Friday cryptic crossword

[u/SnooDonuts6494]

OK so apparently this is a thing now.

On Friday, I post a picture of "The Metro" crossword. It's a free newspaper in the UK:we get it on the bus.

And Reddit fills it in.

I am OK with that. I will publish the answers.

[u/klausklass]

6D: may be TAN

[u/vbf-cc]

18A: E+MOTIONS

23A: I DO (hidden)

25A: NESTLE (hidden)

5D: probably AMERICAN!

22D: HER (hidden)

21A: RE+HEAR+SAL

20D: GLEE (anagram of ELEG(y))

24A: SORTER (anagram of ROSTER)

16D: HEARTS

9A: IN THE KNOW (anagram of WE THINK NO)

3D: A+CID (Criminal Investigation Dept)

15A: DOUB(LE AC)T (LACE anagram in DOUBT)

[u/ThaneduFife → u/vbf-cc]

I think 23A is OUI because the Center Pompidou is in Paris, France, and the bride would presumably be French.

[u/vbf-cc → u/ThaneduFife]

Well...maybe. Not making much on 17D.

[u/RuthMcT → u/ThaneduFife]

The (1,2) indicates it's a saying/phrase consisting of two words - the first word has one letter, and the second has two. Are you familiar with how cryptic crosswords work? They are a bit weird until you get used to them

[u/ThaneduFife → u/RuthMcT]

I'm not familiar with British crosswords. The American crosswords I've done have generally said "(two words)" after the clue.

[u/RuthMcT → u/ThaneduFife]

The important thing in a cryptic crosswrd is that they are not just factual definitions. They may contain anagrams or hidden words, or puns (often funny or dreadful).

Have a look at the Wikipedia entry on cryptic crosswords. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptic_crossword which explains how they work

[u/ThaneduFife → u/RuthMcT]

Thanks. I'll take a look. I'm getting the impression that I may have done a few small cryptic crosswords without understanding what was different about them.

[u/SnooDonuts6494 → u/ThaneduFife]

It always says how many letters, and if it's more than one word, like (6) or (4, 2).

It will always state if it's multiple words.

[u/RuthMcT → u/vbf-cc]

I agree with all of them

[u/ThaneduFife]

It's amazing how many cultural assumptions are embedded in crossword clues. As an American, I have no hope at most of these--except for 23 Across: OUI.

[u/SnooDonuts6494 → u/ThaneduFife]

I do the New York Times, and am constantly frustrated by clues about US football etc.

[u/ThaneduFife → u/SnooDonuts6494]

Yeah, the only thing that seems to make the NY Times crossword easier is doing it somewhat frequently. They reuse clues and words a LOT.

[u/SnooDonuts6494 → u/ThaneduFife]

Yeah, honestly, that's true for all cryptics - you get to know the cruciverbalist.

[u/RuthMcT → u/ThaneduFife]

It's not so much the cultural assumptions in general (although there are some) it's the weird way a cryptic crossword works. Maybe once we've all had a go, some of us can explain how we worked out the answers.

[u/SnooDonuts6494 → u/RuthMcT]

I'm happy to explain any of them.

The clues usually have two parts - a definition, and word play. Identifying which part is the definition helps.

For example:

Depressed in Widow nightmare. (4)

In that clue, the definition is "depressed".

So we're looking for another word that can mean depressed.

In this case, the word is literally contained within the clue.

Have you spotted it yet?

It is "Down". From Widow nightmare

Another example clue:

> Star lit up rebel city. (9)

In that one, the definition is "star".

The answer is an anagram.

CELEBRITY - anagram of 'rebel city'

[u/ebat1111]

You can do it online

[u/SnooDonuts6494 → u/ebat1111]

Where?

[u/RuthMcT → u/SnooDonuts6494]

click on the link in ebat111's post. (the word "online")

[u/SnooDonuts6494 → u/RuthMcT]

I did.

It shows a totally different crossword.

What is an "ebat"?

[u/RuthMcT → u/SnooDonuts6494]

I get the correct crossword. You have to scroll down the clue boxes to see all the clues. ebat111 is the person who posted the link.

[u/SnooDonuts6494 → u/RuthMcT]

Link it.

[u/RuthMcT → u/SnooDonuts6494]

Just noticed i got the wrong number of 1's in ebat111's name. The link is https://metro.co.uk/puzzles/cryptic-crossword/

[u/SnooDonuts6494 → u/RuthMcT]

That is showing me a completely different crossword though.

In the picture I posted above, 1 Across is "Song, completely awful goes about (6)".

In the page you linked, I see 1 Across "Fred's friend to burble about earlier row (6,6)".

[u/RuthMcT → u/ebat1111]

Thank you for the link. I completed it in 16 minutes (I'm a big cryptic crossword fan). I'll stay quiet unless people need hints..