Clued In #306 | Setters are spin doctors
THCrosswordPlus Desk THCrosswordPlus Desk | 18 May 2021
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Sometimes, the definition of a clue might strike you as being the exact opposite of the answer when viewed in a certain context. But the setter only has to find a remote, even abstract, way to connect the two, and the onus is then on you the solver to negotiate it in your own turn.
CLUE: Spinner put English water body ahead of the French one (6)
Clue types: French, position
In ‘English’, a type of large ‘water body’ might be called SEA.
Clued In #307 | Cryptics, where creativity flows like water thehindu.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thehindu.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Clued In #305 | Dive deep for pearls of wisdom
THCrosswordPlus Desk THCrosswordPlus Desk | 13 May 2021
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Usually the surface of the clue is something mundane while the cryptic reading holds the subtle answer. Here, the profundity is sitting right on the surface whilst urging us to look deeper inside.
CLUE: I say God’s within (6)
Clue types: abbreviation, insertion
We need a 6-letter word ove here.
An abbreviation for ‘say’, as in a word that might precede an explanation or elucidation, is IE.
An example of ‘God’, from the Norse pantheon, is ODIN.
‘Within’ is an insertion indicator telling us to put ODIN inside IE.
Clued In #304 | Pay attention and you will get your reward
THCrosswordPlus Desk THCrosswordPlus Desk | 12 May 2021
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A setter is not all devious and the embodiment of pure deceit. They are obliged to be fully truthful about every piece of misdirection they are employing. So, the better attention we solvers pay to the clue’s wordplay, the more likely and certain we are piecing the answer together.
CLUE: Country song after limited expansion (8)
Clue types: position, letter-pick
A kind of classical ‘song’ is ARIA.
Another word for ‘expansion’ is BULGE. ‘Limited’ is an indication that we need to leave out the last letter, and so we get left with BULG.
Clued In #303 | Most of these clues are clue!
THCrosswordPlus Desk THCrosswordPlus Desk | 11 May 2021
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Even when you have figured out the indicators involved in a cryptic clue, you still might face the challenge of which fodder they apply to. Sometimes, the setter jumbles up the syntax or word order. On such occasions, you have to think like Yoda.
CLUE: Stop most of the group (4)
Clue types: letter-pick
Another word for ‘stop’ is BLOCK.
The words ‘most of’ indicate that we need to select all but the last letter of BLOCK.
And that’s how we get the answer BLOC, which is another word for a ‘group’ of nations!