Tutorial Crossword No.2
This time the clues are given just as you will see them on a standard
cryptic crossword. Try and solve them on your own! Remember to read through
all the clues and fill in anything you can solve immediately, and then try the
words leading off from the solutions you have – the checked letters should
provide you with help. If you need further assistance, try looking at our Other Help pages.
Click on any clue text for a full description of how that clue is solved.
Good luck!
ACROSS
1 High-tech
China painting? (5,2,3,3)
- China is a
STATE and painting is ART. Add a couple of linking words and you
have another way of saying high-tech.
9 Mistake
a worker on a quest (6)
- A simple read-through. Mistake = ERR, worker
= ANT (very common in crossword clues!). Put them together and you have a
definition of someone who is on a quest.
10 Anger
a theologian at heart with a conundrum (6)
- This one is a burial. Anger = RILE, a
theologian is a Doctor of Divinity or DD (check your list of
abbreviations). Put your DD "at the heart" of RILE and you will
have a conundrum.
11 He
is immersed in rum - that'll get him a discharge! (5)
- Another burial. Immerse - or bury - HE
in RUM and you do indeed get a discharge.
12 Rush
around, Bambi (4)
- This is a reversal, although around could
also indicate an anagram. The around in this case refers to Bambi,
who is a DEER, and if he goes around you find a rush
– the plant, that is.
14 Chaldean
city has each part of micturation (4)
- The only Chaldean city most of know of is
UR. It has EA, which is the standard abbreviation for each.
The definition is part of micturation.
15 Fold
in ample attire (5)
- This is a bridge – Fold is the
definition, in is the indicator for a bridge, and here it comes: amPLE
ATtire.
18 Meadow
full of wild life - and death, briefly (5)
- Wild here
is an anagram indicator. You’re looking for an anagram of LIFE; and
for death, briefly which is just D. And the definition? Meadow.
19 Stop
and be stable (5)
- Homonyms are words with two or more meanings. In
this case, one word means both stop and stable. But there’s
a bit of misdirection here, too, because stable also has two meanings – think of it as a place where
animals are kept.
20 A
large number are in the plot to strike (5)
- A burial, a Roman numeral and two misdirections
– real value for money here! A large number could be a thousand,
for which the Roman numeral is M. The plot in this case is not
actually a conspiracy but a SITE. Bury M in SITE and you have another word
for strike – not industrial action, but a blow.
21 The
oneness of one before the Fourth of July (5)
- One is a
UNIT. Place it before the Fourth of July – that is, the fourth
letter of the word “July” – to find a word meaning oneness.
22 I
leave the artist, though he's a great man (5)
- If I leave the name of Titian, the
artist, you’re left with a very large man indeed.
23 Great
tea, I hear - and that's just the beginning (5)
- STAR has the same colloquial meaning as great,
and T is tea, I hear. Put them together and that’s just the
beginning.
26 Dirty,
cracked weld (4)
- Cracked weld indicates an anagram of WELD – one that means dirty.
28 Throw
article in dish I have left (4)
- We’ll need to take this one apart. Dish I
have left is “dish” when the “i” has left it – D-SH. Article
is “A”, the indefinite article. Put the article in the D-SH to make
another word for throw.
30 Finally
immerse a medical man coming to confess (5)
- A medical man is a doctor, for which the abbreviation is DR. He is coming
to – that is, approaching – confess, or OWN.
Immersion here has nothing to do with burials. Finally immerse is
the definition.
31 Peruse
again a dearer collection (6)
- Collection
is an anagram indicator. Find an anagram of DEARER and peruse again (definition!)
32 Fold
down canine organ (3,3)
- Canine =
DOG, organ = EAR. Put them together to fold down.
33 U.S.
chap as Churchill, say (13)
- A straight read-through. U.S. = STATES, chap
= MAN, as = LIKE, resulting in... well, Churchill, say.
DOWN
2 Short
trees chopped down (5)
- Trees are chopped
down – you need an anagram of TREES which means short.
3 Catch
in French snare (6)
- In French
needs to be read as “in (French)” – that is, EN, which is
French for “in”. And a snare is a TRAP. Put them together to
define catch.
4 Turns
loose, I hear, and stand dead still (6)
- Turns loose
is “frees”. I hear indicates a “sounds like” – what word
sounds like “frees” and means stand dead still?
5 Crab
in a mobile home? (6)
- A feeble pun. What kind of crab carries its home
around with it on its back?
6 It's
a condition of being on horseback (5)
- You’re looking for a word meaning a
condition – not a state, but a stipulation – and describing
someone on horseback.
7 Period
of time encompassing Christmas, Epiphany, Easter and the Ascension?
(4,2,3,4)
- Period of time is in this instance a YEAR, and Christmas, Epiphany,
Easter and the Ascension are all events in the life of Jesus Christ. Of course,
the clue could simply have read “Present day”. No, not
Christmas – not that kind of present!
8 How
great is the distance between the Lone Star State and the southern tip of S.
America? Never mind, just steer! (5,8)
- How great is the distance – well, in this case, LONG. Place it between (key
word, that) the Lone Star State – TEXAS – and the southern
tip of S.America – the HORN – to rustle up a type of steer.
13 Expanded,
it did, around the dead (7)
- A burial. The dead – LATE – buried
inside DID to define expanded.
14 Initially
the United Nations made the attempt, but were never brought to book (7)
- Initially the United Nations is UN, made the attempt is TRIED. Never brought to book is
the definition.
16 Illuminated
about a thousand and one, no more (5)
- Another burial – LIT (illuminated)
about MI (a thousand and one in Roman numerals) gives you a word
describing no more.
17 Stare
in confusion at blossom (5)
- Stare in confusion = anagram of STARE meaning blossom.
23 A
seat for a clergyman in the sale? (6)
- The clergyman is DD again – see 10
Across. This time he’s in sale – burial – to give a word for a certain kind of seat.
24 Moan
incoherently about American city - under an assumed name! (6)
- Incoherently is an anagram indicator. You need an anagram of MOAN
around an American city – New York, or NY – that means an assumed
name.
25 Just
one hamstring among ten donkeys (6)
- A bridge, indicated by among. TEN
DONkeys, definition hamstring.
27 Fight
back onto the street - it's never been this bad (5)
- A Fight is a ROW, so fight back =
WOR. Put that onto the street – ST - and you’ll
find it’s never been this bad.
29 It's
a very long time in politics (1,4)
- Taken from a well-known quotation: “In
politics a week is a very long time” – Harold Wilson, former British
Prime Minister.
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