Wednesday 31 August 2016

31 Cryptic Crosswords - Tricky word play

For Blaugust this year I decided to publish a series of cryptic crossword posts.
I'very aimed  for one a day, and with today's short post I have completed the quest.

I'm enjoying it so much that I will continue for just a few more days with a couple of remaining thoughts that I haven't managed to fit in already.

Many of our friends over the years have said that cryptic crosswords don't make sense. They certainly do play with your mind, and that is why I take delight in them.  I love the surprising discovery inside a puzzle and the challenge of twisting the usual thought patterns and making them do something different.

Sometimes you can't help but laugh. That's what keeps me coming back to the table and suffering the frustration.
Often the trickier clues come with a question mark. If you see the question mark be prepared for something a bit unusual that might make you laugh.

Like
Drop off iron? (8) -Advertiser Feb 4th 2016
Drop off =decrease
Iron =de-crease (get it???-remove the creases!!)
You would never say de-crease instead of iron, but the answer clearly makes sense.
And it makes you laugh at the wonder contained in the English language.

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