The Stickler Weekly 21 Solution

I’ve been asked to write something about the use of linking words in clues, that is, words that either link sections of wordplay or, more typically, words that link wordplay and definition. I won’t be able to cover what could be a very technical and lengthy essay in just a couple of paragraphs, but I can provide a summary of my view.
My focus is always on the solver and I especially want to provide consistency to allow new solvers a firm platform to build on. As a result, I’ll only use Wordplay<->Definition linking words if I have to, and, when I do, I use them in a consistent way so that solvers can rely on my cluing. For example, I don’t subscribe to the concept that wordplay comes FROM a definition: it makes more sense from a solver’s point of view that the answer, defined by the definition, is determined FROM the wordplay. It’s true the setter wrote the wordplay from the answer, but how that’s relevant to the solver I don’t know.
If you solve my crosswords regularly you’ll know I prefer to construct clues in two distinct parts and I use definitional clues rather than instructional or descriptive types of clues. As a result, my Wordplay<->Definition link words tend to be “is”, “may be”, “in” etc, reinforcing the separate two-part nature of good cryptic clues. Having said that, I understand why setters want and exercise some licence when it comes to linking words. The more word ammunition available, the easier it is to write clues and more wordplay variety is available. It takes a lot of time to massage a clue idea into the best clue it can be, and sometimes that time isn’t available.
As for linking words in the wordplay, I’m sure my philosophy is different from most setters. That’s a story for another time.