The Stickler Weekly 29 Solution

The humble double-definition clue in some ways defines what cryptic crosswords are all about (two distinct paths to the answer), but in other ways is nothing like a typical cryptic clue. Let me explain. It’s very tempting to cite double definitions to new solvers as they are simple to explain, however, there’s very little in a standard double-definition clue that provides insight into the world of cryptic solving. Despite their simplicity in construction, solving them can be extremely difficult, as there are no pointers or indicators to help arrive at an answer. Worse still, there’s no easy way to determine whether a clue is a double definition: while most of them are short, they don’t have to be. There are two types of double-definition clue: true ones and pseudo ones. A true double-definition clue gives two meanings for two different words, that is, the two words are spelt the same but have different origins and are listed separately in a dictionary. “Heavy metal guitarist (4)” = LEAD is an example. A pseudo one gives two meanings for the same word, that is, the two meanings are related but their relationship is disguised in the clue. This is often done using a different part of speech. “Suspect brains (5)” = SENSE is an example. Here a verb and noun of the same word have been used. I’m not a big fan of pseudo double definitions and actively avoid them, however, they are popular in Australian, NZ and UK cryptics.
Setters can play a role in determining how hard a double-definition is by their choice of crossing letters. If the initial is missing and cross letters are common (E, I, A etc), then solving is going to be difficult, and there is always the possibility an alternative answer is available especially if it’s a psuedo double-definition clue.