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European Cryptic Quiz - are you smart enough? - 7/14/2010 7:11:44 PM   
LadyEllen


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Status: offline 		Calling all willing brainiacs (including of course Brainiac herself)

These are half of the proposed clues for a crossword competition I'm planning to launch as a promotion for my company. All the clues/answers are based on European things and places.

I need to see if the clues can be solved; some are easy, some more difficult.

No prizes but of course the admiration of others is its own reward!

1) Cartoon characters leave Virginia and get lost in Slovak city (4,4)
2) Solitary crustacean wanders Spanish city (9)
3) They hurt in most of Iberia (5)
4) Going alone in Scandinavian capital (4)
5) Delivered in Czech city (4)
6) Yon war in the north (6)
7) Adrian falls short, then develops nervous condition and is left at sea (8)
8) Stan, he runs about Greek city (6)
9) Republic becomes mixed up farce when nitrogen banned (6)
10) Country where people are annoyed? (7)
11) Ban due to displace characters to river (6)
12) Friends in the mountains (4)
13) Chaotic praise cut short in French city (5)
14) No mail sorted in northern Italy (6)
15) Ailments cured, bills past due are settled in Hungary (8)


Thanks

E

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RE: European Cryptic Quiz - are you smart enough? - 7/14/2010 9:14:00 PM   
pahunkboy


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Status: offline 		arent you sneaky!!! 

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RE: European Cryptic Quiz - are you smart enough? - 7/15/2010 2:06:43 AM   
Elisabella


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RE: European Cryptic Quiz - are you smart enough? - 7/15/2010 2:12:43 AM   
VaguelyCurious


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Status: offline 		Easy ones:

2)
7)
12)
13)

Haven't got the rest. Might have another think later with an atlas.

The advantage of it being cryptic is that I don't have to post the answers for you to know they are right

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RE: European Cryptic Quiz - are you smart enough? - 7/15/2010 2:31:01 AM   
VaguelyCurious


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Status: offline 		Further thought (and wikipedia) got me

4) (which I should have got unaided but I forgot what countries were *in* Scandinavia)
5)
8) (which I should also have got first time)
9)
10)
And I *think* I know the answer to 15 but I don't quite see how it fits with the clue

So the answers I don't have are
1)
3)
6)
11)
14)
and potentially 15)


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RE: European Cryptic Quiz - are you smart enough? - 7/15/2010 2:32:49 AM   
VaguelyCurious


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quote:

ORIGINAL: Elisabella

How do you play?


http://www.gptucker.net/crosswords/solvinghelp.htm

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RE: European Cryptic Quiz - are you smart enough? - 7/15/2010 6:56:33 AM   
LadyEllen


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Status: offline 		VC - could you send me on the other side the answers you got to the ones you got?

ROW - the solutions can be found by a variety of methods but mainly consist in anagrams and the like based on the questions in whole or in part. Its all about playing with words.

For instance, 12) Friends in the mountains - here "the mountains" might indicate any of the mountain areas in Europe - Pyrenees, Alps etc. To solve the clue we're looking for a four letter word that means "friends" so we might pick Alps from our list of mountain ranges and note that its an anagram of Pals (friends) which is likely the right answer.

It requires a certain special kind of thought process to get the answers and some of them are more involved than others; 1) and 9) and 15) are likely the more difficult.

E

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RE: European Cryptic Quiz - are you smart enough? - 7/15/2010 7:05:05 AM   
frazzle


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Status: offline 		No idea on.
1
3
9
10.
agrees with VC on 15, think i know but not sure why.

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RE: European Cryptic Quiz - are you smart enough? - 7/15/2010 7:11:30 AM   
frazzle


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Status: offline 		Down to 1 and 9 to find

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RE: European Cryptic Quiz - are you smart enough? - 7/15/2010 7:18:36 AM   
DesFIP


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Status: offline 		I can't tell if you want Oslo or solo for 4. But I'm impressed that you can create a cryptic. They're uncommon is U.S. papers so I rarely see them which means I can rarely solve any clues.

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RE: European Cryptic Quiz - are you smart enough? - 7/15/2010 7:25:54 AM   
Rule


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quote:

ORIGINAL: LadyEllen
It requires a certain special kind of thought process to get the answers

I lack that thought process. I have no answers for any of the cryptic riddles. I hardly ever could solve any such riddle.

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RE: European Cryptic Quiz - are you smart enough? - 7/15/2010 7:35:01 AM   
LadyEllen


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Status: offline 		4) would be "solo" = anagram of Oslo, Norwegian capital, "going alone" = "solo"

We dont know whether I can make a cryptic crossword yet though! Thats the purpose of this exercise! Nice that it seems some clues  are comprehensible and soluble though, so I'm some of the way there!

E

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RE: European Cryptic Quiz - are you smart enough? - 7/15/2010 7:47:07 AM   
VaguelyCurious


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quote:

ORIGINAL: LadyEllen

4) would be "solo" = anagram of Oslo, Norwegian capital, "going alone" = "solo"

We dont know whether I can make a cryptic crossword yet though! Thats the purpose of this exercise! Nice that it seems some clues  are comprehensible and soluble though, so I'm some of the way there!

E
Actually, that was a point-I assumed all the answers were the place names-otherwise I wouldn't know which was the answer between pals and alps either-when the definition and the clue are the same length like that it's hard to tell which is the anagram of the other.

I'll memo you the answers in a minute :-)


< Message edited by VaguelyCurious -- 7/15/2010 7:51:22 AM >

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RE: European Cryptic Quiz - are you smart enough? - 7/15/2010 8:52:02 AM   
Rule


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quote:

ORIGINAL: LadyEllen
"going alone" = "solo"

?

"alone" = "solo"

!

?

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RE: European Cryptic Quiz - are you smart enough? - 7/15/2010 8:55:23 AM   
LadyEllen


Posts: 10931
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Status: offline 		Not sure what your question is Rule?

E

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RE: European Cryptic Quiz - are you smart enough? - 7/15/2010 9:44:28 AM   
Rule


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Status: offline 		The verb appears to be superfluous and therefore misleading.

I would prefer "Alone in the capital" as a cryptic description.

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RE: European Cryptic Quiz - are you smart enough? - 7/15/2010 9:47:39 AM   
VaguelyCurious


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Status: offline 		No, because 'going solo' is an idiom; the verb is *not* superfluous.

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RE: European Cryptic Quiz - are you smart enough? - 7/15/2010 10:21:27 AM   
Rule


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RE: European Cryptic Quiz - are you smart enough? - 7/15/2010 2:41:34 PM   
Elisabella


Posts: 3939
Status: offline 		Well I know 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 11, 12, 13, and I know 7, 8, and 15 but I can't exactly explain all the logic used to get the answer No clue on 1, 10, or 14.

Does the 4, 4 on #1 mean it's two words with 4 letters each?

< Message edited by Elisabella -- 7/15/2010 2:44:21 PM >

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RE: European Cryptic Quiz - are you smart enough? - 7/15/2010 2:57:33 PM   
PeonForHer


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Status: offline 		Lady E,

Some of those clues would be considered 'incomplete' by crossword fans - and they can be sticklers for the 'rules' of cryptic crosswords.  These are pretty standardised.  Your 'Oslo' one, for instance, should contain a hint that an anagram's involved.  'Stan he runs about Greek city' is an example of the way a solver would expect to see a clue to work. 



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