Are you looking for a distracting and illuminating pastime?
A very warm welcome to all new solvers and readers. If you have picked 2020 as the year to get hooked on cryptic crosswords, we are here for you.
For beginners: I have been asked to collect in one place all of the friendly explainers we have done on how cryptic clues work – and here it is.
15dSuppose clothing involved beret, bar extras (there are ten here) (5,5)
[ wordplay: synonym for ‘suppose’ going around (‘clothing’) anagram of (‘involved’) BERET ]
[ GUESS going around TBEER ]
[ definition: bar extras (plus an explanation that the puzzle has a theme!) ]
21dFootballer Lionel, a hotfavourite at Christmas? (7)
[ wordplay: a footballer called Lionel + A (‘a’) + abbrev. for ‘hot’ (eg on taps) ]
[ MESSI + A + H ]
[ definition: favourite at Christmas? ]
21acStratford’s uncoveredgrass (3)
[ wordplay: part of the inside of (‘uncovered’) STRATFORD ]
[ definition: grass ]
1acDisplaycereal bowl (8)
[ wordplay: type of cereal + type of bowl ]
[ definition: display ]
I’m thinking of bowling up on the old YouTube for some live-solving of the relevant day’s Guardian puzzle and/or answering newcomers’ questions, like a Joe Wicks of language – thoughts?
Posts like this one come fortnightly; in between these roundups, we do things such as looking at crosswords in books and TV, interviewing setters and offering up explainers (summarised here).
And by eerie coincidence, the Guardian and Observer have very recently created a shiny crossword app.
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