How do I drape this perfectly shaped and skimpily clad beauty? The stunner appears in absolute dishabille every day. Seduced, I wonder if the cues really help me in doing so. I grew up looking at these in awe and intent upon covering the unclothed beauty, at least partially, but in vain. Yet, to this day it is a humongous task and yet again, with unfailing regularity, I return to ogle at the beauty as she beckons me to cover her nudity with my brainwork. Beaten black and ‘white’ (blue) and lost in those labyrinthine squares, I seek solace from the Random House Dictionary.
Tucked in the corner of a newspaper, the Crossword lay before me partially covered. The very first clue sent me in an inebriated tizzy. “Returned beer fit for a king” it said. I racked the hazy mazes of my brain. Disappointed, and before becoming a nervous wreck in drunken stupor, I left the alcoholic cue for the time being and proceeded further. “Work done on the premises?” was the next one. I shrugged the grogginess to google my brain for synonyms of ‘work’ and for the meaning of ‘premises’. Then it struck, ‘premise’ relates to reasoning or logic. Yes, this must be the answer – LOGIC. And here’s one other clue that says “Jam ingredients”. My disinterest with cooking did not help me nor did my wife’s enthusiasm in culinary art. The crossers gave me the answer – AUTOS.
Crosswords leave the unacquainted literally at crossroads. They are a puzzling lot with their teasing white and black squares and one is sure to develop a strange bond with these literary rebuses. Besides being a source of fun and relaxation, they offer a pleasant diversion. One other reason is that they can be mildly amusing or even enlightening. Yet another reason is that they are educative. Possibly the best reason for playing crosswords is that they allow you to revel in the small pleasures of playing with the English language. The clues in an ideal puzzle provide a well-balanced test of vocabulary and knowledge, ranging from classical subjects like literature, art, classical music, mythology, history, geography, etc., to modern subjects like movies, TV, popular music, sports and names in the news.
You are forced to dig deep into the words' hoary past to excavate their origins. You remain 'lexplexed' if the clue perplexes you lexically. Initially, during my graduation days, it really was a herculean task to fill-up four to five of those 15x15 clues (quick ones and not those cryptic ones, I haven't dared to attempt them). Yet, I was highly elated when I could solve an entire grid fifteen years ago. It was no mean an achievement then.
As I gained experience, I learnt that an ESNE is “a domestic slave or a labourer” in Anglo-Saxon England, SÉANCE is “a meeting of spiritualists”, that ‘Yellow’ is not just a colour but also means YOLK of an egg, and COWARDICE and TREACHERY too, ENRAGING is a perfect anagram and synonymous to “Angering” and many more. I’d also learnt that the answer for “Those who jump off a bridge in Paris are, we hear, in Seine” is INSANE, (the solver is expected to understand that ‘we hear’ indicates a homophone and the answer is the homophone of in Seine!) “Result of a meeting between two egotists” is AN I FOR AN I.
Why do I prefer spending my mornings and breaks during office hours filling these grids? Crosswords to me are beyond the pale of space and time; they are an inspiration and challenge to do at least one perfect thing in the day. Before I wind-up, the answer for the heady clue is REGAL (Lager – beer is ‘returned’ to make it regal).
PS: The examples I've quoted are some of the very few cryptic clues I could solve! It is the practice of Crossword Compilers to indicate the clues in double quotes and the answers in upper case.
Tucked in the corner of a newspaper, the Crossword lay before me partially covered. The very first clue sent me in an inebriated tizzy. “Returned beer fit for a king” it said. I racked the hazy mazes of my brain. Disappointed, and before becoming a nervous wreck in drunken stupor, I left the alcoholic cue for the time being and proceeded further. “Work done on the premises?” was the next one. I shrugged the grogginess to google my brain for synonyms of ‘work’ and for the meaning of ‘premises’. Then it struck, ‘premise’ relates to reasoning or logic. Yes, this must be the answer – LOGIC. And here’s one other clue that says “Jam ingredients”. My disinterest with cooking did not help me nor did my wife’s enthusiasm in culinary art. The crossers gave me the answer – AUTOS.
Crosswords leave the unacquainted literally at crossroads. They are a puzzling lot with their teasing white and black squares and one is sure to develop a strange bond with these literary rebuses. Besides being a source of fun and relaxation, they offer a pleasant diversion. One other reason is that they can be mildly amusing or even enlightening. Yet another reason is that they are educative. Possibly the best reason for playing crosswords is that they allow you to revel in the small pleasures of playing with the English language. The clues in an ideal puzzle provide a well-balanced test of vocabulary and knowledge, ranging from classical subjects like literature, art, classical music, mythology, history, geography, etc., to modern subjects like movies, TV, popular music, sports and names in the news.
You are forced to dig deep into the words' hoary past to excavate their origins. You remain 'lexplexed' if the clue perplexes you lexically. Initially, during my graduation days, it really was a herculean task to fill-up four to five of those 15x15 clues (quick ones and not those cryptic ones, I haven't dared to attempt them). Yet, I was highly elated when I could solve an entire grid fifteen years ago. It was no mean an achievement then.
As I gained experience, I learnt that an ESNE is “a domestic slave or a labourer” in Anglo-Saxon England, SÉANCE is “a meeting of spiritualists”, that ‘Yellow’ is not just a colour but also means YOLK of an egg, and COWARDICE and TREACHERY too, ENRAGING is a perfect anagram and synonymous to “Angering” and many more. I’d also learnt that the answer for “Those who jump off a bridge in Paris are, we hear, in Seine” is INSANE, (the solver is expected to understand that ‘we hear’ indicates a homophone and the answer is the homophone of in Seine!) “Result of a meeting between two egotists” is AN I FOR AN I.
Why do I prefer spending my mornings and breaks during office hours filling these grids? Crosswords to me are beyond the pale of space and time; they are an inspiration and challenge to do at least one perfect thing in the day. Before I wind-up, the answer for the heady clue is REGAL (Lager – beer is ‘returned’ to make it regal).
PS: The examples I've quoted are some of the very few cryptic clues I could solve! It is the practice of Crossword Compilers to indicate the clues in double quotes and the answers in upper case.
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