Really Well Hidden Long Answers ~ Crossword Unclued

Really Well Hidden Long Answers

telescopic-clue-type-long-answers Cryptic clues with hidden answers are perhaps the trickiest for the crossword setter to disguise. Since all the letters of the answer have to be given out to the solver, in the sequence expected, the clue can end up being too easy. And so, most often, setters reserve the use of this clue type for short words as they are more convenient to conceal in the clue.

Embedding long answers in a clue is quite a feat – the fodder tends to cut across multiple words but it has to be inconspicuous, the clue surface has to be meaningful, the hidden word indicator has to be fair without letting out instantly that the solution is stashed inside the clue.

Sharing some exceptional clues using the hidden clue type, in which long answers span across multiple words of the fodder.

Times 25538: Academic rose, condemning boxing in an instant (11)

THC 11161 (Buzzer): Burst and tore as one keeping fit (5,2,6)

Times 25900: Henceforth, ATM at terminal — at the centre, indeed (3,4,6)

Guardian 25260 (Boatman): Railhead activity leads to accident — rain mentioned in covering letters (11)

Guardian 26158 (Paul): Nevadan died in Montana, dog buried there (6,7)

Tim Moorey's How To Master The Times Crossword quotes this as possibly the longest hidden clue ever:

Times: As seen in jab, reach of pro miserably failing to meet expectations (6,2,7)

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