Thanks
Thanks to all of you that came to the workshop. It was great to have a chance to try out all those puzzle 'fragments', especially with such enthusiastic participants. The food was pretty good too!
Oops!
Apologies for two major errors.
- Emile (Zola) is indeed spelled with a final 'e'. Sorry.
- The TAPAS/EASEL problem. Nothing wrong with the diagram - I'd simply clued the wrong word. The answer was supposed to be PASTA (which fits), not TAPAS (which doesn't). The clue now reads "A quick snack - tapas, maybe."
Boxword
Notes and answers are given below. The notes should enable you to work out the answer, but if you're still in doubt, multi-click on the red blob to reveal it. (For a printable copy of the puzzle, click here.)
ACROSS
1 It’s a word that means a repeated sound, and comes in the sequence ... Charlie, Delta, …. , Foxtrot ...
Answer: ECHO 3 A typical 'composite' clue. 'A dash of' tends to mean 'the first letter of', so that's a B, followed by SODA backwards ('back'), all of this coming after BAR ('behind the bar'), giving you ...
Answer: BARBADOS 9 This is an anagram of 'ox-cart ban' (signalled by 'overturned'), and it means (after a fashion) 'the price of pollution'
Answer: CARBON TAX
10 This is one of those off-beat definitions of the kind that Rufus is so good at. It simply means 'football's equivalent of love (as used in another sport - tennis)'.
Answer: NIL 11 A reversal (signalled by 'knock back') of a word meaning 'cold beer'. The definition cheats a bit (in order to get in a Box reference): a more accurate definition would just be 'like the Queen'.
Answer: REGAL
13 MAN U is short for Manchester United. Followed by A + 'L' (= learner or trainee). And it means something that someone learning something might need to read.
Answer: MANUAL 15 A double-meaning clue. The No 1 refers to the first batsman. The other meaning's nothing to do with cricket (the capitalised Cork is simply for subterfuge) and technically should perhaps be called a 'corkscrew' rather than an ...
Answer: OPENER 16 The answer means 'commercial centre' (in a sense), though the only remaining shop in this Place in Box is Dave the Butcher's.
Answer: MARKET 19 An anagram, but with a bit of work to do first. The clue means: Take 'imagine', remove the I ('I've gone') and mix it up ('sorted') to make a word meaning 'puzzle'.
Answer: ENIGMA 21 A hidden word clue. It means someone or something that may laugh, and it's lurking inside the phrase 'toothy enamel'.
Answer: HYENA 23 Tricky 'This + That' clue, in which the definition part is simply the 'I'. 'Say' can mean 'for example, which commonly abbreviates as 'e.g.' Put a circular 'nothing' on the end and you have ...
Answer: EGO 24 A 'composite' clue with a trickily disguised definition, which is simply the first two words: 'coming to'. A funeral party is a 'wake' and this is followed by the initial letters of the next four words (signalled by 'initially').
Answer: AWAKENING 26 Another hidden word clue. The answer is a possible description of a moonlit dinner, and it's hidden inside 'from anticipation' (signalled by 'in part').
Answer: ROMANTIC 27 Well, you can 'lose the ____'. It's simply 'pilot' with 'one' missing
Answer: PLOT
DOWN
1 It’s not often that 'soup' is an anagram signal word, but there you go.
Answer: ESCARGOT 2 Another hidden word clue. A grammatical definition (female possessive form) hidden in 'the Revels'
Answer: HER 4 An anagram of 'a maths' (signalled by 'problem'). Means something that could leave you breathless.
Answer: ASTHMA 5 There's a 'sounds-like' element in this clue. First you have to break the clue in the right place - the definition is 'stop car leaving'. Now the cryptic part: 'Our village' is pretty clear. Then you have something (with 2 letters) that sounds like (signal: 'say') a word meaning 'tavern'.
Answer: BOX IN (sounds like INN) 6 An anagram clue. 'What could be' signifies an anagram of the words that follow: 'most naked'. The 3-word answer means ' I've no idea!'
Answer: DON'T ASK ME 7 A sounds-like clue. The answer means 'only', and sounds like (= 'to listen to') a kind of 60s music.
Answer: SOLE (sounds like SOUL) 8 A 'composite' clue involving an anagram. You've got an L ('lambs initially' - the 1st letter of 'lambs') inside (= 'involved in') an anagram (signalled by 'outbreak') of E-COLI. Giving you something that might round them up.
Answer: COLLIE 12 A word for 'eco-friendly' + a word meaning 'space' = somewhere for young people to go.
Answer: GREEN ROOM 14 Double meaning clue. (1) 5 in a row (in poker, as it happens). (2) with nothing added (relating to an alcoholic drink)
Answer: STRAIGHT 17 This an alcoholic sounds-like clue. To understand it you have to break the clue in the right place, and then you'll realise that it has nothing to do with Shakespeare. The definition is 'Hamlet, locally'. And it sounds like 'actually' spoken by someone who's drunk.
Answer: ASHLEY 18 A composite reversal clue requiring local knowledge. The trick is to realise the purpose of the 'when'. You already have 'I' + RAF. Add to that a 2-letter word meaning 'when', and reverse the whole thing, and you have Box's annual ______ Supper.
Answer: SAFARI 20 One of those 'one thing inside another' clues that we didn't have time for. 'Artist' in crosswords very often indicates 'RA'. Put that in 'gin' and you have a _____ of truth.
Answer: GRAIN 22 A double meaning clue. (1) Put up with and (2) A local (=pub)
Answer: BEAR 25 And finally, another double meaning. (1) short form (='shortly') of 'I will' and (2) 'not well'
Answer: ILL |