Crossword Bafflement

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: GUEST,whitby local
Date: 23 May 15 - 10:31 AM

The extra letters in the The polar bear clue should be ignored.
I would not want you to be left floundering too much on your own without help

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 19 Dec 14 - 03:59 AM

Nice misleading clue. The use of "can cause" gets you rationalising that you've used the letters "can" and need to rationalise the rest.
"may cause" would have avoided the confusion.

Cheers

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 19 Dec 14 - 01:58 AM

Ah -- no, OK. Got it. "Disturbance" is anagram of "Tuscan bride".

Sorry to have troubled you all. But got there at last!.

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 19 Dec 14 - 01:53 AM

I can usually fit clue to solution, even if only retrospectively sometimes. But rationale of one in this morning's Guardian has me puzzled.

Clue: Italian with bride can cause disturbance (6)

Answer: Tuscan

Well I got it from letters I had and taking first word of clue as the definition word. But can anyone point out how the clue leads to the solution, please?

≈M≈

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: GUEST,fred
Date: 15 Jun 14 - 03:06 PM

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 16 Jan 13 - 05:12 AM

Sorry, I seem to have forgotten to end the italics after "would it be a lie)?"

Could some mud-elf please correct?

Cheers

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 16 Jan 13 - 04:27 AM

Mo:
oh, BTW can anyone tell me who shaves the barber who shaves everyone that doesn't shave himself?
Or what a man who always lies would say if you ask him if he is telling a lie (and would it be a lie)?

The one with the barber is phrased so as to be a paradox, unless the barber is a woman, in which case there is no problem about shaving himself

If you ask a liar if he's lying he will say 'No', which is a lie. Thus maintaining his reputation.

Cheers

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: gnu
Date: 15 Jan 13 - 03:01 PM

And one more... "cheatu"?

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: Stanron
Date: 15 Jan 13 - 12:54 PM

There are 28 6 letter words ending with u if you google '6 letter words ending with u'. Most of which I've never heard and can't define.

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: Rumncoke
Date: 15 Jan 13 - 11:47 AM

de feeted you has it?

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: Mo the caller
Date: 15 Jan 13 - 09:11 AM

Is the hidden tiger hiding behind his friend?

I agree that No Answer is the answer
..... except that, if it is the answer then there ISN'T 'no answer' so it isn't the answer.

oh, BTW can anyone tell me who shaves the barber who shaves everyone that doesn't shave himself?
Or what a man who always lies would say if you ask him if he is telling a lie (and would it be a lie)?

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: GUEST
Date: 14 Jan 13 - 05:32 PM

Good idea, Jack.

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 14 Jan 13 - 05:28 PM

Ormolu but it does not fit the definition.

There are some words that start with Q but do not have U as the second letter. What is that clue. Better yet do you have a copy of the puzzle to post on line. perhaps you can photograph it?

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: GUEST,SWIRLY
Date: 14 Jan 13 - 04:26 PM

16 OF US ON A DAY TRIPTO WHITBY ALWAYS START OFF OUR DAY IN THIS PUB IN WHITYBY AS PREVIOUS SOLVER !!! - WE DEBATE OVER THE CLUE CERTAINLY A TALKING POINT BUT DONBT KNOW IF WE WILL EVER SOLVE THIS CLUE - O - FIRST LETTER U LAST LETTER - WHAT GOES IN BETWEEN - HEAVENS KNOWS - CERTAINLY GOT EVERYBODY GOING CANT FIND ANY WORDS THAT WOULD FIT - ANY IDEAS

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: GUEST,SWIRLY
Date: 14 Jan 13 - 04:19 PM

LAST DOWN CLUE BEGINS WITH Q - THEREFORE POLAR BEAR CLUE ENDS IN U - ANY IDEAS

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: Ebbie
Date: 24 Jun 12 - 04:24 PM

Thanks for the pm, Nigel. I doubt that I would ever have found it- unless I'd been paid to keep looking!

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 24 Jun 12 - 03:07 PM

Ebbie:
But what about the "hidden" tiger? Is it there?
As I said on the previous page:
It struck me that it was a bit like trying to find the hidden tiger in this picture.
Which I thought was rather neat!
Just remember, you're not looking for the tiger in plain view, you're looking for 'The hidden tiger'!

It is there!

Cheers

Nigel

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: banjoman
Date: 24 Jun 12 - 06:08 AM

I thought that this one had gone away for good. I still have the occasional sleepless night trying to find an answer. I have grown old and decrepid with this puzzle but can find nothing better to do , other than make another banjo, if she who must be obeyed would allow me

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: kendall
Date: 23 Jun 12 - 08:25 PM

My guess, Left behind. It came to me immediately.

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: Ebbie
Date: 23 Jun 12 - 11:07 AM

But what about the "hidden" tiger? Is it there?

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: GUEST,Raggytash
Date: 23 Jun 12 - 10:06 AM

AAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggggggh!!!!!!!

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: GUEST,Laura
Date: 23 Jun 12 - 07:05 AM

No Thumbs!

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: GUEST,Chris
Date: 08 Sep 11 - 10:25 AM

oh and the first letter of the 2 answer must be a O as it leads down to a 2 letter clue ending in Z. That is of course if it is a real question and not as has been pointed out just a hoax clue........

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: GUEST,Chris
Date: 08 Sep 11 - 10:13 AM

I saw this puzzle on a pub wall in Whitby this week, the chap who set the puzzle passed away and his surviving relatives are not giving up the answer, the frame to the puzzle has a few words coming down but with no clues to their solution, the last letter in the 6 may be a U as the 3 word answer that comes there starts with a Q and unless it is QED or something like that then a U would be the obvious letter. It has bugged me for a good few days but I may well drop it very soon!!!

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: bobad
Date: 26 Mar 09 - 07:24 AM

Smear (spread out) anchor (kedge) to spin endlessly (ree(l)) while making rice dish (kedgeree)

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: Llanfair
Date: 26 Mar 09 - 05:46 AM

don't know, but ree(l) is spin endlessly.

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: DMcG
Date: 26 Mar 09 - 03:09 AM

Oh, I should have said that a kedge is also a type of anchor, but I still don;t quite get it. What's smeared?

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: DMcG
Date: 26 Mar 09 - 03:04 AM

The local freebie has a 'coffee break' crossword. The clues are so cryptic that the composer must take extremely long coffee breaks. Here's a clue and the right answer; can anyone explain the connection?

Clue: Smear anchor to spin endlessly while making a rice dish.
Answer: Kedgeree

Kedgeree is certainly a rice dish, but what's all the rest about?

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: Neil D
Date: 26 Mar 09 - 01:13 AM

Be headed

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: Kampervan
Date: 25 Mar 09 - 05:05 PM

In one sense I hate to resurrect this thread, but did we ever get a definitive answer to the original question?

Or did Raggytash ever receive proper punishment for starting it in the first place?

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: banjoman
Date: 03 Jan 09 - 07:45 AM

Looks like I'll have to dig out the calculator and start again although Thumbs is a good start

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 03 Jan 09 - 12:52 AM

How about 'it stinks'?

:D

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: Terry McDonald
Date: 02 Jan 09 - 08:27 AM

'All thumbs' is simply wrong - one too many letters. The answer consists of a two letter word followed by a six letter word.

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: freda underhill
Date: 02 Jan 09 - 07:44 AM

lovers of British crime have a head start on these two:

1. underground comic brings the roof down (3,3,3)





and

2. epitaph for a dumb dick (2. 4. 3)


any takers?

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: banjoman
Date: 02 Jan 09 - 07:35 AM

I think I have finally solved this one __

" ALL THUMBS" Nothing could be worse for a Polar Bear.
No doubt some will dispute this as No Answer at all but I dont care - it will do for me

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 30 Dec 08 - 03:42 PM

No answer that's been given so far, including "no answer", has much in the way of "gotcha" to it. If anything that's been tossed out as a possibility is the actual answer the puzzler intended, then it's a pretty crappy puzzle.

Anyone can make up a "puzzle" for which "no answer" could be an appropriate answer. To prove my point, I'll make one up on the spot: "What's worse for a folk singer than having his foot run over by a steam roller?" There's no answer because I just pulled the elements of the question out of thin air. I had no connection in mind. But I could pretend there's a connection if I had nothing better to do than jerk a bunch of old folkies around for a few weeks.

The hidden tiger thing, on the other hand, has lots of "gotcha".

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: fumblefingers
Date: 30 Dec 08 - 12:48 PM

Here's somethng in the way of justification for "No thumbs"

http://www.dullmen.com/trivia.htm

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?s=33d3e1d27634fc967665fd7f567e5478&showentry=580&blogid=165&autocom=blog

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: Amos
Date: 30 Dec 08 - 12:36 PM

POlar bears have no thumbs to begin with, so I fail to see why having no thumbs would be worse than being left-handed.

No is also the abbreviation for North, which is the opposite of being a south-anything. "No Handed" would be a good answer.


A

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: Terry McDonald
Date: 30 Dec 08 - 12:26 PM

Other than Sminky, everyone is being too literal - it's a crossword clue, after all, and meant to be devious. The fact that it's a stand-alone clue, on a pub wall, should imply that there is 'no answer.'

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: katlaughing
Date: 30 Dec 08 - 11:54 AM

banjoman, how ya doin'? No Thumbs seems a good answer, eh?!:-)

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: GUEST, Sminky
Date: 30 Dec 08 - 10:56 AM

I have just received an electronic Crossword Solver as a birthday present - when I entered the relevant information for this problem it displayed the message "No Answer"

I rest my case!

I'm off now until the New Year. Very best wishes to everyone.

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: Genie
Date: 30 Dec 08 - 02:03 AM

"No thumbs" works too. I really think the 2-letter word in the answer is "no."

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: fumblefingers
Date: 30 Dec 08 - 01:40 AM

After consulting with my old buddy, former Bristow helicopter pilot and now a luminary in Kuala Lumpar social circles, Dato Steve Day, the answer(s) is/are:

Crossword clue: For a Polar Bear, worse than being left pawed (2, 6)

The simple answer is NO THUMBS. Polar bears through urban legend are said to be left handed. They are also known for hot having opposable thumbs. I believe that this is the answer the simple person who wrote the clue is looking for.

But if you want a cryptic answer how about this?

"AN ATTACK"

"For a Polar....Bear....."

- a Polar = a northern = AN
- bear = to bear against (i.e. as a lion bears against his prey) = "ATTACK"

An attack is "worse than being left pawed."

On balance, however, the answer is NO THUMBS,

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: GUEST,Slag
Date: 30 Dec 08 - 01:15 AM

I got The Hidden Tiger in about 3 seconds! By the same stripe so was the polar bare.

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: Genie
Date: 30 Dec 08 - 12:51 AM

"No clawed" or "No footed" both fit the clue and the format (2, 6), and either one, I think, would be a better answer than "no answer." JMNSHO

Genie

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: katlaughing
Date: 29 Dec 08 - 11:08 PM

Nigel, I didn't see the Hidden Tiger, but how about a Crouching Dragon?**BG**

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: fumblefingers
Date: 29 Dec 08 - 10:21 PM

All polar bears are left pawed. I like No Clawed, as I saw here by Amos.

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 29 Dec 08 - 10:58 AM

Nobody's commented on 'Bainbo's one:
I've got to say, Sminky, having tried to work it out, I was satisfied when you posted your solution on December 11 that you'd got it right. It's the one that makes the most sense, even if it is a bit of a cheat. It struck me that it was a bit like trying to find the hidden tiger in this picture.
Which I thought was rather neat!
Just remember, you're not looking for the tiger in plain view, you're looking for 'The hidden tiger'!

Cheers
Nigel

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: banjoman
Date: 29 Dec 08 - 10:47 AM

HELP Please stop take it away I.m slowly going nuts

Subject: RE: Crossword Bafflement
From: GUEST,Slag
Date: 27 Dec 08 - 04:49 PM

Abandoned Ma'd!?