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In the world of crosswords, to be a novice is no crime.
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"It's all very well for you to put on your thinking hat and analyse the clues, categorise them into slots based on the pattern and give them fancy names, but, how do I know which one is what," asks Davis, a new generation banker, who has recently been launched into the wonderland of crosswords. Padmaja confesses, "I have not been following your column, but, my mother-in-law wants to know how a novice like her can tell if it is a homophone or an acronym, a quote or a joke. And, where does one begin?"
This and the forthcoming three instalments are dedicated to the tribe of new inductees like Davis and Padmaja's mother-in- law.
You can begin anywhere. A phrase with many short words is a good point to start from. If the phrase has one-letter words (as the number-key within brackets at the end of the clue indicates -- like 3, 2, 1, 3), you can bet one to ten that it is an `A', though there is an offside chance that it might be an `I'.
Two-letter words are most often in, on, to, be, at, me, we, is, am, as, an, by, do, go, he, etc. The list of possible three-letter words is larger. But, you, any, cry, let, for, ask, man, she, sky, dry, the, etc., are among the common ones.
The clues in most such instances would be straight. To cite a few examples, the answer to the clue, `To demand unreasonable things (2, 3, 3, 3, 4)' is `To ask for the moon' and `The doctrine of peaceful coexistence (4, 3, 3, 4) is `Live and let live'.
Be on the lookout for abbreviations in the clue (such as MLA, MA, BA, PM, US, UK, UN, etc.) You can be sure that these letters are a part of the answer -- either in the same order or as an anagram. This is true of words and expressions that are commonly used in their abbreviated form (such as graduate, doctor, ship, Indian Airlines, Air India, bachelor, distress call, etc., which stand for BA, DR, SS, IA, AI, BA, SOS, etc., respectively).
For instance, the answer presents itself in the clue, `Doctor, a postgraduate, twitches histrionics (9)'. It is `DRAMATICS' (which is histrionics) as in DR for doctor, A for A, MA for postgraduate and TICS for twitches. A little more complicated (because it is not letters in the same order, but an anagram) is `Harmless spectacular copper in American hotel (9)' which gives `INNOCUOUS'. The connection? American is US, hotel is INN, copper is CU (remember your chemistry?), spectacles are OO (in test cricket, I am told, a batsman who is out for ducks in both innings is said to have scored a pair of spectacles). Jumble these and, hey presto, you have `INNOCUOUS,' another word for harmless.
Another starting point could be long words. Often, these would be simple definitions that would pop up in your mind the moment you see the clue. `Accidentally happy discovery (11)' is `SERENDIPITY'. `How Alladin's genie worked (9)' gives `MAGICALLY' and `Payment for using an invention (8)' is `ROYALTY'.
Antithetically, you could start with short words too, because, here the possibilities are limited. `Gender South point ten (3),' stands for `SEX': simple - S for South, E for point and X for ten. `Poisonous creeper quietly and rightly removed secret (3)' is `IVY' - from PRIVY, that is secret, if you remove P (quiet) and R (right), all that is left is IVY, a poisonous creeper. The answer to a similar clue `Poisonous creeper, Cleopatra's killer (3)', would be your guessed right, `ASP'.
That was a peep into the charming world of crosswords, which is a microcosm of the world we live in and sum total of all we know. We saw here where the clues are culled from - history (Cleopatra), chemistry (CU), music (P), geography (S), numerals (X), cricket (spectacles).... The list is indeed endless and encompasses all human activity, as we will see in the coming instalments.
K. T. RAJAGOPALAN
Illustration: Sasikumar
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