Times cryptic chess clue
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Re: Times cryptic chess clue
are theyre draughts nuts?
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Re: Times cryptic chess clue
I'm not related to Jeremy but a customs officer at San Francisco Airport did ask, tongue in cheek, whether I was related to Inspector Morse. It was a pleasant surprise to find some evidence of humour in an American customs officer after the rudeness which I and probably most people have encountered from the customs people in New York.
I'm not claiming to be well-travelled because I'm not by many people's standards!
I'm not claiming to be well-travelled because I'm not by many people's standards!
I was a victim of a series of accidents, as are we all.
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Re: Times cryptic chess clue
I think there is some connection with Inspector Morse and crossword clues, or was it Dexter, the writer?Gordon Morse wrote: ↑Mon Aug 29, 2022 10:42 pmI'm not related to Jeremy but a customs officer at San Francisco Airport did ask, tongue in cheek, whether I was related to Inspector Morse. It was a pleasant surprise to find some evidence of humour in an American customs officer after the rudeness which I and probably most people have encountered from the customs people in New York.
I'm not claiming to be well-travelled because I'm not by many people's standards!
Anyway, today's Times 6 down:
Where men go sweeping (6-3-5)
Solution: ACROSS-THE-BOARD (definition 'sweeping')
'Men' is often used to mean chess men in cryptic clues.
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Re: Times cryptic chess clue
"I think there is some connection with Inspector Morse and crossword clues, or was it Dexter, the writer?"
Colin Dexter was a big fan of the Ximenes crossword in the Observer and named his characters after regular of the prize. You had to complete the crossword, then provide a clue for (say) 9 Across. As CJ Morse won repeatedly, he became the hero of the books.
Colin Dexter was a big fan of the Ximenes crossword in the Observer and named his characters after regular of the prize. You had to complete the crossword, then provide a clue for (say) 9 Across. As CJ Morse won repeatedly, he became the hero of the books.
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Re: Times cryptic chess clue
Relaying a Guardian clue (20 September) quoted in a thread on the Crossword Help Forum:
After mistake on circuit, pressure for F1 starter (6)
I think it has to be a down clue to be sound. Knowledge of chess notation needed as well as an old-fashioned four-letter word for 'mistake'.
After mistake on circuit, pressure for F1 starter (6)
I think it has to be a down clue to be sound. Knowledge of chess notation needed as well as an old-fashioned four-letter word for 'mistake'.
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Re: Times cryptic chess clue
Bishop
"My bishop move was a bad bish"
"My bishop move was a bad bish"
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Re: Times cryptic chess clue
That's a pretty clever "surface" (cryptic crossworders' term for a clue whose superficial reading suggests the answer is in a completely different category from the actual one).
A sentence about a chess game that includes that old-fashioned word referred to above: "You've made a bish and put yourself in check." (Jennings Follows A Clue, Chapter 1)
A sentence about a chess game that includes that old-fashioned word referred to above: "You've made a bish and put yourself in check." (Jennings Follows A Clue, Chapter 1)
"The chess-board is the world ..... the player on the other side is hidden from us ..... he never overlooks a mistake, or makes the smallest allowance for ignorance."
(He doesn't let you resign and start again, either.)
(He doesn't let you resign and start again, either.)
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Re: Times cryptic chess clue
After reading this thread, I am glad I have never taken up cryptic crosswords.
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Re: Times cryptic chess clue
Cryptic crosswords - for those who think chess isn't enough of a waste of time
"Set up your attacks so that when the fire is out, it isn't out!" (H N Pillsbury)
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Re: Times cryptic chess clue
Of course 'bish' can simply mean bishop, as in the famous game Holly v Queeg - "Horsey to King's Bish three".
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Re: Times cryptic chess clue
People on the Crossword Help Forum are posting cryptic chess clues now. From a recent Guardian (which I don't buy):
Defeat of king's son nurtured by partner (9, 4)
S - - - - - - - D M - - -
Quite specialist for a general cryptic, but the phrase is in Collins and Chambers dictionaries so fair game, I suppose.
Someone wondered why it had to be by a knight (as mentioned in the dictionary). For the casual player I can see why a back rank mate might also be thought to be in this category.
Defeat of king's son nurtured by partner (9, 4)
S - - - - - - - D M - - -
Quite specialist for a general cryptic, but the phrase is in Collins and Chambers dictionaries so fair game, I suppose.
Someone wondered why it had to be by a knight (as mentioned in the dictionary). For the casual player I can see why a back rank mate might also be thought to be in this category.
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Re: Times cryptic chess clue
I can see the solution but the clue is utter gibberish, couldn't even imagine what warped imagination decided that led to the word smothered.
Lose one queen and it is a disaster, Lose 1000 queens and it is just a statistic.
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Re: Times cryptic chess clue
son = s. nurtured = mothered.Joey Stewart wrote: ↑Fri Oct 07, 2022 12:05 amI can see the solution but the clue is utter gibberish, couldn't even imagine what warped imagination decided that led to the word smothered.
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Re: Times cryptic chess clue
and partner = mate
Cryptic crosswords are a game with its own baffling rule set. The forum relies on Paul H and others for explanations.
That was an easy one for the forum if rewritten as chess terminology, two words, one (9 letters) starts with s and ends with d. The other (4 letters) starts with m.
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Re: Times cryptic chess clue
Yes, Joey, cryptic clues are gibberish and uninteresting for many people, though I suspect even more people are turned off by chess.Joey Stewart wrote: ↑Fri Oct 07, 2022 12:05 amI can see the solution but the clue is utter gibberish, couldn't even imagine what warped imagination decided that led to the word smothered.
However, there is nearly always a basic definition somewhere in the clue. This definition is all you get in a 'quick' and ostensibly easier crossword. In the example above 'smothered mate' is defined by 'defeat of the king'. The rest of the clue uses linguistic devices to give further hints and I agree that getting used to those can be a formidable hurdle, but in theory they make the clue easier than a 'quick' one. S for son is acceptable because it is used in genealogy. 'Mothered' = 'nurtured' and 'partner'='mate' are straightforward definitions in themselves.