Peculiar robotics effort today 5,2,7

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Peculiar robotics effort today (5,2,7)
October 1, 2003

• Cryptic crossword puzzles and how to solve them
• Daniel Stewart

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Recognizing cryptic crosswords
Typical standard crossword grid
Typical cryptic crossword grid
Barred cryptic (or Torquemeda) grid
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However, cryptic crosswords are mainly
distinguished by their clues

• A cryptic crossword clue (almost always) consists
  of
• A surface reading which includes
• A definition some kind of wordplay (or
  wordplay definition) along with the number of
  letters in the answer

For example Resilient pigs home filled with
vomit (8)
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surface reading
Resilient pigs home filled with vomit (8)
wordplay
definition
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Resilient pigs home filled with vomit (8)
wordplay
definition
filled with container indicator (i.e.
specifies the type of wordplay) pigs home
STY vomit RETCH
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• That is sty filled with retch
• ST RETCH Y

STRETCHY , one meaning of which is
resilient (the definition portion of the clue)
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Types of clues

• containers
• charades
• anagrams
• double definitions
• hidden words
• homonyms
• reversals

• subtractions
• British-style cryptic clues
• There are other, less common, types and more than
  one type can be combined in a single clue

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Charade Clues
definition
Politically divided island tolerated nothing (6)
wordplay
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• Politically divided island tolerated
• nothing (6)

Politically divided island definition tolera
ted BORNE nothing O (nothing or
love often indicates the letter O) BORNE O
BORNEO
Charade clues thus require construction of the
answer from parts supplied in the clue
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Anagram clues
definition
Peculiar robotics effort today (5,2,7)
wordplay
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• Peculiar robotics effort today (5,2,7)

Peculiar anagram indicator (anagram
indicators can be words like mixed, unusual,
and so on) robotics effort anagram
fodder today definition
The letters in robotics effort can be
rearranged to form FIRST OF OCTOBER
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Double definition clues
definition
Make tea expensive (5)
definition
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Make tea expensive (5)
make tea STEEP expensive STEEP
The answer to the clue, STEEP, is a single word
that satisfies the two, very different,
definitions
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Hidden word clues
definition
Scots snack found in disco nearby (5)
wordplay
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Scots snack found in disco nearby (5)
found in hidden word indicator (others
might be holds, carries, or just in) disco
nearby words containing hidden
answer SCONE is contained in disco nearby
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Homonym clues
definition
Feudal drudge waves to the audience (4)
wordplay
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Feudal drudge waves to the audience (4)
to the audience homonym indicator (others
can be to the ear, heard, for the auditor,
) waves surf, which is a homonym
of SERF, which satisfies the definition feudal
drudge
In this case the homonym indicator is at the end
of the wordplay indicating that a word for
waves is a homonym of a word for feudal
drudge and not the other way around (they both
have four letters). Compare to
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Actor Tom heard stage hands (5)
The answer here is CREWS, which has 5 letters
not CRUISE (if the clue had indicated 6 letters,
the answer would be CRUISE). When the two
homonyms have a different number of letters, the
homonym indicator can be in the middle of the
clue with the correct answer of the two possible
indicated by the number of letters.
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Reversal clues
definition
Touch horn backing up (4)
wordplay
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Touch horn backing up (4)
touch definition horn TUBA backing
up reversal indicator (others can be from
the southin a down clue, from the Eastin an
across clue, or just reversed) TUBA backwards
is ABUT
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Subtraction clues
definition
Montana town spread endlessly (5)
wordplay
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Montana town spread endlessly (5)
spread BUTTER endlessly subtraction
indicator BUTTER with the R removed
BUTTE Note that either end of the word can be
removed and more than one letter can be removed.
Consider
Backside spread endlessly (4)
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Clues using a combination of these
principles Any of these can be combined. For
example Brat at Ontario museum put out without
warning (9)
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wordplay
Brat at Ontario museum put out without warning
(9)
definition
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This is a combination of a charade clue and an
anagram

• Brat IMP
• Ontario museum ROM
• put out
• put anagram fodder
• out anagram indicator
• IMP ROM PTU IMPROMPTU
• Which satisfies the definition, without warning

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British-style cryptic clues
In American and Canadian cryptic crosswords there
is great emphasis placed on the form of the
cluethere must be a definition, wordplay, and an
indicator, if one is required. No other words
should appear in the clue.
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• The British-style cryptic clue is often much
  looser
• non-cryptic clues are occasionally included in
  puzzles e.g. Mideastern city (5) -- Cairo
• clues can be cryptic without the strict American
  structure e.g. Kosher diet (7) -- Knesset
• extra words are often found in the clues
  linking the definition and the wordplay e.g.
• Town in Montana is spread endlessly (5)
• is does not form part of the definition or the
  wordplay it just links the two (occasionally
  seen in American puzzles also)

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The most difficult cryptic crossword clue ever
E (13) The answer is SENSELESSNESS This is a
kind of a reversed subtraction clue. SENSELESSNES
S, that is the letters in SENSE LESS (i.e.
take away) the letters in NESS which leaves the
letter E.
The solver here is being required to find the
cryptic clue SENSELESSNESS that produces the
answer E as an answer to E presented as a
cryptic clue.
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• Where to find cryptic crosswords
• Toronto Globe and Mail
• Weekday anonymous British (on line)
• Weekend Fraser Simpson
• National Post
• Virtually any British newspaper (particularly the
  Guardian, the Times, and the Telegraphusually
  signed with a pseudonym)
• A large number of web sites