8
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single cryptic crossword clue.

Sofa besmirched with urine? Nasty [9]

This was a clue in a recent cryptic puzzle I saw in a newspaper. I reproduce it here as I thought it might be of interest.

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3
  • $\begingroup$ Late to the game, missed this. But is this valid? I'd accept "Besmirched sofa with urine" but I really don't like the separating of the fodder by the indicator. $\endgroup$ Aug 1, 2019 at 19:15
  • $\begingroup$ @ChrisCudmore - in fact I disagree here - e.g. ball kicked by foot vs kicked ball with foot - the first phrase means the ball was kicked with a foot and the second implies I kicked the ball with my foot. In this context I think the first sentence in the 'passive voice' is more appropriate because it makes the focus on the foot and the ball $\endgroup$
    – tom
    Aug 6, 2019 at 23:22
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ The surface reading is irrelevant.. The wordplay phrase is "Sofa Besmirched with Urine". Clearly Besmirched is the anagram indicator. So as written, this means Anagram(SOFA) + URINE (or synonym). Besmirched sofa with urine would mean Anagram(SOFA + URINE) which is how the clue is solved. $\endgroup$ Aug 7, 2019 at 13:49

1 Answer 1

10
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The answer is

NEFARIOUS

because

it's an anagram of SOFA+URINE and means nasty.

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1
  • $\begingroup$ Yes you have it, but, of course, you knew that already :-) plus one and green check markers on the way... $\endgroup$
    – tom
    Jul 4, 2019 at 1:40

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