@RyanM you're right about there being no definition/wordplay split; the "no they don't" part could be seen as the definition but that needs the rest of the clue as context to work
These are sometimes called semi &lits, they show up once in a while but I think purists are not super fond of them
And no I don't think the question marks indicates anything there. Question mark at the end of a clue can indicate something tricky is going on (here we sometimes use it to mean "this clue almost works :p), but in the middle of a clue it doesn't mean anything afaik
yeah there's a half a split in a way, the wordplay is part of the clue but the definition is still the whole thing
i thought about making it something like "male swans have one and female swans have one", which has a clear wp-def split, but i like the other version more
@RyanM that's a really good point, never considered that
"make it to first base" can be slang for "kiss", which you can remove "is" from. I'm not sure if sliding can be a reversal indicator, but either way that leaves "time to eat a meal" and I don't know how to proceed from there
(But I'd love to get my mind out of the gutter, I hope "first base" doesn't mean that)
@msh210 If you're interested in my strategy for preventing this, I have a spreadsheet that extracts the number(s) written in the clue, and also computes what it thinks it should be, and then I can compare them to make sure it's correct
with the answers in column A and the clues in column B
Disclaimer: only tested in Google Sheets (disclosure: made by my employer). May or may not work in Excel; some quick searching suggests it may require a preview version.
@oAlt ah, yeah, I think it's my first time seeing that
@RyanM thanks. I've used something similar in one or more of my sequences above (you can see the linked spreadsheet). But when I'm not making a sequence, I don't bother with a spreadsheet. I mean, how hard is it to count, right? :-)
I just moved from normal to hard in an online crossword game today, and one clue was simply 'entertainment'.
The answer turned out to be 'review' and I have no idea how that links using the standard crossword logic which was effectively synonyms.
What am I missing?
Similarly to my previous chess instalment, this puzzle continues to explore the underlying geometry to be found in a sequence of consecutive checks. This time however, we will ditch the limiting confines and complications of ordinary chess and replace the game with the natural infinitary variant ...
I saw this puzzle in an old book with math games. The objective of the puzzle is to get rid of a six digit number in four moves so that the calculator will read 0.
You start with a six-digit number with all digits being different. You can use two-digit numbers and any of the +-*/ operations.
For ...
@Jafe Interestingly, Uranian not only means of or pertaining to the planet Uranus, but also of or pertaining to astronomy (as well as more prurient meanings) en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Uranian#English
@TheEmptyStringPhotographer it might help to familiarize yourself with how cryptic clues work first, from your attempts I'm not convinced you have a solid grasp of the basics yet
No offense meant, ofc, cryptics are hard and take time to get used to
(it's just a pin to put it up and cancel stars to take it down, right? It looks different to me when I do it vs. when other people do it, but that might just be because it inherently stars it?)
Well, I had an idea anyway and if it's going to go anywhere I need my brain to be more switched on, so perhaps 00:24 isn't the best time to begin after all! I'll keep thinking in daylight. Have definitely spotted a couple of things anyway.
What's hidden below? Explain your reasoning.
