Australian Crosswords

A while back a device was used in a DA crossword that caused a little discussion on the Australian Crossword Club forum. He uses many devices that I don’t subscribe to, but this one I quite like. DA first mentioned it on his blog as one he’d seen in another puzzle (like this one). Setters tend to collect devices like normal people collect stamps, except, of course, every new valid device is an extra string to our bows and another way to achieve a wordplay goal. The more we have, the easier the setting becomes. This is the clue in which DA used this device most recently: On vacation, trusty cleric arranged kids’ transport (8)* [SMH 25/3/16]. The deception here is with the term “on vacation” which appears to mean on holiday but actually means “when cleared out”, with vacation meaning the act of vacating. However, even though I’m happy with what “on vacation” can mean in a cryptic sense, I think the positioning of the indicator gives just too much for the solver to do. Here, at least, there’s a comma to maybe help indicate with the order necessary to make it work, but that’s not always a given in the modern-day cryptic. There’s an old “rule” in cryptics: ignore punctuation, but the truth is, the solver sometimes needs to do more: they have to add punctuation too, as without implied punctuation many cryptic clues don’t work properly.  I constantly talk about the need to look after the solver, otherwise wordplays will have only a minor role in the solving of clues. Just imagine reading through a clue where, in theory, there could be a comma at the end of every word, changing the structure of the wordplay. Nightmare. A solver who is constantly going back after finding the answer and spending lots of time unravelling wordplays is being dudded by the setter. Back to the clue. The solver has to realise the deception in the device then apply it to fodder that follows rather than what’s in front of it as would be the natural flow. The two things together are too much for me and I doubt this wordplay would be sorted out in the build-up to finding the answer.
(* anagram of (T)RUST(Y) + CLERIC = TRICYCLE)

Deception is what we setters like to use as often as possible in a cryptic crossword. You might think that’s necessary in EVERY clue, but truthfully, to experienced solvers most clues may not be deceptive at all. A setter goes to great efforts to construct each clue with a good surface, hopefully disguising how it works, however, an experienced solver can usually form a workable solving approach on the first read of the clue. A best guess at how to solve it. They may not be right, so they apply their second guess. A great clue will suggest a solving path, where ultimately a different approach is needed altogether. For newer solvers, the initial deception is in how the clue is constructed, then they have to tackle the clue’s individual devices. One of the tricks I like to employ is taking standard cryptic terms and exploiting their regular roles in clues. A couple of weeks ago in The Stickler Weekly 124 there were two such tricks:
10 across Condemned ten caught with ecstasy on board ship (9)
Here “on board ship” would normally mean inside “SS”, but in this case it means inside “SEND” (verb) (Answer: SENTENCED)
24 down Children slip away from broadcast, possibly (4)
Here “possibly” is used as fodder in an subtractive anagram clue, where normally it might suggest an example or actually be an anagram indicator itself. (Answer: BOYS)

Neither clue is difficult, but the use of these common cryptic terms (hopefully) forces a typical response from a solver, taking them down the wrong track.

Writing clues over a long period has pluses and negatives. On the plus side, a mental formula develops that helps get to a reasonable clue in the most efficient way. Basically, you get better at writing them the more you do them. You learn how to achieve wordplay goals through experience, like creating a plural definition from a wordplay that has a singular feel. On the negative side, there are only so many new things out there, so trying to be constantly fresh can be draining. One thing I have learnt though, is that if I choose my grid words smartly, then writing a reasonable clue shouldn’t be very hard, as a cluing approach has already be thought through. Better, if a word does turn out to be difficult to clue, time and effort WILL tease a decent clue loose. In fact, I’d go further to say that EVERY reasonable word or phrase pre-selected in a grid has a really good clue lurking, just waiting to be found, no matter how futile the process can sometimes seem.
In this crossword, the last word to be clued was 12-across: LOUNGE. Selected on the basis of O inside LUNGE and the multiple word forms of LOUNGE, it seemed no different to most of the words in the crossword from a cluing perspective, however, I just couldn’t tie a wordplay with a definition to my satisfaction, no matter how hard I tried. Setters short on time and motivation just butt the two together anyhow, making no effort to disguise the link. Such clues are easy to solve as the definition stands out so much that the wordplay plays a minor, or sometimes, no role.
Experience showed that I could clue LOUNGE well – the clue was there, I just had to find it. I persisted and pored over my references until a breakthrough: LOUNGE = LIE ABOUT – finally a term I could work with, one that has many meanings and a built-in linker. Now for LUNGE. Nothing easy here that goes well with the definition (I wanted something shady to emphasise the “lie” part of the definition) until I read about a move in fencing – ah, that’s illegal in the right context: how can I use it? I worked with “fencing action” and “fencing move” and almost settled there, but added “charge” after further reading of the LUNGE definition. Perfect. Now to put the O in there. Not hard in the end, although it didn’t come to me straight away. So there you have it, a word I found difficult to clue, but with time and effort and the belief that a good clue was there that just needed teasing out, a good outcome was achieved.

Lie about fencing charge, admitting nothing (6)