The Stickler Weekly 47 Solution

I was reminded a few weeks back that as a setter I must not only cater for a huge range of solvers with different abilities but consider where people may be at in their lives and what experiences they may have had. Even though I look at words as being made up of other words and letters, the words and answers I use, and the clues I phrase can mean different things to different people. I’ve often wondered whether I could get into trouble for writing a cryptic clue that reads as a disparaging remark yet the answer and how it’s derived bear no resemblance to the original clue. In theory the clue is a puzzle, and only the definition (and answer) means something, but a casual reader could easily be offended if they didn’t have cryptic insight. Some publications have crossword rules about acceptable answers that include the non-use of diseases etc and anything that may cause offence, which is rather broad. A cryptic crossword setter may get away with a risque word as the right clue will soften the blow creating a kind of inside joke.
One non-crossword word puzzle app I’ve done work on excludes words related to alcohol, tobacco, magic, religion, death and sex in order to secure a “G” rating. The context doesn’t matter so a word like “undertaking” can’t be used due to its association with death. It’s a black-and-white world when it comes to such things, with no exceptions. Thankfully with crosswords a setter provides a context and ultimately determines which definition is at play even if a clue may appear to be pointing in a different direction.