Elementary Deceptions

As chemistry taught us, every chemical element has a unique symbol, a short character representation usually derived from the element's name. Fe = Iron (from Latin ferrum), O = oxygen, K = potassium (from Latin kalium) are a few popular examples.

Element name <-> symbol substitution forms the basis of some ingenious wordplay in crosswords.

Chemical elements whose names coincide with other meaningful words fit beautifully into cryptic clues. For example, 'lead' isn't just a metal - it can, among other things, stand for 'leash' or 'precedence' or a verb meaning 'guide'. Similarly, 'tin' can be can, 'copper' a policeman, 'iron' a verb about the pressing of clothes. The non-element meaning can misdirect the solver on the clue's surface while the element symbol contributes to the answer.

Sunday Indy 1292 (eXternal): Female's accepting lead on family film, new actress (7) HEPBURN
HER (female's) around Pb (lead) on U (family film, from the U certificate) N (new)

FT14789 (Io): Take 7Up out of tin at all? (4) EVER
R (recipe, take) + SEVEN 'out of tin' i.e. without Sn, with 'Up' implying reversal.

Further jugglery can happen with the element name <-> symbol substitution:

Sunday Times 4486 (Tim Moorey): Restrain dog with the small part of lead (4) CURB
CUR (dog) b (the small part of 'lead' i.e. the lowercase letter of 'Pb')

Sometimes, in place of the element name, a broader definition can get used.

FT14642 (Mudd): Precious thing, wind, in summer (6) AUGUST
Au (precious thing – the symbol for gold) GUST (wind)

Times 25065: Most curious split appearing back on shiny metal (4) AGOG
GO (split) reversed, after Ag (shiny metal – the symbol for silver)

Uppercase Illusions

What's more devilish is the use of the element symbol on the clue's surface when it happens to match another unrelated English word.

Guardian 25872 (Arachne): I have supper after ten (6) IODINE
DINE (have supper) after 10 (ten). The personal pronoun is also the chemical symbol for iodine.

Guardian 25818 (Paul): At sea, Titan at sea (8) ASTATINE
(SEA TITAN)*. 'At' is also the chemical symbol for astatine.

The initial capital of the chemical symbol poses a hurdle in clue-writing: since false lowercasing is not OK, the clue cannot say "at" when it means "At" for Astatine. The workaround is to make the initcap of the chemical symbol look like an inconspicuous punctuation-driven uppercase.

A D-by-E that uses this trick with two such symbols:

Guardian 24730 (Arachne): They're essential. Am I? (8) ELEMENTS
Am and I are examples of elements: Am is americium, and I iodine.

Other such words to watch out for: As = arsenic, He = helium. But don't rule out yet element symbols that by themselves mean nothing, as the setter can do this:

FT 13938 (Crux): Pub's empty – could indicate some kind of poisoning (4) LEAD
Empty 'Pub' = Pb, the symbol for lead. And then there's lead poisoning.

Solve These

Enjoy solving these cryptic crossword clues that play on element names and symbols.

Times 24143: Lead put into gold (two billion) in only a bit of a lather! (4,6)
Times 25767: He, I, and then you, we hear, occupying leadership position (6)
Guardian 26234 (Arachne): White copper put black boy in cell without clothes (3,4)
Indy 8817 (Monk): Tough guy possibly viewed as female? (4,3)
Indy 8847 (Anax): As is one kind bearing malice, running after the man (8,7)

Also try this Guardian puzzle by Brendan, themed on chemical elements. And see the blog on FT14457 by Loroso (the crossword is no longer available on the FT site), in which all the Across clues have an element symbol omitted from the wordplay.

Related Posts:

• Cryptic Crossword Abbreviations
• False Capitalization
• The Game of Bridge in Cryptic Crosswords

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Crossword Bloggers' Jargon – Decoded!

New to crossword blogs and forums? Some of the conversation happening there might appear more cryptic than the clues. This post will help you interpret what the regulars are saying. Enjoy participating!

Anagrind, Anagrist

Anagrind stands for anagram indicator. The letters that get jumbled to give the solution in an anagram clue are called anagram fodder, or anagrist.

Usage examples:
"Last in was ANGOSTURA, perhaps the cleverest clue in the crossword; it was ingenious to use 'turns' as anagrist rather than anagrind." [source]
"I never heard of it either, and I'd also have spelt THINGAMABOB differently but for the anagrist." [source]

For further reading: But Which is the Anagrind?

Anno

A term popular among Indian solvers, anno is short for "annotation" i.e. the explanation of wordplay in a cryptic clue. A solver who blogs about a puzzle's solution presents the anno along with each answer.

Usage examples:
"Though I got through this one in a jiffy I'm unable to get some of the annos." [source]
"Anno pending" [source] - typically put next to a clue's solution on the blog, if the clue has been answered but the parsing is unclear. This is an invitation for the commenters to provided the parsing.

For further reading: Clue Annotation Shortcodes

Biff

To biff is to enter a clue's answer from the definition without fully understanding its parsing. The term originated in Jan 2015 as BIFD (acronym of Bunged In From Definition) in a comment on Times for the Times blog. BIFD later morphed into 'biffed'.

Usage examples:
"As soon as I read 1dn I thought of BELLYACHING but I didn't have any checkers and didn't want to biff it that early into the solve." [source]
"...had trouble with 7 because I biffed LARGO, beware biffing!" [source]

Checkers or Crossers

Short for checking letters or crossing letters – those letters that are revealed in a clue's answer because of the filled cells from intersecting clues in the grid.

Usage examples:
"A very pleasant puzzle with two excellent fifteen letter anagrams to give you a lot of checkers!" [source]
"5 and 26 were last in, new to me but gettable with crossers." [source]

For further reading: Crossword Grid: Checking, Cold Solving

COD or COTD

"Clue Of The Day" – what the solver hails as the best clue of a crossword.

Usage examples:
"DISPATCH is my COD for the devious surface that had nothing to do with the final answer." [source]
"I do find that my last-in (or nearly) is so often my COD." [source]

COD can also stand for Concise Oxford Dictionary, as in "rare isn’t apparently given in Chambers or the COD but is no doubt somewhere" [source]

CRS

Clue annotation shortcode for "Cockney Rhyming Slang", usually seen in the solution explanation on British crossword blogs.

Usage examples:
"PRATFALL = TAR rev + F all in PAL (china - CRS) + L" [source]
"We are usually given the CRS and expected to use the literal meaning, rather than the other way around as here." [source]

For further reading: Demystifying Clue Annotation Shortcodes

DBE

"Definition By Example" - a type of wordplay in which the clue contains not a synonym, but an example or sub-type, of the answer.

Usage examples:
"Presumably the question mark is intended to cover the DBE." [source]
"...I considered and rejected early on the possibility that "bowler" might give HAT: I was sure such a clear DBE would have to be indicated in the Times." [source]

In clue wordplay, DBE can also mean Dame of the British Empire.

DNF

The situation of not having completed the crossword. Acronym of "Did Not Finish".

Usage examples:
"Failed on 'neodymium' and 'algonkin', so a DNF for me today. If anyone complains that the puzzle was too easy, I’ll consider taking up knitting." [source]
"Is it still a technical DNF if you resort to aids and the aids don't help and then you get the answer anyway?" [source]

Enu

Another term popular among Indian solvers, enu is short for "enumeration" i.e. the length of a clue's solution. When the solution is a phrase or contains hyphenated words, the enu indicates the word breakup too e.g. (6-4) for ANIMAL-LIKE, (2,3,4,2) for AS YOU LIKE IT.

Usage examples:
"I don’t go with the thinking that giving the enu as (2-7) would be a dead giveaway." [source]
"When it is an acronym such as Nato, pronounceable as a word, the enu might be 4. But when it is say, NDTV, where every letter is pronounced the enu must be 1,1,1,1." [source]

FIB or FITB

"Fill In the Blank(s)", a clue type in which a sentence/phrase - usually a line of poetry or a famous quote - acts as the clue, with word(s) blanked out to indicate the answer. The acronym is mostly used by The Hindu Crossword solvers, perhaps because this clue type is rarely seen in other crosswords nowadays.

Usage examples:
"A FITB clue to complete a quote from Shakespeare or Chaucer might be easy for those into them, but horribly hard for people like me." [source]
"Not a single CD in sight! (Barring the FITB.)" [source]

LOI

"Last One In" - refers to the final answer that a solver entered into the grid. LOI is usually mentioned when there was a special struggle involved in solving that last clue. As you'd guess, the opposite of LOI is FOI (First One In).

Usage examples:
"LOI was 10A - the shortest words can be the hardest, if there isn't too much to work with on the surface!" [source]
"For some reason I needed all the checkers for my LOI…" [source]

Nina

A hidden message within a pattern of cells in the completed crossword grid. Read more at What is a Nina?

Usage examples:
"No theme, but there is a devilishly clever Nina hiding where you wouldn’t expect it." [source]
"I suspected a Nina from the start from the shape of the grid and esp as some answers had less than 50% checking." [source]

For further reading: Possibly the oldest Nina

"n" Magoos, "x" Tonies, etc.

On Times for the Times (T4tT) blog, it is customary for solvers to mention the time they took to finish the crossword. The Times Crossword Club leaderboard lists the stats for each puzzle, which means that any solver can benchmark their play against the fastest solvers.

T4tT bloggers have come up with nifty units to measure relative solving speed: the most popularly used is a Magoo – the time taken by Times crossword champion  Mark Goodliffe to finish the crossword. Instead of quoting absolute time as, say, "26 minutes 55 seconds", a solver could say "2.4 Magoos". Similarly, a tony is the time taken by Tony Sever to finish the crossword, a keriothe the time taken by Keriothe.

Usage examples:
"Five tonies for me (or three keriothes), and in my terms that's very good." [source]
"…clock stopped at 18:17, which was well outside my daily target of 2 Magoos" [source]

PB

Short for "Personal Best" – the fastest time/highest score achieved by a solver.

Usage examples:
"This was perhaps the easiest daily crossword I have ever done…I expect a lot of fast times, several PBs and not a few less than gruntled regulars." [source]
"my time was 11:48. I'm sure this must be a PB if measured in Magoos." [source]

Note: sometimes PB can stand for the initials of another person on the forum e.g. when the Sunday Times blogger says "Many thanks, first of all, to PB for letting me have an advance copy of this puzzle" – the thanks are meant for the Sunday Times crossword editor.

PDM

The beautiful "Penny-Drop Moment" when the workings of an elusive clue or theme suddenly become clear to the solver. Often used in the context of crosswords with interlinked clues, in which the PDM gives the key to the theme.

Usage examples:
"I was struggling to see how it worked, and it was only on coming to write up the blog that I had the pdm" [source]
"I proceeded through the puzzle with increasing incredulity at the seemingly lost opportunity until the huge PDM at my penultimate entry at 14ac." [source]

Samosa

A metaphor for the joy a solver (especially a new solver) experiences in finishing the crossword. Used on The Hindu Crossword Corner (THCC), ever since solver Gayathri Sreekanth celebrated a completed grid by eating samosas.

Also conveys that the crossword was easy - where a blogger on T4tT would say "I expect several PBs today", one on THCC might say "A samosa feast today!".

Usage examples:
"No samosa for me today as I'm stumped for some annos :-(" [source] - technically, DNF = No samosa
"I have lost 3 samosas in the last few days for being careless" [source]

Unch

An unchecked letter in the crossword grid. Read more at Crossword Grid: Checking.

Usage examples:
"Read round the unches from the bottom left in the two ways to the top right to get the Nina." [source]
"I can't see any message in the unches or the diagonal, but I have this nagging feeling that I've missed something." [source]

Xim

Short for Ximenean. The terms comes up in discussions on the accuracy or fairness of a clue.

Usage examples:
"The perception is that Xims and Libs stand in opposite trenches which, to me, is a shame." [source]
"As well as being an Indyist he’s also in the Times, and you can’t get away with too many ‘in-deedisms’ on that pro-Xim panel." [source]

For further reading: in-deedism, Of Ximeneans and Libertarians

Related Posts:

• Features Of The Crossword Grid
• 5 Ordinary Words with Obscure Meanings in Cryptic Crosswords
• Lift and Separate

If you wish to keep track of further articles on Crossword Unclued, you can subscribe to it in a reader via RSS Feed. You can also subscribe by email and have articles delivered to your inbox, or follow me on twitter to get notified of new links.

5 More Ordinary Words with Obscure Meanings in Cryptic Crosswords

In the article 5 Ordinary Words with Obscure Meanings in Cryptic Crosswords, we went through a few everyday words that crossword setters love to use for their less-known meanings. Here is an extension to the set.

1. CORPORATION

'Corporation' means a paunch or potbelly. You'll often find the word on the clue's surface invoking its legal entity sense, leading to a word like TUM in the solution.

Times 25223: Men on short time engaged in work with corporation (6) PORTLY
OR (men) T (short time), in PLY (work); definition: with corporation

2. MAN

"No man is an island", said John Donne - but he had not accounted for cryptic crosswords. 'Man' can well be an island when the word is used as a definition-by-example for Isle Of Man, an island in the Irish Sea.

Times 25282: Man, for example, losing head, with repeated hesitation — bad speaker? (9) SLANDERER
ISLAND (Man, for example) – I + ER ER (repeated hesitation); definition: bad speaker

When using 'man' with reference to the isle, the setter would play a trick as above (i.e. starting the clue with that word) to draw attention away from its capitalized initial.

3. NO

'No' is a variant spelling of 'Noh', a classic theatre in Japan.

FT 13965 (Loroso): Filmmaker's pitch, not for Japanese drama (9) TARANTINO
TAR (pitch) ANTI (not for) NO (Japanese drama); definition: filmmaker

4. PANTS

'Pants' is slang for dreadful/rubbish. And so it can function as anagram indicator.

Guardian 26016 (Arachne): Hot pants, more or less clean (10) THOROUGHLY
(HOT)* ROUGHLY (more or less); definition: clean

5. SAW

'See' can mean something worlds apart from 'look', and its past tense is not far behind. 'Saw', when used as a noun, isn't only a cutting tool. It is also a maxim or proverb.

FT 14189 (Crux): Saw dog get tangled in lead (7) PROVERB
ROVER (dog) in Pb (chemical symbol for lead); definition: saw

Also see: TIME, TO, MARCH.

Solve These

Guardian 26080 (Paul): Saw around soft fold in limb (9) A________
Times 24498: New plaque encapsulating a northern corporation's breakthrough (7,4) __A____ L___
FT 14423 (Bradman): Man maybe at the end of a passage (5) __S__
Guardian 25960 (Paul): Wear thin pants, exposing one's private parts (2,3,3) __ ___ R__ 
Times 25574: Frequently abridged, absorbing drama, worth seeing (2,4) __ __T_

Related Posts:

• How To Solve Cryptic Crosswords
• 5 Ordinary Words with Obscure Meanings in Cryptic Crosswords
• Think of a Letter ~ Anax

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5 Ordinary Words with Obscure Meanings in Cryptic Crosswords

I posted this clue on twitter last week:

Times 25517: One receiving pawn spotted sacrificing a knight (5)

Reactions told me that the meaning of 'uncle' as used in the clue is not as well-known as I had imagined.

Here are more such words popularly used in one sense, but you'll find cryptic crosswords use them in another sense.

1. GRASS

'Grass' is a person who acts as an informer, especially to the police. In verb form, to grass is to divulge secrets or to tell on someone.

Guardian 25940 (Rufus): Sort of snake in the grass (5) SNEAK
Anagram of SNAKE; definition: grass

2. IT

'It' is a dated slang term for sex appeal (SA). On a clue's surface, the word can serve as a deceptive mask for the short form SA.

FT 14309 (Bradman): Fruit slightly deficient – on the outside it shows tiny holes (7) STOMATA
TOMAT[o] (fruit slightly deficient) having SA ('it' on the outside); definition: tiny holes

3. KITCHEN

The percussion section of an orchestra is informally called 'the kitchen'.

Independent 8044 (Klingsor): Fire half obliterated the kitchen – that's a result! (12) REPERCUSSION
FI[re] PERCUSSION (the kitchen); definition: that's a result

4. NICE

When pronounced as nees, 'Nice' can refer to a Mediterranean resort in south-east France. It is usually placed at the start of a clue to excuse its capitalization and make it an inconspicuous French indicator.

Independent 8287 (Jambazi): Nice here? No good decoration (5) ICING
ICI (Nice here => French word for 'here') NG (no good); definition: decoration

5. SOLDIER

A 'soldier' is a strip of bread that is dipped into a soft-boiled egg.

Times 25067: Sister saves magazine for part of breakfast perhaps (7) SOLDIER
SR (sister) around OLDIE (magazine); definition: part of breakfast perhaps

Also see: HOW, BLUE, NEAT, SEE.

Solve These

A set of clues using the words above. Enjoy solving.

Sunday Times 4521 (Dean Mayer): The chap cutting fresh carrots in kitchen setting? (9)
Guardian 25789 (Paul): Among grass, something flat getting lost (8) S_______
Times 24720: Like soldier receiving extra cover from shell's contents? (6) E_____
Guardian 25823 (Arachne): Nice way of saying Arachne's somewhat vacuous and a bit wet (5)
Times 25272: Top quality tea? Mum has it brought round (5)

[For all those who asked, I am very well. Blog updates have been light as my day job is taking up a lot of time these days. Thank you for your goodwill and concern. - Shuchi]

Related Posts:

• Demystifying Clue Annotation Shortcodes
• Crossword Abbreviations Every Solver Must Know
• Surface Reading, Cryptic Reading

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Demystifying Clue Annotation Shortcodes

On crossword solving blogs/communities, solutions are sometimes explained in shorthand notation such as {A}{C}{CLIMAx*} for ACCLAIM, CAL(1)L<= for LILAC, or ~(tale)+SPIN for TAILSPIN. If these annotations seem confusing to you, this post will help you make sense of them.

Note that there is no universal standard/prescribed method of annotating crossword solutions; these shortcodes have evolved and come to be recognised as such through usage. So you may find variations in the way different crossword blogs – or even different bloggers on the same blog – annotate the wordplay. Some solvers might indicate reversal with <, others with rev, <- or <=: all are fine as long as readers understand what the symbol means.  Crossword sites generally carry a key to the annotation format – for example, THCC displays an "Annotations" widget on the sidebar.

On Crossword Unclued, I started off with using the same annotation format as Orkut's Hindu Crossword community. With time I began to favour the simpler ( over { to demarcate parts of wordplay, and then based on feedback from a number of readers, shifted to writing more descriptive explanations for answers. This might seem like overkill to experienced solvers but then I think they can skip the details if they wish, at least the newcomers wouldn't be intimidated. These days I reserve shorthand annotations only for very simple answers or for space-constrained places like twitter. Many other crossword solvers give detailed answers as well and Big Dave's blog of tagline "crossword clues explained in plain English" fame actively avoids the use of symbols to denote clue types.

Here's a list of clue annotation formats commonly used across crossword blogs/communities.

Clue Type	Annotation Shortcode(s)	Examples
Anagrams	(fodder)*, *(fodder) (FODDER)*, *(FODDER) SOLUTION* – the most compact annotation format but can be ambiguous if the anagram fodder is complex	NIE: It can't be made whole (6) INTACT (it cant)* *(IT CANT) INTACT*
Homophones	SOLUTION~homophone word/phrase	NIE: Big jar say (5) GREAT GREAT~grate
Hidden Words	[T] – from the term 'telescopic clue type' popular on Hindu Crossword forums in <fodder in lowercase with hidden answer in uppercase>	NIE: Does nothing and some did less! (5) IDLES IDLES [T] in 'dID LESs'
Deletions	{-letters to be deleted}LETTERS RETAINED [letters to be deleted]LETTERS RETAINED letters to be deleted crossed out	NIE: The endless hurry that gets the bird (6) THRUSH TH{-e} RUSH TH[e] RUSH THe RUSH
Charades	blank spaces + , or – between charade components {} brackets around charade components	NIE: A note to finish a list of things to be done (6) AGENDA A G END A A+G+END+A A,G,END,A A-G-END-A {A}{G}{END}{A}
Substitutions	FODDER - [letters to be removed]+[letters to be included]	Times 25081: Fellows drop English for hard science subject (5) MATHS MATES – E + H
Containers	( ) or { }	NIE: Attest to a very absorbing Kipling poem (6) VERIFY VER(IF)Y VER{IF}Y
Acrostics	Letters written out with spaces: X Y Z Initial letters in uppercase, the rest in lowercase	Times 25015: Recess starting as parliamentary session ends (4) APSE A P S E A[s] P[arliamentary] S[ession] E[nds]
Reversals	<   <-   <—   <=   rev	NIE: Send money or return the watch (5) REMIT TIMER<   TIMER<-   TIMER<—   TIMER<= (TIMER)<—   {TIMER}<= TIMER rev
Letter Sequences	Selected letters in uppercase, the rest in lowercase	Times 25341: Artiste was regularly disorientated (2,3) AT SEA ArT iStEwAs
Letter Shifting	Fodder with letters to be shifted highlighted –> solution with letter shifted highlighted	Times 24375: Ruler in a mess having succeeded much earlier? (4) SHAH HA{S}H –> {S}HAH
Letter Exchange	Fodder with letters to be exchanged highlighted –> solution with letters exchanged highlighted	Times 24399: Doomed king switching sides? True (4) REAL {L}EA{R} –> {R}EA{L}
Double Definitions	[2] dd [DD] For multi-definition clues, the shortcodes would be [n] for n definitions, md or [MD].	NIE: Experience discrimination (8) TASTE TASTE [2] TASTE dd TASTE [DD]
Cryptic Definitions	[CD] cd	NIE: The dotty type (7) BRAILLE BRAILLE [CD] BRAILLE cd
Cryptic Double-Definitions	d&cd or cd&d, depending on whether the cryptic half is to the right or to the left in the solution	NIE: Break one's nose perhaps (8) BREATHER BREATHER d&cd
Palindromes	->SOLUTION<-	NIE: It moves the helicopter backwards or forwards (5) ROTOR -> ROTOR<-
&lit	Clue type annotation followed by "&lit" or "all-in-one"	NIE: A drink in the late afternoon (3) TEA TEA [T] &lit

Combining Annotation Shortcodes

These symbols work as building blocks to annotate complex clue types. Brackets may be included as separators between wordplay components and these have the same function as in BODMAS – they ask you to process whatever is inside first.

NIE: Young insects raised up on pea soup (5) PUPAE; UP< (PEA)*
FT14121 (Alberich): Teacher nets about a million? That’s very unlikely! (5,2) DREAM ON; D(RE+A+M)ON
Everyman 3450: A bad-tempered moment reportedly caused by puzzle (8) ACROSTIC; A+(CROS TIC [~(cross tick)])

Related Posts:

• Tackling Cryptic Crosswords: 7-Step Guide for Beginners
• Want Help Deconstructing Clues?
• FAQ about Crossword Unclued

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Ambassador Abbreviated

If you are new to cryptic crosswords, you will probably wonder at the connection between 'ambassador' and 'he' in this clue:

Everyman 3405: Long account given by ambassador (4) ACHE
defn: long, verb; wordplay: AC (account) + HE (ambassador)

In my early days of solving I used to think this was a case of using the personal pronoun with awed respect, in the style of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

The actual explanation turned out to be less far-fetched.

HE is short for His/Her Excellency, the honorific style used for ambassadors. Heads of state, governors, royalty, aristocracy and ambassadors in the clue can all map to HE in the answer.

With that insight, have a go at these clues:

Guardian 25700 (Crucible): Writer recalled ambassador's wife's relative (6)

Times 25161: Nothing on before noon? Ambassador will ring eminent people (4,2,4)

Times 25020: Ambassador entering Peru, not worried at that point (9)

Times 24971: Governor's found in a sleazy bar? That’s sticky! (8) _D______

Related Posts:

• Alternative...or should that be alternatively?
• None means no one, nonetheless…
• Why is posh = U?

If you wish to keep track of further articles on Crossword Unclued, you can subscribe to it in a reader via RSS Feed. You can also subscribe by email and have articles delivered to your inbox, or follow me on twitter to get notified of new links.

Other meanings of OR

My last post was about the doubtful use of 'alternative' for OR in crossword clues.

If 'alternative' has gained popularity as a way of clueing OR, it is not for lack of alternatives. Let's see some other devices crossword setters make use of to encode that 2-letter sequence.

OR is gold

In heraldry, Or (from the French word for 'gold') is a gold or yellow tincture, of the class of tinctures called metals.

Times 25137: Worth depositing gold for investment by firm (8) STORABLE
OR (gold) in STABLE (firm); definition: worth depositing

Times Sunday 4391: Posh car on motorway with yellow glass (6) MIRROR
RR (posh car i.e. Rolls Royce) on M1 (motorway), OR (yellow)

The yellow meaning is put to clever use in this clue:

Independent 7864 (Tees): Shout at one repaying loan or more? (9) YELLOWER
YELL (shout) OWER (one repaying loan); definition: or more i.e. more yellow.

OR is men

Non-commissioned members of the British army, RAF or Royal Marines are called Other Ranks, OR in short. So OR becomes a handy replacement in the answer for words like 'men' or 'soldiers' in the clue.

Guardian 25661 (Arachne): Severely criticised and curtailed American right to lock up men (4,5) TORE APART
TEA PART[y] (American right, curtailed) around OR (men)

OR is Oregon

The abbreviation of the American state of Oregon.

Guardian 24031 (Brendan): Liberal policy in West Coast state, welcoming writer to party circle (4,4) OPEN DOOR
OR (West Coast state), around PEN (writer) DO (party) O (circle); definition: liberal policy. Interestingly, the writer of this clue Brendan lives in Oregon.

OR is a Boolean operator

In Boolean algebra, OR is the digital logic gate that represents logical disjunction. Implementations in electronics and computer programming are based on the Boolean OR, such as the bitwise operator.

The words 'gate' or 'operator' on the clue's surface can be deceptive fronts for OR.

FT 14012 (Gaff): English car with operator fault (5) ERROR
E (English) car (RR) OR (operator)

OR is before (archaic)?

Dictionaries list 'before' as an archaic meaning of OR but I have not come across this usage in cryptic clues. Too obscure for daily cryptics?

Solve These

Times 24601: Lazy person's aim: to stash away gold for retirement (5) D____
Times 25167: Men getting band together as auditions are done (6) __A___
THC 10262 (Buzzer): Goldsmith for one, plated thorium with gold on either side (6)

Related Posts:

• French words in crosswords
• None means no one, nonetheless…
• Setting with diamonds

If you wish to keep track of further articles on Crossword Unclued, you can subscribe to it in a reader via RSS Feed. You can also subscribe by email and have articles delivered to your inbox, or follow me on twitter to get notified of new links.

First look at the Firstpost Crossword

Firstpost.com has introduced a new daily cryptic crossword: http://www.firstpost.com/crossword.html. A first look at their offering – the good and the bad.

The Good

Interactive grid with timer: No other major news website in India provides interactive solving AFAIK. Great to see this on firstpost.

Prominent display: An eye-catching banner on the homepage sidebar.

Topical India-centric subject matter:

12a, 13a: Aye, majesty, a vat is broken for big show (8,6)
4a: More than a celebrity hosting 12,13a (4,4)

I like the idea of grid fills based on hot topics in the news. It'll probably attract more solvers who don't attempt cryptic crosswords otherwise.

The Bad

The Clues

Many clue surfaces are weak, the wordplay dodgy.

[Screenshot from firstpost Crossword no. 2, 11th May 2012]

Assuming the setter of the Firstpost crossword is new to setting, giving here detailed feedback for some clues from Crossword#2 – hope his helps:

1a: Fixed inside a vegetable for foreign money (6) PESETA
SET (fixed) inside PEA (vegetable) 
A good clue should read like a natural phrase/sentence when you take it outside the context of a crossword. This one does not. For more on good and bad clue surfaces, have a look at Surface Reading, Cryptic Reading.

9a: Listen to polish coming out of organ (3,3) EAR WAX
EAR (listen) WAX (polish); defn = coming out of organ.
Other than the weak surface, there are grammatical issues here.
listen = give EAR, not EAR. 
The definition 'coming out of organ' does not match EAR WAX.

To verify that the wordplay is accurate, try the substitution test. A sentence containing the answer should be unaltered in grammar and meaning when the answer is replaced with its definition.

Can you construct a sentence in which 'listen' can be replaced with EAR, 'coming out of organ' replaced with EAR WAX? If you can't, your wordplay needs a change. Have a look at What's wrong with this clue? for a less obvious example of a similar error.

23d: Deserters rise for ruler (4) TSAR
RATS (deserters) reversed
RATS reversed is STAR, not TSAR.

Things to remember

The right of the grid has this curiously detailed set of instructions:

The first two instructions seem to be meant for a person who has never seen a crossword clue before and needs to be told with an example that seven = 7. If that is the target audience of this puzzle then they will require a lot more than this set of instructions to be able to solve the crossword.

Related Posts:

• The Air India Crossword
• Introducing the Mint Crossword
• Hindustan Times Crossword

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What does cold-solving mean?

"The perils of cold-solving a cryptic definition clue!"
"We hope the paper sticks to grids that do not need so much cold-solving."

Common expressions in any crossword forum. If the term 'cold-solving' has perplexed you before, read on to understand what it means.

To 'cold-solve' a clue is to derive its answer without help from crossing answers in the grid. When you start with the first entry into the crossword grid, or when you run an eye over all the clues deducing the answers mentally, you are cold-solving.

"How many clues in this crossword did you solve cold?" can be a way to estimate the puzzle's difficulty. It can also be a marker of the solver's skill.

In theory, it should be possible for every clue in a standard cryptic crossword to get cold-solved since a good cryptic clue is expected have an unambiguous answer. The same does not hold for a quick crossword clue – a quick clue might lead to more than one answer and checking plays an important role in determining which one fits into the grid.

Some hard cryptic puzzles such as the Listener and Azed introduce additional complexity like deliberate misprints in answers, no word lengths, etc. Cold-solving acquires greater significance in such puzzles, as the point at which a solver can start to make entries in the grid depends on a subset of clues that have been cold-solved.

[We'll take a closer look at one such type of crossword in the next post.]

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• What is a Nina?
• The meaning of 'Ximenean'
• Understanding the Crossword Grid

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Why Books Are Abbreviated So

In my early days of crossword solving, when solving meant guessing answers and reverse engineering the wordplay, I figured that "books" often equalled OT or NT. Why this should be so was a mystery. I went along with it just as I accepted sailor = AB or soldiers = RE without understanding why.

For new solvers as puzzled by these abbreviations as I used to be, here is the simple explanation.

OT is short for Old Testament, NT for New Testament – they are both books of the Bible. The Old Testament is the collection of books that forms the first of two divisions of the Bible, the New Testament is the second, shorter division. Clues sometimes describe OT/NT as "good books".

Examples:

THC 9941 (Gridman): Steal books and get caught by one – it's mechanical (7) ROBOTIC
ROB (steal) OT (books), C (caught) next to I (one)

FT 13655 (Monk): Advance given by gambler and yours truly going over books (10) BETTERMENT
BETTER (gambler) ME (yours truly) NT (books)

You might also come across the singular form "book" for OT/NT, though this isn't usual practice.

Times 23702: Revolutionary book on heavens kept in stock (10) TROTSKYITE
OT (book) SKY (heavens), in TRITE (stock)

A Single Book

Sometimes setters of British crosswords use the word "book" or "good book" to mean any book of the Bible.

Times Jumbo 838: Disregard information about book eaten by parasites (10) NEGLIGENCE
GEN (information) reversed, GEN (book, short for Genesis) in LICE (parasites)

Times 24386: Observe good book being read when one’s out in the heat (6) SIESTA
sounds like 'see Esther' (observe good book)

Of these GEN appears most commonly. For the others this bookmark comes in handy: books of the Bible and their abbreviations.

Books = BB

The word "book" is also shortened to B, so "books" could be BB. As in:

Times 24855: Inappropriate, hoarding books along with daughter’s missing soundtrack (8) UNDUBBED
UNDUE (inappropriate) around BB (books), D (daughter)

Indy 7638 (Morph): Dirty books discovered in carriage (6) SHABBY
BB (books) in SHAY (carriage)

Caution! "Book" may not lead to an abbreviation at all. It may lead to a synonym (e.g. tome) , or to the name of a specific book.

Solve These

Times 24529: Collection of books obtained on line (3)
Times 24712: Had spin doctor turned over books, worried? (7)
Independent 1107 (Poins): Isn’t Dicky to answer on books by Swift? (7)
Times 24500: Briefly, something to entice you into books? (5)
Guardian 25118 (Paul): Books alongside maps almost leading to a US city (7)

Related Posts:

• Why is Soldier = RE?
• Abbreviations from the Game of Bridge
• Wanting a Clue Study?
• They Do It Dis Way

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Soldier Changeovers

Ambassadors and artists are easy on crossword solvers – they allow only a small set of abbreviations to represent them. An ambassador is HE (=His/Her Excellency), an artist RA (=Royal Academy) or occasionally ARA (=Associate of the Royal Academy).

Soldiers are a lot more trouble - the word "soldier" could lead to a whole range of 2 and 3 letter substitutions.

Take a look at the popular ones:

ANT
The "soldier" ant is a type of ant with a comparatively large head and better fighting abilities. Soldier = ANT is fair in cryptic clues; the word "soldier" may be tagged with "perhaps" to signal a definition-by-example but nowadays it isn't considered mandatory.

Times 24728: One gets fed up with soldier challenging authority (7) DEFIANT
(I FED)< ANT (soldier)

GI
GI is a nickname for an American soldier (remember GI Joe?). GI is used as an initialism for Government Issue but it has an interesting history: an earlier GI (1908) was an abbreviation of galvanized iron, and was used by American soldiers in WW1 as slang for German artillery shells. Read more.

Guardian 25249 (Orlando): Movement uniting female soldier with second-in-command (6) ADAGIO
ADA (female) GI (soldier) [c]O[mmand]

MEN
"Man" stands for "soldier", "men" for "soldiers".

Times 24661: Replacing soldier ahead of time as source of intelligence (9) INFORMANT
IN FOR (replacing) MAN (soldier) T (time)

Everyman 3363: Hear about soldiers with TA stuck inside a drainage basin (9,4) CATCHMENT AREA
MEN (soldiers) TA, inside CATCH (hear) RE (about) A

NEY
Michel Ney was a French soldier during the French Revolutionary wars. He is often described as "soldier" or "old soldier" in cryptic clues.

Guardian 24984 (Araucaria): Place old soldier on Thames (6) PUTNEY
PUT (place) NEY (old soldier)

OR
OR stands for Other Ranks - those personnel in the army who are not commissioned officers. OR is generally used in the plural form.

Times Jumbo 904: Like the start of a speech old soldiers face (8) EXORDIAL
EX (old) OR (soldiers) DIAL (face)

PARA
Para is a member of the Parachute Regiment in the British Army, trained to land in combat areas by parachuting from airplanes.

Times 24808: Soldier on horse overriding (9) PARAMOUNT
PARA (soldier) MOUNT (horse)

RE
RE stands for Royal Engineers, one of the corps of the British army.

Times 24706: Tough soldiers and one protected by mum (9) RESILIENT
RE (soldiers), I (one) in SILENT (mum)

Strictly speaking RE should be used in the plural form, but it isn't unusual to see it as an abbreviation for the singular "soldier".

FT 13660 (Armonie): Command soldier, in a manner of speaking (9) DIRECTION
RE (soldier) in DICTION (a manner of speaking)

TA
TA is the Territorial Army, a volunteer force of the British Army. TA could also be clued as "volunteers" or "reserves".

Times Jumbo 914: Volunteer soldiers in search with soldier possibly fighting (9) COMBATANT
TA (volunteer soldiers), in COMB (search) ANT (soldier possibly)

Solve These

Guardian 25216 (Pasquale): Peril that besets soldiers (6)
Times 24798: Men trapped by river in spate (7)
Sunday Times 4416: Away for time, some soldier potentially dropped (4)
Times Jumbo 914: Soldiers box gunners — they play together (9) __C_E____

Related Posts:

• Detectives in Cryptic Clues
• They Do It Dis Way
• Abbreviations from the Game of Bridge

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The Game Of Bridge In Cryptic Crosswords

Bridge figures prominently in cryptic crosswords but even if you don't play the game, you can get by with just a little surface knowledge about it.

This article gives you an overview of what to know for solving bridge-based cryptic clues.

The Bridge Table

Bridge is played between four players in two competing partnerships. Partners sit facing each other.

It is traditional to refer to the four players by their position at the table - North, South, East, West. North-South and East-West are the two partnerships that play against each other. The placement of partners and opponents forms the crux of most bridge-based cryptic clues, so take in bridge table layout:

 

 

Players

Clues that refer to bridge players individually may lead to full words for their positions - North, South, East, West – or their abbreviations N, S, E, W. These abbreviations give great "bits and pieces" fodder for clues.

The definition could be a direct one like "card player" or "bridge player", or more subtle like "one who holds a hand".

Times 24679: Most wonderful bridge player holding deck I shuffled (9) WICKEDEST
WEST (bridge player) around (DECK I)*

Times 24177: Have a hand in game — no hard finishes  (5,3) PLAYS OUT
PLAY SOUTH (have a hand in game) hard = H

Times 24164: British card player one’s terribly upset to beat? (6) BREAST
BR (British) EAST (card player)

Jumbo 869 Most bridge players after imbibing wine? They’re offensive (7) NASTIES
N,E,S (most bridge players) taking in ASTI (wine)

Partners

A mention of bridge partners in the clue leads to a two-letter pair in the answer - NS/SN or EW/WE. You can narrow the choices for which pair to use according to where it occurs in the word. Start of a word, think on the lines of SN or WE;  end of a plural word, bet on NS.

The clue could say "partners" or, less specifically, something about bidding together.

Times 24245: Rather frail partners holding hands getting a peck from a drunk (7) WEAKISH WE
WE (partners) A KISH (peck from a drunk)

Times 24657: Extremely slick, bidding team to change direction suddenly (4) SKEW
S[lic]K EW (bidding team)

Times 24460: Couple bidding to follow the second person’s desires (4) YENS
YE (second person) NS (couple bidding)

When the clue says "partner" in the singular (this is rare, and I don't like it much), it is equivalent to any player (N, S, E or W).

Guardian 25008: Lazes about, supported by partner's immoral practices (6) SLEAZE
(LAZES)* E (East, partner of West)

Opponents

For each player, there is one partner but two opponents, which makes the task a little more difficult for the crossword solver – the number of possible replacements for "opponents" are twice as many as for "partners".

Opponents in the clue could lead to any of these letter pairs:

NE ES SW WN
EN SE WS NW

Opponents are also neighbours, those bidding against each other, or rivals playing tricks.

Times 24048: Opponents caught by light blow and left spinning (6) ASWIRL
SW (opponents), inside AIR (light blow) L (left)

Times 24629: Bread, tea and hamburgers two neighbours at table missed ... (8) CHAPATTI
CHA (tea) PATTIES (hamburgers) – ES (two neighbours at table)

Times 23686: Penalises opponents for risky card play (7) FINESSE
FINES (penalises) SE (opponents). This meaning of "finesse" - risky card play – is another bridge term to keep in your vocabulary.

Times 23884: High-spirited man on bridge opponents charged (5) LADEN
LAD (high-spirited man) EN (bridge opponents)

As with the singular "partner", the singular "opponent" is equivalent to any player – N, S, E, W.

In Closing

You don't need to know the ins and outs of the game to be able to solve most bridge-related cryptic clues. There will be the odd mention of specialist bridge terms (I've seen chicane and tenace in a the last few months), for which a non-player can look up a good glossary of bridge terms.

For most clues just remember these as you'll do fine -

Players : North (N), South (S), East (E), West (W)
Partners: Opposite compass points NS/SN or EW/EW
Opponents: Adjacent compass points - NE, ES, WS, etc.

Solve These

Times 24567: Degenerate reluctant to kidnap partners? It’s not entirely clear (11) T_________T
Guardian 25160 (Orlando): Discover South Americ­an bridge player abroad (4,3) SU__ ___
Times 24265: Superlatively clean strike caught by player sitting down (7) _HI___
Guardian 24597 (Brendan): Opponents at bridge almost overcome in what follows (6) S__U_L

Related Posts:

A set of articles on the other game you find a lot of in cryptic crosswords.

• Cricket and Cryptic Crosswords: Part I
• Cricket and Cryptic Crosswords – Part II
• Cricket and Cryptic Crosswords – Part III

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Do you make these mistakes when writing clues?

Some years ago, I was an active member of an online clue-writing community. Their protocol was: one member posted a self-composed clue, the next answered it and posted another clue, and so the chain continued.

We were all solvers there with next to no awareness about the intricacies of clue-writing. Our clues were frankly pretty awful, but we did not know it then.

The thing is, many solvers solve by instinct and experience of solving, without fully understanding the beauty and structure of clues. Here is my list of the usual traps we fall into when we move from being solvers to setters. I have done most of these, I confess (yes, even #5). If you make these mistakes too, check yourself now.

1. Your first impulse is to break the word into bits and use standard abbreviations to string a clue together

This is the easiest sort of clue to write, and comes to mind most naturally to the new setter.

Take this test: Write a clue for BARE. Did your brain toss back at you something like: Graduate engineer's bald (4)? That's a sign. Have a look at the recent clues you've written. If there is too much of charade with crossword abbreviations in your repository, it's time for you to break out of the habit.

2. You see a setter do something clever and strain yourself to write a clue using the same trick

The strain shows. You don't have to write a reverse anagram just because Paul Halpern did. Maybe you'll get a real chance to apply your newly found wisdom soon, or maybe not. Why not think of something original instead?

3. You use link words without considering their role in the wordplay

You might have grown used to ignoring small words such as "has", "over", "at", "should", etc. in clues when solving, but these words are not meaningless fillers. You cannot insert any word in your clue to help the surface. The good setter takes care that every word in the clue makes sense in the cryptic reading.

The next two clues for COACHING look almost identical but one is superior to the other. Do you see which one, and why?

Training company is suffering (8)
Training company's suffering (8)

As a solver you might derive CO+ACHING from both with equal ease, but while writing the clue you cannot afford to miss that "is" in the first version breaks the cryptic reading. The second version is better as it allows the connector to be interpreted as "has".

Make sure that every word in your clue can justify its presence, in both readings.

4. You don't notice the grammatical fit of indicators

Take this test: In this clue for ACHE - Sets right each misery (4), is the anagram indicator "sets right" all right?

If you answered yes, this one is for you.

The indicator "sets right" look fine on the surface but is not OK in the cryptic reading. A verb before the fodder needs to be written as an instruction to the solver. A small change can fix it: Set right each misery (4).

Review your clues to check if their indicators congeal grammatically, especially if you have used a combination of clue types.

5. You write indirect anagrams

In an indirect anagram, the anagram fodder is not directly present in the clue but has to be derived from the wordplay.

Consider these two clues for the word REALISED:

Direct anagram: Crooked dealer is apprehended (8) (DEALER+IS)*
Indirect anagram: Crooked merchant is apprehended (8) ((merchant = DEALER)+IS)*

Indirect anagrams are rare in published crosswords as they are unfair to the solver, yet this style of wordplay seems to hold an inexplicable appeal for new setters.

Unless your clue has an exact replacement (such as Iron = Fe, South = S) or you have some other compelling justification for it, don't use it.

6. You write "complex" clues

The best clues combine deception with simplicity. Do yours?

Take this test: Write a clue for PAST. Is this the kind of wordplay you've come up with: Former head of state taken in by someone dear with a change of heart (4)?

A long clue combining several clue types might be excellent too, but more often than not it is overkill and gives the vibe of "trying too hard". Keep it simple!

7. Your clue surfaces don't have meaning

Experienced solvers acquire the knack of looking right past misleading surfaces. Like Arjuna who saw nothing but the bird's eye, they see nothing but the cryptic meaning of a clue.

A most desirable trait for solving becomes problematic when carried forward to setting. To the focussed solver, the two clues below might seem equivalent as their structures are identical:

Firm rejecting leader's move (5)
Anchored rejecting head's move (5)

In both, the wordplay is (STABLE minus initial letter) and the definition is the verb form of TABLE (to put forward formally). But as a setter, you must do more than provide fair wordplay, you must also craft a natural surface for the clue. The first clue fares better on this count - it can pass off as a plausible statement about a company's reaction to its leader's proposal. The second is gibberish. Avoid the gibberish.
------------------------

Doing well on all these counts? Congratulations. I recommend taking part in these clue-writing contests, if you aren't doing so already. All the best for your clue-writing efforts.

Related Posts:

• Link Words: How Much Is Too Much
• Two Ways To Read A Cryptic Clue
• What Is Wrong With This Clue?

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Unriddle The Self-Referencing Setter

Psychologists say that the tendency to refer to oneself in the third person is a sign of narcissism. As a cryptic crossword solver, you are advised not to reach such a conclusion about the setter who does this in a clue. By making a self-reference, the setter usually just wants to tell you that the corresponding first person pronoun (I, ME, etc.) occurs in the answer.

Here are a few examples:

Guardian 24805 (Boatman): Boatman's got involved in fighting for release (6) WAIVER
I'VE (Boatman has) in WAR (fighting)

THC 9876 (Gridman): Old record is used in Gridman's article to develop stories (11) MYTHOLOGISE
O (old) LOG (record), in MY (Gridman's) THE (article)

FT 13260 (Neo): Neo has no clue for this one! (2,5,2) IT BEATS ME
Cryptic definition, where Neo means ME.

Sometimes the setter will not put in his/her name in the clue but only call oneself "setter", "this writer" or "this person". In anonymously-set puzzles like the Times, this is of course the only way to make a self-reference.

Times 24314: Demure Italian this writer's seen as simple (9) PRIMITIVE
PRIM (demure) IT (Italian) I'VE (this writer's)

Guardian 25067 (Araucaria):  Female crossword setter's language (5) HINDI
HIND (female of the red deer) + I (Araucaria, crossword setter)

FT 13493 (Bradman): Prized English horse enthrals this writer (8) ESTEEMED
E (English) STEED (horse) around ME (this writer)

Once we know this trick, we are tempted to quickly replace the setter's name in the clue with I, ME or similar words. This is when the resourceful setter plays the double bluff.

Look at the next two clues, in which the setter's name is not a self-reference.

Guardian 25051 (Boatman): Sun in shock report! Boatman follows it (7) DAYSTAR
DAYS homophone of 'daze' (shock) TAR (boatman). 'Boatman' is not the setter but one who rides a boat.

Guardian (Paul): Paul's stage opening — there's my cue! (5) SIMON
S[tage] + I'M ON (as an actor might say when hearing his cue). 'Paul' is not the setter but Paul Simon of Simon and Garfunkel.

Setters occasionally extend the referencing to other setters, especially on the Guardian.

Guardian 24205 (Gordius): Setter or weaver 18down can hear (7) ARACHNE
18down was MODIFY, anagram indicator for (CAN HEAR). ARACHNE is another setter on the Guardian.

Guardian 24805 (Boatman): Another setter holding first in Classics (you'll say that's the plan) (8) SCHEDULE
SHED (another setter on the Guardian) around C[lassics], ULE (sounds like you’ll)

Solving Tips

• When you see the setter mentioning his/her own self in a clue, check if the corresponding first person pronoun (I, ME, MY, etc.) fits into the answer.
• How the setter's handle gets used in the clue depends a lot on what the handle is. If it is something like Phssthopk (a setter on FT!), you can be fairly certain it will lead to the first person pronoun. Pseudonyms like Shed or Neo give the setter more opportunities to trip you up; keep yourself open to other possibilities in such cases.
• The word "setter" in a clue might not be about the crossword compiler, it might instead lead to DOG or a word for "something that sets", like GEL.
• If you're a Guardian crossword solver, you'll find Boatman and Paul making self-references quite frequently in unusual ways. It is Boatman's signature style to put "Boatman" in every puzzle at least once.

Solve These

THC (Gridman): The setter is back in act: There's something for you to try! (4)
Guardian 25121 (Boatman): Home in north Italy? Sad if Boatman's after it (5)
Guardian 24508 (Boatman): Boatman's craft is tip-top! A groan-up joke first! (4) P___
Guardian 25109 (Puck): Crude, Puck? Not at first, with well-connected people (6) O____N

(Update) Answers here.

Related Posts:

• Apostrophe-S in Cryptic Clues
• How To Interpret Punctuation In Clues
• Definition By Example

If you wish to keep track of further articles on Crossword Unclued, you can subscribe to it in a reader via RSS Feed. You can also subscribe by email and have articles delivered to your inbox, or follow me on twitter to get notified of new links.