# Cryptic overlaps **URL:** \ **Category:** Thread Games\ **Created:** [June 25, 2021, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cryptic-overlaps/944983 "2021-06-25T03:30:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 73
**Author:** ![Oly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oly/32/8255_2.png) [@Oly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oly)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2022, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cryptic-overlaps/944983/1442 "2022-06-23T12:39:21Z")
> [@Hoopy\_Frood](#): > > Being easily angered in conversation is only temporary. (8) Reaction (anagram contained in conversation) +++++ One time I dropped my ice cream cone (4) ---
**Author:** ![Skunkdog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c2a13f/32.png) [@Skunkdog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skunkdog)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2022, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cryptic-overlaps/944983/1443 "2022-06-24T00:10:32Z")
> [@Oly](#): > > One time I dropped my ice cream cone (4) ONCE (anagram of cone) ++++ A headless robot played with a book of cards.(6,4) ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2022, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cryptic-overlaps/944983/1444 "2022-06-24T00:28:47Z")
> [@Oly](#): > > > [@Hoopy\_Frood](#): > > > > Being easily angered in conversation is only temporary. (8) > > Reaction (anagram contained in conversation) Incorrect. Plus, your answer doesn’t start with the correct letters. ---
**Author:** ![Oly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oly/32/8255_2.png) [@Oly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oly)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2022, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cryptic-overlaps/944983/1445 "2022-06-24T01:22:31Z")
> [@Hoopy\_Frood](#): > > Incorrect. Plus, your answer doesn’t start with the correct letters. I’ll accept that it might not be the solution you were thinking of, but it is _a_ solution and it starts with a perfectly cromulent overlap (R) ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2022, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cryptic-overlaps/944983/1446 "2022-06-25T17:06:30Z")
What’s the wordplay and definition you used to come up with your solution. ---
**Author:** ![Oly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oly/32/8255_2.png) [@Oly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oly)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2022, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cryptic-overlaps/944983/1447 "2022-06-25T20:59:55Z")
For definition, I thought “easily angered” could be construed as a reaction. For word play, I thought “in” was signaling the solution was contained in “conversation”, and that “only temporary” (i.e. not for _all_ time) meant the solution did not use all the letters. I thought it was a very clever puzzle, but apparently my interpretation is not what you were intending. That being so, I yield to the thread that my solution is incorrect, and therefore HF’s puzzle is still in play. And while I still don’t know what the correct solution is, I think I can offer a hint: It doesn’t start with R. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2022, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cryptic-overlaps/944983/1448 "2022-06-26T04:38:13Z")
> [@Hoopy\_Frood](#): > > Being easily angered in conversation is only temporary. (8) ERASABLE (double definition) +++++ One terribly long time (3) EON (anagram) +++++ This bridges the gap between ERASABLE and ONCE. Which brings us to Skunkdog’s: +++++ A headless robot played with a book of cards.(6,4) (Answer to which… I have none yet.) ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2022, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cryptic-overlaps/944983/1449 "2022-06-27T03:38:47Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > > [@Hoopy\_Frood](#): > > > > Being easily angered in conversation is only temporary. (8) > > ERASABLE (double definition) Correct answer, but the wordplay I was going for is IRASCIBLE (being easily angered) “in conversation” (i.e. sounds like) ERASABLE ---
**Author:** ![Oly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oly/32/8255_2.png) [@Oly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oly)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2022, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cryptic-overlaps/944983/1450 "2022-06-28T03:43:56Z")
Huh? Erasable and irascible don’t sound much alike by me. Would anyone mistake one for the other “in conversation”? Doubt it. Nevertheless, headless robot?!? We need a hint, else the thread is stalled. ---
**Author:** ![Skunkdog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c2a13f/32.png) [@Skunkdog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skunkdog)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2022, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cryptic-overlaps/944983/1451 "2022-06-28T05:52:54Z")
It’s a double meaning clue. Here’s the split. A headless robot played / with a book of cards.(6,4) The last part of the clue isn’t necessarily grammatically correct. Hope that helped. ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2022, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cryptic-overlaps/944983/1452 "2022-06-29T03:15:10Z")
> [@Oly](#): > > Huh? Erasable and irascible don’t sound much alike by me. The single difference in pronunciation is the former has a long ‘a’ sound and the latter a short ‘a’ sound. I’d say that’s pretty close for sound alike. Cryptics don’t require perfect homophones. ---
**Author:** ![Oly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oly/32/8255_2.png) [@Oly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oly)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2022, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cryptic-overlaps/944983/1453 "2022-06-29T12:06:36Z")
Point taken. I didn’t mean it to come across as critical; more like bustin’ chops 😁 Gotta do something to pass the time while we wait for another headless robot hint. To that end, I’ve always pronounced erase with a long e at the start, but this prompted me to look it up, and the unanimous consensus of three online dictionaries has a doggone upside down e as the first sound! Ylsned. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2022, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cryptic-overlaps/944983/1454 "2022-06-29T12:39:20Z")
> [@Skunkdog](#): > > A headless robot played / with a book of cards.(6,4) dealer boot? ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2022, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cryptic-overlaps/944983/1455 "2022-06-29T16:29:19Z")
ndroid deck? ---
**Author:** ![Skunkdog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c2a13f/32.png) [@Skunkdog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skunkdog)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2022, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cryptic-overlaps/944983/1456 "2022-06-30T09:32:31Z")
Wow! Thought someone would have gotten this on day one. Let me try again. Headless TV robot played / with a book of Card’s.(6,4) ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2022, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cryptic-overlaps/944983/1457 "2022-06-30T10:43:26Z")
Ender’s Game? ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2022, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cryptic-overlaps/944983/1458 "2022-06-30T13:23:05Z")
That’s got to be it. I have never heard of robot “Bender” but that name shows up when I google “Fifty famous robots.” ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2022, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cryptic-overlaps/944983/1459 "2022-06-30T18:06:48Z")
While we are waiting let me tell you that this month’s Harper’s cryptic puzzle “Terminology” is an absolute BEAST and so rewarding to complete. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2022, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cryptic-overlaps/944983/1460 "2022-06-30T19:10:43Z")
This month’s GAMES left out their two regular cryptics. They at least kept the usual two variety cryptics. I was bummed. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2022, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cryptic-overlaps/944983/1461 "2022-06-30T20:16:58Z")
I have not cracked my latest GAMES copy yet. Sorry to hear they cut the non-variety cryptics! I have not downloaded any of the recent Cox/Rathvon puzzles from WSJ this year. Looking forward to a later vacation to catch up on all these puzzles. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cryptic-overlaps/944983.md?page=72) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cryptic-overlaps/944983.md?page=74)