August 2013 ~ Crossword Unclued

A-to-I-crossword-wordplay Is the use of 'A' to mean 'I' in cryptic clues kosher?

Going by the drift of a recent discussion on the Facebook group Cryptic Crossword Society, this device seems to be a universal hackle-raiser. Most crossworders object to A = I on grounds of indirection. A = one = I is not a straight substitution: A = I needs to be translated via 'one' for the equation to hold. We would not accept 'book' substituted with 'coolness' in a clue with the logic that book = reserve and reserve = coolness. Why then would we accept A = I because A = one and one = I?

Actually, there is another dictionary definition that links A to I without any intermediate translation. Chambers lists 'A' as a dialect form of the pronoun 'I'.

Chambers dictionary A = I

This meaning of 'A' may be obscure but if other arcane stuff like SA = IT is considered fair game in crosswords, why the problem with A = I?

Well, that's my take on it but it does not fly with Peter Biddlecombe, editor of the Sunday Times crossword. He says:

A is a "dialect form of I" in Chambers - that would allow something like ("a locally" = I) in puzzles using Chambers as a reference (barred grid ones, mainly). But this meaning of A is not shown in Collins English Dictionary or the Oxford Dictionary of English. That would disallow it for Sunday Times puzzles, and most other broadsheet cryptics.

As you say, A and I both mean "one". However, it's hard to think of an example where you could replace one with the other and still have a natural-sounding sentence - that's my version of the indirection point. On that basis, I don't think I would allow it.

That explains why I don't recall seeing A = I in the Times or Sunday Times, though examples abound in the Guardian crossword.

What do you think?

Solve These

Solve these clues in which 'A' means 'I'.

Guardian 25404 (Boatman): Give a wide berth, taking a berth with a fish (9) S______N
Guardian 25796 (Araucaria): Piece of chalk for a pupil, a destroyer (6) A__A__
Wordview Mint (Vinod Raman): A criminal nursed and offered protection! (7)

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5 Years of Blogging, and 5 Life Lessons from Cryptic Crosswords

crossword-unclued-fifth-birthday Crossword Unclued is turning five years old today. I took my first step into blogging with the post Tackling Cryptic Crosswords: 7-Step Guide to Beginners on 8th August 2008.

To all of you who read and spread the word about Crossword Unclued, I am tremendously thankful for your encouragement and support.

Plenty has changed for me in the past year. I've been through new kinds of experiences and dealt with unfamiliar challenges. And I've come to think that the principles that drive cryptic crosswords apply equally well beyond the boundaries of the crossword grid.

On the blog's birthday I'd like to reflect on five life lessons that cryptic crosswords have reinforced time and again.

1 Don't judge by what meets the eye at first. Unexpected meanings may hide beneath the surface.

2 Sometimes truth is a matter of perspective. The same thing can be read in more than way, and each way may be valid.

3 Not every conflict is a win-lose situation. Just as a setter's real victory is in conceding defeat to the solver.

4 If a problem cannot be solved cold, look for the checking letters to bail you out.

5 Whatever you do, you must be fair.

Have cryptic crosswords taught you something beyond words and wordplay?

Past Birthdays: