Differentiating Between CD and &Lit Clues

A perennial source of confusion among solvers is in classifying clues as cryptic definition or &lit. In fact, according to a review of Secrets of the Setters, even the book trips up on this technicality – and it's written by the Guardian's Crossword Editor.

Here's a quick tip to dispel the confusion.

  In an &lit clue, the whole clue is both the definition and the wordplay. 
  In a cryptic definition, the whole clue is only the definition. There is no separate wordplay.

Apply The Test

When in doubt, check the clue against this rule.
Picking a few examples that have generated discussion recently among Hindu Crossword solvers.

THC 9863 (Sankalak): It creates a stir in the cup that cheers (8) TEASPOON

Question: Does the whole clue define TEASPOON?
Answer: Yes.

Question: Does the whole clue also act as wordplay for TEASPOON?
Answer: No. There is no other wordplay in the clue.

Verdict: Cryptic Definition

THC Sun 2587: Start of number trio's playing? (5) INTRO

Question: Does the whole clue define INTRO?
Answer: Yes. An INTRO can be an introductory passage of music.

Question: Does the whole clue also act as wordplay for INTRO?
Answer: Yes. N (start of 'number') + (TRIO)*, with "playing" as anagram indicator.

Verdict: &Lit

THC 9863 (Sankalak): Where, in a restaurant, questions may be asked? (9) GRILLROOM

Question: Does the whole clue define GRILLROOM?
Answer: No. The definition is only "(in a) restaurant".

Question: Does the whole clue also act as wordplay for GRILLROOM?
Answer: No. The wordplay is "where…questions may be asked?" - a pun on the word "grill".

Verdict: This is an unusual one, but I'd call it closer to being a d&cd i.e. a blend of double definition and cryptic definition, than a pure cryptic definition.

One from the Guardian…

Guardian 25027 (Paul): What's round and called "tangerine", ultimately? (6) ORANGE

Question: Does the whole clue define ORANGE?
Answer: Yes.

Question: Does the whole clue also act as wordplay for ORANGE?
Answer: Yes. O (round) and RANG (called) [tangerin]E

Verdict: &Lit

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Time to test your clue type identification skills!

Classify These

Clues with their answers are given below. Which of these are CDs, which &lits, and which are neither?

FT 13403 (Loroso): How to describe something which marks a boundary? (8) HEDGEROW
Times 24427: Stole quietly away? (6) INCHED
Times 24548: Opening statement when meeting PM (4,9) GOOD AFTERNOON
THC 9849 (Gridman): Unreliable person useless for omelette-making? (3,3)  BAD EGG

Related Posts:

• &Lit, And Literally So
• Cryptic Definition
• Cryptic Double-Definition

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Roman Numerals, and a Classic Error

When a number appears in a cryptic clue, a possible interpretation is that its Roman numeral has to be substituted to get the answer.

Examples:

Times 24440: Insects: bumping fifty off takes such an age (3) ICE
                     LICE (insects) – L (Roman numeral for 50)

FT 13332 (Sleuth): Surpass 40 in Rome, we hear? (5) EXCEL
                            Homophone of XL (Roman numeral for 40)

The number may be well-disguised, as in:

Times 23960: Businessman returning about half of score composed (7) RELAXED
                     DEALER (businessman) reversed, around X (Roman numeral for 10, which is half of score i.e. 20)

Roman Numerals: Quick Reference Table

Setters have more use for a number like 100 (Roman numeral: C) than 123 (Roman numeral: CXXIII).

A quick reference table for the numbers you are most likely to encounter in clues:

Number Roman Numeral 1 I 2 II 3 III 4 IV 5 V 6 VI 7 VII 8 VIII 9 IX 10 X 11 XI 40 XL 50 L Number Roman Numeral 51 LI 55 LV 60 LX 90 XC 100 C 101 CI 200 CC 400 CD 500 D 600 DC 1000 M 1001 MI 2000 MM

Spot The Error

We may come across published clues like the next three, but there is something wrong with them. Do you see the error?

NIE 13-Aug-09: Fifty is under forty-nine? Well, no (3) ILL

THC 9454 (Sankalak): One making an earnest appeal to displace about 99 (10) SUPPLICANT

Guardian 24643 (Gordius): It melts for about 99 bucks (2-4) DE-ICER

Update (08-Jun-2010): Congrats to GreenMangoMore, Anon, maddy, gnomethang, Balaji, veer, Sanjeev (on twitter), raju for getting it right. For those still in the dark, the explanation:

The Classic Roman Numeral Mistake

On the face of it, IL and IC appear to follow the same subtractive principle as IV and IX, i.e. IL = L (50) - I (1) = 49.

This is actually not valid.

The subtractive principle for Roman numbers has these restrictions:
You can only subtract a power of ten, and only from the next two higher "digits", where the digits are {I, V, X, L, C, D, M}.

That is, only I, X and C can be subtracted, AND
I can be subtracted only from V and X; X can be subtracted only from L and C; C can be subtracted only from D and M.

By these rules, the Roman numerals IL for 49 and IC for 99 do not work.
The correct representation for 49 is XLIX, for 99 is XCIX.

Veer mentions "cryptic licence". Given that we see so much of IC and IL even in the careful setters' clues, that is perhaps the sensible-liberal way to look at it - but to me it still seems wrong!

Related Posts:

• NATO Phonetic Alphabet in Crosswords
• Rhyming Slang
• Elementary Deceptions
• What’s wrong with this clue?

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Why Posh Is U

The letter U is often clued by "posh" or "upper-class" in cryptic crosswords.

Times 24365: In bar posh men only work so hard (4,1,3) BUST A GUT
                     BUT (bar) around U (posh) STAG (men only)

In the next, the wordplay uses this meaning of U.

Times 24368: You, say, may represent the aristocracy (5,5) UPPER CLASS
                     You is a homophone of U, which represents "upper-class".

Non-U

If "posh" or "upper-class" is U, then its opposite is non-U.

Guardian 25015 (Brendan): Release victim held in plebeian uprising (8) UNBUTTON
                                        BUTT (victim), in NON-U (plebeian) reversed

Background

In 1954, British linguist Alan Ross wrote an article on the difference in English language usage according to social class. He coined the terms U and non-U in in this article. His idea was expanded and popularized by author Nancy Mitford, in her 1956 book Noblesse Oblige.

The Wikipedia page on U and Non-U English gives a table of U words with their non-U equivalents. I wonder if this classification still holds in 2010. (If it does, it's unflattering news for me as a lot of my everyday vocabulary is non-U.)

Caution!

Posh need not be U always. It is anagram fodder in this example:

Guardian 24911 (Boatman): In a way, it's irrelevant; Posh is insane for quick exposure (8) SNAPSHOT 
                                          NA (POSH)* in ST

In crosswords that allow mentions of living persons (such as the Guardian), Posh is often a reference to Victoria Beckham.

Sometimes setters use the words "smart" or "fashionable" to clue U, which is debatable since the U and non-U meanings are not related with fashion.

Solve These 

Times 24392: Get on, struggling with posh language (6)
Times 24550: Posh, donning suit in sale (7)
Times 23927: For nobs to get into public vehicle - a dreadful shock! (6)

Related Posts:

• The Connection between Neat and Lowers
• March, Little Woman
• How How is Barrow

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