In the sample clues below, the links take you to explainers from our beginners’ series. The setter’s name often links to an interview with him or her, in case you feel like getting to know these people better.
The news in clues
This Telegraph clue …
13d Very emotional leader of Conservatives appearing in absurd hairstyle (10)
[wordplay: first letter (“leader”) of CONSERVATIVES inside anagram of (“absurd”) HAIRSTYLE]
[C in HYSTERIAL]
[definition: very emotional]
… could of course have used “Conservative” rather than “leader of Conservatives” to indicate the C in HYSTERICAL, but we can all be glad it doesn’t: a classic example of a slightly longer clue having a more, well, plausible surface reading.
Meanwhile, here is a clue from the Times Jumbo that would have come across as much more abstract a year ago …
43d Forget to secure permit before European check (4-3)
[wordplay: synonym for “forget”, containing synonym for “permit” (as a verb), then (“before”) abbreviation for “European”]
[LOSE containing OK before E]
[definition: check]
So that is LOOK-SEE, see?
Latter patter
And here is a Times clue …
2d Fish from Scotland served with heart (8)
[wordplay: another name for ‘Scotland’, next to (“served with”) synonym for “heart”]
[ALBA + CORE]
[definition: fish]
… which becomes a little easier for appearing in the same week that Scotland gained a new political party named Alba; the Jouker column in the National reminds English commentators that, while the party may share a name with a BBC channel, they are both borrowing a name for Scotland as old as Albion (which seems to be Irish, but that is another tale).
So do ALBACORE tuna take their name from Scotland? No, and nor is it because they are white like albumen (that is the alba rose). To save time, I tend to assume that any English word that begins “al” was once Arabic for “the [something]”.
Sometimes I am even right to do so. It more or less works, I am told, for alcove (the vault), algebra (the repair), alkali (the ash) and alcohol (the eye makeup). The etymology for “albacore” in the Oxford English Dictionary is an epic tale of more than 600 words. Long story short: people say it means “the young camel”, but it is entirely possible that this is because impetuous word hunters assume that any English word that begins “al” was once Arabic for “the [something]”.
It is all a lot clearer for the subject of our next challenge. From Arabic for “the alfalfa”: reader, how would you clue ALFALFA?
Cluing competition
Thanks for your clues for POSTCARD, which proved an excellent word for fun.
The audacity award goes to ScottDourque for the surface of “Cat drops revolting memento” and the inside-baseball award to Albery for “Wee bulletin from the front page of Saturday’s Times ‘Crosswords are Rogan’s domain’”.
The runners-up are PeterMooreFuller’s all-in-one “Photo sent on vacation, a funny one?” and TonyCollman, who thanks Croquem for inspiration for “One-sided report in the Mail?”. The winner is Croquem, for a different clue, the pithy “Unopened mail?”
Kludos to Croque. Please leave entries for this fortnight’s competition – and any of your picks from the broadsheet cryptics – below.
The latest addition to our collaborative playlist Healing Music Recorded in 2020-21 to Accompany a Solve or Even Listen to is from a year ago: in fact, it was edited and uploaded before the first lockdown. Good old Camden Voices.
Puzzling elsewhere
Likewise, your recommendations remain welcome for 2021-compliant puzzling activities. Here is the latest:
Fooling around
Once, pretty much every puzzle published on 1 April seemed to have some extra shenanigans going on. Perhaps the tendency will return; this time, I didn’t see much beyond a theme in Firefly’s Telegraph Toughie – with the exception of Filbert in the Independent. No spoilers, but a massive recommendation.
Clue of the Fortnight
I appreciated the audacity of defining an answer by what it isn’t in Paul’s clue …
26ac Capital of Louisiana in answer, one gathered? This isn’t! (3,7)
[wordplay: first letter (“capital”) of LOUISIANA, inside anagram (“gathered”) of ANSWER ONE]
[L inside ANSWERONE]
… for NEW ORLEANS – the largest city in the state, but not the capital, which is Baton Rouge.
The Shipping Forecast Puzzle Book by Alan Connor, which is partly but not predominantly cryptic, can be ordered from the Guardian Bookshop.
Here is a collection of all our explainers, interviews and other helpful bits and bobs.
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