I know I’ve posted some puzzles with rather complicated directions before, but this week we may be moving into uncharted waters…
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Below are 13 cryptic clues whose answers all have something in common.
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Each clue contains a typo. (I knew I couldn’t go two weeks straight without typos!) The one-letter typo always occurs in the definition part of the clue, never in the wordplay.
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These 13 incorrect letters, when read in order, will spell out the common factor.
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Once you discover the 13 words and the common factor, you’ll naturally be led to thirteen names.
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The bold numbers in the brackets directly relate to letters in the name referred to by the clue answer. For instance, the {6,2} after clue #1 refers to the sixth and second letters in the name reached from the answer to clue #1. Place the first letter of this pair in the blank to the left of the clue, and the second letter of the pair in the right blank.
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Reading down the left column and up the right, you’ll get the theme message.
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Can you find the clue answers, the common factor, the names, and the theme message?
___ 1. How’s that horse “somebody bet on” in song? (3) {6,2} ___
___ 2. Diary returned to private lair…it’s in a yellow hut. (6) {6, 1} ___
___ 3. Bard’s found with Grisham’s brief. (7) {1,6} ___
___ 4. Friend connected to a tree teen in the tropics (8) {3,8}___
___ 5. Tearing apart The Rock with mice. (7) {6,12} ___
___ 6. Bind timid striker. (12) **{4,6} ** ___
___ 7. The queens hire before I’ve nearly been at the top of hopelessness. (7) {1,3} ___
___ 8. “Defend Hotel,” I yell. “Giant tomatoes come.” (6) **{7,6} ** ___
___ 9. Ice rinks that have this usually make brides-to-be happy. (7) {1,8} ___
___ 10. Precious one transplanted livers. (6) {4,3} ___
___ 11. Lake condition’s choppy…lay quiet. (8) {2,3} ___
___ 12. Penny Lane’s spun, overwhelming retro popular celebration for 100 mimes. (10) {7,1} ___
___ 13. See a Coen production. (5) {6,7} ___