NPR

These are usually too hard for me—embarrassing because I'm an English teacher — but I think I've got one:

14 Across
?

Even if it's right, I still don't get the clue.

FujiKiwi wrote: Tue Jul 07, 2020 8:01 am These are usually too hard for me—embarrassing because I'm an English teacher — but I think I've got one:

14 Across

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a capella

?

Even if it's right, I still don't get the clue.

14 Down
Still don't really get these clues.

duke wrote: Tue Jul 07, 2020 8:04 am

FujiKiwi wrote: Tue Jul 07, 2020 8:01 am These are usually too hard for me—embarrassing because I'm an English teacher — but I think I've got one:

14 Across

Spoiler

Show

a capella

?

Even if it's right, I still don't get the clue.

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you need an extra p in there - a cappella, it's an anagram of palace and lap

Jeez. Right. I never see these anagrams. But cheers!

I'm going to quit this foray into crosswording. It's too bloody hard. For example I think 4 down might be but I have no idea how you would get that from the clue.

FujiKiwi wrote: Tue Jul 07, 2020 8:16 am I'm going to quit this foray into crosswording. It's too bloody hard. For example I think 4 down might be

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utopia

but I have no idea how you would get that from the clue.

Firstly, you're right.

Some clues are laudable, others are more "forced" or corny. This is more the latter. But, either way, solving them gets easier by the habit of solving ...

Holy smokes, Kiap. You’re a genius. I never would have got all that in a million years.

Thanks for the tutorial, an insight into the world of crosswords.

Thanks, but it's not really true.

The process is often to simply guess the answer, as you did, and then work out the reasoning.

In this case, a combo of several parts, 2 fairly simple, and 2 recalled by rote.

Too many clues with compound parts like that can be a negative mark for whoever wrote the crossword IMO.

Just being convoluted doesn't make it clever....