Note: Basic understanding of how cryptic crossword clues work is desirable to understand this story
Circa CE 30
Jerusalem
Running commentary of a meeting of The Cryptic Society (adapted into English)
Location: A Crypt
Time: Evening
A dozen members troop in, one by one. One of them is holding a bag. Each makes an entry into the attendance book. After they are done, it looks like this*:
1. Domesticated animal sits next to the queen (5)
2. Sweet preservative and egg sandwich, for starters (5)
3. Prohibit the endless spinning of wool around Middle East (11)
4. Jerusalem's chaotic, in absence of rule (5)5.
5. Move - adjust endlessly (5)
6. Wander hither and tither (6)
7. Son, I'm worried (5)
8. Greek letter's border (6)
9. Had duets composed (8)
10. Hydrogen atoms spin around (6)
11. For starters, terrible toothache hurts Englishman in mouth (7)
12. Trojan horse turned, ejecting roaster (4)
Author's Note: Rules for writing cryptic clues were still evolving and none of these had any definition. Arthur Wynne was yet to design a crossword grid to hold answers to the clues . Readers interested in solving cryptic clues are advised to take a pause here and solve their entries.
* Remember, these people saw well ahead of their times, and somehow used terms not yet in currency in those days.
The last entrant into the hall takes a look at the attendance register. As he goes through each entry, he smiles. He muses aloud, "Maybe we can interlock the answers so that they cross each other ...".
He writes below the dozen entries: "That's correct. HE's universally admired by leaders (6)"
Twelve persons are already sitting along one side of a long table. They rise as he approaches... He bids them to sit down. He sits in the middle of them, half a dozen on each side of him. He looks at the man with the bag and says cryptically "The sack is beginning to bulge with silver ..."
Supper is served. He says, "Now that we have sat down to sup, could someone please pass the salt across?" The man with the bag passes over the salt container and it topples over spilling some of the contents on the table. No words are exchanged. No one gets cross with him. The cross performs its role a little later ...
At the end of the meal, their leader gets up and says, "I shall be going away on Friday, but will return on Sunday."
Author's Note: People have speculated as to why all of them are sitting on the same side of the table in this famous painting by Leonardo Da Vinci. The answer is quite simple, really. The diners were sitting just like people sit at long tables at most Indian festive or religious meals. The other side of the table was the pathway for use of the people serving the food. On second thoughts, if some people were sitting facing away from the painter's perspective, you would not be able to identify the dramatis personae in the painting, which would have made it a bit odd, to say the least. After all, 13 is an odd number ...
Ancient prospective cruciverbalists' fixation is an event that preceded crucifixion.
Circa CE 30
Jerusalem
Running commentary of a meeting of The Cryptic Society (adapted into English)
Location: A Crypt
Time: Evening
A dozen members troop in, one by one. One of them is holding a bag. Each makes an entry into the attendance book. After they are done, it looks like this*:
1. Domesticated animal sits next to the queen (5)
2. Sweet preservative and egg sandwich, for starters (5)
3. Prohibit the endless spinning of wool around Middle East (11)
4. Jerusalem's chaotic, in absence of rule (5)5.
5. Move - adjust endlessly (5)
6. Wander hither and tither (6)
7. Son, I'm worried (5)
8. Greek letter's border (6)
9. Had duets composed (8)
10. Hydrogen atoms spin around (6)
11. For starters, terrible toothache hurts Englishman in mouth (7)
12. Trojan horse turned, ejecting roaster (4)
**
Author's Note: Rules for writing cryptic clues were still evolving and none of these had any definition. Arthur Wynne was yet to design a crossword grid to hold answers to the clues . Readers interested in solving cryptic clues are advised to take a pause here and solve their entries.
* Remember, these people saw well ahead of their times, and somehow used terms not yet in currency in those days.
**
He writes below the dozen entries: "That's correct. HE's universally admired by leaders (6)"
Twelve persons are already sitting along one side of a long table. They rise as he approaches... He bids them to sit down. He sits in the middle of them, half a dozen on each side of him. He looks at the man with the bag and says cryptically "The sack is beginning to bulge with silver ..."
Supper is served. He says, "Now that we have sat down to sup, could someone please pass the salt across?" The man with the bag passes over the salt container and it topples over spilling some of the contents on the table. No words are exchanged. No one gets cross with him. The cross performs its role a little later ...
At the end of the meal, their leader gets up and says, "I shall be going away on Friday, but will return on Sunday."
Author's Note: People have speculated as to why all of them are sitting on the same side of the table in this famous painting by Leonardo Da Vinci. The answer is quite simple, really. The diners were sitting just like people sit at long tables at most Indian festive or religious meals. The other side of the table was the pathway for use of the people serving the food. On second thoughts, if some people were sitting facing away from the painter's perspective, you would not be able to identify the dramatis personae in the painting, which would have made it a bit odd, to say the least. After all, 13 is an odd number ...
**
Ancient prospective cruciverbalists' fixation is an event that preceded crucifixion.
**
**
and finally
YES H U A
***
Copyright notice: The contents of this blog may not be used in any form without the express written consent of the blog owner, who may be contacted at kishoremrao@hotmail.com.
**
Solutions: (* indicates anagram of letters preceding the sign)
1. Domesticated animal sits next to the queen (5) PETER (PET ER)
2. Sweet preservative and egg sandwich, for starters (5) JAMES (JAM Egg Sandwich)
3. Prohibit the endless spinning of wool around Middle East (11) BARTHOLOMEW (BAR THe WOOL* around ME)
4. Jerusalem's chaotic, in absence of rule (5) JAMES (JERUSALEM-RULE)*
5. Move - adjust endlessly (5) JUDAS (ADJUSt)*
5. Move - adjust endlessly (5) JUDAS (ADJUSt)*
6. Wander hither and tither (6) ANDREW (WANDER)*
7. Son, I'm worried (5) SIMON (SON I'M)*
8. Greek letter's border (6) PHILIP (PHI LIP)
9. Had duets composed (8) THADDEUS (HAD DUETS)*
10. Hydrogen atoms spin around (6)THOMAS (H ATOMS)*
11. For starters, terrible toothache hurts Englishman in mouth (7) MATTHEW (Terrible Toothache Hurts Englishman in MAW)
12. Trojan horse turned, ejecting roaster (4) JOHN (TROJAN HORSE - ROASTER)*
and finally
YES H U A
***
Copyright notice: The contents of this blog may not be used in any form without the express written consent of the blog owner, who may be contacted at kishoremrao@hotmail.com.
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