Do you know why crosswords use "many" to clue "M"? I couldn't find any sound justification for it, but I'm pretty sure I've seen it done in
published grids.
- reader Martin DeMello wrote in to ask.
"many = M" is indeed a controversial abbreviation. Chambers Crossword Manual by Don Manley marks "many = M" with a †, the dagger to indicate "unsound/not liked by all Ximeneans". The equation comes from the Roman numeral M for 1000, which one could call a large number. As there are two levels of indirection going on here: "many" to "thousand", and "thousand" to "M", purists do not approve.
This is a handy shorthand for the setter though - the word "many" can fit into variety of clue surfaces. Examples of use abound in published grids.
Guardian 25036 (Rufus): Many a shipwreck could be bad luck (6) MISHAP
M (many) (A SHIP)*
Indy 8306 (Alchemi): Moves very quickly, leaving many animal homes (4) ZOOS
ZOOMS (moves very quickly) - M (many)
You may well ask, if "many" is "M" because thousand is a large number, why not any other large number such as C (hundred) or D (five hundred)? You have your answer below.
Guardian 24852 (Rufus): Many have soft features (6) DOWN
D (many) OWN (have)
FT 14298 (Cinephile): Many persist to smarten sports facility (8,4) CHANGING ROOM
C (many) HANG IN (persist) GROOM (smarten)
I can't recall the use of "many" to clue a Roman numeral in the Times crossword, though.
What do you think of this cryptic abbreviation?
Solve These
Clues in which "many" leads to a large number. Enjoy solving.
Guardian 24722 (Shed): Writer securing many books in end of administration (12)
FT 14559 (Cincinnus): China provides many a garden feature (8)
Guardian 25505 (Arachne): Many large moons oddly observed in the universe (6)
Guardian 25736 (Araucaria): Spell Shah Jahan's city with many a starry figure (8)
Guardian 25976 (Rufus): Gong brings many in to dinner, for example (5)
Related Posts:
If you wish to keep track of further articles on Crossword Unclued, you can subscribe to it in a reader via RSS Feed. You can also subscribe by email and have articles delivered to your inbox, or follow me on twitter to get notified of new links.
Older Post
Follow on Twitter
Join us on Facebook
Get RSS
7 comments
By the same token, shouldn't these be controversial too given their abbreviations are once removed?
sailor = Able-bodied (seaman) = AB
sailor = ordinary seaman = OS
books = old testament = OT
books = new testament = NT
So if a clue says 'sailor' or 'books' I need to figure out which sailor or which books right? I'm happy to apply the same principle to:
many = hundred = C
many = five hundred = D
many = thousand = M
Funny, I'd thought it was some kind of abbreviation whose context I hadn't come across. Now I know to avoid it as it doesn't fit my setting style.
I think AB and OS are OK, since they're sailor classifications and the choices not so broad. I dislike "books" for OT or NT because "books" has an extremely large scope. By this reasoning, I don't care for "letter" to clue A-Z (though like most I'm cool with "Greek letter" for alpha-zeta) but I'm OK with "key" for A-G.
By the same token, a thousand too stands for different things:
K -kilo
G -grand
M -Mega
while monarch can signify a slew
R
K
ER (and a host of previous monarchs)
But many is a bit vague, I agree. Two thousand three hundred forty five is also 'many'!
1. Stupefied!
2. C ROCKERY
3. C OS MoOnS
4. HEX AGRA M
5. ME(D)AL
"Forty seven ginger headed sailors ..."
Is that too little or too many?
Too little for a large ship, too many for a small boat...
[GO{VERN(M)E}{NT}AL]
(C)(ROCKERY)
{C}{OS}{M[-o]O[-n]S}
{HEX}{AGRA}{M}
{ME(D)AL}
FT 14559 (Cincinnus): China provides many a garden feature (8) C + ROCKERY
Guardian 25505 (Arachne): Many large moons oddly observed in the universe (6) C OS + odd letters of "moons" = COSMOS
Post a Comment