The Stickler Weekly 13 Solution

I had a number of people ask me about clues from The Stickler Weekly 12, namely 4-down, “One who’s keen to take a break? (6)”, and 11-down, “Handy communicator? (6)”. They quite rightly pointed out that this type of clue doesn’t appear very often in Stickler puzzles, and there’s good reason for that. These are cryptic definition clues, that is, clues that are definition only and have no wordplay. A cryptic definition’s very nature means the solver is unlikely to work out the solution until all or most of the cross-letters are in place, as there’s no wordplay to provide a second pathway, and the solver isn’t told what type of clue it is. If they knew it was a cryptic definition, they may have a chance to work it out. Even then, the solver NEEDS cross-letters to confirm.

So why is this less-than-whole cryptic clue used in cryptics at all? I believe their inclusion is largely historical, as puns were originally introduced to add spice to everyday clues in early crosswords. These puns were added to other different clue types to eventually form cryptic crosswords – they have always been part of a cryptic crossword setter’s arsenal, except in the US, where “quick” crosswords dominate and puns continue to be used to mix up the cluing. In fact, publishers of US cryptics generally don’t allow cryptic definitions as they believe single definition clues have no place in cryptic crosswords – they belong in everyday puzzles. This a view that I tend to share, so only the odd one may pop up – that is, I don’t actively look to write cryptic definitions.

Why that is, I’ll leave for another time.

(Answers: 4-down SURFIE, 11-down SIGNER)