Cryptic Crossword Clues

[IrvinaYalom]

Right, I am aware that this might be a bit niche and that I may be totally alone in thinking that this would be a good thing to exist but I am going to go ahead and ask anyway and hope that I am not as alone as I think I might be!

I have recently discovered the joys (oh yes- the joys are multiple!) of doing cryptic crosswords. Being new I am obviously no expert and during these early days of crossword exploration and discovery I have repeatedly bemoaned the lack of "clue explanations". Now it may well just be me who experiences this but I quite regularly find that even upon discovering the answer to a more challenging clue I don't quite understand exactly how or why the clue in question lead to that particular answer. So this leads me to ask...

Would anyone else out there be interested in an ongoing thread upon which we could post about cryptic crossword clues and help each other see what's what?

anticipates tumbleweed

Oooh I think I can get all of @letsgomaths ones!

I loved Araucaria's puzzles. Guaranteed a satisfying 'ahh' moment at least a couple of times per crossword.

letsgo - one of your answers is precocious, but I think your explanation is the wrong way round: we insert co into precious to get a word meaning prematurely forward.

The foil / peerage one is epee.

I just finished today's Telegraph cryptic all on my own for the first time in ages!

Never got the hang of harder ones though. I've tried the Times and Guardian a few times but not made much progress. I think you need to stick with it and get used to the style of clues.

But it's a fine moment to finally get a clue that's been eluding you for a while.

Conversely I hate it when you see the answer and it doesn't make sense, or doesn't account for all the elements of the clue. Grr.

My favouritest ever clue- 'corvine lapidation' .....5,3,5 ...

stone the crows!

Great idea for a thread. My parents do the telegraph one every day and I never thought I understood them until I got my dad to explain the remaining behind the answers. Now I join in with them and bouncing ideas around usually sparks the right answer. I like the anagram ones best.

What I'm struggling to learn are all the terms for e.g. sailor...tar, AN for able bodies seaman etc.

I find the telegraph easiest on a Monday if that helps.

I've been doing the Guardian Cryptic for over 50 years. At first I'd only manage a couple of clues and had to wait until next day to find out and understand the answers. Nowadays, there's often only one or two clues that I don't get, and sometimes I complete the whole puzzle. Today I have done all except 2 down.

What's the clue @eddiemairswife? Maybe the collective hive mind on here can help

I love cryptic crosswords, but definitely still learning.

I've started doing the Private Eye one. On a good week I can do about half the clues, whereas Grauniad I can usually do one token clue.

My parents do the Guardian cryptic together in bed with their morning cup of tea.

Slightly off topic, but the book Pretty Girl in a Crimson Rose by Sandy Balfour is a fun read that is sprinkled with anecdotes about how to solve cryptic clues. It helped me get my head round the clues a bit more.

ikiboo It's 4 down not 2 down. 'remove growth that could be sown'(5)
I have....S-A-E.

Shave?

Growth as in hair, sown as in thickly spread?

Shave. Means remove growth, and s-own = s-have. I think.

Yes my type of people. I used to do them but life caught up with me. I have just dug out the little book of tips / rules I made when I was teaching myself how to do them. We get a get the Guardian, Mail (it is rarely read) Times and FT at work. Which is he best to start with?

Many thanks to both of you.

Have a look at www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Quizzes-and-Puzzles/Crosswords/ If you google the specific clue and "answerbank" you will often find the correct answer along with a helpful explanation of why the answer is what it is (which is called "parsing" I believe).

Fifteen Squared gives answers and explanations of cryptic crosswords from all the papers a few hours after they come out (apart from the prize ones!) It's a forum as well.

If you're just starting out, the explanations will be really useful.

www.fifteensquared.net

I am so happy to see so much interest in this! I personally am at the point where on an averagely hard day (and depending on the setter) I can do around 75% of the Guardian puzzle. I finish it two or three times a week and there are some days when I'm lucky if I get one or two.

I haven't learnt all of the special things that there are to learn but am getting there (know flower, tea- char etc) . I just incredibly frustrated when even upon revealing (or randomly guessing!) the correct answer I still can't quite see how the clue was supposed to work- hence the thread.

I've never heard of any of these helpful things you've all linked to so thank you very much. Maybe the answer to my prayers?

(Appropriately that last sentence sounds a bit like a clue...)

I have a few friends who were/are cryptic fiends. They nearly went into mourning when Araucaria died

I’m also a fan of fifteensquared. Its good for understanding any you don’t quite get, and also you sometimes discover there was a hidden theme or something which you completely missed but is blindingly obvious when someone points it out.

Prompted by this thread I've just printed out a couple of Guardian cryptics to have a go at..... wish me luck!

I love a cryptic crossword and definitely need to get my brain working again. Used to love doing the one in the Independent, challenging but satisfying.

TheRattleBag - you may want to be selective with your Guardian cryptics if you're just starting off. They're definitely not all created equal - I have never finished a Paul crossword, but enjoy Chifonie, Boatman and Nutmeg. Monday crosswords are usually the most straightforward (verging on insufficiently cryptic for some) and they get more difficult as the week goes on. I tend to do better on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

My former local pub had a number of staff and regulars who all did the Guardian cryptic - it was like a little crossword club in there some nights.