![]() It also reinforced most of my opinions about the issue. It was insightful, as your posts always are. You can also subscribe by email and have articles delivered to your inbox, or follow me on twitter to get notified of new links. If you wish to keep track of further articles on Crossword Unclued, you can subscribe to it in a reader via RSS Feed. THC 9547 (Neyartha): Tractor operator does firmware development out of Wisconsin (6) THC 9536 (Gridman): New slates smashed? But that’s known to me already! (5,4) THC 9564 (Gridman): Emotion attains a different range (5) What do you say? Completely fair, just pass muster or unfair? Meanwhile, give some thought to the connectors in these clues. Update: Here's the follow-up post: Same Connector, Unequal Impact. So will follow up soon with a separate post. I was writing more about the same connector being unequal in different clues, but that's making this article too long. But when combined with complicated wordplay, poorly checked grid or a vague definition for a hard word – that spells c-r-a-s-h. If the rest is fine, I will not even notice while solving. Superfluous connectors by themselves do not spoil the clue totally – at least for me. ![]() Crashes are more likely to be the result of trivial malfunctions/errors that on their own would not cause accidents, calamity strikes when a bunch of such errors occur all at once. Talking about plane crashes, Gladwell illustrates that crashes rarely happen because of huge catastrophic failures – engine parts do not explode in a fiery bang, the rudder doesn't suddenly snap. I'll hasten to add an analogy from the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, which I'm reading currently with great interest. That's a flaw that fair setters would try to avoid. This does not provide a logical path to the answer, the only way to make sense of the clue is by dropping the connector. Simple enough anagram, with one connector only. THC 9577 (Neyartha): Cook pate stew too with edible root (5,6) SWEET POTATO* That's a core requirement for fair clueing, and this clue passes gracefully in spite of being 50%-full of connectors. The clue says what it means, however deviously it may say it. Three connectors, but all coherently come together leading to the answer. Let's revisit Sankalak's first clue again.ĭress that, with time, becomes rubbish (7) If the answer is "yes", then even one connector is too much. link together the wordplay in the direction of the solution, not detract from the solution.Īsk: Does the connector change the real meaning of the clue, giving no logical path to the answer? Is the only way to solve the clue by ignoring the connector? The answer lies not in the count but in the role played by the connectors. Sunday Times 4295: is (8,6) CALAMINE LOTION* Some examples of connectors inside the wordplay, which I think are all right: ![]() The most acceptable kinds are words like 'and' between charade components, or articles before common nouns. Things begin to get fuzzy when link words creep inside the wordplay. Words that link the wordplay and solution in the following forms are considered valid quite universally: "Sad yet" is the anagram fodder, "somehow" the anagrind and "unwavering" the definition. THC 9584 (Sankalak): Sad, yet somehow unwavering (6) STEADY* ![]() In contrast, here's another clue from Sankalak that has no connectors: The clue needs the remaining words for its facade or surface, but the wordplay can easily do without them. The above is a charade in which only the elements "Dress time rubbish" play an active role in the wordplay, the rest is padding. THC 9583 (Sankalak): Dress that, with time, becomes rubbish (7) GARB AGE But first things first.įor those new to cryptic crosswords, connectors are those words in a clue that give meaning to its surface but are superfluous to its cryptic meaning. There's a lot of ground that fair setters will agree on but sometimes it's a matter of taste than rules for right-wrong. A few days ago, maddy wrote a comment with pertinent questions about the use of connectors in cryptic clues: "…how much is too much? What is acceptable and what is not?"Īs I see it, there is no single correct answer. ![]()
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