CRYPTO CLUES CXVII

GAMES Magazine

December, 1984

Merl Reagle (1-7)

February, 1984

Mike Shenk (8-10)

All cryptic clues contain two parts: a direct or indirect definition of the answer and a second description of the answer through wordplay. A critical element to solving a cryptic clue is to determine the dividing point between the two parts. Sometimes this requires "chopping up" the clue in what seems like an unnatural way. For example, the clue IN LABYRINTH, I STALK VEGETABLE has to be broken up as MAZE for labyrinth, the letter I - to get MAIZE - which satisfies the clue IN LABYRINTH I, and MAIZE is another word for corn - a STALK VEGETABLE. Clue 3 is an example of this.

1. Big river make crooked line (anagram)

2. Stand inside ceaselessly (hidden word)

3. Fog is trapped in mountain (abbrev./container)

4. Exotic pet lovers snoozed too long (anagram)

5. Changing a lower bunk is useless (anagram)

6. Bring in coffee dispenser (homophone)

7. Enlarges holes in many sheets of paper (two meanings)

8. Madman working in a cult (anagram)

9. Bess Truman has pluck (hidden word)

10. Play part viewed by audience  (homophone)

Answers:

 

1. NILE

2. EASEL 

3. MIST 

4. OVERSLEPT

5. UNWORKABLE ( a lower bunk)

6. EARN (urn)

7. REAMS

8. LUNATIC

9. STRUM (pluck)

10. SCENE (seen)