Puzzle Description:

A Latin and an Englishman ate noisily. -- See comment 1

#1: Joe (infrapinklizzard) on Apr 15, 2020

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

So, it's an AMPERSAND.
A + SPERM(the "Englishman" munched up and spit back out as MPERS) + AND(as well)

This is probably dead wrong, but it sounded good...

The picture is an ampersand, Kristen, but that's not the word.

I have taken the liberty of (slightly) changing the clue to a much better one. Anyone who remembers the original clue will have a slight leg-up since they will be able to tell the split of the two clue parts from the change.

Italic?

If that's an ampersand, it looks tilted.

definition: "a Latin"
literal description: no idea

That's not it, Philip. (Or should I call you Philip?) If nobody has gotten it by tomorrow, I'll give the length, which will be a giant clue.

Et?

That's Latin for "and". Also it begins with E (Englishman) and it sounds (noisily) like "tea" which is a meal that the English "eat". Also the picture of an ampersand means "and", which in Latin is Et.

I forgot a phrase in my explanation. "Et" begins with E, which I already explained. It ends with "T", which sounds (noisily) like "Tea".

You got the answer, Kathy, but not the reason. (Which in a crossword you wouldn't even realize.)

The clue is a homophone.

A Latin and (definition - "and" in Latin)
an Englishman ate noisily (many Englishmen pronounce "ate" as "et")
e.g. https://forvo.com/word/ate/#en_uk

The ampersand in the picture is of an older form where you can actually see how it derived from the word "et".

Most beautiful ampersand ever. Hardest cryptic ever. Fun!

Goto next topic

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