# Does this seem like a really weak crossword clue to you? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [October 27, 2008, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-seem-like-a-really-weak-crossword-clue-to-you/469763 "2008-10-27T14:42:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-seem-like-a-really-weak-crossword-clue-to-you/469763/1 "2008-10-27T14:42:00Z")
During my break this morning I was doing a corner of the World’s Most Ornery Crossword Puzzle in Games magazine (the latest issue, Dec. 2008). One of the clues is “Afraid (of)”. The answer is IN FEAR. This just seems like a really lame clue/answer combination, especially for the Hard clues of TWMOCP. Am I the only one for whom this just feels off, like it’s not up to Games’s usual 3-star clues for TWMOCP? ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-seem-like-a-really-weak-crossword-clue-to-you/469763/2 "2008-10-27T15:20:35Z")
The Guardian crossword clues: Gegs (9,4) Scrambled eggs h,i,j,k,l,mm,n,o (5) Water (H2O!) ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-seem-like-a-really-weak-crossword-clue-to-you/469763/3 "2008-10-27T15:41:25Z")
Yeah, but English crosswords are a whole other animal… ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-seem-like-a-really-weak-crossword-clue-to-you/469763/4 "2008-10-27T15:43:41Z")
The weakest British cryptic clue ever (it’s also the first one I ever solved): Go, man, go - but don’t forget the chutney (5) ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-seem-like-a-really-weak-crossword-clue-to-you/469763/5 "2008-10-27T15:45:32Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > The weakest British cryptic clue ever (it’s also the first one I ever solved): > > Go, man, go - but don’t forget the chutney (5) Mango? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-seem-like-a-really-weak-crossword-clue-to-you/469763/6 "2008-10-27T15:46:01Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > The weakest British cryptic clue ever (it’s also the first one I ever solved): > > Go, man, go - but don’t forget the chutney (5) Wow. Even _ **I** _ got that, and I’m completely hopeless at cryptics! ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-seem-like-a-really-weak-crossword-clue-to-you/469763/7 "2008-10-27T16:28:53Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Yeah, but English crosswords are a whole other animal… A whole confused (with nothing missing) other animal? (5) whale ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-seem-like-a-really-weak-crossword-clue-to-you/469763/8 "2008-10-27T17:37:16Z")
From today’s Guardian: ATM George misused as source of money Mortgagee Conundra with added social comment! ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-seem-like-a-really-weak-crossword-clue-to-you/469763/9 "2008-10-27T17:57:50Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > During my break this morning I was doing a corner of the World’s Most Ornery Crossword Puzzle in Games magazine (the latest issue, Dec. 2008). One of the clues is “Afraid (of)”. > > The answer is IN FEAR. This just seems like a really lame clue/answer combination, especially for the Hard clues of TWMOCP. > > Am I the only one for whom this just feels off, like it’s not up to Games’s usual 3-star clues for TWMOCP? Speaking as someone who’s constructed a grid or two – and fixed about a bajillion – sometimes you’re just freaking stuck for a grid entry, and you’re left with something like [what you spoilered]. When there’s nothing to be done but use it, your first choice is to find a quote or title or suchlike so you can use a fill-in-the-blank clue (making it a trifle less obvious that you were backed into a corner). Otherwise, the kindest thing you can do is just clue it completely straightforwardly. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-seem-like-a-really-weak-crossword-clue-to-you/469763/10 "2008-10-27T18:12:47Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Speaking as someone who’s constructed a grid or two – and fixed about a bajillion – sometimes you’re just freaking stuck for a grid entry, and you’re left with something like [what you spoilered]. When there’s nothing to be done but use it, your first choice is to find a quote or title or suchlike so you can use a fill-in-the-blank clue (making it a trifle less obvious that you were backed into a corner). Otherwise, the kindest thing you can do is just clue it completely straightforwardly. I was just surprised because Harvey Estes doesn’t usually write himself into a corner like that. And it was really only one clue that struck me like that. Everything else was definitely up to usual Most Ornery standards. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-seem-like-a-really-weak-crossword-clue-to-you/469763/11 "2008-10-27T18:18:09Z")
Gather around middle of day, anxiously (2, 4) ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-seem-like-a-really-weak-crossword-clue-to-you/469763/12 "2008-10-27T18:35:50Z")
Nervously purify scramble (2,4) ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-seem-like-a-really-weak-crossword-clue-to-you/469763/13 "2008-10-28T07:17:52Z")
In a cryptic in a Sydney paper: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ (7)" missing ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-seem-like-a-really-weak-crossword-clue-to-you/469763/14 "2008-10-28T07:34:36Z")
Years ago, in some simple crossword, the clue for a four letter word was “it can be floppy or hard.” I already had the first and last letters, d & k. It turned out the answer was disk, which was not my first guess. ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-seem-like-a-really-weak-crossword-clue-to-you/469763/15 "2008-10-28T11:47:03Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Nervously purify scramble (2,4) I think you’re short on As and long on Es ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-seem-like-a-really-weak-crossword-clue-to-you/469763/16 "2008-10-28T14:43:31Z")
> [@amrussell](#): > > I think you’re short on As and long on Es Yes, of course. Excuse me. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-seem-like-a-really-weak-crossword-clue-to-you/469763/17 "2008-10-28T15:56:37Z")
> [@GESancMan](#): > > Years ago, in some simple crossword, the clue for a four letter word was “it can be floppy or hard.” I already had the first and last letters, d & k. It turned out the answer was disk, which was not my first guess. I suddenly have visions of the Two Ronnies [in a railway carriage](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVWdbO6FFfw). ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-seem-like-a-really-weak-crossword-clue-to-you/469763/18 "2008-10-28T16:07:33Z")
> [@GESancMan](#): > > Years ago, in some simple crossword, the clue for a four letter word was “it can be floppy or hard.” I already had the first and last letters, d & k. It turned out the answer was disk, which was not my first guess. Wow I feel sheltered. I read the first sentence and I was like, “It’s disk, right?” ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-seem-like-a-really-weak-crossword-clue-to-you/469763/19 "2008-10-28T16:10:26Z")
> [@GESancMan](#): > > Years ago, in some simple crossword, the clue for a four letter word was “it can be floppy or hard.” I already had the first and last letters, d & k. It turned out the answer was disk, which was not my first guess. Quick, answer this: Clue: People who annoy you. Answer: N \_ G G E R S ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-seem-like-a-really-weak-crossword-clue-to-you/469763/20 "2008-10-29T00:53:02Z")
> [@TheLoadedDog](#): > > In a cryptic in a Sydney paper: > > \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ (7)" > > missing And a few days ago: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ (8) clueless [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-seem-like-a-really-weak-crossword-clue-to-you/469763.md?page=2)