Friday, April 3, 2009

Tricky Indicators: Part II

tricky-cryptic-clue-indicator Tricky Indicators: Part I dealt with a special kind of indicator that is encapsulated in a bigger word; the bigger word needs to be dismantled to separate out the indicator + fodder. The dismantling is simple enough: take a word like INGRATE, break it into IN + GRATE and read it as a container where GRATE is the outer word.

This technique is taken a step further when the indicator is not spelt out but has to be derived through the wordplay.

Consider this clue:
               State experiencing financial trouble, persisted? (8) RE{MAINE}D

Persisted is the definition, state = MAINE. Where does RE{..}D come from?
"experiencing financial trouble" = IN THE RED, which gives the c/c indicator (in) and the outer word (RED).

Implied Indicators

The indicator and associated fodder as in the example above, are not explicitly stated but implied. Here are more examples.

Word Cryptic Meaning How?
asleep, retired c/c with BED as the outer word asleep = IN BED
establish TES establish = SET UP = SET reversed
in debt, overdrawn c/c with RED or THERED as the outer word in debt / overdrawn = IN THE RED
regained NOW regained = WON BACK = WON reversed

Solve These

A couple of clues from the Times/FT archives:

Perplexed when you dream where you'd expect to dream? (7)
See what? (6)

Previous Post Of The 2-Part Series: Encapsulated Indicators

Related Posts:



raghunath said...

Hi Shuchi,

I do not know what happens to the IN BED [where you'd expect to dream]

See what? (6) RESULT???

I did take a hint from your Indicator post to solve the first clue. But am at a loss about the second.

Shuchi said...

Yes Raghunath, BEMUSED it is. MUSE (dream) is put IN BED (where you'd expect to dream).

For the second one, "see" is the definition, and the font style of "what" is important. Get it now?

raghunath said...

About the 1st Clue:
I actually meant how to care of the "In" of In Bed, since only BED was used?

Shuchi said...

That is the "trick" - the wordplay gives not just a component for the solution but also the indicator.

In this clue, the wordplay leads to IN BED. Of this, BED is part of the solution and IN is the c/c indicator. That is why MUSE is put in BED.

Another similar example from Azed 1919: Deficient mug treated like swine? (6). Here "mug treated like swine" => CAN put in STY, which gives S{CAN}TY. There is no explicit c/c indicator, the wordplay implies it.

Does it make sense now?

Kryptonologist said...

See what? (6)


Shuchi said...

You've got it right, Kryptonologist.

When this clue was published in FT, it had a printing error - "what" was not in bold. You can imagine the confusion that ensued!