Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon provide the Second Sunday acrostic puzzles every second week. If you think that’s all they do, you need to read my interview with them from last year. This weekend we are treated to one of their Cryptic Crosswords.
I try to be careful writing about these puzzles because I’d rather not give too much away. Feel free to comment on any clues or answers, or to ask any questions, and we can let the conversation happen that way. If you’re new to these Cryptic shenanigans, it might be instructive to consider the first two clues, and then you’re on your own.
1 Across is “From stem to stern, tossed in the Sound (10).” The parenthetical number at the end tells us the number of letters in the answer. The trick to these puzzles is realizing that, for most clues, there are two parts that each point to the same answer. Often is it difficult to separate those parts, so you have to be on your toes. It looks as if this one might mean “from stem to stern” and there is a word meaning tossed inside another one meaning Sound.
That’s a perfectly logical parsing of the clue. It’s also wrong. Sound here means “sounds like,” so we’re looking for a single word meaning “from stem to stern” that sounds like a word or phrase meaning “tossed.” THROUGHOUT fits that description. Reread the explanation here if it doesn’t make sense right away.
The clue at 6 Across reads “Exchange hands, from right to left (4).” In this case, the answer is SWAP. It means exchange. What has swap to do with “hands from right to left”? Follow the directions in the clue to find out.
Cryptics are an acquired taste, but once you get over the hump, they’re great fun. They often benefit from solving with a friend, who might be able to look at the clues at a different angle when you’re stuck.