A Cryptic Crossword With An Amazing Secret! (2023)

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In this bonus video, Simon tackles a recent cryptic crossword from The Independent by Rodriguez. This puzzle has a VERY interesting secret in it. You can play the puzzle at the link below:

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Video

Hello and welcome to a bonus edition of cracking the cryptic where I'm going to attempt to do just that and crack a cryptic, crossword that's come heavily recommended to me from the independence, crossword editor, mike hutchinson.

Now, this is a puzzle by rodriguez, uh, which is uh, well, a constructor.

I I not known to me, um.

But apparently, this is a very unusual puzzle.

And I have no clue why we will have to discover that together.

Um, okay.

I think I have made the window the right size this appeared last saturday, um.

And where should we start let's have a look at the clue that is indeed highlighted inflate a price to tour, england's capital.

Okay, I can do that.

Um, the way I've got that is sort of short synonyms.

So I read the clue as meaning inflate.

So we need a synonym for inflate this.

A is quite interesting think about why that a is in the clue it's only there because it's necessary, because, in fact, it is the first letter of the answer.

We need a four-letter word for price.

And that needs to tour.

It needs to surround the capital, england's capital letter, which is its e.

Now, if we do that properly short synonym for price is rate, put the e in the middle.

We get air rate, which is to inflate a warm area of hard ground.

Ah, well, okay, that's hard has an abbreviation h.

You might see that on pencils a five letter word for ground, beginning with e, that's just earth.

And a warm area is a half so we're off and running here, mostly silk product from france, uh, ah.

Okay.

So this I was thinking of silk as in a fabric, but silk can also be the name, um for a sort of barrister, um.

And a synonym for a barrister is a brief.

If we have most of the word brief, we get brie, which is a product from france.

Of course, the cheese jolly delicious.

It is after joint.

Do giggle not sure, uh, three down soviet policeman breaking sticks off good grief.

I've got no clue what that is, uh, let's, try four down.

Ah, see, 501, I'm immediately thinking the roman numeral for 501, which is d.

I so I bet this starts d, I stars producing records right? So when you see stars here, I'm thinking of the name of constellations, and in fact, there is the constellation of aries.

And if you put ares on the end of di, you get diaries, which are records let's, try and use the I ruling party that's going to be in probably uh on the left around south is supported uncommonly in on the left I'm, not actually sure what that is that could be completely wrong this in let's, try five down innovator in camp up and about well, innovative.

If you see it in a crossword for some reason it is very often edison who of course, was very famous as an inventor.

And this indeed, is edison because camp if you're in a camp you're you're in a side on one side or the other? Uh.

So camp up is just a reversal of the word side and about if something's about something it's on it.

So put all that together we get edison, and we get an n at the start of 14 across, um treated ailing ruminant in asia, oh gosh.

This is some horrible anagram.

I want to say, oh, is it nigali or something like that that could be complete nonsense? Oh nigali is what first came into my mind.

I thought, well, let's imagine that's a g, does that do anything for us invalid or invalid felt sicker having come out in most spots, something like blotchiest, or I don't know, I'm not convinced by my g.

Now, either let's try seven down father, has it has something inherited with value right? Something inherited you inherit your genes and the value if you value something you rate, it put all that together.

You get gene rate say it a bit differently.

You get generate.

And if you father something you generate it, oh, oh nil guy.

Yes.

I've I have heard of that nilgai that is something I don't know what it is, but it's a word and anything that's, an anagram of ailing that isn't ailing itself is probably correct nilgai.

So what was is this? Oh, this is the most spots one.

I don't know 11 across, um, extremely navish career by communist playing the communist reformer.

What on earth is that talk about extremely navis, navish makes me think of the extreme letters of the word navish, which would be k-8.

Oh, is this khrushchev.

I never know how to spell that.

But this is the advantage of cryptic crosswords.

Sometimes it gives you because it gives you word play career rush, crush chris chev.

Then is it by communist playing the communist.

The communist could be shay, guevara, extremely navish.

Navish, kh, korea you rush by communist playing is it? Oh I see it is it's shay guevara for the communist.

And then if you're playing, you might put versus v.

So liverpool v, man, united would be liverpool playing man united.

So I think it's, chris, jeff that was that's really difficult, um, and it gives us a k in that.

One, oh, gosh is this some soviet policeman? Oh no.

I don't know it if it is, uh, oh, let's, try and get 12 cross.

I need to think the french paper.

That's, probably le monde.

The french papers dropped one pair of europeans.

I need to think let me see that's got blood at the start of it.

So the french, oh, it is this.

It is let me see I've spotted y.

Okay, why is it? Let me see le is the in french.

The paper is the times, and you can see times has dropped one it's dropped its eye.

It's, roman numeral for the number one.

And then a pair of europeans is a pair of abbreviation for the word european, which is e.

So, e, e, at the end, let me see means I need to think and we get an m at the start of 13 down element sculpted with art in lintel looks like an anagram element, an art to me that would give us.

Ten letters, lintel, don't know, they're, not jumping out of me, puts forward large packaging deal, don't know, sorry, a 17 across province that's eight steps behind india, eight steps, eight, I'm, thinking of words like octet here and octal, don't know, 17 down, sorry, diddly squat or zero is around number in pk.

Oh, well.

That is a very unusual hidden.

If you look inside diddly squat or zero, there is the word cattles, which I think is 14 in french.

Now I don't play pk.

So I have no idea what cattours is in relation to the game of pk.

But that gives me a zed here, um content or content to leave zimbabwe with.

Oh, this is select okay.

If the content leaves the word zimbabwe, you get rid of the central letters, the a b w.

So you just get left with z a e.

And that goes with a lot, which means many, and that gives us, of course, a fanatic it's, a zealot let's, try that one, uh, unknown, fish bone.

Oh, this is x-ray unknown, yeah.

In mathematics, a num an unknown might be x, uh, you might d, y by dx, et cetera.

You see it in a lot of equations.

A fish is a ray.

An x-ray is certainly something which may make bones appear.

So lots of weird start letters here, q, z and x axes or axes by stone portico in greece.

I think this is zeist if you're on a graph, you might see the x and the y axis that's.

So that x y, an abbreviation for stone is in the stone of weight is st.

And zeist means something must mean, a portico in greece.

I can't, I can't be sure about that, but I know it's a word so that's, good enough, um, child under six.

Well, six is probably vi for the roman numeral for six framing current.

Well, current as in ohm's law is v equals I r.

So this is vision, it's vi and then sun for child whoopsie around current eye.

And of course, an image is a vision.

Now let's, look at 21 across doctor.

Cutter vein, that's going to be an anagram of cut of and that's eight letters and doctor, of course, means if you doctor something you fiddle with it, you, uh, you change it around it's.

Not working inactive.

No unactive is it unactive? I think I need to use the u? Um, that's.

Why inactive is probably not right? Um, there we go.

We can put that in what six down.

Oh, this is my spots.

One invalid felt sicker, oh it's, an anagram freckliest.

Yes, it's.

An anagram felt sicker, um.

And if you come out in the most spots, you are the freckliest.

So we can put that in freckly test what's that oh province will be quebec.

Oh, okay.

This is the international radio code words for the letters.

So, um, india is the code word for I you've probably heard of romeo and juliet, you know, romeo is r.

Juliet is j, um and q.

I'm, pretty sure is quebec so it's, the international radio code word for q and q is indeed eight letters behind the ninth letter, which is I so yeah, and it appears coincidentally.

At clue.

Number 17., oh good grief.

I've just spotted the I just spotted the theme here I should have spotted it earlier because look along the top row of the grid, a b, something I'm, guessing, c, d, e, f, g.

But look, I just noticed that q was the 17th letter and was appearing in in this let in this cell here, which has a 17 in it.

Now look around the grid.

Every clue.

This is the eighth letter, which is h.

This is the ninth letter, which is I the eleventh letter is k.

So this should begin with j, which is the tenth letter let's.

See? Yes.

It is after joint, which can be abbreviated to j.

If you do someone, you ate them if you copy them, um, you might say to a, you know, an impressionist do so and so do the queen and they would ape the queen.

So, and of course, a jape is a giggle.

So now we're going to actually be able to write in all the start letters.

I think for the rest of the puzzle so that's, a c, which might help me with my soviet policeman.

15 is o.

19 is s, uh, that's w.

I think, uh, 23 that must be y.

This is some construction as well that's going to be r that's going to be t.

And now the puzzle should get a lot easier.

Where should we go let's? Go with a w ending in o, which person arrests, attendant, moving ecstasy in novel.

Westwood ho is a novel.

So why is this westwood ho, which person is who arrests? Attendant? Oh, that's.

Lovely.

Steward is an attendant.

And we've moved its ecstasy at e, um to give westwood hoe, which is a novel that's, very nice.

Now, let's, look at that.

One are you blank d, fish hearts, but not hat could be articles or rudders.

Presumably, why is it rudders fish hearts, but not hat hearts, but not, oh that's, very difficult, right? There is a fish called a rud r u double d.

And then if you look at the word hearts and you remove the word hat from it, the h the a and the t you get left with e r.

S, which is e r.

S, and of course, rudders are articles on boats I'm glad I got that r, because that would not have been an easy clue.

Now we should be able to get this one now what's this nine across ruling party that on the left around south it's probably got an s in it.

Then so that s is going to have to go there if that's right is support, oh oh endorsed.

Then is it so it's? A funny spelling of endorsed ruling party? Oh, if you're ruling you're in, oh, I see you if you're ruling you're in a party is a do if you're on the left you're, a red, and that goes around an s, the south.

And and that all gives endorsed, which means supported uncommonly, not easy now three down.

And we are going to risk our soviet policemen soviet policemen breaking sticks off.

Well, it could be an anagram of sticks around he for a man.

Maybe so that would have to be that one needs to be a vowel checkists are they soviet policemen? Oh soviet police.

I see czechos.

So it can be the plural I've not heard of that.

But it could be.

It looks like a sort of russian word, doesn't it, um, right.

What's, 15 across puts forward.

Oh, large is oversize or outsize, which is abbreviation to os.

Look packaging deals.

We need a word for deal inside puts forward a pines, a pine.

Okay.

So it's steel, not as in trade.

But as in a tree, uh, a deal is a name for a tree.

And it must be a pine tree.

Although I didn't know that, um pro wrestling with medal for a prize, I didn't put in the start letter.

I could have had that p, oh, I'm so stupid, um.

Well, this is the anagram of pro and medal.

And it means a prize and it's there for a palm door.

I can do that probably glad I had the start because the d apostrophe o r is not easy to see otherwise.

Now we must be able to get this beginning, y o, vocalist, yodler once one, shouting as a yeller after swallowing too many drugs.

Well, you have an overdose you od on something.

So it is let's.

Look at that one.

Dogs are we here wearing formal evening attire tales of formal evening attire? Oh, yeah.

Okay.

This isn't clever clue.

So it means dogs.

And if you dog somebody you trail them are we here is a homophone for the word r.

So r sounds like the letter r, which is just what we put in the middle, and we get trails.

So let's, look at that.

Let's.

Guess what this is before we put it in.

I think it is.

I can't see anything what is it? Oh, most scheming it's slightest.

Then is it to get agreement? Yes.

Okay to get agreement.

An agreement is a yes accepted by special officer.

S for special lieutenant or lieutenant, depending on how you like to pronounce that is lt around the yes.

And we've only got one more clue to do, oh it's, the anagram of element and art.

And it means lintel mantle tree.

I think a lintel is a tree from one of its definitions is a tree.

I'm.

Pretty sure I can get tree.

Oh, well, done it.

There we go.

It says, it's, correct now let's just go back now and admire what rodriguez has, um has done here.

This is really very clever to construct a puzzle where there are exactly 26 starting letters, which means he's had to he or she has had to double.

You know, this q, for example, does double duty and across and down in order in the correct places.

So that each is numbered appropriately along with their letter of the alphabet that is really really beautiful I'm, not sure I've seen that before.

And I have the feeling that's incredibly hard to do, um, yeah, it's brilliant, love it, um, which was my favorite clue.

There were quite a few difficult clues.

Um, I liked kristoff, mainly because it was so complicated.

Um, I quite liked quebec.

And the idea behind that as well westwood hose clever who around steward moving the e, um, yeah, there's a lot to admire here.

There really is I hope you enjoyed it? I hope you had a go.

Um, there should be a link under the video.

Hopefully you found it in order to play the puzzle and yeah, we'll be back soon with another edition cracking.

The cryptic you.