Never a cross word – 50

Tags

anagrams, crossword puzzles, cryptic clues, English for speakers of other languages, learning methodologies, words within words

Last week I left you this clue to think about:

Important china liar shattered (8)

Trying to solve this would be impossible if you had never come across Cockney rhyming slang. As I explained in the last post, china (an abbreviation for china plate) is rhyming slang for mate. Armed with this knowledge, one should keep in mind the possibility that the letters MATE appear in the solution.

It would be similarly impossible to solve the clue if you were unaware of some of the rules of cryptic crosswords, which I have attempted to explain in this series.  You should know by now that it is very unlikely that the answer has anything to do with an untruthful person breaking china!

The word ‘shattered’, which we encountered in the very first post (see Never a cross word – 1), suggests that the letters of the word ‘liar’ are broken apart and put back together in a different order – or in other words provide an anagram for the last four letters of the solution.  (If you have only just discovered this series please see Never a cross word – 3 for further information about anagrams.) In this case, the letters LIAR are rearranged as RIAL.  Added to china (MATE), this gives:

MATERIAL

We know this is correct since there is always a word or words in the clue defining the answer – in this case the word ‘important’.  Although it is not the most common meaning, significant or important is one of the ways in which the word material can be used; see here.  Lawyers will know this in connection with whether facts are material to a case or legal argument.

Material is more widely used as a general term to describe what things are made from, so an alternative clue could be:

Mother takes test about European cloth possibly (8)

Here, mother is MA; test is TRIAL; European is abbreviated to E and the answer, MATERIAL, is indeed possibly cloth. There are almost endless ways in which clues can be devised.

Material can also mean information or ideas and, in that sense, we have certainly covered a lot of material in the 50 posts in this series.  In just one year of Friday posts, which have been viewed in many different parts of the world, the advanced ESL learner has been exposed to several hundred words and idioms, mixed in with a smattering (small amount) of commentary on current affairs (what is in the news).  In the process, we have embarked on a magical mystery tour, covering a range of diverse subjects from practical jokes to politics and from tennis to twitter.  And we have encountered some authentic English which, without the stimulus of cryptic clues, we might never have had reason to discuss.

In addition, although this was always a secondary objective, I hope readers have learnt something about the art of cryptic crossword puzzles and can see why they are so appealing.  I feel sure, although this is difficult to prove, that engaging in the mental challenge of trying to solve clues, or simply understanding the solutions, must be an effective way of learning, as noted here.  For more commentary on cryptic clues as a teaching methodology please see Never a cross word – 1.

With crosswords published every day in national British newspapers, there is no shortage of material to draw on and I could continue these blogs indefinitely.  However, enough is enough and I have decided to wind up (stop) this series at the 50 post mark.  If you have not read them all there are plenty of articles in the archive to look back at.

So, school’s out: no homework this week.  Take a break and enjoy the Rugby World Cup. I will just conclude by wishing all readers the best of success in their English studies.  And when you next see a cryptic crossword puzzle, have a go.  If you can get even a couple of answers right you will find it tremendously satisfying.

Thank you for reading Never a cross word. 

Never a cross word – 49

Tags

anagrams, crossword puzzles, cryptic clues, English for speakers of other languages, learning methodologies, words within words

Last week I left you with this clue:

Lines penned by leading business figure for musical instrument (5)

The way to break this down is as follows.  An abbreviation for lines is ‘ll‘ (LL).  If, for example, you refer to a passage in a book from lines 12-17 you can write ‘see ll 12-17′.  A leading business figure is a CEO – standing for Chief Executive Officer.  We have come across pen before, one meaning of which is to enclose.  So, if LL is ‘penned’ by CEO we get the answer:

CELLO

a well-known musical instrument.

A CEO is the head of a company and the word ‘company’ (meaning a business) frequently appears in cryptic crossword clues.  That is because the usual abbreviation is Co. (as in Smith and Co. Ltd.) and CO is quite common in English words.  Take this example from Daily Telegraph Puzzle No. 27,902 dated 9th September 2015:

Hide from company and clean building (7)

The answer is obtained from the abbreviation for company plus an anagram of ‘clean’ (‘building’ is the hint that an anagram is involved because the letters we require can be built into ‘clean’ when rearranged).  The solution is therefore CO + NCEAL; or:

CONCEAL

which means, of course, ‘hide’.  For the definition of conceal, see here.

Other clues that apparently relate to the business world may include references to ‘work’ and ‘workers’ – but these are (as you might imagine) deceptive.  The word ‘work’ more often than not signals the letters OP, standing for opus – another musical term (compare Never a cross word – 48); and ‘worker’ normally signifies ANT (as in the insect, worker ant).

The following clues, from the same puzzle as above, show these tricks in operation:

First, consider:

Not joining in work can get initially unpopular (6,3)

Here, ‘work’ is OP (as explained above), ‘can’ is TIN (as in tin can!); ‘get initially’ is the first letter of ‘get’ (G) and unpopular is OUT (compare Never a cross word – 17).

Putting all that together gives:

OPTING OUT

which means not joining in.

Now try:

Worker trapped by wild pig with a bear? (5,5)

‘Worker’ is ANT (as explained above) but it is ‘trapped’ suggesting that those letters appear inside another word.  It is trapped by ‘wild pig’ which suggests an anagram of PIG; and ‘with a’ can be replaced by ‘and a’ or ANDA.

Putting all that together gives:

GIANT PANDA

which is a bear native (see Never a cross word – 40) to a part of China; see here.

The word China reminds me to tell you about something you might encounter in spoken English – at least in the London area.  That is Cockney rhyming slang.  A Cockney is someone from the East End of London (see here), and rhyming slang (spoken with a distinctive cockney accent) is a weird dialect as I shall explain shortly. Basically, instead of using a particular word, you use a word or phrase which rhymes with it.  To take an example, you might go up the ‘apples and pears‘ meaning to go up the stairs.  When a phrase is used, the word which actually rhymes with what is meant is frequently omitted, making things even more confusing.  Thus, to take a butcher’s at something is a widely understood expression meaning to take a look – because look rhymes with ‘butcher’s hook‘.  ‘China’ – an abbreviation for ‘China plate‘ – rhymes with mate, so in the strange language of Cockney rhyming slang a china is a friend.  An online dictionary of Cockney Rhyming Slang may be found here.

You are less likely to come across these expressions these days but they can still be heard, and occasionally appear in crossword puzzles.  I don’t have to hand (readily available) an example from a newspaper so I will make up a clue instead.  It reads:

Important china liar shattered (8)

Good luck! The answer will appear next week.

Never a cross word – 48

Tags

anagrams, crossword puzzles, cryptic clues, English for speakers of other languages, learning methodologies, words within words

Last week I left you with this clue:

Patriotic song, Arne air Butlin’s broadcast (4,9)

and noted that the answer had a connection with the Last Night of the Proms which takes place at the Royal Albert Hall in London tomorrow evening.

The word ‘broadcast’ is a hint that an anagram is involved, since – as well as the more familiar meaning (transmission of a radio or TV programme) – the verb ‘to broadcast’ can mean to spread.  One can broadcast seeds by throwing them (scattering them is a better word) on to the ground by hand.  The full definition is here.

So, if the thirteen letters in ‘Arne air Butlin’ are scattered and put back in a different order one obtains the solution. (If you are wondering what happened to the ‘s in Butlin’s, it is short for ‘is’ so the whole expression ‘Arne air Butlin’ is broadcast.)

Did you get it?  The answer is:

RULE BRITANNIA!

which is a famous British patriotic song.  At the Last Night of the Proms the audience joins in the chorus.  You can see a clip on You Tube here.

Rule, Britannia! was originally set to music by Thomas Arne in 1740 which makes the inclusion of the word ‘Arne’ in the anagram – and the word ‘air’ (meaning a piece of music) – particularly apt.  The word Butlin is less so but not entirely meaningless. Butlin’s is a chain of holiday camps in the UK, well known for using a system of loudspeakers to broadcast music and messages to its residents.

Rule, Britannia! is not of course the British National Anthem.  That is God Save the Queen (or King), which will also be featured at the Last Night of the Proms.  It will no doubt be sung with particular feeling this year: Queen Elizabeth II became Britain’s longest reigning monarch on Wednesday this week, surpassing the 63 years and 7 months achieved by Queen Victoria (1837-1901), after whose husband the Royal Albert Hall is named.

Musical references appear quite frequently in cryptic crossword clues.  Sometimes ‘quiet’ or ‘soft’ denotes the letter P (for piano) and ‘loud’ is an indicator for the letter F (forte). Often the word ‘note’ is used to suggest the inclusion in the answer of one of the letters A, B, C, D, E, F or G, or occasionally DO, RE, MI, FA, SO, LA, or TE.

But sometimes a little more musical knowledge is called for.  Take this clue from Daily Telegraph Puzzle No. 27,898 dated 4th September 2015:

Groups coming together chat about Wagner’s work (10)

One of the musical works Wagner is most famous for is The Ring cycle, a complete performance of which (usually over 4 days) takes about 15 hours, see here.

To chat is to talk about nothing of much importance in a friendly and informal way, see here.  Chatting with people is a pleasant way of spending the time but it can sometimes go on for a bit too long.  In that case a slang expression ‘to gas‘ can be used – to talk excessively about trivial matters (see one of the many meanings of gas here).

If GAS (chat) is put ‘about’ THE RING (Wagner’s work) we obtain the solution:

GATHERINGS

which are groups of people coming together.  You can talk about a family gathering, which is a meeting of members of the same family, often involving cousins or more remote relations who do not often see each other.

The names of composers appear not only in clues but sometimes in solutions.  Here is an example adapted from Daily Telegraph Puzzle No. 27,901 dated 8th September 2015:

Time to go over French composer’s journeys (7)

(The original clue said ‘passages’ instead of ‘journeys’ but I have made it slightly easier.)

‘Time’ is frequently abbreviated to T so that part is trivial; the skill comes in naming a French composer. That, in this case, is Ravel (1875-1937) who famously composed Boléro.  Ravel’s (ignoring the apostrophe as one is allowed to do in these clues) added to T gives the answer:

TRAVELS

meaning journeys.

I will leave you with just one more clue which in one way or another features the world of music.  This time it relates to an instrument.  Try this from Daily Telegraph Puzzle No. 27,903 dated 10th September 2015:

Lines penned by leading business figure for musical instrument (5)

The answer will appear next week.

Never a cross word – 47

Tags

anagrams, crossword puzzles, cryptic clues, English for speakers of other languages, learning methodologies, words within words

Last week, if you recall, you were left this clue to think about:

Pay close attention to verbose drunk (7)

I told you that the word ‘drunk’ could signal an anagram and that you did not even need to know the meaning of the word ‘verbose’.

That should have made it quite clear that the answer is an anagram of verbose! Did you get it? The answer is:

OBSERVE

which of course means to pay close attention to something, see here.

Just for the record, the word verbose means saying something in more words than are needed – see here.  A more common expression, which can also be applied to unnecessarily lengthy writing, is long-winded.

The verb ‘to observe’ can also mean to make a remark about something.  I observed in an earlier post that cryptic crossword clues quite often involve references to food.  Here are another couple of clues from Daily Telegraph Puzzle No. 27,890 dated 26th August 2015 which illustrate the point.

The first reads:

Fare available in Chinese boat?  (4,4)

This is a clever play on words as fare can mean not only what you have to pay for transport (as in train fare, bus fare, taxi fare and, maybe, the fare you pay to ride on a Chinese boat) but also it can mean food of a particular type.  See the definition here.

A Chinese boat can be a junk, an old sailing ship still used today, see here.  So ‘fare available in Chinese boat’ could be:

JUNK FOOD

As defined here, junk food is food which is high in calories but of no real nutritional value, the ready availability of which in developed countries has led to an alarming rise in obesity.  The term comes from the word junk, which means rubbish.  Junk mail (advertising leaflets or unwanted e-mails trying to sell you something) is a related expression.

The answer to the second clue is a prime example of junk food:

Sponges coat covered in trophies (8)

The answer is:

CUPCAKES

which are small cakes made of sponge.  Sponge is a versatile word meaning many things, but in the clue it refers to a light cake made from flour, eggs, sugar etc., see here.  Cupcakes (small cakes which typically look like this) are normally made from sponge, so in that sense they are ‘sponges’.

But how does the rest of the clue point to cupcakes?  As well as being something edible, cake can also be a verb meaning to coat or cover something.  If your shoes are ‘caked in mud’ they need cleaning!  And trophies (awarded for succeeding at sport) are typically cups.  So if coat (CAKE) is ‘covered’ by trophies (CUPS) you have the solution – another example of a word being placed inside another word.

Next week, as well as being the anniversary of 9/11 on Friday, will – on a happier note – feature the Last Night of the Proms on Saturday.  The Proms, or to give the full title, the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts, are daily concerts held mainly at the Royal Albert Hall in London over the summer months and are a notable feature of British life.  The tradition dates back to 1895 and you can read more about it here.  On the last night the audience always joins in the chorus of a particular song and, with that in mind, I have been saving this clue for you from Daily Telegraph Puzzle No. 27,793 dated 5th May 2015:

Patriotic song, Arne air Butlin’s broadcast (4,9)

The answer, and some further explanation, will appear next week.