The Stickler Weekly 202 Clue Hints

(click on the clue number to see the hint)

Click on underlined text for explanation of terms.

Need more hints for these or other clues? Just leave a reply below.



8-across

9-across

11-across

14-across

17-across


23-across


25-across

26-across

27-across

28-across

1-down

2-down

3-down

6-down

7-down

15-down

16-down


21-down


The structure of the answer involves either letters placed outside other letters, or letters placed inside other letters. Which type of container clue is determined by an appropriate container indicator.
A question mark has been used to indicate "language abuse", that is, a word or words in a clue are used in a technically incorrect way, but the meaning can be still inferred.

Example: A indeed (?) could mean to insert A inside deed.

The answer is found by butting together parts defined in the wordplay. There may be some positional indicators that change the order of these parts.
The answer is hidden among the words of the clue. No spare words should be present. A suitable hidden indicator will point to the buried text.

Examples: part of, associated with, types of.

A pointer that signifies the placing of one or more parts of a clue (or their equivalents) around the OUTSIDE of one or more parts of a clue (or their equivalents).

Examples: holding, keeping, embracing - anything that creates the image of containment.

A pointer that signifies the placing of one or more parts of a clue (or their equivalents) on the INSIDE of one or more parts of a clue (or their equivalents).

Examples: held by, kept by, embraced by - anything that creates the image of being contained.

A word or series of words that signify the position of wordplay elements in the answer.

Examples: before, after, leading, in the middle of, under (down only) etc.

A word or series of words that signify the turning around (across & down clues), or overturning (down clues only) of letters.

Examples: upset, reversed, retired, in withdrawal, over etc.

A type of clue that involves the mixing up of letters without the inclusion of a letter or letters. This clue will have an anagram indicator to signify jumbling and a subtraction indicator to signify the removal of a letter or letters.

A removed letter may be as seen in the clue, an abbreviation for a word in the clue, or the result of another cryptic device like taking the initial letter from a word. Removed letters may be a whole word as seen in a clue, the synonym of a word in the clue (if that synonym is contiguous within the anagram fodder), or the result of another cryptic device like taking the middle two letters from a word.

A word or series of words that signify the loss of one letter at the start or end of a word or string of letters.

Examples: beheaded, cut short, endless, nearly, largely etc.

The structure of the answer involves either letters placed outside other letters, or letters placed inside other letters. Which type of container clue is determined by an appropriate container indicator.
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The Stickler Weekly 202 Overseas Help

Welcome all cryptic crossword solvers.

Some cryptic crosswords are tough purely because local lingo is used and not understood by all, especially those living outside of Australia. This post seeks to fill this vernacular gap.

There aren’t any extra hints needed this week.

Like to add something I’ve missed to help others, or comment on a meaning, term or expression? Please leave a reply below.

Posted in Stickler Weekly Clue Help, The Stickler | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The Stickler Weekly 202 Overseas Help

The Stickler Weekly 201 Solution

Across Answers and Clues Explanations
1 CHAMPERS
They eat and drink (8) Double Definition
5 SAMBAL
Side dish, say, largely served with cooked lamb (6) (SA)Y + anagram of LAMB
10 RATED
Roasted a side of meat marinated in wine (5) [A + MEA(T)] inside RED
11 COAT-STAND
A time specified in quotation and Mac’s support unit, perhaps (4-5) (A + T) inside COST + AND
12 BUNDLE OF NERVES
Very timid, anxious person – bread vendor – feels disturbed (6,2,6) BUN + anagram of VENDOR FEELS
14 LEES
Tall type of male escort returned deposit (4) MA(L)E + (SEE reversed)
15 MUSCULAR
Powerful American cult mostly occupying ruin (8) [US + (CUL)T] inside MAR
18 GEL
Retired member is set (3) LEG reversed
19 UNSHAVEN
Rough experience admitted by converted nuns (8) HAVE inside anagram of NUNS
20 HORN
Butchered rhino doesn’t have one? (4) Anagram of RHINO minus I
23 TARGET PRACTICE
Get price cut by law after sailor’s shooting exercise (6,8) [GET + (PRICE outside ACT)] after TAR
26 DEVELOPED
Adult died after breakdown of deep love (9) D after anagram of DEEP LOVE
27 ROGUE
Mischievous characters filling Irishman’s shoes? (5) B(ROGUE)S
28 ASLANT
A large piece of land in street is off to one side (6) A + (LAN)D inside ST
29 SEASONAL
A child used in plug may be appearing sometimes (8) (A + SON) inside SEAL
 Down  Answers and Clues Explanations
1 CEREBELLUM
Twelve caught insurgent sticking drug trafficker up? (10) C + REBEL inside (MULE reversed)
2 ATTENDEES
They go at rising top tennis player before final (9) AT + [(SEED + NET) reversed]
3 PUDDLE
Small pool’s diameter doubled when enclosed with pipe (6) DD inside PULE
4 RECKON
Count on finishing dilapidated vehicle with front-end missing (6) ON after W(RECK)
6 ABSTRACT
General muscles stretch (8) ABS + TRACT
7 BRAKE
Check a place overgrown with bushes and shrubs (5) Double Definition
8 LADY
Woman and young man marry finally (4) LAD + MARR(Y)
9 PAINFUL
Early missionary carrying in fellow causing distress (7) PAUL outside (IN + F)
13 ORANGE-PEEL
Discarded piece of fruit or waste consumed by good child (6-4) OR + (PEE inside ANGEL)
15 MEN
Employees abbreviated computer list (3) (MEN)U
16 LOOKING ON
Relatives leave with crazy person outside watching (7,2) (KIN + GO) inside LOON
17 PANGOLIN
Scaly ant-eater quietly shuffled along and in (8) P + anagram of ALONG + IN
18 GESTAPO
Police detested perverted tapes seized in function (7) Anagram of TAPES inside GO
21 BRIDGE
Newlywed keeping back to gathering is cross (6) BRIDE outside GATHERIN(G)
22 SCORES
Doctor kicked out of Red Cross wrongly obtains drugs (6) Anagram of RED CROSS minus DR
24 ANVIL
Small bone fragments found in Roman village (5) romAN VILlage
25 IDEA
Plan is not quite perfect (4) (IDEA)L

 

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The Stickler Weekly Insights 201 – Changing Times

The Australian newspaper, owned by News Corp, publishes The Times cryptic crossword almost five weeks after it appears in the UK. Continue reading

Posted in Crosswords General, Stickler Weekly General, Stickler Weekly Puzzles, The Stickler | 3 Comments

The Stickler Weekly 201

The Stickler for this week is now available. Please select your preferred solving format.

The solution to this puzzle will appear next week.

  Clue Hints for The Stickler Weekly 201
  Overseas Help for The Stickler Weekly 201
  Solution to The Stickler Weekly 200
Insights for this week
  Invest in the Future of The Stickler

Please include comments or discussion about this crossword below.
Request help in the Clue Hints blog entry so all can see.

It’s a weekly crossword, so please don’t give/discuss any full answers until the solution is posted (such posts will be deleted/edited).

Enjoy!

The Stickler

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The Stickler Weekly 201 Clue Hints

(click on the clue number to see the hint)

Click on underlined text for explanation of terms.

Need more hints for these or other clues? Just leave a reply below.




11-across

12-across

14-across

15-across

19-across


23-across

29-across

1-down

2-down


4-down


9-down

13-down

16-down

18-down




The clue has two parts, each one defining the answer without using cryptic devices. Ideally each definition should have no etymological relationship.
The structure of the answer involves either letters placed outside other letters, or letters placed inside other letters. Which type of container clue is determined by an appropriate container indicator.
All words can be validly written with a leading capital without changing their meaning. Hence, the capitalisation of a word may present a different picture than is intended.
The structure of the answer involves either letters placed outside other letters, or letters placed inside other letters. Which type of container clue is determined by an appropriate container indicator.
A type of clue where the WHOLE clue defines the answer, and the WHOLE clue also is the wordplay (a mechanism to derive the answer through various cryptic devices). "&lit" is short for "and literally".

To qualify as an &lit, a clue must have no unused components either in the definition or the wordplay - it must be readable one way as a definition, and another as the wordplay.

A pointer that signifies the placing of one or more parts of a clue (or their equivalents) on the INSIDE of one or more parts of a clue (or their equivalents).

Examples: held by, kept by, embraced by - anything that creates the image of being contained.

The structure of the answer involves either letters placed outside other letters, or letters placed inside other letters. Which type of container clue is determined by an appropriate container indicator.
A pointer that signifies the placing of one or more parts of a clue (or their equivalents) on the INSIDE of one or more parts of a clue (or their equivalents).

Examples: held by, kept by, embraced by - anything that creates the image of being contained.

The structure of the answer involves either letters placed outside other letters, or letters placed inside other letters. Which type of container clue is determined by an appropriate container indicator.
The clue has two parts, each one defining the answer without using cryptic devices. Ideally each definition should have no etymological relationship.
Either a mixture of letters is placed inside or outside other letters, or letters are placed inside or outside a mixture of letters. An anagram indicator and containment indicator will be present.
The structure of the answer involves either letters placed outside other letters, or letters placed inside other letters. Which type of container clue is determined by an appropriate container indicator.
A type of clue that involves the mixing up of letters without the inclusion of a letter or letters. This clue will have an anagram indicator to signify jumbling and a subtraction indicator to signify the removal of a letter or letters.

A removed letter may be as seen in the clue, an abbreviation for a word in the clue, or the result of another cryptic device like taking the initial letter from a word. Removed letters may be a whole word as seen in a clue, the synonym of a word in the clue (if that synonym is contiguous within the anagram fodder), or the result of another cryptic device like taking the middle two letters from a word.

The entire answer is the result of removing the first or last letter from part of the clue or its synonym. A truncation indicator will be present.
Posted in Stickler Weekly Clue Help, The Stickler | Tagged , , , | 46 Comments

The Stickler Weekly 201 Overseas Help

Welcome all cryptic crossword solvers.

Some cryptic crosswords are tough purely because local lingo is used and not understood by all, especially those living outside of Australia. This post seeks to fill this vernacular gap.

There aren’t any extra hints needed this week.

Like to add something I’ve missed to help others, or comment on a meaning, term or expression? Please leave a reply below.

Posted in Stickler Weekly Clue Help, The Stickler | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The Stickler Weekly 201 Overseas Help

The Stickler Weekly 200 Solution

Across Answers and Clues Explanations
1 GRUB
Bug, right, in a different form? (4) Anagram of (BUG + R)
4 DABBLED
Retired criminal, left in bed, played around (7) BAD reversed + (L inside BED)
10 ISINGLASS
A setting agent is in drinking vessel (9) IS + IN + GLASS
11 OFFAL
Removed a large liver for one (5) OFF + A + L
12 RIDGED
Corrugated moulding of grid bends evenly (6) Anagram of GRID + B(E)N(D)S
13 MINI-GOLF
Putting experience and energy, captured by film, in broadcast (4-4) GO inside anagram of FILM IN
15 DENT
Press in study time (4) DEN + T
16 ORNAMENTAL
Fancy title not abbreviated in exam (10) (NAME + NT) inside ORAL
18 TATTERSALL
Lace makers all checked material (10) TATTERS + ALL
19 BEEF
Fine imposed after honey maker’s complaint (4) F after BEE
22 BOUFFANT
Expert six-footer, inhaling oxygen, is puffed out (8) (BUFF + ANT) outside O
23 MANAGE
Look after back of chihuahua covered in skin disease (6) CHIHUAHU(A) inside MANGE
25 SMEAR
Malign listener after brief text message (5) EAR after (SM)S
26 ELONGATED
Happy about song lacking an introduction being lengthened (9) ELATED outside S(ONG)
27 OATMEAL
A meat goulash served in middle of cold, coarsely ground foodstuff (7) (A + anagram of MEAT) inside C(OL)D
28 SORE
Cut by mouth is painful (4) Sounds like SAW
 Down  Answers and Clues Explanations
2 RUGGED
Uneven covering aged without alteration initially (6) RUG + [AGED minus (A)LTERATION]
3 BEAD
Layer soaking up a drop of liquid (4) BED outside A
4 DESPICABLE
Half of nude picture painted in black is shameful (10) NU(DE) + (PIC inside SABLE)
5 BROMIDES
Newly-weds carried around ring and minute photographic prints (8) BRIDES outside (O + M)
6 LIFE OF THE PARTY
What entertaining person came to do? (4,2,3,5) Cryptic Definition
7 DOLEFUL
Carry out large blend of fuel that’s blue (7) DO + anagram of FUEL
8 TIERED
Draw colour in rows (6) TIE + RED
9 WIND INSTRUMENT
Went outside during commotion to play guitar and didgeridoo, say (4,10) WENT outside (IN + DIN + STRUM)
14 PRISON CELL
Image management starting to sweat once inside diseased ward section (6,4) PR + [(S)WEAT + ONCE] inside ILL
17 PERFORCE
Salesman stood up for gutless coupe inevitably? (8) REP reversed + FOR + C(OUP)E
18 TABASCO
Bill company stocking, for instance, hot stuff (7) (TAB + CO) outside AS
20 FIELDS
Retrieves primary piece of data in corrupted files (6) (D)ATA inside anagram of FILES
21 HANGER
One dressing, say, missing original wardrobe item (6) C(HANGER)
24 MOSS
He took two tablets, dropping ecstasy and stuff in bog (4) MOSES minus E

 

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The Stickler Weekly Insights 200 – Looking Up

A dictionary can be a setter’s best friend or worst enemy. I rely heavily on dictionaries to get things right, but in the modern world, what’s acceptable and current is a bit of a moving target. Continue reading

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The Stickler Weekly Turns 200

This week, crossword number 200, marks almost four years of The Stickler Weekly. I must admit I didn’t know how long it/I would last, but I think four years is a good effort. The hardest thing is to keep motivated, which gets increasingly more difficult as my other crossword work continues to dwindle. Counter-intuitively, the more work I had, the easier it was to focus on crosswords. You’d think more time would mean a more relaxed, keenly-crafted crossword, but it doesn’t. I have so much time I can’t sustain the concentration required do to a productive job. I used to be six weeks ahead with The Stickler in The Daily Telegraph, that’s 36 crosswords, now The Stickler Weekly is a just-in-time effort.
For me, probably more surprising than reaching the 200 Stickler Weekly milestone, is the uninterrupted production of a weekly spiel. Who’d have thought there were that many things to talk about in the crossword world? It’s hard coming up with something different each week so please submit any crossword topics you’d like me to talk about, or perhaps a past topic that you’d like me to expand on.
As with the production of The Stickler Weekly, other planned tasks are slow to complete. Indexing of past spiels hasn’t gone very far and a comprehensive links page isn’t past the initial stages. I’ll get there eventually…

Thanks for all the support, feedback and comments.

Best and thanks.

David
The Stickler

Posted in Crosswords General, Stickler Weekly General, Stickler Weekly Puzzles, The Stickler | 12 Comments