a girl’s and BS = lies, and HERBS are savoury things); “Endless bribery, i.e. corruption, and disease,” which solves to BERIBERI (because endless bribery = BRIBER, i.e. corruption means that I and E are mixing in with that, and disease = BERIBERI); and “Hear the price of corn? Pirate!” which solves to BUCCANEER (because it sounds like “buck an ear” – hear the price of corn – and it means pirate).
OK, here it is. Off you go. I’ll post the solution in a couple of days. Patrons on Patreon will get to see it tomorrow! You’ll see I’m using a letter-number grid to designate the starting squares rather than just numbering them; that’s because it’s easier to read.
A1. Birds responsible for nearly all of divorces, weirdly
A3. You slob, I’ve almost gotten confused, clearly
B5. Frosty? Try the south now, dude
A7. The upper limit of a bird’s call
C9. Johnson’s handlers are not worth keeping
A1. Slightly too short to go on your head, but you can eat it
C1. Nurse flies across avenue, says A7
E1. In scuffle, raise worn pot and kettle
G1. You shouldn’t need help on this, but here’s help
I1. When they’re blue, they play ball
G5. Love sounds like it could open up for you
A6. One, but absolutely huge
I6. They fought – like cats and dogs
C7. Five at a pot
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