Some Thoughts on Today's Cryptic Crossword

Today's cryptic crossword in today's Citizen went better than expected. This is usually slightly more difficult than The Sun's cryptic, and I'm usually left struggling after half a dozen clues. But today I managed to do half of it: 12/24. I sat in the garden while I did it, so perhaps it was a combination of sunny weather (rather restorative after such a long winter!) and St. George's Day - a dragon of a puzzle, albeit half-slayed.

A few clues in particular made me chuckle:

23a: Right in the middle of the cemetery (4,6)

Answer: Dead Centre

As far as cryptic clues go, this was quite a straightforward one. Easy to work out but a nice little pay off.

16d: Forty five and not yet married? (6)

Answer: Single

As you can see from my scribbling at the bottom, numbers within clues usually suggests that roman numerals should be used, so I wrote "XLV" to see how that would fit into the answer. Then it dawned on me that a 45 is a record, or single. This one was a double definition: single as in a record and single as in unmarried. Clever!

8a: See post being created for female writer (7)

Answer: Poetess

Feminists look away now. I've been to several poetry readings over the past few years and have had moderate success with my own poems (I've recently been published on Ink, Sweat and Tears, the webzine edited by Helen Ivory), but I've never heard a female poet be called a "poetess". I'd certainly shake the hand of the man that did. The answer was hidden in the anagram "See post", with "being created" being the indicator and "female writer" being the straight clue.

I do love a good cryptic clue for the path the surface meaning leads you down. It's only when you delve a little deeper that you find its real beauty. Here's to the ongoing cryptic journey!

Comments

Samsa & Shabeezi

Samsa was now a human. He’d recently become a human after his architect decided to put a human heart in him and give him feelings. The five litres of blood that now pumped around his body warmed him up. It made for incredible nose bleeds, spasms, cramps and bruising, to name o nly a small fraction of the symptoms, but his architect assured him that it would all be worth it and that he'd feel normal very soon. He didn't know what normal was, but he knew it wasn't puking and shitting and bleeding all over the place for the first two months and then just feeling terrible for several weeks after that. Human life is agony, he thought, but he trusted the process. One day, a little over twelve weeks after the operation, he woke up from his first good night's sleep and was able to open the curtains without the light splitting his skull in two. Samsa had known Shabeezi before she became a human woman. All they had done was fight. Samsa especially liked doing flying

When I Needed a Winter Project, I Turned to Dylan Thomas - a Tommy & Moon Story

Before the snow came the smell of cinnamon. I wanted to track it all the way back to its source, to see who gave it flight. I imagine a woman, seventy-five, making herself a cappuccino next to an open window. The air is cold and sharp but she needs a quick blast of late autumn’s best before she gets out with the whippet. Wisp is looking at her from her basket, scanning for indications from mum that her walk is coming. Don’t worry, Wisp: walkies is imminent - but then a song comes on the radio that she hasn’t heard in fifty years. The Serge Gainsbourg ballad throws her into a deep dream-state, a reverie that takes her all the way back to Paris. She walks to the cupboard to find the cinnamon shaker, brushing shoulders with actors and actresses who’d worked with Godard and Truffaut and Antonioni. She remembers the time she once saw Jane Birkin at a party and witnessed first-hand the effect her beauty had on all the men in the room. I was two miles away from home, running at an easy, stead

An Expert Analysis of Michael Fassbender's Running Style From the Film 'Shame'

Tom Wiggins: What are your first impressions of Michael Fassbender/Brandon's running style? Paul Whittaker: He's running nice, smooth and relaxed. He seems like he has a good amount of fitness and he is running well within himself in terms of pace. TW: What improvements could he make to his running style? PW: The main improvement I'd make is his foot plant. He lands heel first and this causes a 'breaking' effect when travelling forwards. If he landed on his mid-foot/forefoot, this would be a much better for impact stress and propulsion going forward into the next running stride. TW: Regarding his speed, how many minutes per mile is he running? PW : I would say he is running approx 7-7.30 minutes per mile. TW: What do you make of his stride lengths? Is he overstriding/understriding? PW: The actor is definitely overstriding in this clip. It would help if his feet landed underneath and below his centre of gravity. TW: What's his

Tom Wiggins, Letter Carver & Writer

Search This Blog