XWord Muggles Forum

Nice puzzle by Steve Mossberg. I haven’t liked his cryptics in the past but I may have to rethink this.

I enjoyed this one by Steve Mossberg. I’ve been doing his bimonthly variety cryptics (by subscription) which are generally more difficult than this WSJ offering. My understanding is that he also creates cryptics for British newspapers which are beyond my capability.

This was fun and quite doable. I do sort of wonder how the WSJ is handling the monthly cryptic. A rotating bull pen?

I liked the cryptic.. I think a rotation of creators is ok. I like c&r but this was good too.

Very nice! I got to this one late. Got them all but 29D. I presume the answer is BAFTA but can't figure out the wordplay for BAF, unless it's a rather NSFW initialism?

KayW wrote: ↑Sun Mar 10, 2024 12:15 pm Very nice! I got to this one late. Got them all but 29D. I presume the answer is BAFTA but can't figure out the wordplay for BAF, unless it's a rather NSFW initialism
“elevated” in a down clue = backwards?

I could actually do it, and it was fun. Appreciated having the detailed instructions about the variety element. Used that to figure out the last few clues.

KayW wrote: ↑Sun Mar 10, 2024 12:15 pm Very nice! I got to this one late. Got them all but 29D. I presume the answer is BAFTA but can't figure out the wordplay for BAF, unless it's a rather NSFW initialism?

Your "presumption" is correct.
It is a TA (teaching assistant) who is FAB.

Came late to this one. (Traveling last week.) Enjoyed! I’ve been doing Steve Mossberg’s “Square Chase” variety cryptics for what seems like a couple of years now, and I’ve liked those too. Though I’m glad this one played a bit easier than Steve’s typical “SC” because I’m still working though a stack of last week’s missed puzzles.

CromsFury wrote: ↑Mon Mar 11, 2024 11:35 am

KayW wrote: ↑Sun Mar 10, 2024 12:15 pm Very nice! I got to this one late. Got them all but 29D. I presume the answer is BAFTA but can't figure out the wordplay for BAF, unless it's a rather NSFW initialism?

Your "presumption" is correct.
It is a TA (teaching assistant) who is FAB.

Thanks! So THAT's how "elevated" ties in. Doh!

I liked this one. Very tasty!