Is there a cryptic clue that happens to be a limerick? Please also include the answer in spoilers.
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1$\begingroup$ $$\frac{(12+144+20)+\left(3 \cdot \sqrt{4}\right)}{7}+(5 \cdot 11)=9^2+0\quad(6\text-3)$$ if you want to stretch both the definitions of "limerick" and "cryptic clue". $\endgroup$– boboquackCommented Sep 22, 2019 at 7:14
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$\begingroup$ @boboquack What's the answer? I'm not good at solving cryptic clues. $\endgroup$– Scratch---CatCommented Sep 22, 2019 at 7:17
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$\begingroup$ I found this poem, but it's not a limerick. Also, The poem that you should give must have rhyme. $\endgroup$– Scratch---CatCommented Sep 22, 2019 at 7:20
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$\begingroup$ Here's the limerick, and the answer is literally (rot13) rvtugl-bar (qbhoyr qrsvavgvba). $\endgroup$– boboquackCommented Sep 22, 2019 at 7:22
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1$\begingroup$ Please post the poem in your answer. $\endgroup$– Scratch---CatCommented Sep 22, 2019 at 7:30
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3 Answers
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My try:
A visitor of cleaning station
(a person of male persuasion)
does darken his skin
(there is no point therein)
by a beam of the Sun's radiation
(5 3)
Answer:
Definition
A visitor of cleaning station = MANTA RAY[1]
Wordplay
(a person of male persuasion) = MAN
does darken his skin = TANS
(there is no point therein) = remove N,S (compass points) -> TA
by a beam of the Sun's radiation = RAY
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2$\begingroup$ Nice effort :) Alternative first line: "A sea dweller (fish, not crustacean)"... +1 $\endgroup$– StivCommented Sep 22, 2019 at 10:47
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Though I'm not sure whether it's worthy of an answer, since the OP encouraged me to post it, there is the well-known mathematical limerick
$$\frac{(12+144+20)+\left(3 \cdot \sqrt{4}\right)}{7}+(5 \cdot 11)=9^2+0$$
or
A dozen, a gross, and a score
Plus three times the square root of four
Divided by seven
Plus five times eleven
Is nine squared and not a bit more.
which can be repurposed to make a cryptic clue by adding (6-3) on the end, with answer
EIGHTY-ONE (double definition)
though it's incredibly debatable whether this is really a cryptic clue (and, in the non-textual version, whether it is really a limerick).
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1$\begingroup$ Nah, that's not a cryptic clue. It's a crossword clue, but not a cryptic one. Cryptic clues, at least for pedants like this community, have a stricter definition. $\endgroup$ Commented Sep 22, 2019 at 8:38
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1$\begingroup$ @Randal'Thor exactly why I claim it's incredibly debatable (for example, even if there are two parts which resolve to the answer, they're not substantially different, nor are they definitions), and why I posted as a comment. But the OP asked me to post an answer, so... $\endgroup$ Commented Sep 22, 2019 at 9:34
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I've never seen them before in the wild, but that doesn't mean you can't just make them up... For example here's a pair of cryptic limericks I just wrote:
A challenging type of cross word,
Whose clues border on the absurd.
Initia'ly perplex
Thoughtful intellects...
Called after, perhaps: "Oh, my word!"
(7)
Rhymed words with particular rhythm
(Often times nonsense within 'em):
A "green citrus fruit";
One "odd cakes" to boot;
Between: "centre for algorithm".
(9)
Answers (which I forgot to add initially):
CRYPTIC
Def: "A challenging type of cross word, / Whose clues border on the absurd."
Initially P(erplex) T(houghtful) I(ntellects) C(alled) (placed after)
[Placed] after CRY (of which "Oh, my word" is an example of)
and:
LIMERICKS
Def: "Rhymed words with particular rhythm / (Often times nonsense within 'em)"
LIME (A green citrus fruit)
I (one) + odd C(a)K(e)S
With (algo)R(ithm) between
This is almost certainly too broad but I can't resist this sort of challenge and wish it could find a home here in some form, so am going to turn a blind eye...
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4$\begingroup$ @Scratch---Cat - I realise you're not posing a challenge directly, but when the answer to your question is certain to take the form "yes, and here's an example", how are you going to choose the "correct" answer? Given that you can't, you'll have to just choose the "best", which means it effectively becomes a challenge without you intending. $\endgroup$– AlconjaCommented Sep 22, 2019 at 23:31
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1$\begingroup$ I figured when you italicized cryptic limerick before that I could guess what they were, but man the parsing on this one is brilliant — well done! $\endgroup$– El-GuestCommented Sep 23, 2019 at 0:59
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1$\begingroup$ I am not going to choose the best. $\endgroup$ Commented Sep 23, 2019 at 0:59
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$\begingroup$ I'm asking them to find an existing one (such as in the Guardians). $\endgroup$ Commented Jan 12, 2020 at 7:21