Minute Cryptic

[Donnywolf]

Done in one but after taking the hint

[tommy toes]

Got it. First guess.

[Mike_F]

Took about a minute to think but got it in one for -2.

[tommy toes]

Hard one today, for me anyway, had to take one letter to get it.

[Donnywolf]

I took the hint

Then I looked at synonyms for the hint

Then a letter

Then another letter

Then I got it

I think the hint I get is STOP now

[mugnapper]

1 over par here. Not sure I'll be back for more lol

[Mike_F]

I took the hint

Then I looked at synonyms for the hint

Then a letter

Then another letter

Then I got it

I think the hint I get is STOP now

Same here. Then I watched the explainer vid and thought I was sort of on the right track with my thinking but I think it was pretty lazy to say that Woman is often abbreviated to just "w". You could use that sort of logic for all sorts of words if you just want to generate a letter that fits. Not the best clue setting today.

[tommy toes]

Solved straight away.

[Mike_F]

Didn't have a clue today. Even after taking hint letters to get it I had to watch the explainer video to see why it was right.

[Donnywolf]

Me neither

I got it right but had 2 guesses ( can't say what ) but when they were wrong I took a letter , then another letter .... So I had 1 & 3 and then in a flash of genius I got it

I watched the solution and was only just a bit wider

I'm still reminded of the comment I made in my first post on this Thread which was ....






had no idea for 25 years what " dog with distemper returns with a North Sea trawler" even meant. They all seemed to be like that


I looked at them from time before thinking wtf ?






Maybe I should have taken note of the above cos taking 2 letters today to solve a 4 letter word means I still don't have a f... Clue

[Pancho Regan]

Got it in level par today

[tommy toes]

Got this on second guess. No clues taken.
Clever wordplay withvthis one.

[tommy toes]

Very easy today, got it straight away.

[turnbull for england]

Same here, got to say it's not sparking a wordle style commitment

[Mike_F]

I got it straight away today. I'll keep playing but may not bother keeping up with the thread here as it's not really got a strong level of engagement.

[turnbull for england]

First go 2 under par

[tommy toes]

Same here, liked the clues.

[keyser_soze]

I've been sticking with this but i always use the hint and often take a letter. My brain just isn't wired up this way to look at the sentences in an abstract way so finding it quite a challenge spotting the clues, i often get the answer without knowing why, but the explanations are really useful i get the feeling once i've got my head used to recognizing what is a clue and what is a wordplay action - using words like 'defaced' (to take a letter off the start) and 'kicked' (anagram) and what they signify things may click a bit more.

A good challenge though, things like this and Wordle are now part of my daily routine to wake my brain up in the morning.

[Mike_F]

Contrary to what I said yesterday, as it seems that a few people are still enjoying this I'll carry on posting for now. Got it in one with no hints today. Not looked at the explainer vid yet, the last five letters were straightforward enough but I'm wondering if the first letter is simply a visual representation thing.

[idler]

Think of ball Mike.

[tommy toes]

^^ it is Mike.
Doing cryptic crosswords needs practice Keyser.
It also pays to know the tactics of each compiler. So doing one and the same newspaper always helps.
The one I do mostly has several give away clues ie
Gateshead G
Kent Area SE
Volunteer TA
Socialist Red
Tory C
article THE
If the clue had the word SOME in then the answer is in the clue eg orangereddish.
There’s loads more.

[Mike_F]

Thanks chaps, that what I thought. Good to know I was right in that logic.

[keyser_soze]

^^ it is Mike.
Doing cryptic crosswords needs practice Keyser.
It also pays to know the tactics of each compiler. So doing one and the same newspaper always helps.
The one I do mostly has several give away clues ie
Gateshead G
Kent Area SE
Volunteer TA
Socialist Red
Tory C
article THE
If the clue had the word SOME in then the answer is in the clue eg orangereddish.
There’s loads more.

I was hoping once I've done a few of these I'd be armed to start taking on proper cryptic crosswords that I've never got on with. If there is no underlying rule, pattern or logic to it, or at least thre is but it varies by compiler then i'm screwed and its back to Sudoku where everything makes sense :D

[Donnywolf]

I would give it a go ks

I am opposite to you in that I can do lots of a Cryptic now ( see my op ) whereas they were alien to me

My local paper had one and I started doing it and getting a few and eventually could do the lot because you get to know his "language"

However I'm crap at this one word malarky and last Monday , to practice , I picked up a Metro and in an hour had done 3/4 of it

So the Papers like Metro and Thorne Times are easier for me and you will deffo get used to them

[tommy toes]

Difficult one today. Took a letter to solve it.
Thing is, when you’re doing a proper crossword you often have a letter or two from solved clues to help. Here it’s blank.

[Mike_F]

Yep, the lack of help from solved clues makes it tricky at times. My thinking was on the right track again here but I was omitting odd numbered letters form the wrong words and getting frustrated. took a few clues then saw what I'd done wrong. Good to know my brain is now starting to function along the right train of thought though.

[keyser_soze]

i got it with a hint, but not in the way it meant me to, i did an anagram of ignore and removed the 'o' for odd 

[tommy toes]

Got this straight away today. No clues.

[Mike_F]

Took me  a little while looking at the clue but I was on the right track and got it in one.

[idler]

I thought that it was the easiest one for a while and got it without a hint or letter.  We all have our favourite types of clue though. I couldn’t get yesterday’s.