Doing Cryptic Crosswords

[jrbarnett]

Out of working hours, I often use language puzzles such as wordsearches and general knowledge crosswords to help keep me entertained, and can normally do a good bit of the Times T2 Jumbo crossword without resorting to the encyclopaedia, crossword dictionary or Google to help find an answer.

The one type of language based puzzle I have yet to master is the cryptic crossword. Even if I'm told the correct answers to some of the clues I can't see how they relate to each other.

To any cryptic crossword experts here: Does anybody have any general hints/tips on how to get started on these puzzles and understand the clues they present, or will they be forever beyond my grasp?

John

 

[addy]

Some of these hints and tips are great.

I can generally whistle through the 'quick' crosswords, SuDoku and Kakuro presnt no challenge but I have never been able to the hang of Cryptic crosswords.

Think I need to take another look at them.

 

[jrbarnett]

Using the example clues above and reading the answers, I can see how the first one results in its answer.

Perhaps somebody who understands these things can explain why the second clue ("hijklmno (5)") results in the answer it does?

John

 

[RCorrigan]

that is a list of letters from h to o ... when you say that it's h20 the chemical composition of water HE HE

<Do I need A Signature or will an X do?>

 

[drlex]

A similar one was 'abcdefghijkmnopqrstuvwxyz (4)'; the answer being Noel. The Financial Times used something similar in a printed advertisement; 'abcdeghijklmnopqrsuvwxyz - no comment'

soi la, soi carré

 

[Dagon]

Although it's very clever, I've never like "hijklmno" clue. "2" is not an accepted abbreviation for "to" (unless you count text messaging): if it's supposed to sound like "H20", the compiler should tell you that somewhere in the clue. Also, there is nothing that really defines the answer as being "water". A proper cryptic clue should have a cryptic part of the clue but also something that indicates what the real answer is. Unless, "hijklmno" is a very obscure English word for water, that is missing from this clue.

Here's an example of something I would consider a "good" cryptic clue from today's Indy:

"Having drunk Pils, grannies go for a cocktail". (9,5)

You can read the answer from this clue i.e. if you have drunken (i.e. anagrammed) "pils grannies go", you get a cocktail.

To be a proper clue in my opinion, "hijklmno" would have to be phrased like:

"Liquid has the sound of hijklmno" (5)

 

[RCorrigan]

Dagon I'd always thought that a "sound-a-like" was an accepted clue and it was not necessary, although it can be, to "define" that within the clue.
IMHO !!

<Do I need A Signature or will an X do?>

 

[Dagon]

Yes, "sound-a-like" is allowed and I have used it in my alternative.

The problem is that you need to be able to read (cryptically) what the answer is. For "hijklmno", I read "h to o". "h to o" is not the same as "h2o". In no language is "to" an alternative to "2" ("2" could be considered an alternative to "to" in text language, but not vice versa). Therefore, it is not really telling me what the answer is.

 

[RCorrigan]

Dagon Have you ever used a mobile phone to text someone?

<Do I need A Signature or will an X do?>

 

[Dagon]

Yes, I have. Because I'm pedantic I don't use abbreviations that much, but I assume other people do. I suppose the "2" is quite awkward to get on a mobile, so maybe people don't use it that much. But it is sometimes used as a general abbreviation in the same way that 4 substitutes for "for" as in "phones4u".