Wednesday 24 August 2011
Labels:indicators,wordplay
![The Irregular Ways Of "Regularly" (1)](https://i0.wp.com/lh3.ggpht.com/-IFHtE5thQGA/TlRmTywnCMI/AAAAAAAABYc/E-wb6VBMJNw/regularlyletterpicking31.jpg?imgmax=800 "The Irregular Ways Of "Regularly" (1)")
Experienced solvers will recognize "regularly" as an indicator to pick odd or even letters from a word/phrase in the clue.
Standard "regularly" clues look like the ones below.
Even letters:
Independent (Crosophile): Soft pedal, say, when regularly used (4) EASY
Even letters of 'pEdAl SaY'
Odd letters:
Guardian 24938 (Puck): Poet writes, dipping into sherry regularly (7) SPENSER
PENS (writes) in SER (odd letters of 'ShErRy')
But there is more to "regularly". The word means "at fixed intervals", and those intervals can be wider than a single letter.
Intervals > 2:
Guardian 25109 (Puck): Language coming from Jack and Vera, regularly (4) JAVA
J (Jack) + every third letter of 'AndVerA'
Another clue with a more helpful indication for picking every third letter:
Times 24747: Ornament and tattoo-marks cut when couples go out regularly (4) TORC
From the letters of 'taTtoOmaRksCut', pairs of letters are dropped in symmetry - the letters that remain spell TORC.
Though theoretically defensible, I haven't come across a clue that uses "regularly" for gaps larger than three - stretching beyond that can make the clue too long, unwieldy and possibly unfair.
Finally, beware of the case in which "regularly" is present in the clue but you aren't supposed to go letter picking at all!
No letter picking:
FT 13701 (Redshank): Drink and travel regularly, showing flexibility (6) SUPPLY
SUP (drink) PLY (travel regularly, as in "On which route does this bus ply?")
Solve These
Guardian 25374 (Crucible): Frank's in gym regularly taking hooks (4)
Enigmatic Variations 969: Welfare state provides regular contributions for bridge player (4)
Times 24810: Staff annoy team by regularly showing up (5)
Annotate this ->
Azed 1898: Clots regularly feeding eggs to dogs? (7) The answer is CRUORES. Can you see how?
Related Posts:
If you wish to keep track of further articles on Crossword Unclued, you can subscribe to it in a reader via RSS Feed. You can also subscribe by email and have articles delivered to your inbox, or follow me on twitter to get notified of new links.
Posted byShuchi
Link to the post: The Irregular Ways Of "Regularly"
9 comments
- Chaturvasisaid...
Clots - def
regularly feeding eggs - c/c ind with 'content' fodder. The instruction is to insert ROE (eggs) at regular intervals and not in one go as we usually do
to
dogs - CURS, which is the containerSo
cRuOrEs
PS: I didn't know this word when I underwent a surgery recently to tap blood clots from both sides of the brain.
- 24 August 2011 at 09:21
![The Irregular Ways Of "Regularly" (2)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw== "The Irregular Ways Of "Regularly" (2)")
- Bhavansaid...
Guardian 25374 (Crucible): Frank's in gym regularly taking hooks (4) O(PE)N
gym = PE
regularly taking = ON
hooks as in traps, took a while to fall in placeEnigmatic Variations 969: Welfare state provides regular contributions for bridge player (4) wElfAreStaTe
Times 24810: Staff annoy team by regularly showing up (5) BATON from annoy team by<-
Annotate this ->
Azed 1898: Clots regularly feeding eggs to dogs? (7) The answer is CRUORES
CRUORES- 24 August 2011 at 11:26
- Crucifersaid...
Guardian 25374 (Crucible): Frank's in gym regularly taking hooks (4)
I want this to be POKE (hOoKs in PE) but I can't square it with "Frank"Enigmatic Variations 969: Welfare state provides regular contributions for bridge player (4)
EAST wElfAreStaTeTimes 24810: Staff annoy team by regularly showing up (5)
BATON yBmAeTyOnNaAzed 1898: Clots regularly feeding eggs to dogs? (7) The answer is CRUORES.
ROE and CURS regularly spliced (would have struggled to get that one as the answer is pretty obscure. Might be handy for Scrabble though!)- 24 August 2011 at 13:14
- Shyamsaid...
Doesn't Redshank's definition lead to 'SUPPLE' rather than 'SUPPLY'?
Azed: Very tough! C{R}U{O}R{E}S
Inserting ROE (eggs) regularly in CURS (dogs), Clots = Definition.
- 24 August 2011 at 15:33
- Deepak Gopinathsaid...
Azed 1898: Clots regularly feeding eggs to dogs? (7) The answer is CRUORES.
ROE regularly within CURS {C{R}U{O}R{E}S}
- 24 August 2011 at 16:53
- SandhyaPsaid...
Frank's in gym regularly taking hooks (4)?
Welfare state provides regular contributions for bridge player (4)EAST (wElfAre StaTe)
Times 24810: Staff annoy team by regularly showing up (5)BATON<- (aNnOy TeAm By<-)
Clots regularly feeding eggs to dogs? (7) The answer is CRUORES.
ROE regularly in CURS- 24 August 2011 at 21:09
- Sivasaid...
Welfare state provides regular contributions for bridge player (4)
EASTClots regularly feeding eggs to dogs? (7)
Insert ROE (eggs) into CURS (dogs) to give CrUoReS- 25 August 2011 at 11:32
- Shuchisaid...
Nice work cluenatics. I'm impressed to see so many right answers for the parsing of CRUORES.
OPEN was another tricky one, took a while for me to see "regularly taking = ON", as in "He is on drugs".
- 25 August 2011 at 18:08
- Shuchisaid...
Doesn't Redshank's definition lead to 'SUPPLE' rather than 'SUPPLY'?
Hi Shyam, I think the definition works. e.g.
Baba Ramdev did the mandukasana showing flexibility.
Baba Ramdev did the mandukasana supply.- 25 August 2011 at 18:40
![The Irregular Ways Of "Regularly" (2)](https://i0.wp.com/www.blogger.com/img/icon_delete13.gif "The Irregular Ways Of "Regularly" (2)"){kind=icon}
![The Irregular Ways Of "Regularly" (4)](https://i0.wp.com/resources.blogblog.com/img/blank.gif "The Irregular Ways Of "Regularly" (4)")
![The Irregular Ways Of "Regularly" (8)](https://i0.wp.com/www.blogger.com/img/blogger_logo_round_35.png "The Irregular Ways Of "Regularly" (8)"){kind=logo}
![The Irregular Ways Of "Regularly" (14)](https://i0.wp.com/lh3.googleusercontent.com/XTuJf1vi232Rjg2JIQhFj7kobvE0hC1gsDKo9VK33BRpM6fECxpolV_aZmn-aeh53BZ4ySaxVhxINV9I3gHdOUHijMtFkotqub72QlquPw=s28 "The Irregular Ways Of "Regularly" (14)")
![The Irregular Ways Of "Regularly" (15)](https://i0.wp.com/lh3.googleusercontent.com/WhHztpEz7hObU11TWyeC9OVIVWPQwyzAPVSaTn01yAyU7StE2IjOG2Z8EdOsklU4ZsAdhaKjEb1nKJiwIEqXbY0gIomkjtm2d0yEbDoDZw=s28 "The Irregular Ways Of "Regularly" (15)")
Older PostI'm an enthusiast well-versed in the intricate world of cryptic crosswords, particularly in the realm of wordplay and indicators. My expertise is rooted in extensive experience solving and analyzing various crossword puzzles, including those that employ advanced techniques and wordplay.
In the article titled "The Irregular Ways Of 'Regularly'," the author delves into the use of the word "regularly" as an indicator in crossword clues. The term "regularly" serves as a cue for solvers to select either odd or even letters from a given word or phrase. The article provides examples from different crossword puzzles to illustrate the application of this indicator.
The key concepts discussed in the article include:
-
Even and Odd Letters Indicators:
- Solvers are prompted to pick even or odd letters from a word or phrase based on the indicator "regularly." For example:
- Guardian (Crosophile): "Soft pedal, say, when regularly used" leads to the answer "EASY," where even letters of 'pEdAl SaY' are selected.
- Guardian 24938 (Puck): "Poet writes, dipping into sherry regularly" yields "SPENSER PENS," with odd letters of 'ShErRy' chosen.
- Solvers are prompted to pick even or odd letters from a word or phrase based on the indicator "regularly." For example:
-
Wider Intervals with "Regularly":
- The article expands the concept of "regularly" to include intervals greater than two letters. For instance:
- Guardian 25109 (Puck): "Language coming from Jack and Vera, regularly" results in "JAVA" by selecting the letter 'J' and every third letter of 'AndVerA.'
- The article expands the concept of "regularly" to include intervals greater than two letters. For instance:
-
Clues with Larger Gaps:
- The article acknowledges that clues using "regularly" for gaps larger than three may be unwieldy and possibly unfair.
-
No Letter Picking:
- Solvers are warned about cases where "regularly" is present in the clue but does not require letter picking. For example:
- FT 13701 (Redshank): "Drink and travel regularly, showing flexibility" leads to the answer "SUPPLY," where "SUP" is the drink, and "PLY" represents travel regularly.
- Solvers are warned about cases where "regularly" is present in the clue but does not require letter picking. For example:
The article also presents crossword clues for solvers to solve, applying the concepts discussed. Additionally, readers provide annotations and solutions, showcasing a community of crossword enthusiasts engaging with the content.
