I was recently interviewed by an excellent cryptic crossword blog called Crossword Unclued. You can find the interview here. We covered a whole range of topics, but the focus was on life as a professional full-time setter and how I’d changed in clueing style from the early days. I mentioned more than once a shift away from setting for myself and focussing on setting for the solvers. What did I mean by that? I’ll explain with an example. A recent clue from the UK, “A number of ducks crossing the sea (4,2,2)”, had me pondering for quite some time and was only solved once all the crossing letters were obtained. The answer is LOVE ME DO, a Beatles song released over 50 years ago. The definition is “A NUMBER” and “OF” is a linking word. The wordplay requires “DUCKS” to equal LOVEO and “THE SEA” to equal MED, with CROSSING being the containment indicator. For me, this clue asks too much of the solver. First they have to realise “A NUMBER” is a song and then find one from the millions that have ever been released – the definition may be clever in the context of the clue, but it’s far from giving the solver a good pointer to the answer. Next “DUCKS” must be seen as just two (separate) “DUCKS”, and one of them equated to “LOVE”. While DUCK and LOVE are zero score (0) in cricket and tennis respectively, they are not interchangeable and surely not synonymous without making a giant leap. For a solver to come up with “DUCKS” = LOVEO without first finding the answer would be almost impossible.
So, this is a setter’s clue: one that has great surface and construction but has been written with little regard to how a solver will actually solve it. One may say that it works technically, but is that enough?
Across | Answers and Clues | Explanations |
1 | STOPWATCH | |
Sample of cloth wrapped around finest timepiece (9) | SWATCH outside TOP | |
6 | STEP | |
Measure an amount of waste, perhaps (4) | waSTE Perhaps | |
10 | ELDER | |
Shoddy dealer paying no attention to a senior (5) | Anagram of DEALER minus A | |
11 | TEMPERATE | |
Reasonable salesman satisfied with backing at opening of exhibition (9) | (REP + MET) reversed + AT + (E)XHIBITION | |
12 | DRAGSTER | |
Bike is ridiculously dear, right, with the inclusion of GST (8) | (Anagram of DEAR + R) outside GST | |
13 | ALIENS | |
Outsiders state the wrong thing entering answer (6) | LIE inside ANS | |
15 | SNOOKER PLAYER | |
Potter corrected person about fine film (7,6) | (Anagram of PERSON outside OK) + LAYER | |
18 | EXTREME SPORTS | |
“Sex romp” setter reworded as “unconventional recreational activities” (7,6) | Anagram of SEX ROMP SETTER | |
22 | CHIACK | |
Young girl accepting a tease (6) | CHICK outside A | |
23 | OUT THERE | |
Tout worked at this place in the public domain (3,5) | Anagram of TOUT + HERE | |
26 | STOMACHED | |
Bore, most perversely, caused pain (9) | Anagram of MOST + ACHED | |
27 | INTER | |
Bury rational figure giving up, for example (5) | INTEGER minus EG | |
28 | SOFT | |
Tender’s essential elements listed in terms of trade (4) | termS OF Trade | |
29 | REDEFINED | |
Colour choice adopted by editor is specified differently (9) | RED +(FINE inside ED) | |
Down | Answers and Clues | Explanations |
1 | SPEEDY | |
Passenger’s first aboard run-down express (6) | (P)ASSENGER inside SEEDY | |
2 | ORDEALS | |
One released by a soldier sorted out difficult tests (7) | Anagram of A SOLDIER minus I | |
3 | WARTS | |
Item used to suck up unwanted lumps (5) | STRAW reversed | |
4 | TO THE SKIES | |
Youngster, hot, opening coolers extravagantly (2,3,5) | TOT + H + ESKIES | |
5 | HYMN | |
Church song that fellow heard (4) | Sounds like HIM | |
7 | TRACERY | |
Fine, decorative pattern people described in essay (7) | RACE inside TRY | |
8 | PLEASURE | |
Request guaranteed satisfaction (8) | PLEA + SURE | |
9 | CELLULAR | |
Pitted and skinned plum thrown into stock of wine? (8) | P)LU(M inside CELLAR | |
14 | PROPOUNDED | |
Professional, hit hard, submitted (10) | PRO + POUNDED | |
16 | OVERCOAT | |
Coax mostly sealed in plain protective layer (8) | (COA)X inside OVERT | |
17 | WEBCASTS | |
Internet shows cab wrecked in West Indies ultimately (8) | (Anagram of CAB inside WEST) + INDIE(S) | |
19 | TAIL OFF | |
Drop a good sort admitting trouble (4,3) | TOFF outside AIL | |
20 | SWEETEN | |
Sugar bags turned up with little inside (7) | NETS reversed outside WEE | |
21 | SEE RED | |
Drove, not having time to blow a gasket (3,3) | STEERED minus T | |
24 | THIEF | |
The fellow pinching items primarily (5) | (THE + F) outside (I)TEMS | |
25 | CHAR | |
Blacken large area of map (4) | (CHAR)T |
I love an &lit, so 24dn was my absolute favourite.
Plenty of great clues in this one. 15ac , with all the snooker I have played yet I could not stop thinking about Harry!
A bit late. I’m still catching up after Easter.
This was not much easier than week 29 but I might have been slow to get back into it. Loved 15ac. Clay thrower?witch? Demi Moore?