Aphrodite, Fanny Adams and knickers all feature in our collection of the best of the broadsheets’ cryptic clues
In the sample clues below, the links take you to little explainers from our For Beginners series.
25acShell supports her in paintingatrophied bananas (9)
[wordplay: anagram (“bananas”) of ATROPHIED]
[definition: she is a figure who is supported by a shell in a painting]
6acOn returning, well off, embracing wife in city (7)
[wordplay: ON (“On”) backwards (“returning”) + synonym for “well off” containing (“embracing”) abbrev for “wife”]
[ON + RICH containing W]
[definition: city]
16dHear thieves? Nonsense! (8)
[wordplay: soundalike (“hear”) of a word meaning “thieves”]
[soundalike of nickers]
[definition: expression equivalent to “Nonsense!]
17ac First characters assembled in military mess (5)
14ac Initial combination that’s familiar in a mass (7)
[wordplay: synonym for “familiar” (as a noun) inside A (“a”) & scientific abbrev. for “mass”]
[CRONY inside A & M]
[definition: initial combination]
THE DOWNING OF FLIGHT 655; Military Errors: The Snafu as History (1988)
D‐Day at Dover a Snafu As US Dinghy Capsizes (1975)
The 5:54 “Snafu” Explained Fully (1974)
Snafu in Vietnam (1964)
HITS IN THE HINTERLANDS? SOLVING A SNAFU IN “NO TIME FOR SERGEANTS” (1956)
11acSite of traffic island for pedestrian (6-2-3-4)
[double definition, first ignoring punctuation, second more allusive]
Here’s a collection of all our explainers, interviews and other helpful bits and bobs
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