4
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Here are a few easy cryptic clues I created! (Lengths are hidden in case you want an extra challenge)

1) Depressed in Widow nightmare.

(4)

2) Star lit up rebel city.

(9)

3) Former wine "contains exhaust"

(7)

4) Wicked "back to walk the earth!"

(4)

5) Moral within "Marathon" establishment?

(6)

6) American state upsets old fair

(7)

7) Tree droppings, "go away!"

(6)

8) Small discount mound

(4)

This is my first time creating cryptics, so please suggest any improvements I can make!

Here is a clue for #8, in case I made it too difficult.

Find a synonym of discount, and remove a letter to find a word meaning mound.

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5 Answers 5

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6
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Hopefully that's all of them:

1) Depressed in Widow nightmare.

DOWN (4) - Depressed in WiDOW Nightmare [[found by Duncan]]

2) Star lit up rebel city.

CELEBRITY (9) - anagram of 'rebel city'

3) Former wine "contains exhaust"

RETIRED (7) - TIRE means to exhaust, surrounded by RED as in red wine [[found by Gareth McCaughan]]

4) Wicked "back to walk the earth!"

LIVE (4) - when reversed becomes EVIL and only living things walk the earth (NOTE: This clue works with either LIVE or EVIL as the answer.)

5) Moral within "Marathon" establishment?

HONEST (6) - within "MaratHON ESTablishment

6) American state upsets old fair

FLORIDA (7) - anagram of 'Old Fair'

7) Tree droppings, "go away!"

LEAVES (6) - fall from trees and LEAVE is to go away
(Suggestion: This clue ought to be tweaked so that the two parts are either both plural or singular, possibly something like: Trees do this: go away! with an answer of LEAVE (5)

8) Small discount mound (after looking at the clue)

HEAP (4) - Discount means CHEAP, 'small' suggests shortening the word to give HEAP which is a mound.
[[Note: Just as I'm about to press save edits, I've noticed that Jonathan has this answer as well]]

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4
  • $\begingroup$ Well done so far! Correct: (1, 2, 5, 6, 7) ... 4 is very close to being correct $\endgroup$
    – Melkor
    Jun 16, 2016 at 17:19
  • $\begingroup$ 4 works about equally well the other way around (i.e., "wicked" is the def and "back to walk the earth" is the wordplay). $\endgroup$
    – Gareth McCaughan ♦
    Jun 16, 2016 at 18:03
  • $\begingroup$ All correct except for 8 $\endgroup$
    – Melkor
    Jun 17, 2016 at 12:01
  • $\begingroup$ Correct, well done! $\endgroup$
    – Melkor
    Jun 17, 2016 at 14:51
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Here's what I have so far. Reasonings separate for those who want to work it out on their own.

1) Depressed in Widow nightmare.

Down.

Reasoning:

Hidden in widow nightmare.

2) Star lit up rebel city.

Celebrity (from Gordon K)

Reasoning:

Anagram of rebel city

3) Former wine "contains exhaust"

Retired

Reasoning:

Retired = former. And "red" (a wine) contains "tire" (to exhaust)

4) Wicked "back to walk the earth!"

Live

Reasoning:

Wicked = evil, backwards = live. "To walk the earth" is to "live".

5) Moral within "Marathon" establishment?

Honest.

Reasoning:

"within" Marathon establishment

6) American state upsets old fair

Florida.

Reasoning:

Anagram of "old fair"

7) Tree droppings, "go away!"

Leaves? Not sure about this one.

Reasoning:

Trees drop leaves. To leave is to go away.

8) Small discount mound

Scut?

Reasoning:

Small = s, a discount is a "cut" in the price. "Scut" (I had to look it up), is the short tail of a rabbit or deer - often just a little mound. This one's a stretch, but if it's right it's a good vocabulary word!

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3
  • $\begingroup$ @Duncan Your answer for number 8 is as close as I could find too. $\endgroup$
    – Gordon K
    Jun 16, 2016 at 21:25
  • $\begingroup$ Yeah - I'm still thinking on it, as I don't love that answer for "mound", but I'm not coming up with anything. $\endgroup$
    – Duncan
    Jun 16, 2016 at 22:07
  • $\begingroup$ #8 is incorrect, all others are correct $\endgroup$
    – Melkor
    Jun 17, 2016 at 12:18
3
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Possible answer to number eight
8) Small discount mound

Heap

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1
  • $\begingroup$ Correct well done! $\endgroup$
    – Melkor
    Jun 17, 2016 at 14:51
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Filling in one no one else has yet:

  1. Former wine "contains exhaust" (7)

RE(TIRE)D

I'm still stuck on #8; I suspect it may involve a word meaning "discount" (or "small discount") that I either don't know or am suffering a blind spot about.

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1
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Filling in #8 (hopefully):

8) Small discount mound

DEAL - A discount is known as a deal and another word for a mound is a deal (I think)

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2
  • $\begingroup$ I can't find any source confirming that word is used to mean mound Edit: I just found that word used in conjunction with great i.e. great ___ so maybe that $\endgroup$
    – Gordon Allocman
    Jun 16, 2016 at 18:53
  • $\begingroup$ Good try but incorrect $\endgroup$
    – Melkor
    Jun 17, 2016 at 11:58

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