Puzzle Description:

Cock hat after Prohibition -- See comment 1

#1: Joe (infrapinklizzard) on May 2, 2018

The description is a clue to the subject using cryptic crossword clue rules.

Every cryptic clue is made up of two parts; a definition, and a literal description of the answer using wordplay. They can be in either order (though not intertwined) and there is no separation between them.

Here is a page describing some of the techniques:
http://gamesmagazine-online.com/cryptic-crosswords/
or an easier-to-read PDF:
http://gamesmagazine-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/CrypticsGuide.pdf

Bantam! Finally got one!

Congrats, Gaynor, bantam it is!

For beginner cryptic solvers, here's the breakdown:

This is a "charade" type clue
Cock (definition)
hat (tam) {after} Prohibition (ban)

I like these puzzles after I see the solution. I rarely get the answer myself. (sigh) But, I keep trying.

It took me a few years of randomly trying them in Games Mag to get the hang of them. Gradually I got more and more of the clues in each puzzle, and I went back and filled in older ones as I got better.

I find that the easiest clues to spot are the anagram clues. They usually have an easy to spot word like "upset", "crazy", "mixing", or the like, and also have a word (or group of words) with the same total letters as the answer.

Same as Ron. Neat puzzle.

Although I haven't done them for a while, I enjoy solving cryptics. But, it is hard to do them without knowing how many letters are in the answer.

Goto next topic

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