Welcome to The Clue Clinic – where people interested in solving or setting cryptic crosswords come to learn, sharpen their skills, and get expert guidance from experienced setters.
If this is your first visit, we would recommend visiting the About This Site page to get some ideas about the areas of the site which may be of particular interest to you and the ways in which you can interact with Clinic staff and other readers.
What’s New
The PDF of the latest Gemelo puzzle is available at this link: Gemelo 44 The PDF of the latest Azed puzzle is available at this link: Azed 2,782 The July Digest is now live, providing a short round-up of news and views from the Clinic.
Latest Posts
Latest Comments
You’re absolutely right, of course, that “after” in 4dn is a conjunction rather than a preposition, and your new explanation…
Thanks, RK I think ‘powerless’ is universally accepted for the deletion of P, on the basis that it means ‘without…
Hi, I have seen setters use “powerless” to indicate a wordplay of deleting P from the fodder. Is this okay?…
I think I was wrong when I described it as a ‘plonker’, although it does have certain plonkerish overtones. In…
Hi Paul – I believe that the four-letter form with the required sense can definitely be used without qualification, as…
It’s exceptionally rare for me to find myself at odds with the good Dr C, but I must express my…
While I was working through this puzzle, Gemelo’s 44th, I wondered if he might celebrate his half-century with a clue-writing…
Thanks. Got what the word must be, but was stuck on the parsing
Hi Debra 2d Precious jade turned up in Chinese and European blue mineral (6). A two-letter word for precious jade…
Baffled by 2 down