Samuel Murray, Translator - English into Afrikaans | Article index
For a few months I volunteered to edit a local Mensa chapter's monthly newsletter. The newsletter contained news, jokes, articles, puzzles and contact details. During my editorship I serialised a book by by Peter Gilbert called "Have a Clue", on solving cryptic crossword puzzles.
Unfortunately I lost the first installment of the series. So, here then are the second to last installments of the series. Enjoy!
[The first installment was a general introduction into the format and anatomy of a cryptic crossword clue. I hope to find a fellow Mensan with a copy of it, soon.]
Following on last month's first article about solving cryptic crossword puzzles, we've decided to publish both the second and third installments of this series before Christmas.
This month we'll look at the most basic of cryptic crossword clues, namely two-part clues and three-part clues. These articles are paraphrased from the book "Have a Clue", by Peter Gilbert.
The secret about a two-part clue is that the clue is made up of two parts, each of which is a synonym for the answer. The trick lies in firstly determining the two parts, and secondly finding words that mean the same as both parts.
One way (not failsafe) to distinguish between the two parts is by looking for linking words. Linking words seldom mean what they mean in real life - instead they are mere structural pieces, linking one part of the clue to the next part of the clue in a way which makes the entire clue look like a sentence.
Linking words can be simple ones, such as "and" or "is", or they can be more complex, like "as having been" in "Marked as having been stolen (6)". The answer to that one is "nicked" Naturally the puzzler does his best to mislead. Ways in which he can mislead is by using an unusual meaning of a word, or by disguising the part of speech.
In "Book a flight (6)" one can be forgiven for thinking that "book" is a verb. It is in fact a noun, for the answer is "Exodus". Exodus is a book, and an exodus is a flight. Also, although "flight" is obviously a noun, it can easily be mistaken to be the noun of the verb "fly" instead of the verb "flee".
Sometimes a solution can be more than one word. In such a case each part of the clue refers to the entire answer. In two-part clues it is not a case of each part of the referring to each part of the answer. In "Come clean but make a mess (5,3,5)" each part of the clue (come clean, make a mess) refers to the entire answer, which is "spill the beans".
Another way clue writers can confuse us is by using unusual meanings of words. In "Examine pointer (6)" the first part of the clue treats the answer as a verb, and the second part of the clue treats the answer as a noun. The answer is "finger". Sometimes unusual meanings can become quite farfetched. In "Bird of the baptist (6)" a baptist is regarded as one who dips his subjects, hence the answer "dipper".
Finally, such unusual meanings can be combined with a sense of humour. In "Club for evening out (4)" the phrase "to even out" has been transmuted into "evening out" - a valid English construct, albeit an unusual one. The answer is "iron".
Three-part clues capitalise on the ability of English to join two unrelated words and make up a new unrelated word. For example, man + age gives us manage, and tan + go gives us tango. A classic three-part clue is made up of the following: one part of the clue is a synonym for the answer, and the other two parts of the clue are synonyms for one part of the answer each. Thus, in "Pitch to achieve a goal (6)" one part of the clue is a synonym for the answer (goal, in this case), and the two parts each refer to one part of the answer (pitch, achieve). The answer is tar + get = target.
Be careful of linking words. Clue writers can use them to mask the exact parts of the clue. In "Supporting song gives great wealth (7)", the word "gives" is merely a linking word. The answer is for + tune = fortune.
The full word synonym part does not always come at the end of the clue. In "Outlaw group with sex appeal (6)" the full word synonym part is "outlaw", for the answer is band + it = bandit. When tackling three-part clues the trick is first recognising the three parts of the clue, and then identifying the full word synonym part (Gilbert calls it the "key"). Once the full word synonym part is known or guessed, one can start finding synonyms for the other two parts and try to come up with a complete new word.
Ways of playing with this concept includes putting one word inside another. In "Coy about stray drink (6)" the synonym for "coy" is placed about (or around) the synonym for "stray". The answer is shy + err = sh + err + y = sherry.
As always part of speech can be hidden, or unusual meanings can be used. Examples are "Fancy picture about batting (7)" the word "fancy" is a verb, and the word "batting" refers to a cricket team that is "in". "Fancy" is indeed also the full word synonym part of the clue. The answer is image + in = imag + in + e = imagine.
Finally it is always possible that the clue writer can simply give us one part of the word, as is. In "Try getting at lure (7)" the clue part "at" happen to be the actual word used in the answer. The answer is at + tempt = attempt. "Getting" is, of course, simply a linking word and has no bearing on the answer.
In the previous instalments of this series we looked at the two main types of clues given in cryptic crossword puzzles. There are two-part clues, in which each part of the clue is a synonym for the answer, and three-part clues, in which one part of the clue is a synonym for the answer, and the other two parts are synonyms of parts of the answer.
Hence "Ship that is carrying a glass (7)" is a two-part clue, of which the answer is "coaster", because both "ship" and "that which carries a glass" is a coaster. And "Appeal to certain joy (8)" is a three-part clue of which the answer is "pleasure", because "appeal" means "plea", "certain" means "sure", and "joy" means "pleasure, and plea + sure = pleasure = synonym for "joy". What a mouthful!
Using these two types of clues, cluewriters use a variety of techniques to camouflage words and their meanings.
An anagram is a word that contains all the letters of another word, or a word that consists entirely of a jumbled up other word. Thus "Gauteng" is an anagram for "Get a gun". There are certain clues that an anagram is used. The words "rearrange", "unsettle", "incorrect", "confuse" etc. all tells us that an anagram is possibly used. Hint: look for a word or words in the clue that has the same number of letters as the answer.
In "Niger rearrange to rule (5)" an anagram for "niger" means the same as "to rule". The answer is "reign". And in "Proclamation cited incorrectly (5)" an anagram for "cited" means the same as "proclamation". The answer is "edict". And look at "Not conforming? I could have fainted! (7)". The answer is "defiant", which is an anagram for "fainted", and means "not conforming".
In three-part clues the anagram part of the clue often points to only part of the answer. In "Nippy for changing a pen (6)", the word "changing" tells us an anagram is used, "for" is an anagram for "fro" and a "pen" is a "sty", and a synonym for "nippy" is fro + sty = frosty. Or look at this one: In "Identical chat arranged in China (8)" the word "arranged" tells us there is an anagram, "China" is "Ming", "atch" is an anagram for "chat", and "in" tells us that "atch" must go inside "ming", hence the answer is ming + atch = m + atch + ing = matching, which is a synonym for "identical".
Reversals are special kinds of anagrams, and they are easy to spot, because they are simply words written backwords. Often the hint word is also quite obvious, and words such as "up", back", "revert", "turn", etc. tells us that a reversal is possibly used.
The word to be reverted can either be in the clue, as in "Cut buns up (4)" or be something that needs to be deciphered first and then reverted, as in "Cut the little cakes up (4)". In both cases the answer is "snub", because "little cakes" are buns, and "buns written backwards is "snub", and "snub" is a synonym for "cut".
Look at the following three-part clue: In "Find company turning in the small hours (6)", the word "turning" tells us a reversal is possibly at stake, another word for "company" would be "co", and reverted it would be "oc", and "small hours" is "late". Thus the answer will be "oc" inside "late", as in oc + late = l + oc + ate = locate, which is a synonym for "find".
Unlike in other anagrams, it is not quite so rare to find that the entire answer is a reversal of some kind. In "I'm sadly returning the sausage (6)", the word "returning" tells us there is a possible reversal, "mi" is the reversal of "im", "alas" means "sadly", and "sala" is the reversal of "alas", and if you reverse the order of the two clues im + sala you'll find sala + mi = salami, which is a "sausage".
A special case is the word "drawback" or "backdoor", because the answers to these are sometimes automatically "ward" (which is "draw" reversed) or "rood" (which is "door" reversed. Look at how these giveaways are incorporated into a longer clue: In "Attendant of unsettled group meeting drawback (7)", the word "unsettled" tells us an anagram might be present, "drawback" may well be a simple reversal of "draw" (which is "ward"), a "group" is a "set", and "ste" is an anagram for "set", and the answer is a synonym for "attendant". Thus ste + ward = steward.
Letters can be added to words or be taken from words to form other words. Thus "beast beheaded" becomes "east", and "beast without the middle letter" is "best". These can then be used in clues, such as "beast beheaded for the orient (4)", in which "east" is a synonym for "orient", or "top beast with no middle (4)", in which "best" is a synonym for "top".
Like usual there are some words which give us clues that deletions are present. "without capital" means the first letter is removed, "curtailed" or "endless" means the last letter is removed, and "centre" may indicate the middle letter must be removed. Sometimes the letter to be deleted is not specified, or sometimes it is nominated with a number, such as "four" or "five". In "Amputated fourth finger is better (5)" we simply remove (amputate) the fourth letter from the word "finger" to get a synonym for "better". The answer is "finer".
We’re almost at the end of our series on solving crossword puzzles. In this edition we talk about acronyms and single letter words, nominated letters, and answers displayed inside the clue.
The joys of single letter words and acronyms is that they can make up for lost pieces of a completed answer. Letters can be musical (F for loud), roman (X for ten), a chemical symbol (C for carbon), a compass point (N for north), or other common "letter words" (L for left).
In "Dead right for what comes after (5)", "right" is simply "R", "dead" also means "late", which gives the solution late + r = later, which means "what comes after". And in "Five in a dance rejoice", "five" is simply the roman numerical "V", a "reel" is a kind of "dance", and the solution is reel + v = re + v + el = revel, which means "rejoice". And in "Confuse the hybrid with two pennies (6)", a penny is written as "D", one kind of "hybrid" is a "mule", and the solution is mule + d + d = mu + dd+ le = muddle, which means "confuse".
The number of letters that can stand for words are too many to print here, but take a look at this very small sample: A = one, single, blood type; B = born, second grade, soft pencil; C = carbon, cold, Catholic; D = 500, penny, daughter; E = oriental, earl, English; F = loud, female, fail; G = gallon, gramme, giga; H = hour, husband, height; I = one, self, island; and more.
Similarly there may be groups of letters, sometimes even acronyms. Examples of these may be: KO = knock out; LA = Los Angeles; MD = medical doctor, managing director, boss; NA = North America, not applicable; OT = Old Testament, scriptures; PTO = please turn over; RC = Roman Catholic, Red Cross; SS = steam ship, ship, boat; TB = tuberculosis; UK = United Kingdom, Britain; VO = very old; and more.
The practice of nominated letters is really simple. Any word that contains a letter that the cluewriters wants to use, can be used and the letter nominated. "The 1st of December" becomes "D" because the first letter of "December" is a "D". "At the end of December" would then be "R". Similarly, the "Fourth of July" is really only the letter "Y", and "April Fool" is the 1st of April, which would be the letter "A".
In "Emphasise first safe lock (6)", the first letter of "safe" is "S", another word for lock is "tress", and the solution is s + tress = stress, which means "emphasise". And in "Some coming to a sticky end in the alliance (5)", the end letter of "sticky" is "Y", a word for "some" is "part", and the solution is part + y = party, which also means "alliance".
Nominated letters can also come in the middle of the word: A = "midday", "middle class"; G = "midnight"; L = "heart failure"; and more.
Sometimes the answer is displayed right there in the clue. In "Corruption in the service (4)", another word for "corruption" is "vice", which is part of the word ser-vice = service. Or try the following clue incorporating a reversal as well: In "Vehicle going back on its tracks (3)", the words "going back" tells us a reversal may be at stake, and "rac" inside the word "tracks" spelt backwards is "car", which means "vehicle".
Don’t be fooled – the answer may also be displayed across more than one word. A common use of "displayed in the clue" is to take the last bit of the one word and the first bit of the next word. For example, from "three dictionaries" we can get ree + d = reed, as well as e + dict = edict. In "In general, Easteners are smallest (5)", the solution is l + east = least, which means "smallest".
This is fifth and second last edition of Solving Crossword Puzzles.
Remember those two-part and three-part clues? Two-part clues commonly consist of two sections, each being a synonym for the answer. Three-part clues commonly consist of a synomym for the answer, plus two section whose synomyms together forms the answer. "Story material" is "yarn", because both "story" and "material" can mean "yarn". And "One opener is a gem" is "agate", because "one" is "a" and "opener" is "gate", hence a + gate = agate = synomym for "gem".
Four-part and five-part clues are basically hybrid forms of the three-part clue. The three-part clue might be "A friend will tell with no ado (10)", in which "tell" is "inform", "friend" is "ally" and "with no ado" is inform + ally = informally. The four-part clue might be "Not out to make a friend with lack of ceremony (10)", in which "not out" is "in", "to make" is "form", and "friend" is "ally", which gives us in + form + ally = informally = "lack of ceremony". The five-part clue might then be "With no black tie is fashionable for first meeting a friend (10)", in which "fashionable" is "in", "for" is displayed in the clue, the first letter of "meeting" is "m", and a friend is an "ally", which gives us in + for + m + ally = informally = "with no black tie".
How to spot such clues? Generally they are longer than other clues, but not always. In "Soft turn bowled local (3)", the musical "soft" is "p", a "turn" is "u", and "bowled" in cricket is written "b", which gives us p + u + b = pub, which is a "local". These clues may also contain all the other tools to the cluewriter's supply, such as nominated letters, anagrams, deletions and reversals: In "Malicious woman lay about on street promotes a reaction (8)", a "malicious woman" is a "cat", the word "about" tells us a reversal may be at stake, a reversed form of "lay" is "aly", and "street" is abbreviated "st", which gives cat + aly + st = catalyst, which "promotes a reaction".
Witty clues can be fun, but they can also be a bane. A simple example from the September crossword puzzle is "People at play (12)", which has nothing to do with the fairground, but is simply "theatregoers". Similarly "He makes a living of dirty pictures (8)" is not some porno freak, but merely a "restorer". "One who is barely visible (6)" is not in some foggy weather, but is simply a "nudist".
In "Stronghold of man on board (6)" the answer is "castle", which refers to both a "stronghold" and a "man (piece) on a (chess) board". And in "Appropriate to give a kiss to the girl (5)", a "kiss" is an "x", and a girl's name is "anne", which gives us anne + x = annex = to "appropriate". And finally, in "Succulent duck in malt liquor (4)", a "duck" is a zero or "o", a malt liquor is "ale", and the answer is ale + o = al + o + e = aloe, which is a "succulent".
Now see if you can work out which of these clues fit the answers elsewhere in the InNews, and (more importantly), why. The answers will be discussed in the next edition of InNews.
Last month we gave ten crossword puzzle clues from Peter Gilbert's book "Have a Clue". This month we'll discuss those clues and their answers briefly.
1. "Part of motor checked with light in hand (5)" is a three-part clue with nominated letters and an abbreviation. "Part of" the word "motor" is "tor", and an abbreviation for "checked" is "ch", which gives us tor + ch = torch = "light in hand".
2. "Fashionable small drink I would find tasteless (7)" is a four-part clue with an abbreviation. "I would" can be abbreviated "I'd", "fashionalble" is "in", a "small drink" is a "sip", which gives us in + sip + id = insipid, which means "tasteless".
3. "Torch revealing young creature clad in iron and gold (8)" is a four-part clue with abbreviations and a word within another word. The chemical symbol for "Iron" is "Fe" and for "gold" it is "Au", and a "young creature" is a "lamb", which gives us fe + lamb + au = f + lamb + e + au = flambaeu, which means "torch".
4. "Led to large quantity of various colours outside (7)" is a three-part clue with a word inside another word. "Large quantity" is a "lot", and "of various colours" is "pied", which gives us pied + lot = pi + lot + ed = piloted, which means "led".
5. "Member of appreciative audience rings a bell (7)" is actually a two-part clue. "Member of appreciative audience" and "rings a bell" both are synonyms for the answer, "clapper".
6. "Understand how to make fold in garment (6)" is another two-part clue. Both "to make a fold in garment" and "understand" are synonyms for the answer, "gather".
7. "Depopulated from in France much after the due time (8)" is a three-part clue masquerading as a four-part clue, with a two-word part and a translated word. "From" in French is "de", and "much after the due time" is "so late", which gives de + so late = desolate, which means "depopulated".
8. "They always meet at the middle of the ring (5)" is a straight witty clue. The answer is the plural of "radius", which is "radii".
9. "Grand friend losing right of a hearing (8)" is three-part clue containing a nominated letter and abbreviated letter in one. A "friend" is "pal", and "a hearing" is "a trial", and "right" is abbreviated "r", and "a trial" without the "r" is "a tial", which gives us pal + a tial = palatial, which means "grand".
10. With "In addition to rising loathes salts (9)" we've been a bit unfair: this was a "down" clue, and "rising" was therefore an indication that a reversal may be at stake. It's a simple three-part clue. "Addition" is "plus", "plus" reversed is "sulp", and "loathes" is "hates", which gives us sulp + hates = sulphates, which are "salts".
Easy as pie!