If you have picked 2020 as the year to get hooked on cryptic crosswords, we are here for you. For beginners: I have been asked to collect in one place all of the friendly explainers we have done on how cryptic clues work – and here it is. And for each, there is an explanation of both halves of the clue (cryptic clues offer, in either order, a definition of the answer and a little recipe for its letters). Next comes our old friend Cockney rhyming slang, changing “shopper” to “grasshopper”, finally shortened to “grass”. Now, this is not quite as interesting or pleasing as the story of “Lord and Master”, which, as we discovered, is rhyming slang for “plaster”, short for “plaster of Paris”, rhyming slang for “Aris”, short for “Aristotle”, rhyming slang for “bottle”, short for “bottle and glass”, rhyming slang for “arse”.

Source: The Guardian March 30, 2020 09:00 UTC