HOW TO SOLVE A CROSSWORD WITH EASE
Got stuck while solving a Crossword
Puzzle? And then feel insecure watching others apparently run through the cryptic
clues without breaking into a sweat…Relax, here is a guide to solving all crossword
puzzles like a literate Don!
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Start with the anagrams. You may recognise many others as you glance over them, but let them be for Round 2.
Abbreviations: Certain words have abbreviations in jargon or slang. Some examples are as follows: Doctor: md/dr; Sailor: ab; American soldier: gi; silent/soft: p or b; very silent or very soft: pp or bb; time: era/eon/age;Shakespeare:bard; owe: iou; ?/!: something unusual. We'll keep learning as we go along. Remember, each clue is a word puzzle in and of itself. In effect, there will be two clues in what you first see as a single clue.
Across: 12,23,25,29; Down: 8,14,17.
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12.It’s eaten as an aperitif(8). An eight letter word, as seen (8). ANISETTE is
close to an aperitif.
23.Drunken RAF ace holds it for a drink.(6)
Drunken is a clue for anagram. The solution is something from the words RAF & ACE that can hold a drink:
CARAFE
25.I covered for one who may have deserted her husband.(8) may have is a clue for anagram. There you go: DIVORCEE
29. It’s a tree used in a composition(8) Composition is
both tip-off and solution. TREATISE
Down
8. Members of a family are out, I stress. SISTERS --Please see the 1st diagram. This square is missing.
14. He takes little pleasure
from organising ice acts.(7) ASCETIC
17. A rich man’s form of lawlessness(9). ANARCHISM
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Across --4: Scanning the books for money owing on the horses. Whenever ‘owe’ features, rest assured that IOU will form part of the solution. The solution is an adjective, so expect an S. IOUS. Horses/ scanning give you stud farm and studying. So: STUDIOUS.
13. Disinclined to write an article on poetry(6) , ending in E.
The only articles possible are A/AN.
Poetry: VERSES Soln: AVERSE
30. Let
pass(6). Soln is a synonym for
BOTH let and pass, with an M as 4th letter. PERMIT.
Down—6. Labour in a manner of speaking. Here,
labour is a part clue. Manner of speaking= delivery. Women’s labour, when about
to deliver. DELIVERY
7. Do come up with our bouquet. DO come up=OD, add
OUR, ODOUR.
Now for the next lot:
11. Surprise opening by the French.
Opening-synonym is start. French ‘the’ is always le. So, STARTLE a synonym of surprise.
21. Is tense
(7) Tense can be anxious or present/past/future. PRESENT.
22. In a European, it is courteous. We have O & E.
IT goes into some European and we get a synonym of courteous. Polite? POLE is a
Polish citizen. Put IT in and get POLITE.
24. Loot includes stock (5), starting with
R and ending with E. RIFLE.
26. Examination success for soft headed dunce. Soft is B/P.
Dunce=Ass. P on ASS=PASS.
2. Blooming good example of self interest (9) The I-S-S give us a clue. And Trump has often been described so. NARCISSUS. It is also a rather rare flower.
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Now for the tricky ones.
Across:
10. Sore times
for ships(8). Times could be ERAS, AGES, etc. The one we want is EONS. One
synonym for sore is GALL. GALLEONS, ships of times gone by.
9. One hundred in a capital city said to be poor. This is a
brilliant brain teaser. One hundred is 1C or IC. Capital city is York or New
York. IC can fit only as YORICK. Yorick is the famous skull in Hamlet, which
the prince takes from a gravedigger and says: “Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him well.”
Kiss is good.
Down:
1. A heavenly spree?(7) The ? suggests some jiggery pokery. SKY
suggests itself as heavenly. LARK is the closest one gets to a spree. So,
SKYLARK.
3. Firework
lecture (6) Only ROCKET fits this one. Lecture would then mean a disciplinary
talk.
18. Invite trouble because of
appearance in a satirical
show(3,3,2). Invite=ASK; Satirical show = SKIT. There is an overlap
here, because we know inviting trouble is asking for it. ASK FOR IT.
19. Simple:
BACK OUT
Across:
1.We have
SENTRY. Apparently, half of us is S, on door =entry, so SENTRY. A default soln.
20. Doctor is
DR/MB/MD/GP. We already have _A_P. Here we have morning AM in GP, GAMP. Gamp is
an acronym related to the medical world.
Down:
I know the
soln is TEAR, but can’t reason why. Looks like A drops into TER, where TER is an abbreviation for total expense ratio.
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There you go, the crossword done and dusted.
Let’s look at another. Here are the clues:
Yellow highlighting
for the letters, Green for the hint, Blue for the clue.
Across:
18,27,28
Down:
1,3,7,8,14,
Across: 18.
Sort of roll, A-E, etc? (9) ELECTORAL (roll)
27. Cast in a very bad shape (7) SATANIC
28. Organise a gay reel with zest (7) EAGERLY
Down 1. Sweet courses prepared (7) SUCROSE
3. Spider natural at spinning (9) TARANTULA
7. Add to the confusion of the general (7) ENLARGE
8. Rude tot has to be made to be taught. (7) TUTORED
14. Act I lines sadly lacking in flexibility (9) INELASTIC
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A quick look shows that there was little to gain.
Now for some
others:
Across:
15,16,24,26
15. Consented to give up a vice (5) Consented=Agreed. Remove A: leaves
GREED the vice!
16. Where men fought in an era that was backward. Where men fought?
Ring-no; field? No; theatre? No; arena? Possibly. So read backwards, get ARENA
24. There’s pure chaos starting a tunnel to break out (5) ERUPT
26. Daughter of Minos gives a song with close backing(7) Daughter of Minos
was Ariadne.
Song-ARIA.
Close=end, backing, i.e. reverse END to DNE. ARIADNE.
Down: 16,17,20
16. Charming things to wear(7) Plural. Amulet is a charm. AMULETS
17. Make the most of an adventure(7) EXPLOIT
20. Gamble a great deal on a patched up tyre. A great deal=LOT;
tyre=TERY; LOTTERY. Plenty of hints with blanks filled.
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Wreck that's broken up, with little hesitation (7). Little hesitation is 'ER'. That's broken up=SHATT. So, SHATTER.
9 Across: Made provisional arrangements(7). Past tense, so ending is D. C_ _ _ _
R_D. Arranged provisions(food, etc.)
11. Giant group of stars (5) O_ _ _ N = ORION. The book says:"Orion is one of the most conspicuous constellations and contains many bright stars."
23. Advantage of having a superior worker (5,4). Superior =higher/better/upper/ Only UPPER fits 5 letter word. Worker=ANT/HAND/ Logically, UPPER HAND. The U,P & A fit in.
Down:
2. A great step forward in equestrian posture, A_T_I_ _ Step forward=STRIDE. ASTRIDE.
4. Added recommendation for a jockey (5) Remember theorems in Geometry? They usually had a rider. Meets requirement for a Jockey.
15. Swelling body of people(9) G_T_R_I_G =GATHERING
19. Nearer the circle or up beneath (7) R_U_D_R = ROUNDER
23. D_A_E, Bowler. DRAKE
Across:
12. Official record holder (9) Begins with R. ends with R. Hence human person, a records keeper, or REGISTRAR.
13. Performance of capital detachment(9) Here Capital =Head. Hence EXECUTION, which also means performance. And detachment of the head.
25. I am uppermost in his thoughts(7) E_O_ _ _T =EGOTIST
22 DOWN becomes REIGN.
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E |
C |
T |
O |
19R |
A |
20L |
M |
|
X |
|
|
|
L |
|
|
|
H |
|
O |
|
O |
21U |
P |
P |
E |
22R |
H |
A |
N |
23D |
|
24E |
R |
U |
P |
T |
L |
|
L |
|
E |
|
S |
|
R |
|
R |
|
N |
|
T |
25E |
G |
O |
T |
I |
S |
T |
|
26A |
R |
I |
A |
D |
N |
E |
T |
|
I |
|
G |
|
I |
|
K |
|
N |
|
E |
|
R |
27S |
A |
T |
A |
N |
I |
C |
|
28E |
A |
G |
E |
R |
L |
Y |