WSJ 8/23 HEX “Shakedown”

[CromsFury]

This week’s Variety puzzle is a HEX!

Enjoy!

[Richard B.]

How often in a variety cryptic do have to read the instructions just once? Thank you, C&R

[ChrisKochmanski]

Fun to see this one unfold.

[DavyGravy]

Great cryptic. Just the right amount of challenge for me

[KayW]

Great cryptic. Just the right amount of challenge for me

My sentiments exactly!

[SewYoung]

Great cryptic. Just the right amount of challenge for me

My sentiments exactly!

Me Too!! Started last night and really dug in for the last hour or so and finished. Finally solved the unclued entries by starting with the short words and adding rather than dropping letters. Still not quite sure about the wordplay on 28A, but confident of my answer.

[KayW]

Great cryptic. Just the right amount of challenge for me

My sentiments exactly!

Me Too!! Started last night and really dug in for the last hour or so and finished. Finally solved the unclued entries by starting with the short words and adding rather than dropping letters. Still not quite sure about the wordplay on 28A, but confident of my answer.

My take on that one:
Succeeding (LATER) in court case (TRIAL) involving more than two sides (definition: TRI[LATER]AL)

[SewYoung]

My sentiments exactly!

Me Too!! Started last night and really dug in for the last hour or so and finished. Finally solved the unclued entries by starting with the short words and adding rather than dropping letters. Still not quite sure about the wordplay on 28A, but confident of my answer.

My take on that one:
Succeeding (LATER) in court case (TRIAL) involving more than two sides (definition: TRI[LATER]AL)

Thanks! I'm sure you're right. I should have waited and looked again in the morning and maybe would have seen it.

[oldjudge]

Fun puzzle—thanks to Kay for reminding me about it

[Joepickett]

That was a toughie in spots. I don't think I would have deciphered 19D by itself. Even after I had the answer I had to take time to figure out the wordplay.

[iggystan]

Agree with above comments, another fun HEX puzzle. Really like the starting shakedown word. Had to remind myself what it meant.

[CromsFury]

Agree with above comments, another fun HEX puzzle. Really like the starting shakedown word. Had to remind myself what it meant.

I DO enjoy being reminded of words.

[Henry Paul]

Happy to report a solve on this one!

Some of you will recognize me from the Meta forum;

I've stored up several years of Cryptics, intending at some point to get to them. About a year ago I tried to start to solve Cryptic puzzles in general, buying a book, going online with Lovetts, but the Journal puzzles were highly intimidating and (I felt) unreachable. In a weird masochistic way I find I enjoy them because they force me to think in different ways, and usually totally kick my behind and I'm left completely clueless.

Recently going through my old stash I had my first almost solve with an old one dealing with the Pied Piper (got the main theme and all the missing words, but left a few spaces.)

But this was my first "complete the grid with no blanks leftover" solve. I surprised myself with pulling some of the Shakedown words totally out of the air. You certainly need a pretty good vocabulary to find success with cryptics.

[KayW]

You certainly need a pretty good vocabulary to find success with cryptics.

…or, for some of us, some heavy-duty interweb searching

[CromsFury]

But this was my first "complete the grid with no blanks leftover" solve.

Congratulations!

[CromsFury]

You certainly need a pretty good vocabulary to find success with cryptics.

…or, for some of us, some heavy-duty interweb searching