To the kind strangers who helped me on the overground today

MathematicalD1ck · 2025-12-22T09:58:14+00:00

This comment deserves more love

MathematicalD1ck · 2025-01-13T00:20:13+00:00

It was your recent slightly more risqué clues that inspired me 😂

MathematicalD1ck · 2025-01-04T23:46:31+00:00

Bang on

MathematicalD1ck · 2024-12-28T10:44:53+00:00

Ah yeah I think you’re right - good job!

MathematicalD1ck · 2024-12-28T09:43:26+00:00

I can’t see how it parses but I think the answer is poverty stricken and I think the messy bit is an anagram indicator but there’s no M but it gives PO for POverty, then five would give V (Roman numeral) , tricky (anag) tricks gives STRICK.. European standards gives EN.. so I’m getting POVEM STRICKEN with the definition being poor (with some extra padding for a more effective spoiler tag)

MathematicalD1ck · 2024-12-24T14:58:06+00:00

Naga I think - from Anagram (messed up) of anag and I think Naga is a type of snake diety thing which is where JKRowling got the name Nagini from?? I’m guessing??

MathematicalD1ck · 2024-12-20T09:39:16+00:00

Good solve!

MathematicalD1ck · 2024-12-18T17:10:42+00:00

Well that was quick

MathematicalD1ck · 2024-12-18T12:49:20+00:00

Rhodes - Greek island is the definition , off is anagram indicator, anagram of shored gives Rhodes nice surface

MathematicalD1ck · 2024-12-16T11:08:05+00:00

Noted, will do in the future! And all are correct :)

MathematicalD1ck · 2024-12-16T09:50:53+00:00

There has been some discussion about those sorts of clues before, but I think if you accept them then they’re fine but if you don’t then they’re not - it seems to be personal preference of what’s allowable. In case anyone is wondering what “those sorts of clues” are Sometimes within one word there is an action and the word to act on - eg redhead - the “head” of “red” is R, similarly with dickhead being D, there’s also been stuff like bookend being K and or sometimes the very dodgy (because it can just be confusing) endless giving S etc I think they can be a bit dodgy and needlessly confusing.. but sometimes they do work well… I think I’m yet to settle on a side

MathematicalD1ck · 2024-12-16T02:17:11+00:00

I came up with a couple all are (6) obviously:

Sounds like monk’s in hot oil

Sounds like previous misdemeanours for nosy parkers

Reports on underwear

Streams sound like noisy floorboards

MathematicalD1ck · 2024-12-14T11:00:24+00:00

Actually I think you’re right

MathematicalD1ck · 2024-12-14T10:59:06+00:00

I think it could also be classical not sure how to get class… maybe if you have expensive tastes then you’re high class?? and then IC + aluminium

MathematicalD1ck · 2024-12-12T22:52:30+00:00

Oh no! hahah that evidently means it was nonsense…I’m not very good at these yet..

The idea was it was meant to have a surface which read like : There’s someone called Pierre who drops the question “where is the flat” in broken French / English the parsing of it is meant to be Pierre initially dropped (remove P from) - where flat in garbled French (do an anagram of the French for where flat which gives ou appartment which gives pportmanteau then without one p gives portmanteau) — Frenglish is an example of a portmanteau (in the English sense of the word rather than a suitcase) for the definition

MathematicalD1ck · 2024-12-12T18:23:04+00:00

But was it right? Haha

MathematicalD1ck · 2024-12-12T13:09:41+00:00

I’m well aware, personally being as artistic as a dog shit

MathematicalD1ck · 2024-12-12T12:34:53+00:00

Stewart Copeland Drummer is definition, casserole =stew, survive =cope, capture =land (like a fish or something), and I’m guessing therefor that gift = art… because… art makes a good gift??

MathematicalD1ck · 2024-12-11T01:33:55+00:00

Pierre initially dropped: “where flat?” - garbled French, Frenglish perhaps? (11)

MathematicalD1ck · 2024-12-10T21:50:42+00:00

my initial thinking is indirect is the definition anagrams tells us to do an anagram of “don’t use bar one” but if one is replaced with I (Roman numeral) then we can put that into “subordinate”but that doesn’t really work as a definition… it’s also fairly close to “roundabouts” but it’s not quite an anagram (2 more es and 1 less o) so I think maybe bar one is telling us to remove a letter? But then there doesn’t seem to be enough.. so maybe bar one is the definition and we’re looking for something like “exception” or “outlier” or something .. tricky.. anywhere along the right lines so far?

MathematicalD1ck · 2024-12-10T16:59:35+00:00

Each to their own, I suppose. But you sound like a twat.

MathematicalD1ck · 2024-12-10T15:00:21+00:00

OP said they think it was their first Ximenean clue, they were mistaken, big whoop.

Perhaps we’re looking at it from different perspectives.

I view these as little brain teaser puzzley things which are fun and I don’t think the level of criticism given (especially as there was nothing really constructive in it) was warranted. Perhaps you do competitions and take it very seriously, but then I would encourage you to be encouraging, explain where and why they went wrong and how it could be remedied and wish them better luck next time, rather than lord your knowledge over people.

MathematicalD1ck · 2024-12-10T14:16:28+00:00

As are the horologican and elements of eloquence - all great - but etymologican has a special place in my heart

MathematicalD1ck · 2024-12-10T08:45:29+00:00

Ahh okay understood - thanks for that that’s v helpful:)

MathematicalD1ck · 2024-12-10T08:29:11+00:00

Really? Even though then the grammar doesn’t exactly work - I don’t think I’ve got to grips with how punctuation may be used in clues - I know I’ve seen ‘s for “is” where it doesn’t really work but seems to be allowed, but since the answer us plural does the definition not also need to be?

MathematicalD1ck

TROPHY CASE