Contests started: DEMESNE (7), ORDINAL (7), RENDEZVOUS (10), SPHINX (6), ISTHMUS (7), ANGEL (5), SECURITY (8), SCRABBLE (8), MINERAL (7), CONTEST (7), SIDEREAL (8), CORPOREAL (9), CELERY (6), ANTIDOTE (8), PENALTY (7), HEYAWAKE (8), HEALTH (6), WEALTH (6), GALACTIC (8), ARMORY (6) OR ARMOURY (7), VAMPIRE (7), CAVY (4)
Contests won: BREXIT (6), OPUS (4), SALT (4), WORD (4), DONBURI (7), KINK (4), MOSCOW (6), SUNSHINE (8), NEPENTHE (8), OH NO (2, 2), WISTERIA (8), QUIDNUNC (8), LONGNECK (8), NEPTUNE (7), KANGAROO ISLAND (8, 6), JAMES CAAN (5, 4), SLAUGHTER (9), OVERFLOW (8), PERFORM (7), COCKTAIL (8), COCHLEA (7), PLEDGE (6), LEXICON (7), ENTIRE (6), BING AWAST (4,5), CREAM (5), CUP (3), KOW (3), WAX (3), SPANISH INQUISITION (7, 11), YULETIDE (8), SECRET (6), SOLVER (6), NIXIOUS (7), AQUA (4), PI ( 2), ALADDIN (7), SPAR (4), THONGS (6), WREAKS (6), BABYMETAL (9), SPLATTERSHOT (12), DELPHI (6), BASHFUL (7), XBOX DEMON (4, 5), SIDEREAL (8), CIVIL WAR (5, 3), BESIDE (6), BENDY (5), ANOTHER (7), CULINARY (8), SOCIAL DISTANCING (6,10), IMPETUS (7), CORPOREAL (9), FUDDRUCKERS (11), DEUSOVI (7), NECKLACE (8), NICOLAS CAGE (7, 4), CELERY (6), FEEDBACK (8), FULL HOUSE (4, 5), WITH THE LIGHTS OUT (4, 3, 6, 3), ATROPOS (7), SLITHERLINK (11), TOWER OF HANOI (5, 2, 5), METALLIC PUNISHER (8, 8), MONOCHROME (10), CHINE (5), LATEX (5), TOO OLD (3 3), STANDOUT (8), COOKIE (6), PLANE (5), ROULETTE (8), CATS AND DOGS (4, 3, 4), PARSEC (6), NAVEM MERCIBUS IMPLERE (5 8 7), BUGABOO (7), OLIVE GARDEN (5 6), NEEDLE (6), TABULATE (8), OXFORD (6)
| Clue ID | Contest | Clue | Explanation (hover) | Submitted By | Likes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4119 | ALADDIN (7) | A boy accompanied by djinni, oddly! (7) | A+LAD+D_I_N_ &lit | Polaris | 8 |
| 4259 | SIDEREAL (8) | Outside the solar system, partly outside reality (8) | _SIDE REAL_ | Polaris | 7 |
| 2172 | BREXIT (6) | King going through a little withdrawal (6) | B(REX)IT = "withdrawal" | Polaris | 6 |
| 2255 | DISCOVERY (9) | 70s music really is a revelation | DISCO+VERY | Polaris | 6 |
| 3498 | KANGAROO ISLAND (8, 6) | Koalas adorning mysterious Australian area (8, 6) | anagram of "koalas adorning" | Polaris | 6 |
| 2228 | DONBURI (7) | Japanese bowl is bound to be mixed with half rice (7) | DONBU*+RI_ | Polaris | 5 |
| 3674 | COCKTAIL (8) | Spooner has to discuss leafy greens for mixed drink (8) | TALK KALE -> COCKTAIL | Polaris | 5 |
| 2166 | OF (2) | The heartless count chasing Baudelaires is concerning (2) | O[-la]F | Polaris | 4 |
| 2178 | SINEW (5) | Muscle from butchered swine (5) | SWINE* | Polaris | 4 |
| 2213 | WORD (4) | Microsoft program starts to write or read documents (4) | WORD (init.), def. Microsoft Word | Polaris | 4 |
| 2231 | KINK (4) | Headless lizard fetish (4) | (-s)KINK | Polaris | 4 |
| 2735 | WISTERIA (8) | Mister flips his lid over me, on a lane in "Desperate Housewives" (8) | (m->W)ISTER+I+A = lane in "Desperate Housewives" (i.e. Wisteria Lane) (down clue only) |
Polaris | 4 |
| 2781 | BASEL (5) | Swiss city's bottom fifty (5) | BASE + L | Polaris | 4 |
| 3701 | LEXICON (7) | Vocabulary in French: the "eleven" is, for starters, called "onze", naturally (7) | LE (in French the) + XI (eleven) + C_ O_ N_ (for starters, called onze naturally) = "vocabulary" |
Polaris | 4 |
| 3724 | ENTIRE (6) | All ten in order end in anger (6) | ENT*+IRE = "all" (I would not use "in order" as a general anagrind, but in this specific case E, N, T are alphabetical so it works!) |
Polaris | 4 |
| 3895 | WAX (3) | By the sound of it, smacks grow stronger (3) | sounds like "whacks" WAX = "grow stronger" (e.g. wax poetic) |
Polaris | 4 |
| 4032 | AQUA (4) | Queen wears gold and a shade of blue (4) | A(Q)U+A | Polaris | 4 |
| 4193 | BABYMETAL (9) | Japanese band mate goes astray in ancient city; no longer on (9) | BABY(MEAT*)L(-on) = "Japanese band" | Polaris | 4 |
| 4364 | NECKLACE (8) | Cackle madly after one headless adornment (8) | (-o)NE+CKLACE* = adornment | Polaris | 4 |
| 12798 | BUGABOO (7) | Spook or bother a lover (7) | BUG + A + BOO = "Spook" (as a noun) | Polaris | 4 |
| 2160 | DISEASE (7) | To drown outside oceans from scurvy (7) | DI(SEAS)E = "scurvy" | Polaris | 3 |
| 2180 | DEMESNE (7) | The estate needs me, perhaps (7) | DEMESNE* | Polaris | 3 |
| 2214 | OPUS (4) | Creature with eight legs sacrifices first three for work of art (4) | (-oct)OPUS | Polaris | 3 |
| 2434 | SUNSHINE (8) | Opposite of homebrew Super Mario game? (8) | punny ddef. 1) Super Mario Sunshine 2) opposite of homebrew = opposite of moonshine = sunshine I hope this works! |
Polaris | 3 |
| 2606 | FABLE (5) | Story that can be failed? (5) | a FABLE that's F-ABLE | Polaris | 3 |
| 2736 | ZAMBIA (6) | Ice smoother not on a country (6) | ZAMB(-on)I+A | Polaris | 3 |
| 2770 | LIGHT (5) | Aviation, not loud, not heavy (5) | (-f)LIGHT | Polaris | 3 |
| 2928 | QUIDNUNC (8) | One who gossips in French who'd almost never in Spanish (8) | QUI (in French, who) + D + NUNC(-a) (almost never in Spanish) = "one who gossips" | Polaris | 3 |
| 3115 | NEPTUNE (7) | God is somewhat inept, unemployed (7) | _NEPT UNE_ | Polaris | 3 |
| 3410 | CEDAR (5) | One might say Johnny Appleseed, perhaps, produces tree (5) | CEDAR ("seeder") | Polaris | 3 |
| 3559 | OVERFLOW (8) | Part of werewolf revolution is about to spill past the limits (8) | _WOLF REVO_< = "to spill past the limits" | Polaris | 3 |
| 3693 | MASCARA (7) | Reportedly, an age of disguise or makeup (7) | "mask era" | Polaris | 3 |
| 3748 | BING AWAST (4,5) | "Being a waste, without any energy? Begone!" said James Joyce (4, 5) | B(-e)ING AWAST(-e) = "Begone" as said by James Joyce | Polaris | 3 |
| 3994 | SECRET (6) | Almost leak that which should not be told (6) | SECRET(-e) (almost leak) = "that which should not be told" | Polaris | 3 |
| 4087 | HAT (3) | Introduction to horses at a derby, perhaps (3) | H_ (introduction to) + AT (at) = "a derby, perhaps" | Polaris | 3 |
| 4190 | WREAKS (6) | Unleashes bad smells from the mouth (6) | sounds like reeks = "unleashes" someone get this guy a breath mint! |
Polaris | 3 |
| 4336 | CORPOREAL (9) | Substantial hole in coral (9) | COR(PORE)AL | Polaris | 3 |
| 4337 | BABY SHARK (4, 5) | First of boats in bays, listen to catchy fishy song (4, 5) | BA(B_)YS+HARK (rip "to" as a connector, oh well) |
Polaris | 3 |
| 4365 | HEARSE (6) | Carrier of a corpse that's partly from the arsenic (6) | _HE ARSE_ | Polaris | 3 |
| 4378 | NICOLAS CAGE (7, 4) | "Con air" actor and crazy cocaine gals (7, 4) | anagram of COCAINE GALS | Polaris | 3 |
| 4404 | LOKI (4) | Hello Kitty is partially a trickster god (4) | _LOKI_ | Polaris | 3 |
| 4412 | FEEDBACK (8) | Payment first, double back for criticism (8) | FEE+D_+BACK = "criticism" | Polaris | 3 |
| 4504 | CHINE (5) | Spine-breaking niche (5) | CHINE* def. "spine" as given by M-W | Polaris | 3 |
| 12754 | PARSEC (6) | Spacey spacer space's space? (6) | "space's space" = definition, i.e. distance used in space "spacer spacey" = PARSEC* |
Polaris | 3 |
| 12778 | EMOTICON (8) | EGXP—O✓-KX← (8) | definition "E.g. XP" EM (em dash) + O + TIC(-k) + ON< (X symbol backwards) |
Polaris | 3 |
| 2161 | DISEASE (7) | It's awfully sad, I see, to get the flu (7) | DISEASE* | Polaris | 2 |
| 2182 | DEMESNE (7) | Region in Germany with endless mess to the northeast (7) | DE + MES(-s) + NE | Polaris | 2 |
| 2200 | SALT (4) | Seasoning is prepared last (4) | LAST* | Polaris | 2 |
| 2230 | FETISH (6) | Obsession that sounds party-like? (6) | "fête-ish" | Polaris | 2 |
| 2250 | SAFE WORD (4 4 OR 8) | Stop equivalent blade with high-grade iron (8) | S(A+FE)WORD = "'stop' equivalent" | Polaris | 2 |
| 2284 | MOSCOW (6) | Sailboat behind Missouri city (6) | SCOW behind MO = "city" | Polaris | 2 |
| 2366 | ACCRETION (9) | Air conditioner construction without a buildup (9) | A/C + CRE(-a)TION = "buildup" | Polaris | 2 |
| 2377 | RANGER (6) | Pokemon spin-off game called, uh... (6) | RANG+ER | Polaris | 2 |
| 2411 | POTLUCK (7) | You'd have to be a mastermind to solve this using what's available (3, 4) | ddef. "you'd have to be a mastermind to solve this" / "using what's available" | Polaris | 2 |
| 2523 | OH NO (2, 2) | John, obliquely concealing expression of dismay (2, 2) | _OHN O_ | Polaris | 2 |
| 2672 | SHURIKEN (8) | 忍者の武器の趣味を見逃す権利は反対（５） | 「しゅみ（趣味）」の「み」を逃して 「けんり（権利）」の反対＝忍者の武器＝しゅりけん "Against the right to ignore the hobby of ninja's weapons" (?????) The wordplay is to remove MI from SHUMI (hobby) and take 権利 -> KENRI and invert it to get RIKEN The clever pun is taking 見逃す 'minogasu' "ignore" as 「み」逃しす 'mi nogasu' "lose MI" |
Polaris | 2 |
| 2737 | HARRIES (7) | Torments Potter and Dresden? (7) | punny ddef. multiple Harrys = Harries |
Polaris | 2 |
| 2771 | LIGHT (5) | Align heart with heartless heart burn (5) | _LIG_ (align heart) with H_T (heartless heart) = "burn" (i.e. to light a fire) | Polaris | 2 |
| 3229 | CLUE CONTAINING A PIECE OR TERM FROM CHESS (?) | Nice! King to D4 (4) | KIN(g->D) | Polaris | 2 |
| 3266 | OEDIPUS (7) | Oh, climbing arachnid almost took you for mythical king (7) | O + [SPIDE(-r)< with U] O + EDIP(U)S< down clue only! |
Polaris | 2 |
| 3274 | SPHINX (6) | Start of Sigma and Phi's next odd enigma (6) | S_ + PHI + N_X_ | Polaris | 2 |
| 3298 | CLUE CONTAINING "CLUE CONTAINING" (?) | CLUE CONTAINING "WARP", "FLAP", OR "CUP" (4-4) | H(ALFP*)INT | Polaris | 2 |
| 3304 | ISTHMUS (7) | Strip of land north of America is almost the start of Montreal (7) | north of US, IS+TH_+M_ down clue only |
Polaris | 2 |
| 3449 | THING (5) | Object to his idea—not good for beginners (5) | T_ H_ I_ N_ G_ = "object" | Polaris | 2 |
| 3485 | LOREM IPSUM (5, 5) | Look! Half-off premiums for filler text! (5, 5) | LO_ (look half) + REMIPSUM* (off premiums) exclamation points are just for flavor |
Polaris | 2 |
| 3539 | JAMES CAAN (5, 4) | Dilemma: Convoluted case with an actor from "The Godfather" (5, 4) | JAM (dilemma) + ESCA* + AN | Polaris | 2 |
| 3546 | SLAUGHTER (9) | Killing slice from four to zero (9) | SLIVER, IV->AUGHT | Polaris | 2 |
| 3616 | PERFORM (7) | Present for each girl or boy? (7) | PER (for each) + F OR M (girl or boy?) = "present" i.e. present to an audience |
Polaris | 2 |
| 3731 | DEJA VU (4, 2) | Familiar sense or idea, starting off around first of January: vague, ageless (4, 2) | (-i)DEA [idea, starting off] around J_ [first of January] V(-ag)U(-e) [vague, ageless] (-i)DE(J_)A V(-ag)U(-e) = "familiar sense" |
Polaris | 2 |
| 3854 | CUP (3) | Mug topped up with coffee to start (3) | C_ + UP ("up" is topped with "c") = container (down clue only) |
Polaris | 2 |
| 3910 | SPANISH INQUISITION (7, 11) | After time, I climb with French who sit with me on group that nobody expects (7, 11) | SPAN (time) + I + SHIN (climb) + QUI (French who) + SIT + I (me) + ON = group that nobody expects (referencing Monty Python skit) |
Polaris | 2 |
| 3993 | NIXIOUS (7) | Cancel debts as white as snow (7) | NIX (cancel) + IOUS (debts) = as white as snow probably the simplest wordplay you can make with this word |
Polaris | 2 |
| 3995 | SOLVER (6) | Puzzlehunt participant, perhaps: "Very low, very unfinished" (6) | SO (very) + L (low) + VER(-y) (very unfinished) = "puzzlehunt participant, perhaps" |
Polaris | 2 |
| 3999 | YULETIDE (8) | A certain snowman obtains soul, starts off half-dead for Christmastime (8) | Y((-so)UL)ETI+DE(-ad) = Christmastime "a certain snowman" clues the abominable snowman, aka the yeti I originally envisioned this with a Frosty the Snowman vibe but it ended up leaning into the horror genre |
Polaris | 2 |
| 4045 | PI ( 2) | They say Shakespeare's plays are encoded in this intellectual property, backwards (2) | IP backwards referring to the myth saying that Shakespeare's plays are encoded in the digits of pi (I find it amusing when really short answers have really long clues) |
Polaris | 2 |
| 4189 | THONGS (6) | Hordes of people, not wearing essential articles of underwear (6) | THRONGS without the middle R from WEARING def. "articles of underwear" (instead of just "underwear" to make the plural more apparent) |
Polaris | 2 |
| 4223 | XBOX DEMON (4, 5) | Evil creature lurking in video game console is xenophobic; originally packed up, stripped of energy; catastrophic omen (4, 5) | X_ + BOX(-e)D + EMON* = "Evil creature lurking in video game console" yep this sure is a clue |
Polaris | 2 |
| 4265 | CIVIL WAR (5, 3) | Leader of cryptics and me: mostly vile, unrefined, backwards conflict (5, 3) | C_+I+VIL_+WAR< | Polaris | 2 |
| 4275 | BESIDE (6) | Close to best idea, lacking finishing touches (6) | BES(-t) IDE(-a) = "close to" | Polaris | 2 |
| 4276 | BENDY (5) | Flexible ballerina's first to finish; gymnast's second (5) | B_+END+_Y_ = "flexible" "to finish" is the full indicator for END (as a verb) |
Polaris | 2 |
| 4277 | ANOTHER (7) | One more, I say! Uh... Not that girl (7) | A ("uh") + NOT + HER = "one more" | Polaris | 2 |
| 4305 | CULINARY (8) | Copper and lithium? Not in the kitchen (8) | CU+LI+NARY = "in the kitchen" def. might be a stretch but M-W gives "of or relating to the kitchen or cookery" so I hope this is ok |
Polaris | 2 |
| 4315 | SOCIAL DISTANCING (6,10) | Me, in Southern California? 'Tis crazy, staying inside, dancing and keeping away from others (6, 10) | SOC(I)AL+D(IST*)ANCING = "keeping away from others" | Polaris | 2 |
| 4338 | FUDDRUCKERS (11) | American restaurant chain cooks furred ducks (11) | FURRED DUCKS anagram | Polaris | 2 |
| 4349 | DEUSOVI (7) | Puzzler's lie in Japanese, accepted by Indian goddess (7) | USO = "lie" in Japanese DEVI = Indian goddess DE(USO)VI |
Polaris | 2 |
| 4369 | DELIVERY (8) | Conveyance of French uniform (8) | DE (of French) + LIVERY (uniform) (turns out "delivery" and "livery" have the same root so the wordplay is not quite as interesting as it seems) |
Polaris | 2 |
| 4379 | FUNCTION CALL (8, 4) | Method invocation is fun with C! Change! Action! Heads of linked lists! (8, 4) | FUN+C (fun with C) + TIONCA (change action) + L_ L_ (heads of linked lists) not &lit, exclamation points are just there to emphasize the fun factor |
Polaris | 2 |
| 4380 | AXIS (4) | Some taxi stands form an alliance (4) | _AXI S_ def. "an alliance" |
Polaris | 2 |
| 4386 | CELERY (6) | Wild eel and lobster tail acting as stuffing for cored culinary vegetable (6) | cored culinary: C_Y wild eel and lobster tail: ELE*+_R acting as stuffing for: one big insertion indicator C(ELE*+_R)_Y = "vegetable" |
Polaris | 2 |
| 4429 | BANGER (6) | Sausage, bit of bacon, and almost half of burger (6) | def. Sausage = B_ (bit of bacon) + AN__ (and almost) + ___GER (half of burger) | Polaris | 2 |
| 4445 | FULL HOUSE (4, 5) | Venue at max capacity with couple of fundraisers, disorienting us (hello) (4, 5) | FU_ + LLHOUSE* | Polaris | 2 |
| 4472 | HEYAWAKE (8) | Puzzle is not here, sent back; put in the key? No thank you (8) | not here, sent back: YAWA< the key? No thank you: (-t)HEKE(-y) X put in Y: containment indicator (-t)HE(YAWA<)KE(-y) = "puzzle" |
Polaris | 2 |
| 4479 | BELLA SWAN (5, 4) | YA protagonist's unusual label: small and pale (5, 4) | BELLA*+S+WAN | Polaris | 2 |
| 4481 | SLITHERLINK (11) | Numberlink, but replace senseless part with mixed-up LITS and bit of Heyawake for another puzzle genre (11) | NUMBERLINK, but replace NUMB (senseless part) with SLIT*+H_ | Polaris | 2 |
| 4485 | METALLIC PUNISHER (8, 8) | Encountered every hip hop duo playing, uh, siren song from "Arcaea" (8, 8) | MET + ALL + ICP (Insane Clown Posse, hip hop duo) + UNISHER* | Polaris | 2 |
| 4488 | MONOCHROME (10) | Endless romp in Spanish night after moment that's black-and-white (10) | MO+NOCH(ROM_)E = "black-and-white" | Polaris | 2 |
| 12737 | PLANE (5) | "Flat Earth" falls short (5) | PLANET (drop last letter) | Polaris | 2 |
| 12740 | MATRIX (6) | Detailed math, bit of research, nine-number array (6) | MAT_ + R_ + IX = "number array" | Polaris | 2 |
| 12746 | ROULETTE (8) | Kind of wheel allowed in roadway (8) | LET in ROUTE | Polaris | 2 |
| 12760 | THE YIPS (3 4) | Yep, this is crazy nervousness (3 4) | YEPTHIS* | Polaris | 2 |
| 12769 | NAVEM MERCIBUS IMPLERE (5 8 7) | Scoundrel heading off to commercial center, on bus turning per mile to fill the ship with goods (5 8 7) | (-k)NAVE + (-co)MMERCI(-al) + BUS + IMPLERE* | Polaris | 2 |
| 12770 | DUNGEON (7) | Cell division gone haywire in ulna, oddly (7) | D + (GONE* in U_N_) = "Cell" | Polaris | 2 |
| 12826 | LENTIL (6) | Type of soup found in excellent illustration (6) | _LENT IL_ | Polaris | 2 |
| 2175 | BREXIT (6) | UK resident has sex without giving head or pulling out (6) | BR((-s)EX)IT = "pulling out" | Polaris | 1 |
| 2184 | RICE (4) | Grain's cost with a one-cent discount (4) | (-p)RICE | Polaris | 1 |
| 2185 | RICE (4) | Staple food found in Kopavogur, Iceland (4) | _R ICE_ | Polaris | 1 |
| 2197 | OPUS (4) | Significant other takes up retrospective work (4) | S(UP)O, reversed | Polaris | 1 |
| 2203 | CODA (4) | Disco dancing, featuring final performance (4) | _CO DA_ | Polaris | 1 |
| 2216 | FOUR (4) | How many people on polo team go from left to right in illegal play? (4) | FOU(l->R), four people on a polo team | Polaris | 1 |
| 2261 | LAST RESORT (4, 6) | Initially learning about Sleep Talk in front of desert in Unova for one of Eevee's moves (4, 6) | L.A.S.T. + RESORT "Desert Resort" is a desert in the Unova region "Last Resort" is a move learned by Eevee |
Polaris | 1 |
| 2282 | SIGNATURE MOVE (9, 4) | Authorize Xatu, first off, to erase Oblivion Wing, for example (9, 4) | SIGN + (-x)ATU + REMOVE | Polaris | 1 |
| 2394 | PLUM (4) | Fruit is positively not small, but medium (4) | PLU(s->M) | Polaris | 1 |
| 2520 | NEPENTHE (8) | Drug that makes you forget endless desire surrounding suppressed, wishful heart (8) | "Drug that makes you forget" = NEE(-d) (endless desire) surrounding PENT (suppressed) + _H_ (wishful heart) | Polaris | 1 |
| 2522 | HILBERT (7) | Mathematician blithers drivel without sane head (7) | (BLITHER(-s))* | Polaris | 1 |
| 2524 | OH NO (2, 2) | What you might say to an experiment gone wrong using hydrogen and nitrogen in oxygen gas (2, 2) | H, N in O2 | Polaris | 1 |
| 2646 | POURBOIRE (9) | Start to pour unlimited bourbon—first off, wire money for drinking (9) | P+_OURBO_+_IRE = "money for drinking" | Polaris | 1 |
| 2895 | RAMESSES (8) | Egyptian god besmirches name of pharaoh (8) | RA+MESSES | Polaris | 1 |
| 3020 | RENDEZVOUS (10) | Detailed display: integers and you! (French venue) (10) | RENDE(-r) (detailed display) + Z (integers) + VOUS (you, French) = venue | Polaris | 1 |
| 3194 | SWEET HOME ALABAMA (5, 4, 7) | After stirring stew, he (Obama) consumes meal with one song (5, 4, 7) | SWEETH*+O(MEAL+A)BAMA | Polaris | 1 |
| 3206 | CLUE CONTAINING A CHARACTER OR ITEM FROM CLUE (?) | Well-rounded professor (from Clue) with lead pipe (5) | PLUM+P | Polaris | 1 |
| 3332 | FURNITURE (9) | One in nature exchanged for me following pelt rug, perhaps (9) | FUR (pelt) + N(a->I)TURE = "rug, perhaps" | Polaris | 1 |
| 3417 | SPEEDRUN (8) | In Galactic Puzzle Hunt, Stephen's sausage puzzle explanation initially under chaos (5, 3) | S_ P_ E_ + EDRUN* = "In Galactic Puzzle Hunt, Stephen's" (i.e. Stephen's Speed Run) | Polaris | 1 |
| 3549 | CLUE W/ "TURING MACHINE" NOT MEANING A REAL TM (?) | Broken Turing machine leads to evening of nail-painting (8, 5) | MANICURE NIGHT* | Polaris | 1 |
| 3560 | LUPINE (6) | Gentleman thief: in conclusion, insatiable and wolfish (6) | LUPIN + _E | Polaris | 1 |
| 3614 | JACKBOX (7) | Fast food chain? Not in the party pack (7) | JACK IN THE BOX without IN THE | Polaris | 1 |
| 3647 | OOF (3) | "Ouch!" - goon with hole in midsection (3) | O(a->O)F | Polaris | 1 |
| 3685 | PLEDGE (6) | Implored, for example, about promise (6) | PLED + E.G.< | Polaris | 1 |
| 3691 | COCHLEA (7) | Heal unnaturally after rooster's tail chopped off, becoming Latin snail (7) | COC(-k)+HLEA* = "snail" in Latin -> COCHLEA | Polaris | 1 |
| 3702 | ENUMERATION (11) | In here: eleven headless men and, um, er, country without leader (11) | (-m)EN+UM+ER+(-n)ATION = "in here, eleven" | Polaris | 1 |
| 3830 | CREAM (5) | Eric goes back and loses—I am the best (5) | C(-i)RE< + AM = "the best" as in the cream of the crop | Polaris | 1 |
| 3879 | KOW (3) | Ganzhou Huangjin Airport turned away Chinese stir frying pan(3) | WOK backwards ("turned away" is the full indicator) KOW is the IATA airport code for Ganzhou Huangjin Airport |
Polaris | 1 |
| 3920 | SHAVE (5) | "Quiet!"--and greeting by Romans is cut off (5) | SH+AVE = cut off | Polaris | 1 |
| 3924 | MELODY (6) | Tune produced from sound of dulcet "Re" (6) | homophone, dulcet "Re" -> mellow D -> melody | Polaris | 1 |
| 4058 | CORONA (6) | In California, countering virus leads to another virus (6) | C(ORON<)A (i.e. norovirus) | Polaris | 1 |
| 4099 | LOSE (4) | Fail to win, thus drop Angels from Los Angeles? (4) | LOS(-angel)E(-s) | Polaris | 1 |
| 4139 | ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES JACK A DULL (BOY) | No no no, dull--no work, play (4) | No no no = (-n)O (NO minus N) dull no work = SLO(-w) (SLOW minus W) (-n)O+SLO(-w) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oslo_(play) |
Polaris | 1 |
| 4169 | INCANDESCENT (12) | Burning hot candle fragrance, removing smell in the end (12) | IN+CANDLE+SCENT minus _L = "burning" | Polaris | 1 |
| 4178 | SPAR (4) | Disparity displaying dispute (4) | _SPAR_ = "dispute" | Polaris | 1 |
| 4210 | SPLATTERSHOT (12) | Splatoon weapon's quiet; the second one's popular (12) | S+P+LATTER+S+HOT | Polaris | 1 |
| 4211 | SPLATTERSHOT (12) | Fictional gun halts protest gone astray (12) | HALTS PROTEST anagram | Polaris | 1 |
| 4212 | DELPHI (6) | City with origin of Pythia! (6) | DEL(P_)HI &lit | Polaris | 1 |
| 4216 | BASHFUL (7) | Awful fellow finally becomes quiet after boy is withdrawn (7) | B+A(_w->SH)FUL = "withdrawn" | Polaris | 1 |
| 4232 | CHRYSOBERYL (11) | Crystal instrument returned after weep and moan about harmonica, at first (11) | (C(H_)RY+SOB)+ERYL< sorry I stole your "weep and moan" indicators, person above me :( |
Polaris | 1 |
| 4247 | FAROE ISLANDS (5, 7) | Friends; also, a bizarre archipelago (5, 7) | FRIENDSALSOA* | Polaris | 1 |
| 4260 | COSMIC RAYS (6, 4) | Energy from beyond Earth or icy Mars (unusual) after Ceres or Saturn, at first (6, 4) | C.O.S. + MICRAYS* = "Energy from beyond Earth" | Polaris | 1 |
| 4261 | PEVERELL (8) | Potter's ancestor is severely out of bounds in empty protocol (8) | (-s)EVEREL(-y) in P_L Harry Potter is descended from Ignotus Peverell |
Polaris | 1 |
| 4268 | FAROE ISLANDS (5, 7) | Archipelago's card game (for everyone) is large and small (5, 7) | FARO+E+IS+L+AND+S "for everyone" clues E as in "rated E for everyone" |
Polaris | 1 |
| 4296 | IRON (4) | In or around metal (4) | IRON* | Polaris | 1 |
| 4313 | GO (2) | Making a comeback: the original Pokemon mobile game (2) | OG is slang for "original", and then it's reversed definition referring to Pokemon Go |
Polaris | 1 |
| 4326 | IMPETUS (7) | I am beloved; we are a driving force (7) | I'M+PET+US = "a driving force" (thanks Akumu for the constructive criticism) |
Polaris | 1 |
| 4329 | TIME STOP (4, 4) | I'm in test operation for one of Hat Kid's hats (4, 4) | T(I'M)EST+OP = "one of Hat Kid's hats" (from the game A Hat in Time) | Polaris | 1 |
| 4345 | FREUDIAN SLIP (8, 4) | Unstable prideful sin--a mistake that may reveal your subconscious thoughts (8, 4) | anagram of PRIDEFUL SIN A | Polaris | 1 |
| 4444 | WITH THE LIGHTS OUT (4, 3, 6, 3) | Bizarre thought: "Whistle it--the Nirvana box set" (4, 3, 6, 3) | anagram of THOUGHTWHISTLEIT | Polaris | 1 |
| 4465 | BETA (4) | B (Greek letter)?! (4) | B+ETA &lit | Polaris | 1 |
| 4467 | ATROPOS (7) | Goddess of fate is relevant: power becomes time (7) | A(p->T)ROPOS | Polaris | 1 |
| 4483 | TOWER OF HANOI (5, 2, 5) | Ow! No! For I hate nonsensical mathematical puzzle (5, 2, 5) | OWNOFORIHATE* is there even a way to clue this without just a straight anagram |
Polaris | 1 |
| 4486 | TOWER OF HANOI (5, 2, 5) | Thanos almost has woe for catastrophic start to intergalactic stacking problem (5, 2, 5) | T(OWEROF*)HANO_+I_ = "stacking problem" | Polaris | 1 |
| 4495 | BASS (4) | Type of trombone or trumpet, say, without resonance at first (4) | BRASS (trumpet, say) without R_ = "type of trombone" (i.e. bass trombone) | Polaris | 1 |
| 4499 | DRAGON (6) | Type of Pokemon with No Guard, Scratch, U-turn (6) | cryptic reading: NOGUARD, scratch U, turn = DRA(-u)GON def. "type of Pokemon" | Polaris | 1 |
| 12713 | LATEX (5) | Typesetting software stands out among vanilla text (5) | _LA TEX_ | Polaris | 1 |
| 12715 | BABA IS YOU (4 2 3) | Alibaba is your selection for puzzle game (4 2 3) | _BABA IS YOU_ | Polaris | 1 |
| 12719 | CAPTCHA (7) | Buggy patch implemented in California for auth measure (7) | C(APTCH*)A | Polaris | 1 |
| 12720 | PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE (12, 6) | Unusually, Biden departs late, i.e. for election event (12 6) | (BIDENDEPARTSLATEIE)* | Polaris | 1 |
| 12722 | TOO OLD (3 3) | Very cool? Not cool. Not cool enough (3 3) | "Very cool" = TOO COLD "Not cool" = remove C "Not cool enough" = ostensibly the definition of "TOO OLD" |
Polaris | 1 |
| 12733 | STANDOUT (8) | Someone who is not short and stout, perhaps (8) | *ANDSTOUT "Someone who is not short" = ostensibly a definition for STANDOUT |
Polaris | 1 |
| 12734 | COOKIE (6) | Ordered knowledge primarily stored by Chrome, Opera, Internet Explorer, for starters! (6) | O.K. stored by C.O.I.E. &lit | Polaris | 1 |
| 12747 | CHARGE (6) | Purchase centers target unlimited rate (6) | purCHase + tARGEt = "rate" | Polaris | 1 |
| 12751 | CATS AND DOGS (4, 3, 4) | Go back south after even scrap Teslas needed no engineers in great quantities (like rain) (4 3 4) | OG<+S after _C_A_T_S_A_ N(-ee)D(-e)D = "in great quantities (like rain)", referring to the idiom "raining cats and dogs" | Polaris | 1 |
| 12768 | PENICILLIN (10) | Pill has half of medicine left in antibiotic (10) | P(ENIC____<)ILL + IN | Polaris | 1 |
| 12779 | ABOUT-FACE (5-4) | Complete reversal from a boxing match to deal with (5-4) | A + BOUT (boxing match) + FACE (to deal with) = complete reversal | Polaris | 1 |
| 12791 | RATIONAL (8) | Level-headed in arbitration, almost (8) | _RATION AL_ | Polaris | 1 |
| 12795 | GHOUL (5) | Phantom or ghost whose state is undead/lifeless, primarily (5) | GHO(st -> U_ L_) = "Phantom" How redundant! |
Polaris | 1 |
| 12802 | LOTUS (5) | Plant almost cuts evenly (5) | _L_O_T _U_S | Polaris | 1 |
| 12803 | CORRODE (7) | Destroy piece of crystal ore concealing wand (7) | C_ + OR(ROD)E | Polaris | 1 |
| 12809 | BALLOT BOX (6, 3) | Total bighead involved in shot to the face for Election Day receptacle (6 3) | ALL, B in BOTOX | Polaris | 1 |
| 12813 | JUNE (4) | Junpei's missing partner's identifier, initially! (4) | JUNPEI minus P_ I_ &lit as a reference to 999 |
Polaris | 1 |
| 12814 | OLIVE GARDEN (5 6) | Restaurant is not, at heart, a live fish den (5 6) | _O_ + LIVE + GAR (fish) + DEN | Polaris | 1 |
| 12815 | NEEDLE (6) | Pointer bug? (6) | ddef, needle of a compass and to needle someone surface intended to be programming-y |
Polaris | 1 |
| 12838 | QUEUEING (8) | Before start of gala, queen has you and me waiting in line (8) | QUE(U)E(I)N before G_ | Polaris | 1 |
| 12854 | OXFORD (6) | Shoe found in box for derbies (6) | _OX FOR D_ this clue may be an affront to shoe enthusiasts |
Polaris | 1 |
| 2186 | APEX (4) | Mojo Jojo takes chemical from Powerpuff Girls to the top (4) | APE (Mojo Jojo) + X (chemical from Powerpuff Girls) | Polaris | 0 |
| 2195 | OPUS (4) | Singular opera composition (4) | Double definition: "opus" is the singular form of opera, and and "opus" is a composition |
Polaris | 0 |
| 2400 | WASHMINSTER (11) | Australian hybridized government system has to clean clergyman without me (11) | WASH + MINI(-i)STER | Polaris | 0 |
| 2410 | INTERNET TROLL (8, 5) | Type "seabird" with Teletype to wind up online provoker (8, 5) | INT (type) + ERNE (seabird) + TT (teletype) + ROLL (to wind up) = "online provoker" | Polaris | 0 |
| 2440 | GOLD RUSH (4, 4) | Office lady and doctor go inside to praise reason to visit California (4, 4) | OL and DR go inside GUSH ("to praise") = "reason to visit California" | Polaris | 0 |
| 2463 | URANIUM (7) | Total after muse drops a beginning to story element (7) | URANIA SUM drops A S_ = "element" | Polaris | 0 |
| 2521 | NEPETA (6) | Animal rights organization after one headless Homestuck troll (6) | PETA after (-o)NE = "Homestuck troll" | Polaris | 0 |
| 2617 | LABOR DAY (5, 3) | Broad mixture in secular holiday (5, 3) | BROAD* in LAY (secular) = "holiday" | Polaris | 0 |
| 2670 | BUSHIDO (7) | さむらいが従うことはグレープの中にします （４） | ぶどう（グレープ）の中に「し」を増す＝さむらいが従うこと＝ぶしどう The clue is "The thing that samurai follow is done in grapes" (I guess? Not like it makes a whole lot of sense in Japanese either) The wordplay is just adding SHI to BUDOU (grapes) The clever pun is taking します 'shimasu' "to do" => 「し」増す 'shi masu' "add SHI" |
Polaris | 0 |
| 2871 | ORDINAL (7) | For example, first football player from Arizona takes oxygen instead of calcium (7) | (ca->O)RDINAL = "for example, first" | Polaris | 0 |
| 2896 | WOLFRAM (7) | Contest starter to strike metal (7) | WOLF (the starter of this contest) + RAM | Polaris | 0 |
| 3025 | CLUE CONTAINING UR LAST WINNING CLUE’S ANSWER (?) | Quidnunc transforms company into medium-small organization (6) | COIN (quid) + NOW (nunc) transforms CO to M = MINNOW (small organization) | Polaris | 0 |
| 3064 | LONGNECK (8) | Bad brown bare butts breaking bar beer bottle (8) | LO(NG+_N _E)CK = "beer bottle" | Polaris | 0 |
| 3224 | CLUE CONTAINING (4, 10) | Society and economics polluting without beginnings of brain teasers or beginnings of themed cryptic contests (4, 10) | CLUB + ECON + TAINTING - B_ T_ CLU(-b)ECONTAIN(-t)ING = beginnings of themed cryptic contests |
Polaris | 0 |
| 3254 | ARCEUS (6) | Legendary god of war consumes beginning of chaos and union (6) | ARES, C_, U -> AR(C_)E(U)S "legendary" is often used as shorthand for "legendary Pokemon" |
Polaris | 0 |
| 3367 | LEVEL FIFTY ONE (5, 5, 3) | 51F: decelerate, leave elevator outside loudness with that echo? (5, 5, 3) | "decelerate, leave" = LE(-a)VE (remove acceleration) "elevator outside loudness" = L(F)IFT "that echo" = YON+E LE(-a)VE+L(F)IFT+YON+E = 51F (i.e. 51st floor = level 51) |
Polaris | 0 |
| 3388 | ANY COLOR WORD WITH DEF NOT "COLOR" (?) | Kanto city loves Minior―not so unusual (9) | (LOVESMINIOR-SO)* = VERMILION | Polaris | 0 |
| 3395 | CARAMEL (7) | Light brown Sopwith plane carries assault rifle to start (7) | C(A_ R_)AMEL e.g. Sopwith Camel |
Polaris | 0 |
| 3499 | CRYPTIC CLUE (7, 4) | E.g. this hint from puzzle hunt with answers found in source code (7, 4) | ddef. this clue is an example of a cryptic clue and "cryptic clue" as in a clue from cryptic puzzle hunt |
Polaris | 0 |
| 3536 | SILLY SONG (5, 4) | Oxbow lake transforms back-arc basin into system producing funny tune (5, 4) | BILLABONG, BAB->SYS = SILLY SONG | Polaris | 0 |
| 3567 | ASH (3) | Pokemon trainer hiding amongst Wishiwashi (3) | wishiwASHi | Polaris | 0 |
| 3692 | VETERAN/VETERANS (7/8) | Old-timer, in vehicle, marred tree (7) | V(ETER*)AN | Polaris | 0 |
| 3987 | CHEW (4) | Munch on half of cheese wedge to start (4) | CHE_ + W_ = munch on | Polaris | 0 |
| 4002 | DATA (4) | Star Trek character Ida Tarbell, partially (4) | iDA TArbell = Data, a character from Star Trek | Polaris | 0 |
| 4063 | ANY CLUE CONTAINING "NO" OR "NOT" (?) | Indeed, not indicated (7) | DE(NOT)ED wow elision |
Polaris | 0 |
| 4066 | LOVE (4) | It's represented by a heart or clover, in part (4) | cLOVEr (hidden word) love is most commonly represented by a heart |
Polaris | 0 |
| 4179 | TOMB (4) | Grave to my beloved (originally) (4) | TO+M_ B_ | Polaris | 0 |
| 4187 | TRIP (4) | Retired detective/snitch with not one misstep (4) | [PI+R(-a)T]< | Polaris | 0 |
| 4200 | ENNUI (5) | Dinner with you gets flipped and stripped, leading to weariness (5) | (-r)ENN(U)I(-d) = "weariness" | Polaris | 0 |
| 4205 | RAINBOW DASH (7, 4) | Pegasus owns bad hair, all tangled up (7, 4) | OWNSBADHAIR* | Polaris | 0 |
| 4222 | MINT (4) | Form interchange components?! (4) | _M INT_ &lit def. of "mint" as in to make coins, if you consider coins/money as "components" of "interchange"/transactions |
Polaris | 0 |
| 4226 | FUNHOUSE (8) | Carnival attraction failed, oh, back in almost unemployed (8) | F+UN(HO<)USE(-d) surface makes no sense but it's a last minute entry |
Polaris | 0 |
| 4233 | TURNIP (6) | Vegetable from secure trough--revolutionary (6) | (PIN+RUT)< "secure"=PIN as in to secure/to affix |
Polaris | 0 |
| 4284 | STOP SIGN (4, 4) | Indicator to cease building is potshot about parts (4, 4) | _STOP SI GN_< | Polaris | 0 |
| 4291 | SOURDOUGH (9) | Perhaps, our doughnut ingredients! (9) | _S OUR DOUGH_ and sourdough can be used to make doughnuts Just pretend Puzzlers Club makes doughnuts, hence "our" doughnut ingredients :thonking: |
Polaris | 0 |
| 4295 | ARENDELLE (9) | *Frozen* setting records, initially in United Arab Emirates, then finally (well, not initially) in Germany (9) | A(R_)E+_N+D(_ELL)E = "*Frozen* setting" | Polaris | 0 |
| 4324 | PULL REQUEST (4, 7) | Page concerning queen in, without fail, fullest contribution to a repository (4, 7) | P+(-f)ULL(RE+QU)EST = "contribution to a repository" | Polaris | 0 |
| 4332 | UTADA HIKARU (5, 6) | Kingdom Hearts artist online: "You are a king. I had a Tuesday." in retrospect (5, 6) | U R+A+K+I HAD A+TU reversed haha this is so bad |
Polaris | 0 |
| 4360 | ENDOTHERMIC (11) | Warm-blooded English "Dorothy" and her microphone (11) | EN+DOT+HER+MIC = "warm-blooded" "Dot" is a known nickname for "Dorothy" |
Polaris | 0 |
| 4417 | HAIR (4) | Reportedly, the tortoise's fabled rival's pelt (4) | sounds like "hare", def. "pelt" | Polaris | 0 |
| 4422 | ATLANTIS (8) | Book of maps about new, odd trip leading to lost city (8) | ATLA(N+T_I_)S = "lost city" | Polaris | 0 |
| 4436 | QUARTIC (7) | Not quite bright about art one degree above cubic (7) | QUIC(-k) about ART = "one degree above cubic" unfortunately I couldn't tie cubism into this :'( |
Polaris | 0 |
| 4442 | GLOBAL (6) | Disheartened girl and boy finds love between them -- a start to love that's universal (6) | G_L (disheartened girl) and B (boy) finds O (love) between them A (a) + L_ (start to love) = def. "universal" |
Polaris | 0 |
| 4457 | CHROMATIC (9) | Colorful and glamorous, but not new after Switzerland (9) | CH (Switzerland) + ROMA(-n)TIC (glamorous, but not new) = "colorful" let's say the surface has to do with Eurovision |
Polaris | 0 |
| 4476 | BOB MARLEY (3, 6) | Jamaican singer, Russian river, and Spanish sea, in blue and yellow without you (3, 6) | Russian river: OB Spanish sea: MAR Blue and yellow without you: BL(-u)E+Y B(OB+MAR)L(-u)E+Y |
Polaris | 0 |
| 4482 | METALLIC PUNISHER (8, 8) | Per all the music in chaotic song from "Arcaea" (8, 8) | PERALLTHEMUSICIN* def. is "song from 'Arcaea'", according to what Google tells me |
Polaris | 0 |
| 4491 | HEALTH (6) | Idiomatically, a clean bill of this is dealt from the second in two hospitals (6) | H[(-d)EALT]H referencing the idiom "a clean bill of health" |
Polaris | 0 |
| 12724 | HOTSHOT (7) | Warm is warm, genius (7) | HOT'S HOT, HOTSHOT | Polaris | 0 |
| 12726 | MOONCAKE (8) | Dessert from China, Missouri, Ontario, California, Kenya (8) | "dessert from China" = MO + ON + CA + KE | Polaris | 0 |
| 12729 | COSMOS (6) | Flower is company for moss having fun (6) | CO + SMOS* = the cosmos flower | Polaris | 0 |
| 12750 | CRATER (6) | Cat eats right next to, um, a hole in the ground (6) | C(R)AT + ER | Polaris | 0 |
| 12757 | SCRIBE (6) | Author E. B. White generally centers chapter series, starts from the end (6) | (EB + _I_ _R_ + C_ S_)< = "Author" | Polaris | 0 |
| 12762 | ARMORY (6) OR ARMOURY (7) | Arsenal team (in the second half) has never-ending ball runs, at the beginning and end of Wednesday (6) | "Arsenal" = __A(_R)M + O + R_ + _Y | Polaris | 0 |
| 12765 | THIMBLE (7) | Protector of finger, thumb, index for you, or short leg (7) | TH(u->I)MB + LE_ = "Protector of finger" | Polaris | 0 |
| 12796 | COBWEB (6) | "Boo!" at first goes into brief flinch, leading to middle of troubling bit of Halloween decor (6) | B_ into COWE(-r) + ____B____ = "bit of Halloween decor" | Polaris | 0 |
| 12821 | TABULATE (8) | Count Dracula's form from behind initially ugly, later appears totally extraordinary (8) | BAT< + ULATE (inits) def. "Count" |
Polaris | 0 |
| 12828 | MUSICAL (7) | Initially mark up schedule on what is now Apple Calendar for Broadway show (7) | M_ U_ S_ + ICAL (now known as Apple Calendar) (down clue only) |
Polaris | 0 |
| 12840 | REMORSE (7) | Guilt shakes up, missing direction (7) | (-t)REMORS (shakes, up missing) + E (direction) (down clue) |
Polaris | 0 |
| 12842 | CAVY (4) | Islet has violet guinea pig (4) | CA(V)Y | Polaris | 0 |
| 12850 | FIVE STARS (4 5) | Vast fires reassemble into components of constellation Cassiopeia (4 5) | VASTFIRES* | Polaris | 0 |
| 12852 | OXBLOOD (7) | Oxeye starts to flower, almost; top of daisy is shade of red (7) | OX ("oxeye starts") + BLOO(-m) ("to flower, almost") + D_ ("top of daisy") | Polaris | 0 |