Cryptic Clues

For those of you who need instructions for cryptic crossword clues, check out this page .

These have all been created by a variety of well-known constructors. There may be one or two that we might question, but they're still fun. Please explain all answers.

-1. Rear of my auto is raised - that's suggestive (4)
-2. Related to heartless boy (4)
-3. Bit of Oriental silk woven in water-resistant material (7)
-4. Creates fashionable outlets (7)
-5. Cameroon's leader on leave in African nation (5)
-6. Natural scenery: lake and small peninsula (9)
-7. Restricted light brown - it's for new members (8)
-8. Tree's low bend (5)
-9. Close internal part of one sense organ (4)
-10. What 7 + 9 - 6 is! (4)

9. Close internal part of one sense organ (4)

Close = Near (dir)
internal part of one = n
sense organ = ear

1. Rear of my auto is raised - that's suggestive (4)

racy

Rear of my = y
auto = car
is raised = reversal ind
that's suggestive = racy

Great solves!

6. Natural scenery: lake and small peninsula (9)

landscape - natural scenery

l - lake
and - and
s - small
cape - peninsula

5. Congo (Cameroons leader = letter C / on / leave = go)

Bernie

Great solves!

3. Bit of Oriental silk woven in water-resistant material (7)

water-resistant material = oilskin (direct)
o (bit of Oriental) +ilsk (silk rearranged [woven]) +in = oilskin

4. Invents = creates - in (fashionable) + vents (outlets)

Excellent!

8. Tree's low bend (5)

larch - tree

l(ow)
arch - bend

Good solve, Sondi!

7. recruits
r+ecru+its

Nicely done, manxman!

2. told

to + ld (heartless boy)

Yes!

10. Teen? (7 + 9 - 6 = sixteen - six = teen)

Good try Lex, and partially correct method, but nope.

10. What 7 + 9 - 6 is! (4)

even?

7 + 9 = sevenIX - sIX = even

You got it CCb!

Real cute. How does it work, like what's the direct?

I hear you Denis because it doesn't seem to work. I think "is" is the direct. 7+9-6 = 10, which is even and CCb's solution is the other way.

I trusted this one because it's by my favorite constructor.

7 + 9 - 6 is divisible by 2 (4)

direct = divisible by 2 !

even

And a rewrite better than the original.

Isn't the original a (rare) true &lit? (See Pandora's "terribly angered" example)

Thought it was very clever - CCb's wordplay solve gives "even", and the full clue ("What 7 + 9 - 6 is!") satisfies the &lit (10 is even)

I agree that it's very clever, Rog and I'm glad you liked it. For some reason, it just doesn't sit 100% well with me.

Since fifty-fifty is a definition of even:

50 - 50 = 7 + 9 - 6 ?

Interesting, not to mention mind-racking, clues! Wouldn't it be 50/50 though?

Main Entry: even
Part of Speech: adjective
Definition: commensurate; having no advantage
Synonyms: balanced, coequal, comparable, coterminous, drawn, equal, equalized, equivalent, even-steven, exact, fifty-fifty, .......

50 - 50 looks like 50 minus 50. 50/50 could work but also looks like 50 divided by 50. I like fifty-fifty or 50-50 (no spaces).

That was my intent: 50 - 50 = 0
Is 0 = 10 ? Like a joke...