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This is a single cryptic crossword clue. The clue is the clue and not this preamble.

One beer at German festival for relative genius [8]

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1 Answer 1

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This is hardly cryptic, if you know how British crosswords work...

Einstein

"German festival" suggests beer steins, a common sight, and more-or-less a trope to non-Germans. "One beer" would be "ein Bier" in German, but it could also be "one stein (of beer)", or "ein Stein". The "relative genius" clinches it; Albert Einstein was unquestionably a genius, and is best known for his Theory of Relativity.

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  • $\begingroup$ do you want to explain your reasoning? $\endgroup$
    – tom
    Mar 28, 2018 at 18:57
  • $\begingroup$ Added behind the spoiler $\endgroup$ Mar 28, 2018 at 19:03
  • $\begingroup$ hardly cryptic because too easy? $\endgroup$
    – tom
    Mar 28, 2018 at 19:20
  • $\begingroup$ thanks for adding the explanation to the answer - made it complete. $\endgroup$
    – tom
    Mar 28, 2018 at 19:36
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    $\begingroup$ Jeff, I think the thing is in British crosswords they hide things pretty well and can be pretty obscure, but the principles of the 'cryptic clue' are that there are several different things that point to the same word in the clue so that when you get a clue you know it is correct because it fits in multiple ways... so although this is an 'easy' one for you, it is 'cryptic' because of the structure. $\endgroup$
    – tom
    Mar 28, 2018 at 20:02

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