===[**CDM**]===

By way of reminder, the object of this game is to solve (and briefly explain) the clue presented by the previous poster and then set your own clue.

Anything from the (worldwide) crossword arena is acceptable by way of clue style, but if you stray too far from the pure path beware the scourge of... Pandora's WET NOODLE!

The puzzle could be an old favourite or something of your own making. Don't be shy: this is for everyone, not just the old hands!

For those unfamiliar with crossword clues who want to give it a try, there is plenty of guidance online, for instance http://www.gameboomers.com/Garden/CrypticCrosswordTypes.htm and https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/premium/xword/cryptics.html as well as a quite entertaining and instructive book (not just for beginners) available from amazon http://www.amazon.com/The-Times-Crack-Cryptic-Crosswords/dp/0007546521/ref=dp_ob_image_bk and no doubt elsewhere, and for those who like British Crosswords you may like to try these (which are free): http://www.theguardian.com/crosswords and https://www.ft.com/crossword. English setter John Halpern's website may also be of interest www.johnhalpern.co.uk.

There is nothing to prevent (say) a couple of related clues if offering a single clue cramps your style.

If there are multiple answers involved, there is no restriction against one person solving all and the solver of the final clue/part is the one who goes next.

Obviously you need to await confirmation of a correct answer before posting your own puzzle, but please then do so reasonably promptly: if having answered correctly you are not going to be able to set a follow-up clue within about the next 18 hours, please pass your turn to someone else so that the game does not stall.

To save the poor demented solvers from excessive brain damage , you should consider revealing one letter of the answer when the question is set, unless the answer is very short/easy so that provision of a letter hint at the outset would spoil the sport!

If no-one is biting within about 24 hours you should start dropping additional hints, and to try to give everyone a fair crack of the whip, the immediately previous setter is asked not to post a solution to the current clue within the first 24 hours.

Constructive criticism and cheerful badinage are to be expected, not to mention a certain amount of national rivalry, but above all, have a bit of fun.

The weighty trophy to be passed to whoever solves your clue is the jewel-encrusted CanukDenis Memorial Championship Belt
===[**CDM**]===

This thread is so named in honour of our late dear friend Denis Borris (aka CanukDenis) who was an ever cheerful and quick-witted presence on this forum, posting many an iffy crypt just to stir the pot, and intrigued by all things linguistic, mathematical and beyond.
RIP CD - we hold you in our hearts as we play on!

Next clue to follow shortly from current trophy holder Helmer

Thank you, Lex. (Please excuse the delay, everyone; my Internet access was sketchy for a few days.)

Algebraic asset? Teachers help make case! (8)

_ A _ _ E _ T _

Thanks, Helmer - cassette (embedded word)

Yes, UW! Yet, too small to hold this: ===[**CDM**]===

Thanks, Helmer!

One who writes about beer (8)

re/porter

Belt reporting for duty, ma'am!

===[**CDM**]===

Thanks, Rog!

Dwelling likely to house crafty folk? (9)

Direct on the left. 3 vowels, 2 the same.

Thanks, Sherlock.

apartment

And here's your belt, sly one! ===[**CDM**]===

Thanks, Sherlock (you crafty one)!

I saw the following crypt elsewhere. Maybe it came from here.

Let cat out of bag; put in second bag (5)

I often use the search facility on this website to check whether I am using an old clue, and using that I see that this one was posted by Demosthenes in September last year and that I solved it, although looking at your clue today I was struggling...!

Doh! I had to be logged in to search, lol. (Couldn't find the link.) That crypt was scribbled on paper with other puzzling questions. They're everywhere. Okay, um, perhaps a re-clue?

Pure Bags! Second-prize money offered at event (5)

That's … not so great. How about a message for 007?

BAG DROP! SECOND URANIUM (INSIDE) – PURSUE!! (5)

I have to use the search quite often because I have a pile of old crosswords with what I think are quite neat clues, but no system for remembering which ones I may have already posted - I am usually too lazy to develop my own clues!

You could probably have left that one up for someone else to solve, and I will wait a few more hours to see if anyone else bites on the reclued version before answering.

Okay so it's purse = bag, being capture - cat + s, or pure + s, or pursue - 2nd u

3 purses yield 1 belt for you: ===[**CDM**]===

Thank you good sir!

One that gently tickled me from a puzzle today:

Continue to look after a bird (4,2,2)

Is the double-e a typo Lex, or genuine?

Oops - typo, now corrected (this is a pretty unsubtle clue...)!

Direct on the left, but it's a double definition groaner when it becomes 4,1,3

Keep at it (Keep a tit)

All yours UW: ===[**CDM**]===

Thanks, Lex!

Confuse foreign negative and positive (7)

non+plus

No confusing you, m'dear! ===[**CDM**]===

Thank you, kind sir.

Woodwind players topped string players (7)

Direct on the right

Think about what it means when a tree is topped

cvcvccc

I keep thinking the answer might be bowists (string players), but I cannot work out what the "topped" woodwind players would be unless perhaps there is a US spelling of oboists as obowists...

You're on the right track, Lex. The "topped" word loses its first (top) letter.

The answer feels a bit Medieval to me.

The woodwind in question used to be made of wood but modern ones are typically metal

FLUTISTS

Another interesting spelling (and pronunciation) difference: in Britain for some reason the more usual word would be flautists - not only medieval but probably Teutonic

Helmer plucked that one out! ===[**CDM**]===

Thank you, Pandora.

Daughter of son Henry makes money (4)

Dosh = money (abbreviation of first four words of clue)

It's your payday, Lex: ===[**CDM**]===



PS: I used abbreviations from a very helpful list appearing in the book you'd recommended. As a Yank, I'd guess Henry=H has something to do with a King Henry (although, in the book, the h is lower-case). With some of the other abbreviations in that list, I could not even guess, heh.

Thanks, that'll help deal with inflation!

Rate main social works for Browning (14)

Direct on the right

Caramelisation - anagram (rate main social)

Made the assumption that it probably ended in "ation" then kept throwing the letters in the air 'til they made something sensible

PS - cunning ploy to use the proper spelling...

Correct: I thought I had already posted to that effect but the brain and/or the fingers obviously failed...
===[**CDM**]===

Thanks, Lex!

Warning chief to eat (5-2)

Apologies - looks like the most common spelling is (5-2), not (5,2)

Direct on the left
Wordplay 4 +3
Clue could also be "Warning chief to drink"

head/s-up

Indeed, m'dear - accept this as a tribute to your perspicacity!
===[**CDM**]===

Rog, another word like perspicacity and I'll be very impressed!!! (lol)

Thanks, Rog! I'm impressed with just the one word!

Pure cocaine's head rush (6)

chaste

That's a pure answer, Helmer! Here's your reward. ===[**CDM**]===

Thank you, Sherlock.

Longshoreman chopped up dove trees (9)

Stevedore (anagram)

You found the quay, Koala. ===[**CDM**]===

Many thanks Helmer.

Looking like water craft is neat and tidy (9)

shipshape

Cute one, Koala Bear

Over to you, Panda Sue.

===[**CDM**]===

Thank you

Excited from eating lemons (7)

Ooh, I'm all atingle! (hidden word)

A thrilling solve, Lex!

Thank you!

President's vehicle to get hot, storing energy (3,5)

Direct on left

Wordplay 3 + 4 enclosing 1, 3 vowels all different

The answer is the name of a perhaps less well-known US president

Van Buren
vehicle=van
e (energy) in burn (hot)

All yours mxm: ===[**CDM**]===

I'm a little surprised that none of our US friends got this one!

Ben Frank...
Abe Linco...
Cal Cooli...

Nothing was working

Thank you Lex

Avoids birds (5)

ducks

Nothing fowl about that answer Sherlock
===[**CDM**]===

Thanks much, manxy!

Black dresses almost all ready for stores (7)

s(al)able

Dress yourself in this beautiful belt, Sue! ===[**CDM**]===

Thank you, Cheryl!

Vacation permits for a group of children (8)

Trip/lets

Solve in less than three hours! ===[**CDM**]===

Thank you Sue - not mach Denis of course!

Biblical tribesmen realise it's wrong (10)

Israelites (anag.)

===[**CDM**]===

That was mach Demosthenes

Thanks, Lex!

Very basic anaesthesiologist contact information? (5,6)

I would say "phone number" (pH 1 + someone who numbs) but pH 1 is very acidic, not very basic. (That would be around pH 13-14)

Yep: that's what I get for throwing this one together right before bed! Very acidic it is.

===[**CDM**]===

It was a little gem, Demosthenes (11/10), apart from that bijou slip...

Radical old term used first (9)

extremist
ex (old) trem (term) ist (1 st)

Extremely good solve, manxman!

===[**CDM**]===

Thank you UW

Shelled near the ground (5)

nearthe

correct you are ===[**CDM**]===

Thank you, manxman.

Peculiar warden craving itchy feet (10)

wander+lust

Happy trails, Pandora. Don't forget to pack this: ===[**CDM**]===

Many thanks, Helmer.

Cook in a pan that is centrally hot (5)

Direct on right

f(ie)ry

You're hot tonight, manxie! ===[**CDM**]===

Thank you Pandie

Watching contest addition (7)

direct on the left

viewing

correct Helmer

Thank you, manxman. You weren't at home, so I let myself in to get the belt.

Amazing fact about iron strike (6)

Affect = strike - anagram (amazing) of fact containing (about) fe (iron)

Probably being dim here, but are "affect" and "strike" synonyms?

I agree that it seems a bit of a stretch, but if a thought strikes you then it will be close in meaning to being affected by something, and of course it may not be the correct answer to Helmer's clue...

sorry Helmer but Canada Post has been slow delivering the belt ===[**CDM**]===

Ya got it, Lex! ===[**CDM**]===

PS: Both 'affect' and 'strike' are listed as primary synonyms of each other (definition "to act upon"). My reference is the online thesaurus at merriam-webster dot com.

Thank you: I am, in effect, deeply affected!

Oscar received by actress cast as philosopher (8)

Socrates - anagram of "actress" with O (Nato phonetic alphabet for "Oscar")


Apologies, Helmer - I tend to use thesaurus.com, and they're not listed as synonyms there

Here is your alternative Oscar: ===[**CDM**]===

Thanks, Lex!

Lynx, duck and pet (6)

Hint time...

Direct on the left, wordplay 3 + 3

bobcat

Talk about synonyms!

Synonyms schmynonyms - what does it matter as long as they're in the thesaurus

Can't come up with a punny handover, so good solve! ===[**CDM**]===

No argument from here!

Sign up, Captain (4)

Nemo

At least it wasn't "Kirk"...

Baaaaah ha ha ha haaaaaa......



I mean, that solve was written in the stars, Helmer! ===[**CDM**]===

Will I never learn...

Thank you, Pandora.

Stop panda exploit (5)

I see that Patrick Stewart once played Captain Nemo, so there is a tenuous connection...

Hint: Contains unconventional wordplay element

Pause = stop - p + (and) a + use (exploit)

Denis would approve!

Nice clue and nice solve!

Denis did approve, Lex! (He'd said it was cute.)

Thanks: ===[**CDM**]===

Thank you Mr H

One that quite amused us recently:

Man squeezed into lift closer, unfortunately, for the present (8,6)

Direct on the right, two indicators ccvccvcc cvccvc

This one is a ten letter anagram containing a four letter word, and the present is seasonal

That helps!

Seasonal -> Christmas -> Christmas stocking -> "Stocking Filler"

Anagram of "lift closer" with "king" squeezed in

You're the King of the Castle for today, and here is your girdle of office ===[**CDM**]===

Thanks, Lex!

Officer organised a ride behind prison (9)

Direct on the left, and it's a British officer...

brigadier (brig/prison + anag. of a ride)

Indeed it is, Mr D! ===[**CDM**]===

Thanks, Rog!

I'm going to try to resurrect this one (which I belatedly realized never got solved) but with a couple of edits to make it a bit less broken:

Garrison castles, but admit English, producing dog runs or regattas? (4,5)

I seem to remember seeing a clue something like this, with castles as a sort of quasi anagram indicator (based on the chess move), also discovering then or from another clue that regattas are not limited to boats, all of which still leaves me stuck for an answer at the moment...!

Happy birthday, Lex!

Ah! Indeed so!

--Happy Birthday, Lex!

Direct on the right (but it could have just as easily been (8) instead of(4,5) with the direct on the left.)
"Castles" [is] indeed a very pedantic chess-related indicator (but still flawed because the board is, technically, obstructed...)

Got it: bark races = regattas - barracks (garrison) re-arranged (castles) and containing e (admit English)

... and thank you for the birthday wishes!

Well solved! (to clarify, "barracks" is rearranged in a specific order: the k moves 2 spaces to its left, and the leftmost r then moves to its right side...) ===[**CDM**]===

Thank you: upon searching the forum, I see that (although I had forgotten ) I actually answered your previous version of this in January this year but that you appear to have been distracted by something else at the time...
https://www.gameboomers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/1265195/Searchpage/1/Main/90526/Words/%2Bbark+%2Brace/Search/true/re-cdm#Post1265195

Here are a pair of rather easier clues which gently tickled me recently
1. Chap stretched as a poet? (10)
2. More lofty by the sound of it, what a shocking poem by 1 (8)

1. Longfellow

2. Hiawatha ("higher" + anagram of "what a")

===[**CDM**]===
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oy_ArpznZUs

Thanks, Lex

One that caught the pair of us out, and waste a lot of time:
A major, say, makes essential authentication (3,9)

key signature

I am mighty impressed! We had convinced ourselves that the direct was on the right, and that "key" related to "major" instead of "essential"

===[**CDM**]===

I think that's one that hits either right away or not at all. Fun clue!

Have a sampling of flounder goulash (7)

Direct on the left

I was expecting Cheryl to come for this hidden word - undergo

My next hint was going to reference her.

Well done, Lex! ===[**CDM**]===

Thank you Sue!

Avoids occasionally being seen in terribly poor condition (7)

Direct on the right ccvcvcv two of the vowels are the same

This is another partial anagram

proviso ("poor", anagrammed, contains all the even letters in "avoids")

On the money! ===[**CDM**]===

Thanks, Lex!

I left, needing a second after insipid, dismal isle slides (9)

Direct on the right

This one is also also a partial anagram, coupled with an extremely unusual container.

cvcvccvcc

"slides" is the direct, but "slides sideways" would have been more precise (and if I could have credibly worked sideways slides into the clue, I would have been over the moon!)

sid/esli/ps?

Container is in sip1d (sipd), or this could be where the I left.
Second after = s at the end
Dismal = anagram ind. for isle

Nicely done, Sherlock! ===[**CDM**]===

Hope you had a good birthday Cheryl!

Thank you, Demosthenes!

I had a wonderful birthday, Kevin!

Copper exercises long to get the lead out (5)

Direct on the right. No indicators.

Okay, I admit this is a word I haven't heard before. Denis would wish he thought of it first.

Find a two letter abbreviation for exercise (class) and it'll make it much easier to solve.

I had been thinking this word might begin pe but got no further...

Has to be cu-pe-l (to purify precious metals) which I'd never heard of either

A real "Denis"!

That's the one, Rog! ===[**CDM**]===

Thanks Cheryl!

One that tickled our combined fancy:

Act more savagely to confuse (8)

Bewilder

No trace of bewilderment there, Demosthenes! ===[**CDM**]===

Thanks, Rog!

I think I've finally made this one work:

Iron lands on hotel, then horse rolls. His downfall is swift, but only temporary. (8)

Direct on the right: "downfall" is unusually literal.

So far, so impenetrable...

... might have fe + h (iron lands on hotel)...

and possibly an anagram (downfall) of "his" -> "-ish"

... but what about horse rolls...?

The answer is a proper name.

Also, this is about half correct:

I suspected that it might be a name, and my thoughts turned to Greek mythology and the Bible, but fruitlessly thus far (my father was always a brilliant resource on those subjects, being a classical scholar and having read the bible from cover to cover for a bet, then a second time, but he is long gone)

cvccvcvc

I was hoping this might turn out to be the name of one of the original bungee jumpers or possibly a skydiver, but I cannot find a name to otherwise fit the clue, and I am trying to work with fe + h + anagrammed horse or perhaps reversed synonym for horse...

You're on the right track, but there are no h's in the answer

I think perhaps Finnegan - fe (iron) around (lands on) inn (hotel) + gan (nag/horse rolls) and a reference to Finnegans Wake, although I am not familiar with the book

Woooowww! Finnegan, begin again. The clue works although the direct is a bit wordy.

mmyep--and it was worse before I trimmed it down in the editing process

Congrats, Lex, on a well deserved win! ===[**CDM**]===

(Also, for what it's worth, in the song Finnegan's Wake is based on, Finnegan falls off a ladder, dies, and then comes back to life at his wake. In the book, those things all happen, probably, unless they don't. No one seems to be totally clear on the subject. )

Thank you - quite a brain-teaser!

One we quite liked recently:

Supporting part of garment, spare tights apt when elasticated (9,5)

spaghetti strap (anag.) Hi Lex

Hi mxm, I hope all goes well with you: your turn to borrow the Belt: ===[**CDM**]===

(I had never heard of a spaghetti strap, but Linda explained it to me!)

All is good Lex, thank you

Keen to accept egg from duck (5)

direct on the right

As no-one else is biting, avoid = duck - avid (keen) containing (to accept) o (egg)

Right you are Lex

===[**CDM**]===

Thank you mxm

Here are a foursome of clues, all of the same sort but otherwise unrelated: anyone can solve all four or less than four if you prefer, the Belt going to whoever solves the last one to be solved

1. Potato father had mashed instantly (2,3,4,2,1,3)

2. Shattered crash-test cars OK in this disadvantaged area (6,3,6)

3. Cunningly we reinstall a source of water (8,4)

4. Surprising solicitation for one promoting alliances (12)

1. At the drop of a hat. (anag)

3. Artesian well (anag)

2. Across the tracks

All correct, and one anagram left to go, probably the trickiest...

Direct on the right, an anagram of solicitation

After taking a risk that it ought to end in "-ist" followed by a lot of head-scratching, we got "coalitionist"

Yes, that one did take a bit of head-scratching!

Here you go: ===[**CDM**]===

I am setting up an overdue new thread, so please post the next clue there.