Last week I saw a clue that used an anagram of STUTTERING WOE to make TONGUE-TWISTER. In cryptic terms, this is called an old chestnut, that is a clue, or an essential combination in a clue, that has been seen/used many times before by other setters. Solvers will never know if such a construction has been copied (and modified) or whether the setter has come to the same clue breakdown as previous setters completely independently. It’s not inconceivable, especially with anagrams, as some words have obvious breakdowns. In my anagram function (which is part of Crossword Compiler), the STUTTERING WOE combination comes third at the top of the list for the letters of TONGUE-TWISTER, making it an easy get as long as you are happy that WOE can serve a purpose in the clue (personally, it’s not good enough). So, in these circumstances, is there an obligation on the setter to see if the essence of a clue is unique? That is, should they check if it’s been done before? I would say yes and no. Yes, when it’s likely that it has been done before and it might even feel familiar, and no otherwise. The lines of setting etiquette can become blurred in situations like this. Is it OK for a setter to use a resource like anagrammy.com as the basis for their clues? STUTTERING WOE = TONGUE-TWISTER is documented on this website as first appearing in 1989. A quick internet search shows this anagram has appeared in at least two major UK newspapers (by different setters) in the last couple of years. Is it OK to take this known combination and add one’s own twist? Another anagram spotted recently in the same paper was BAD TIME FOR SINNER = FIRE AND BRIMSTONE, this too appeared as an award-winning anagram on anagrammy.com in March 2001. It isn’t hard to turn someone else’s creative work into what looks like a great anagram clue. Some may see such resources as fair game but it’s not for me. It might make you look good, but the essence of the result is not your own work. Of course a setter doesn’t have to supply references and there’s always a chance an anagram is re-discovered by a setter during the normal course of probing during their setting, making it totally original in their own mind. In that case I guess there’s no obligation on a setter to check for originality.
| Across | Answers and Clues | Explanations |
| 1 | MESSAGED | |
| Army food supplier over the hill sent signals (8) | MESS + AGED | |
| 5 | NACHOS | |
| Mexican food with reduced salt and water? (6) | (NaC)l + (HOS)E | |
| 10 | DETRACT | |
| Take away pivotal piece of academic booklet (7) | ACA(DE)MIC + TRACT | |
| 11 | AUREATE | |
| Brilliant opening not sustained by great poet (7) | L(AUREATE) | |
| 12 | CONCIERGE | |
| Hotel employee tossed rice pudding’s last bit into ice cream container (9) | [Anagram of RICE + PUDDIN(G)] inside CONE | |
| 13 | IGLOO | |
| Man exiled from Mongolia renovated White House (5) | Anagram of MONGOLIA minus MAN | |
| 14 | TASK | |
| Student’s last to request assignment (4) | STUDEN(T) + ASK | |
| 16 | RETCHING | |
| Nausea, and more, hospital contained by phone (8) | (ETC + H) inside RING | |
| 19 | GARRISON | |
| Guy, held back by irons, tangled with military unit (8) | RAG reversed + anagram of IRONS | |
| 20 | CRIB | |
| Steal cold cut of meat (4) | C + RIB | |
| 23 | OMEGA | |
| Line-up used in home game, the last of a series (5) | hOME GAme | |
| 24 | NOTEPAPER | |
| Writer’s material love shown in adaptation of Peter Pan (9) | O inside anagram of PETER PAN | |
| 26 | SPANIEL | |
| Dog that is left on right side of bridge (7) | (IE + L) after SPAN | |
| 27 | GLOBULE | |
| Luminous appearance almost ruined blue bead (7) | (GLO)W + anagram of BLUE | |
| 28 | RATHER | |
| A little grass stunted herb (6) | RAT + (HER)B | |
| 29 | TREE FERN | |
| Underwater development restricted by sea-bird’s growth in a tropical area (4,4) | REEF inside TERN | |
| Down | Answers and Clues | Explanations |
| 1 | MEDICATE | |
| Drug order mostly ingested by partner (8) | (EDIC)T inside MATE | |
| 2 | SET ON | |
| Attack what a composer writes up (3,2) | NOTES reversed | |
| 3 | ACARID | |
| Cutting pierced by a mite (6) | ACRID outside A | |
| 4 | ENTERPRISINGLY | |
| Write down three types of print one by one with imagination (14) | ENTER + (PRI)NT + SINGLY | |
| 6 | AIRTIGHT | |
| A conclusion to agreement used in one claim is sealed (8) | A + AGREEMEN(T) inside (I + RIGHT) | |
| 7 | HEADLINER | |
| Judge, going outside, led in represented star? (9) | HEAR outside anagram of LED IN | |
| 8 | STEP ON | |
| Subdue child holding pet up (4,2) | SON outside (PET reversed) | |
| 9 | MAN-EATING TIGER | |
| Big cat that likes being inside? (3-6,5) | Cryptic Definition | |
| 15 | SPARE PART | |
| Replacement spring positioned by salesman with skill (5,4) | SPA + REP + ART | |
| 17 | URBANITE | |
| Metropolitan bar represented in league? (8) | Anagram of BAR inside UNITE | |
| 18 | ABERDEEN | |
| Wild deer spotted in a mountain town in Scotland (8) | Anagram of DEER inside (A + BEN) | |
| 21 | WOWSER | |
| Spoilsport was disheartened in heartbreak, right? (6) | W(A)S inside (WOE + R) | |
| 22 | OPPOSE | |
| Surgical work on model’s face (6) | OP + POSE | |
| 25 | PAUSE | |
| Grabs, by the sound of it, a short break (5) | Sounds like PAWS |
David
You had me soundly beaten with 5a and 28a.
I puzzled long and hard over rather, until I realised that I rather like your blog.
5a had me totally floundering as I am totally ignorant about chemical notation (is that what it is) of salt.
Many corrections as I gradually woke up to some of your tricks.
My wife and I were waiting for a doctor, when she grabbed my crossword. Since she does not understand the cryptic process, she sketched the clues, so I have alps with deer, a child with a budgie in hand, three styles of printing, and a cat adorning my paperwork.
I just can’t understand why she can’t understand my fascination with word play.
Arthur
LOL moment: Working out the cryptic definition of 9dn, a few minutes after I got the answer.