Some masterful cluing and topical snapshots in our pick of the best of the broadsheets’ cryptic clues
In the sample clues below, the links take you to explainers from our beginners series. The setter’s name often links to an interview with him or her, in case you feel like getting to know these people better.
28a Post Office keeping Fujitsu’s focus with a new keyboard? (5)
[ wordplay: abbrev. for ‘Post Office’ containing (‘keeping’) middle letter (‘focus’) of FUJITSU & A (‘a’) & abbrev. for ‘new’ ]
[ PO containing IAN ]
[ definition: keyboard ]
4a Mayor who didn’t get in way (6)
[ double definition ]
12d Game, set and match (3)
[ triple definition ]
noun
19. A noisy card game mimicking a US corn exchange
transitive verb
3. To set (eg cocks in a cockpit)
4. To match (with against)
When I first got the OED I read it through from A to Z. I wondered which word had the greatest coverage, and in Volume VIII (Q-Sh), I found it: ‘set.’ More than a hundred and twenty meanings were given for the verb ‘set’ used alone; another thirty or so when used in conjunction with various prepositions and adverbs (set aside, set about, set apart, etc.). I got the feeling that this little three-letter word might be the most useful and versatile in the entire English language.
‘Is it f’Matthew? f’Mark? f’John?’
‘No, by chance, it’s f’t’other one?’
22a One’s concerned with fouls, primarily? (3)
[ wordplay: abbrev. for ‘concerned with’ + first letter of (‘primarily’) FOULS ]
[ RE + F ]
[ definition: whole clue! ]
11a £51 in cash (6)
[ wordplay: Roman numerals for ‘51’ with slang term for ‘£’ ]
[ LI + QUID ]
[ definition: in cash ]
Continue reading… Some masterful cluing and topical snapshots in our pick of the best of the broadsheets’ cryptic cluesIn the sample clues below, the links take you to explainers from our beginners series. The setter’s name often links to an interview with him or her, in case you feel like getting to know these people better.28a Post Office keeping Fujitsu’s focus with a new keyboard? (5)
[ wordplay: abbrev. for ‘Post Office’ containing (‘keeping’) middle letter (‘focus’) of FUJITSU & A (‘a’) & abbrev. for ‘new’ ]
[ PO containing IAN ]
[ definition: keyboard ]4a Mayor who didn’t get in way (6)
[ double definition ]12d Game, set and match (3)
[ triple definition ]noun
19. A noisy card game mimicking a US corn exchangetransitive verb
3. To set (eg cocks in a cockpit)
4. To match (with against)When I first got the OED I read it through from A to Z. I wondered which word had the greatest coverage, and in Volume VIII (Q-Sh), I found it: ‘set.’ More than a hundred and twenty meanings were given for the verb ‘set’ used alone; another thirty or so when used in conjunction with various prepositions and adverbs (set aside, set about, set apart, etc.). I got the feeling that this little three-letter word might be the most useful and versatile in the entire English language.‘Is it f’Matthew? f’Mark? f’John?’
‘No, by chance, it’s f’t’other one?’22a One’s concerned with fouls, primarily? (3)
[ wordplay: abbrev. for ‘concerned with’ + first letter of (‘primarily’) FOULS ]
[ RE + F ]
[ definition: whole clue! ]11a £51 in cash (6)
[ wordplay: Roman numerals for ‘51’ with slang term for ‘£’ ]
[ LI + QUID ]
[ definition: in cash ] Continue reading… Crosswords, Hobbies, Life and style
