Rewording the Brain by David Astle

Author:David Astle
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 2018-09-07T16:00:00+00:00

Time for the twins.

Double definition

1. Not in shape (6) [Times 10,987]

2. Resist money (4) [Arachne]

3. Was sulky a basic form of transport? (5) [Anax]

4. Sweet stall (5) [Mudd]

5. Abridge legal document (8) [Hectence]

6. Less sensitive figure (6) [DA]

7. Escape death in operation (4) [Citrus]

8. Preparing to twerk after rest (8,2,3,4) [Donk]

* * *

ANSWERS:

1. SQUARE, 2. BUCK, 3. MOPED, 4. FUDGE, 5. CONTRACT, 6. NUMBER, 7. LIVE, 8. BRINGING UP THE REAR

Charades

Like double-definition clues, the cryptic charade also lacks a signpost. The reason is simple: just as anagrams swirl and stir, the charade is more about subdivision, breaking answers into smaller units.

If you’ve ever played charades, you know the drill. With no speaking allowed, the old parlour game relies on gestures to signal a phrase or movie. Take Charlotte’s Web, for example. The common tactic is to break the name into chunks, turning CHARLOTTES into CHAR+LOTTES, and then acting out the pieces.

‘First syllable,’ says your guessing team. ‘Sounds like … sounds like car? Second syllable … many? Plenty? Heaps? Oodles … ?’

This fracturing routine is also maintained in a cryptic setting. MAINTAIN, say, can be sliced into MAIN, TA and IN. APPROACH breaks into APP and ROACH. Even ANAGRAM resembles a line of farm animals with A NAG beside a RAM.

In case that feels a lot like mixing, note that the charade is more about respacing than recycling. In scientific terms, charades splits ATOM into A TOM, while the anagram mode prefers MOAT. Instead of smashing PARTICLES into CLIP RATES, as anagram clues will do, the charade formula prefers P plus ARTICLES.

For the record, a charade answer can be short (CON+DO) or long (FORT+HERE+CORD). It could be a name (JUST+IN+TIMBER+LAKE), or even divide a compound like SIGNPOST into two fresh meanings of SIGN and POST.

Charades can also be difficult, perhaps the hardest of the introductory recipes. So don’t fret if they don’t unravel easily; it takes a little practice to detect a charade in the wild, and a lot more time to master them.

To see how these specimens read, let’s examine (EX+A+MINE) a charade clue from one of my favourite compilers:

Officer swindles board (9)

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