Post by Alan Browse on Feb 24, 2018 9:21:25 GMT
I've always been a great fan of cryptic crosswords, and the prize crossword in today's Guardian newspaper had a superb clue:
"Dutch playing away, Northern Ireland's cleverest attacker starts in defence (12)"
I have no interest in or knowledge of football, so I struggled with this one, until the penny finally dropped.
The answer is "FORNICATRESS", and the wordplay is "NICA" (the 'starts' of Northern Ireland's Cleverest Attacker) inside "FORTRESS" (a defence). But it's the definition part that's really clever - "Dutch" is cockney slang for "wife", and "playing away" is, well, playing away from home .......
I've often wondered whether other countries have equivalents to our cryptic crosswords, or is this more an English language or English sense of humour thing? Are there any fellow European cruciverbalists amongst us?
Alan
"Dutch playing away, Northern Ireland's cleverest attacker starts in defence (12)"
I have no interest in or knowledge of football, so I struggled with this one, until the penny finally dropped.
The answer is "FORNICATRESS", and the wordplay is "NICA" (the 'starts' of Northern Ireland's Cleverest Attacker) inside "FORTRESS" (a defence). But it's the definition part that's really clever - "Dutch" is cockney slang for "wife", and "playing away" is, well, playing away from home .......
I've often wondered whether other countries have equivalents to our cryptic crosswords, or is this more an English language or English sense of humour thing? Are there any fellow European cruciverbalists amongst us?
Alan
