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Crossword Help Forum
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oded

13th February 2017, 12:33
My simple question is this: Is there a missing "yelp" for crossword-related-stuff (not just specifically puzzles)?
What additional index/listing would be great to have? What information currently requires extra effort to find, but could be very easy to look up with the appropriate search tools?

Lastly: Would you personally be interested in helping create such an index? (I'm asking this for research and not for soliciting)
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les40

13th February 2017, 14:54
Dear oded,
I'm sure your intentions are honourable, however, my eye is drawn to your part statement of 'could be VERY EASY to look up'
The whole point of a cryptic clue is that it is a battle between clue compiler (The Setter) to use whatever (learnt) skills to Inveigle misdirection and possibly sinister wordplay to cajole the solver away from the true representation of the clue parts. In turn, it is the solver's goal to use his/her learnt skills to identify what parts are the definition and what is the wordplay and only then can they use their experiences to decipher the relevant pieces to fit into the solved correct answer.
I use many tools to help me do this, including the Chambers dictionary, a good thesaurus, an encyclopdia and a few other books. I also use the internet (Google) for a final 'Go to' for all those very hard to find references.
Although I feel it would be impossible to invent such a reference facility, I think I would pack up my books, take them to the charity shop and never pick up a cryptic crossword again because this new reference facility would destroy the very essence of the cryptic clue and take away the reason we do them.
Our world is full of gadgets and things to make stuff easy.
The cryptic clue is something else, it's crafted from a creative mind and should be savoured and appreciated for what it is, a piece of enigmatic word mastery.
Why not look online and read about how to solve clues and the many different styles of clue and wordplay, then spend some time trying them and asking for help .
I feel you've found what you're looking for with this site, no need for a new reference book or fancy computer programmes. Just ask here, there is a plethora of superb solvers and setters where you'll always find the answers and get explanations.
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jazzgirl

13th February 2017, 15:01
Well said Les !
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oded

13th February 2017, 15:16
Wow that's an awesome response :)

Well what about finding the riddles rather than the solutions? When you started, was it easy to find good places that provide the riddles? Are there a lot of different websites with different types of riddles? Maybe relevant books (guides/riddles)?
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rosalind

13th February 2017, 17:22
Brilliant answer, Les. If there was such an aid, there wouldn't be any point in trying to solve the puzzles. Thankfully, as well shown on Peer review and Clueless, the human mind is able to make connections and formulate original clues in a way which I think and hope could never be captured in an index. Some minds, anyway; among which I do not include my own! Except on v. rare occasions.

I think the difficulty is summed up by the famous translation of "Out of sight, out of mind" as "Invisible and insane". Or perhaps the following to illustrate how the same word means different things in different contexts "Fruit flies like a banana; time flies like an arrow". No aid is going to help with that.

However, I have made my own index of all kinds of crossword clue "meanings" I have come across. eg under J I have Judge= ref and under R ref=judge. Sorry oded, it's personal to me.
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pigale

13th February 2017, 17:52
Rosalind and Les, I am in total agreement; I too have made some sort of an index and I think experience must help too.
But please do not make it easy!
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andyb

13th February 2017, 19:11
I'm also in agreement with Rosalind and Les (superbly written). I suggest oded buys a paper with different compilers each day (Herald, Glasgow ideal...) and looks at the answers the following week to see how cunning and devious the varying compilers are.
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stevea6000

13th February 2017, 23:36
@les - wonderfully well expressed. Hear, hear!
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oded

16th February 2017, 09:21
So... sorry didn't get a reply to my question :) (as awesome as les's response was!)

Is there anything else (not just solutions) that could and should be listed? Sources, riddles, websites, books?
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seamus, ayrshire

16th February 2017, 15:03
There is already a fairly comprehensive array of useful websites for cruciverbalists. Maybe you could link to some of them. Here's just a few to start with:

http://www.crosswordsolver.org
http://bestforpuzzles.com/lists/index.html
http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk
https://whatsthisword.com
http://crossword-solver.org
https://www.crosswordsolver.org/anagram-solver/
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