Signing off this year with a round-up of clues I've enjoyed immensely in 2011. Have fun solving and do share your own favourite clues of the year too.
Indy 7569 (Dac): Millions read this novel (4,5)
Times 24747: Diverted article leaving bottom exposed (2-6) __-R_____
FT13601 (Alberich): Honestly? No, otherwise (2,3,3)
FT13718 (Dante): What’s made for maid in house to clean and polish (9) __M_____E
Guardian 25271 (Brendan): Theatric saga I composed, ending of which is kept secret (6,8) A_____ ________
FT 13657 (Alberich): Man United playing away later rued foul (9) A_______R
Guardian 25360 (Paul): Black bovine with vertigo, say — what's so exciting? (11) A_________C
Guardian 25456 (Pasquale): A trip with the legwork would be disastrous for me (9,6) T________ _____R
@aclueaday on twitter: Risk acne eruption without this? (8)
Independent 7702 (Anax): Stupid cow needed my ring for this (7,8) W______ ____M___
[Update: See comments for answers.]
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18 comments
Hi Shuchi
It's been a long time since I got in touch with you.
I liked these:
FT13601 (Alberich): Honestly? No, otherwise (2,3,3)
FT 13657 (Alberich): Man United playing away later rued foul (9)
@aclueaday on twitter: Risk acne eruption without this? (8)
Independent 7702 (Anax):Stupid cow needed my ring for this (7,8)
Hi Richard
Long time for sure. How have you been?
I haven't been solving THC regularly. Have you? Any nominations for 'clues of the year' from there?
Millions read this novel (4,5) HARD TI(M)ES* (M+READ THIS)* &lit
Diverted article leaving bottom exposed (2-6) RE-ROUTED (RE[-a]R)(OUTED)
Honestly? No, otherwise (2,3,3) ON THE SLY* (HONESTLY)*
What’s made for maid // in house to clean and polish (9) (HO[-use](MOP)(HONE) – ‘made’ is homophone of ‘maid’
Theatric saga I composed, ending of which is kept secret (6,8) AGATHA CHRISTIE* (THEATRIC SAGA I)*
Man United playing away // later rued foul (9) ADULTERER (LATER RUDE)*
Black bovine with vertigo, say — what's so exciting? (11) APHRODISIAC ~(afro) (dizzy) (yak)
A trip with the legwork would be disastrous for me (9,6) TIGHTROPE WALKER (A TRIP + THE LEGWORK)*
Risk acne eruption without this? (8) SKINCARE* (RISK ACNE)*
Stupid cow needed my ring for this (7,8) WEDDING CEREMONY (COW NEEDED MY RING)*
Guardian 25456 (Pasquale): A trip with the legwork would be disastrous for me (9,6) TIGHTROPE WALKER*
@aclueaday on twitter: Risk acne eruption without this? (8 SKINCARE*
Independent 7702 (Anax): Stupid cow needed my ring for this (7,8) WEDDING CEREMONY
Indy 7569 (Dac):
Times 24747: (RE -aR)(OUTED)
FT13601 (Alberich) ON,THE,SLY*
FT13718 (Dante): What’s made for maid in house to clean and polish (9) __M_____E
Guardian 25271 (Brendan): AGATHA,CHRISTIE*
T 13657 (Alberich): ADULTERER*
Guardian 25360: APHRO(DISI)AC APHRO ~ Afro, DISI ~ Dizzy. What's AC?
Guardian 25456 (Pasquale): TIGHTROPE,WALKER*
@aclueaday on twitter: SKINCARE*
Independent 7702 (Anax): WEDDING CEREMONY*
Hello Shuchi,
I stumbled upon your site two months back, when looking for stealing a 15*15 grid for my Tamil crossword.
And since then, I've been regularly digging your archives and learning my cc alphabets.
I'm yet to start solving - with almost no general knowledge/vocabulary/Grammar(cryptic orotherwise)- it seems an impossible task. But your site is such a blessing that - I too can start trying soon (once I finish your archives - :-) ).
I have chronic impatience and will never read the clues in your post, if there are no answers yet.
Today I did that mistake- and I am bangggging my head now. I could work out only 3 of them - where the anagram fodder was quite easy to spot- and loved Anax's the best. May be you'll be kind enough to put the answers in white font that I can select and see, or may be I'll wait for a couple more days.:-(
! Happy New Year ! Thank you for this really really wonderful site.
Hello,
Thanks for your kind words and for sharing info about your Tamil crossword site. I'm sure many Crossword Unclued readers who follow Tamil will find it of interest.
You won't have to wait long for the answers, I'll publish them in a few hours :) A very happy New Year to you too.
PS: I tried Google translate on your comment handle. Just curious, is 'Punkotai' your name/pseudonym or something else?
Happy New Year Shuchi.
oh ! I 'm sorry - never commented outside Tamil blogs before-and hence did not notice its illegibility. That is my first name - Poongothai.
Whoa, Tamil crosswords! What an effort, Poongothai! Unlike in English, a large number of words in Tamil (and in other Indian languages, perhaps) begin in a few letters. The distribution is more skewed than in English, so any gridfill is a laudable effort. I have seen a lot of barred grids in local dailies, but.
For English crosswords though, you are at the best place on the Net!
I haven't solved a lot this year, so I cannot recollect any particular clue. But there was one hugely impressive Spooner-related thematic puzzle at Alberich's - this one by Radler - my fave of the year as far as I can remember.
Happy New Year to you too, Shuchi, keep us occupied with your informative blog :)
@Nadathur Rajan, Rengaswamy and raghunath: Well solved!
To add to Brendan's clue for AGATHA CHRISTIE, the definition is "I" when read along with the whole clue. By tradition, at the end of each performance of Christie's long-running play The Mousetrap, audiences are asked not to reveal the surprise ending to anyone outside the theatre.
@Krishnan: Happy New Year to you too.
@Poongothai: Thanks for clearing that up. Sorry about the misspelling. Google Translate at fault, not me :)
@Shyam: Radler's puzzle bookmarked for solving, thank you. Talking of Spoonerisms, I must mention another clever clue I saw on DA's blog:
Spooner's feminist motion - all are considered equal (4,5) P___ G____
If only the definition fit the answer more smoothly, it would have been among the best of 2011 for me.
Happy New Year Shuchi and to all who've posted answers here! To Rajan, well solved!
Happy New Year Schuchi ! May you continue to nourish, flourish and brandish your CROSSWORD UNCLUED to greater heights by the scores and by the dozens in 2012.
What can I say about the best ten cryptic crosswords of the year?
In terms of brevity, I liked the one that came in the Hindu : X and that's it! It was simply marvellous to decode this. It could have meant KISS or the arithmetic MULTIPLIED BY or simply an electiontick!! Hahaha . I love it. It takes all the ten positions at one single X.!!
I note in a separate book the best I come across over all these years which are out of the run of the mill genre. They run into thousands. That's the beauty of cryptic crosswords. The permutations and combinations may even beat the chess moves available?
Thanks for making me fall in love with this intriguing game. Gettting to know that Tamil cryptics have come up,feels great.
I wonder whether anyone has attempted cryptics in Bengali?
Okay, I admit it, I"m nearly 2 months late getting around to reading this, but here I am. Some great clues here. I have a question:
In:
What’s made for maid // in house to clean and polish (9) (HO[-use](MOP)(HONE) – ‘made’ is homophone of ‘maid’
what's the indicator to delete USE from HOUSE?
Thanks in advance,
Steve = : ^ )
Hi Steve,
ho. is standard abbreviation for "house", no deletion needs to happen. Your question prompts to post a single correct set of annotations. Will do that next.
The answers:
Indy 7569 (Dac): Millions read this novel (4,5) HARD TIMES
(M READ THIS)* &lit. Hard Times (1854), a famous novel by Charles Dickens.
Times 24747: Diverted article leaving bottom exposed (2-6) RE-ROUTED
REAR (bottom) - A (article) OUTED (exposed)
FT13601 (Alberich): Honestly? No, otherwise (2,3,3) ON THE SLY
(HONESTLY NO)* &lit
FT13718 (Dante): What’s made for maid in house to clean and polish (9) HOMOPHONE
HO (house) MOP (clean) HONE (polish). Definition by example: 'made' is a homophone for 'maid'.
Guardian 25271 (Brendan): Theatric saga I composed, ending of which is kept secret (6,8) AGATHA CHRISTIE
(THEATRIC SAGA I)* around [whic]H. Definition: “I” in the context of the whole clue. The theatrical saga in question is The Moustrap, which has a surprise ending that the audience is asked to keep secret.
FT 13657 (Alberich): Man United playing away later rued foul (9) ADULTERER
(LATER RUED)*. Definition: "Man United playing away", a cryptic way of saying a married man straying.
Guardian 25360 (Paul): Black bovine with vertigo, say — what's so exciting? (11) APHRODISIAC
sounds like 'afro dizzy yak'.
Guardian 25456 (Pasquale): A trip with the legwork would be disastrous for me (9,6) TIGHTROPE WALKER
(A TRIP THE LEGWORK)* semi-&lit
@aclueaday: Risk acne eruption without this? (8) SKINCARE
(RISK ACNE)* semi-&lit
Independent 7702 (Anax): Stupid cow needed my ring for this (7,8) WEDDING CEREMONY
(COW NEEDED MY RING)* semi-&lit
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