Can anybody help me to understand this cryptic crossword clue? I have the following letters:
E_S_E_
I know the answer:
EASTER
But I can't make sense of the clue.
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2$\begingroup$ Do you have any crossing letters? $\endgroup$– AlenannoCommented Nov 18, 2016 at 10:32
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$\begingroup$ Well, it would be nice if we could check the scheme, because with the given information, it seems you're right. But it might depend on if there are more crossings, etc. $\endgroup$– AlenannoCommented Nov 18, 2016 at 10:38
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2 Answers
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I have two candidate explanations.
One
[The end of the] [flower] [festival]
translating into
[E (last letter -- i.e., the end -- of THE)] [ASTER] -> [EASTER].
Two
The flower in question is not an ASTER but a COTONEASTER whose last letters are EASTER.
Either could have been intended by the setter. The first is perhaps a bit more likely.
(Thanks to ganzogo and Rosie F in comments for pointing out that the first explanation works better than I initially thought it did; I was mis-parsing slightly.)
answered Nov 18, 2016 at 10:42
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$\begingroup$ As much as I admire your ruthless logic, I'm pretty sure they were going for the first explanation. Especially if you read it as "The end of the", i.e. the last letter of the word "the". $\endgroup$– ganzogoCommented Nov 18, 2016 at 10:47
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$\begingroup$ @ganzogo Actually this one makes more sense. Usually in crosswords "End of the..." is a wordplay. So "The end of the world" is usually "LD" or "RLD" depending on the length. In this case the word is longer than 6 characters so it fits the kind of wordplay. $\endgroup$– AlenannoCommented Nov 18, 2016 at 10:48
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$\begingroup$ The construction you give in your One is sound and grammatically correct: "The end of the" means "the last letter of THE", so that yields E. $\endgroup$– Rosie FCommented Nov 18, 2016 at 11:33
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$\begingroup$ @Rosie D'oh, of course you're right. $\endgroup$– Gareth McCaughan ♦Commented Nov 18, 2016 at 12:13
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$\begingroup$ @ganzogo And so therefore are you; my apologies for not noticing sooner that you'd pointed out the same thing as Rosie did earlier. $\endgroup$– Gareth McCaughan ♦Commented Nov 18, 2016 at 13:11
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$\begingroup$ But the word is 6 letters long, yours is only 5. Unless you're confirming OP's suspicions. $\endgroup$– AlenannoCommented Nov 18, 2016 at 10:39
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$\begingroup$ @Alenanno I gave the explanation for his question. He found the word and asked the flower part only. $\endgroup$– IAmInPLSCommented Nov 18, 2016 at 10:39
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$\begingroup$ This seems right to me. A festival with "the end of the flower".. yeah. $\endgroup$– TimmeCommented Nov 18, 2016 at 10:42
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3$\begingroup$ @ganzogo This should not be the accepted answer. It doesn't actually explain the cryptic clue. Gareth's answer below should be accepted. $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 18, 2016 at 15:13