| How to Solve a Cryptic Crossword Posted: 15 Jan 2020 12:00 AM PST Unlike standard or "New York Times-style" crosswords, cryptic crossword clues almost never have a literal meaning. Instead of reading such a clue to determine its answer, you must carefully decode it in order to reveal the answer. Every cryptic clue contains a definition, wordplay, and an indicator term. After you learn this formula as well as the eight most common cryptic crossword devices, you'll be on your way to solving even the toughest of cryptic crosswords! [Edit]Identifying the Main Parts of the Clue - Pick out the clue's "definition." Look near the beginning or end of the sentence to determine which word in the clue is the definition. Definitions are almost always located near the beginning or end of the sentence. The clue's definition is very important because it tells you the literal meaning of the answer you are looking for. [1]
- Consider the following clue: "Quoted from edict wrongly." "Quoted from" is the definition because it comes at the beginning of the sentence and hints at the clue's answer. The definition is often a synonym of the clue's answer, which is "cited" in this case.
- When the definition is less obvious, identify the two possibilities then eliminate one by considering the rest of the clue. In "Desire for Japanese money," the definition could be "desire" or "Japanese money." "Japanese money" is the definition and a synonym of "Yen," which is the answer to this particular clue.
- It is impossible to solve the clue with the definition alone. However, the definition should shape your thinking. Think about synonyms or other descriptive words that relate to your definition once you have found it.
- Identify the clue's "wordplay." After identifying the definition, consider the rest of the clue to be wordplay. The clue's wordplay is designed to be misleading, so don't try to interpret the phrase literally. Instead, you'll need to carefully pick through the wordplay to identify the clues, which have been hidden by the puzzle creator, to solve the clue. Cryptic crossword puzzle designers use a number of different "clue devices" or patterns when designing wordplay.[2]
- To solve the clue, you'll need to know what device is being used in the wordplay. That's where the indicator comes into play.
- Guess the "indicator term" by memorizing common indicator words. Look at the wordplay portion of the clue to locate the indicator term. This term will help you guess which wordplay device is being used. Once the indicator term has led you to the clue device, you'll be able to apply its rules in order to solve the puzzle.[3]
- For example, within "edict wrongly," "wrongly" is the indicator term. Once you've studied the common clue devices and indicator words, you'll be able to tell right away that this clue is using an anagram!
- "Wrongly" and other words such as "broken," "confused," etc., indicate that the letters of a word need to be rearranged to reveal the answer, which is how an anagram works.
- In this case, "wrongly" refers to "edict," so you know you'll need to scramble the letters to reveal a new word. The new word, as we already know, is "cited" which is the answer because it is a synonym for "quoted from," the clue definition. Voila!
- Before you are ready to start solving clues, you'll need to memorize the common indicator terms and their corresponding clue devices!
[Edit]Creating New Words from Letters Present in the Clue - Rearrange the clue's letters when dealing with anagram clues. Solve an anagram by rearranging the letters of a word to reveal the hint, which, along with the definition, will help you find the clue's answer. As with the previous clue, "edict" becomes "cited" after you shuffle the letters in the wordplay around.[4]
- Spot an anagram by looking for words that indicate change or modifications. Common anagram indicator words include "transfer," "cook," "dress," "out," "off," "moved," or "lost."
- The words you will need to jumble will be located either directly before or after the indicator word.
- For example, the following clue is an anagram: "Dress suiting a saint." "Saint" is the definition and "dress suiting a" is the wordplay. "Dress" indicates that this is an anagram because it implies change. Since there are no words preceding "dress," you know that the words that follow it, "suiting a," are the words that need to be rearranged. "Suiting a" can be reshuffled to reveal "Ignatius," a saint!
- Anagrams are often the longest words in the crossword puzzle.
- Join parts of words together to find the answer with charade clues. Charades are formed by joining parts of words from the clue together to create a new word. Charades do not usually have indicator words, but typically contain words such as "has," "with," "and," or similar conjunctions. [5]
- You'll often need to think in terms of synonyms to know which words to join together.
- For example, in the following clue, "wave cereal bowl," "wave" is the definition. By process of elimination, you know you are working with the words "cereal" and "bowl." If you look for synonyms, you'll get "bran" (for cereal) and "dish" (for bowl). Using the charades method of combining words, you'll get "brandish," which is the answer because it is a synonym of your definition, "wave."
- In addition to synonyms, you may need to work with word abbreviations in order to solve charade clues. For example, "place on bottom of sack:" "Pl" is the abbreviation for "place" and "under" is a synonym for "on bottom." Combine the two to get "plunder," which also means "sack" (your definition).
- Combine letters from different words to answer clues with hidden words. Identify a hidden-words clue by recognizing indicator terms such as "some," "buried in," "held by," or "in part." Scan your sentence for words that can be made by combing the first or last letters from one word with letters from an adjacent word.[6]
- For example, in the clue "Scottish snack offered in disco nearby," your definition is "Scottish snack," the indicator is "offered in," and your wordplay is "disco nearby."
- The hidden word will always be located in your wordplay phrase, so scan it carefully and consider whether there is a word that can be made by combining parts of "disco nearby" that matches the definition "Scottish snack." You'll find the answer by combining the last three letters of "disco" with the first two letters of "nearby" to make "scone!"
[Edit]De-Coding the Clue's Meaning - Infer the clue's second meaning to solve double definition clues. Look for linking words such as "into," "by," and "and" to spot double definitions. These clues typically don't use indicator words and vary a bit from the standard clue format. Instead of having a definition, wordplay, and indicator, they have two definitions whose meaning points to the same solution.[7]
- For example, consider the clue "expose tactics by removing glove." You know that "expose tactics" is one definition and is joined to the second definition "removing glove" with the connector "by."
- After reflecting on the meaning of both definitions and trying to assess what they have in common, you'll arrive at the answer: "Show one's hand."
- Decipher the clue's riddle when solving a cryptic definition clue. Examine your clue for question marks to identify a cryptic definition clue. With cryptic definition clues, the entirety of the clue is your hint—there's no wordplay section of the clue.[8]
- In the following clue, "Hairstyle with comb in it?" you're looking for a word that captures the entire meaning of the sentence. "Comb" is not meant literally but refers to "honeycomb." The answer is "beehive," which is a hairstyle and relates to the "honeycomb" reference.
- Look for words that sound alike to solve homophone clues. Spot a homophone clue by noticing indicator words that refer to sound, such as "heard," "sounds like," "say," or "spoken." Homophones are two words that have different meanings but that sound alike when said aloud, such as "bow" and "beau." Examine the wordplay for potential homophones, making sure to consider synonyms.[9]
- For example, in the clue "Location of vision we hear," "location" is the definition, "we hear" is the indicator, and "vision" is the word that will produce the homophone.
- You'll need to consider synonyms of the definition ("location") and the wordplay target ("vision") to produce the homophone. In this case, a synonym of "vision" is "sight," which is a homophone of "site" (a synonym of your definition). Therefore, the clue answer is "site"!
[Edit]Re-Ordering Words to Find the Answer - Insert words inside of other words to solve container clues. Look for indicator words such as "within," "around," "in," "inside," and "retain" to identify a container clue. Container clues require inserting either letters or words inside of another to form a new word, which will hint at your answer. As always the words to be combined will be located in the wordplay section of your clue.[10]
- For example, in the clue "Make a change and put me in last," "Make a change" is the definition and "put me in last" is the wordplay. "In" signifies that this is a container clue. Because inserting "me" into "last" doesn't yield any immediate results, you'll need to think in terms of synonyms and abbreviations.
- When you consider synonyms, you'll discover that "end" is a synonym of "last" and when you insert "me" in the middle of "end" you'll get "emend," which means to "make a change."
- Look out for indicator clues that also imply a sense of surrounding, such as "astride," "clutching," "eating," "going around," and "protecting."
- Spell words backward when working with reversal clues. Notice whether your clue contains any indicator words such as "backfiring," "coming back," "going west," "go around," "spun," or "recalled" to spot reversal clues. These words, which indicate direction, often signify that the answer to your clue will involve spelling a word backward, or in reverse.[11]
- Consider the following clue: "Restrain New York team going west." Following your established procedure, you'll first identify the definition ("restrain"), the wordplay ("New York team), and the indicator ("going west").
- Using your powers of synonym identification, you'll cleverly deduce that the "Mets" are a New York team and that "Mets" spelled backward gives you "stem." "Stem" is the answer because it is also a synonym of "restrain" (your definition).
- Regardless of the clue device used, you will need to know common synonyms. Keeping a thesaurus handy as you work to help jog your brain!
- Pay attention to abbreviations as they are used in many different clue devices! Check the first letter of each word in the clue to see if they spell any common abbreviations.[12]
- Look up answers when you get stuck. Working backward from the answer is great practice for learning to see clue patterns and common tricks.
- Consider the number of letters in the answer as you decipher the clue. This will help you eliminate possible answers that don't fit.[13]
[Edit]References [Edit]Quick Summary |
| How to Apply a Dry Rub to Steak Posted: 14 Jan 2020 04:00 PM PST A dry rub is a combination of salt, pepper, sugar, herbs and spices used to flavor meat. Unlike a marinade, the dry rub will form a tasty crust on the exterior of the meat when grilled. If you have a recipe for a dry rub or you've made your own, apply it to your steaks by choosing thick cuts of meat and gently rubbing the spices into the steaks by hand to create a tasty meal for your friends and family to enjoy. [Edit]Ingredients [Edit]Classic Dry Rub - 4 tbsp (59.15 g) of brown sugar
- 4 tbsp (59.15 g) of smoked paprika
- 2 tbsp (29.57 g) of coarse salt
- 1 tbsp (14.79 g) of ground black pepper
- 2 tsp (9.89 g) of garlic powder
- 2 tsp (9.89 g) of onion powder
- 1 tsp (4.93 g) of cumin
- 1 tsp (4.93 g) of ground coriander
- 1 tsp (4.93 g) of cayenne pepper
[Edit]Spicy Dry Rub - ¼ cup (41.4 g) of smoked paprika
- 2 tsp (5.33 g) of chili powder
- 1 tbsp (6 g) of cumin
- 1 tsp (1.77 g) of cayenne pepper
- 3 tbsp (41.25 g) of brown sugar
- 2 tbsp (25 g) of granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp (18 g) of sea salt
- 1 tbsp (6.9 g) of ground black pepper
[Edit]Choosing Steaks and Making the Rub - Choose thick cut steaks. The flavor of very thin steaks can easily be overwhelmed by a dry rub. Choose steaks that are at least thick. Look for cuts of steak that are well marbled with little or no connective tissue. Great choices are ribeye steaks, t-bone steaks, New York strip steak, and sirloin steaks.[1]
- Put your dry rub ingredients in a container that can be sealed with a lid. Pour all of your dry rub ingredients into a container. Brown sugar, paprika, cumin, onion and garlic powder, mustard powder, chili flakes, cayenne, and thyme are some of the herbs and spices most commonly used in a rub. Add 1 tbsp (15 g) of each ingredient if you're creating a custom recipe.[2]
- You can also follow one of the included recipes.
- Shake up your dry rub to combine the ingredients together. Put a lid on your container and make sure it is sealed. Shake up your rub to combine the spices together. Make sure they are combined evenly.[3]
- Use a fork to whisk the ingredients together if you are worried they did not get evenly combined.
[Edit]Flavoring and Cooking Your Steaks - Apply a generous amount of rub to each side of the steak with your hands. Work with 1 steak at a time. Grab a generous amount of spice rub from the bowl. Rub it into 1 side of the steak using your fingers. Cover the entire side of the steak evenly. Turn the steak over and apply the rub to the other side as well.[4]
- If you have a large cut of meat, use a spoon to sprinkle dry rub over it before rubbing it in instead of taking small handfuls at a time.
- Rub dry rub on the sides of the steaks. Pinch a small amount of dry rub in between your fingers. Drop it carefully over the sides 1 steak. Use your fingers to rub the spices into the meat. Make sure all of the steak is covered, leaving no meat untouched. Rub spices onto the sides of the other steaks as well.[5]
- The more you rub your spices into the steak, the more flavorful it will be.
- Let the steaks sit in the fridge for at least 40 minutes or overnight. Depending on how much time you have, let the rub sit on the steak for at least 40 minutes or overnight. 40 minutes will allow the salt from the rub to soak into the meat, while letting it sit overnight will allow the steak to absorb more of the flavor and spice from your rub.[6]
- Cover the steaks in foil or plastic if you will be leaving it in your fridge overnight.
- Cook the steaks until they are to your liking. Use a grill, oven, or pan to cook your steaks. Flip the steaks about halfway through your cook-time to make sure they get evenly cooked throughout. Steaks can be rare, medium-rare, or well-done.[7]
- Save the rest of your dry rub for up to a month in an airtight container as long as it has not touched raw meat.
[Edit]Things You'll Need - Airtight container
- Spoon (optional)
- Foil or plastic (optional)
[Edit]Related wikiHows [Edit]References [Edit]Quick Summary |
| How to Keep Outside Pipes from Freezing Posted: 14 Jan 2020 08:00 AM PST Preventing exterior pipes from freezing isn't hard to do, but it is important. A frozen pipe may burst, which can lead to expensive and time-consuming repairs. To keep exterior pipes from freezing, protect them with polyethylene pipe insulation and duct tape. In your home, turn the heat on until the weather warms up and keep your cabinet doors open underneath your sink. Leave your sinks on so that a thin trickle of water comes out and keeps the pipes from freezing. In the event that a pipe does freeze, you can use a hair dryer or heating pad to warm the pipe up and clear the ice. [Edit]Insulating Your Pipes - Survey your exterior pipes to determine which pipes to insulate. Grab a pen, paper, and a measuring tape, and take a walk around your home. Identify any pipes that you want to cover. Measure the length of each exposed pipe that you want to insulate and write it down. For each pipe, note the diameter next to the length.[1]
- If your house is on risers, get a disposable crawl suit and a flashlight to crawl into your crawlspace and look at your pipes.
- You can tell if a pipe has water in it by putting your ear up to it and listening carefully. You should be able to hear water rushing through it. You can also tap it with a screwdriver. If the sound is hollow, it probably doesn't have water inside.
- You don't really need to insulate pipes that contain wires, but you can if you'd like. Pipes that contain wires are typically silver and made of metal. Copper, PVC, or cast iron pipes are more likely to carry water.
- Purchase polyethylene insulation for your pipes. Take your list of measurements to your local construction or home repair store. Buy enough pipe insulation to cover all of your pipes by matching the inside diameter of the insulation to the outside diameter of your pipes. The length and interior diameter of a piece of insulation is listed on the packaging, so read the label carefully before buying your insulation.[2]
- For example, if you have 2 pipes with identical diameters that measure and , you need at least of insulation. It's always a good idea to have some extra insulation on hand, though!
- Polyethylene looks like a black foam and is the most commonly-used material to insulate exterior pipes. Fiberglass sleeves are typically used to insulate interior pipes. If you're using fiberglass sleeves, wear a dust mask, gloves, and protective eyewear.
- Pipe insulation is precut so that it can wrap around the pipe easily. You can cut it to length with scissors if needed.
- Wrap insulation around each of your exposed pipes by hand. To wrap insulation around a pipe, find the vertical seam where the insulation is cut. Dig your fingers into this seam and gently pull the insulation open. Press the inside of the insulation around the pipe and let go of both sides to attach the insulation to the pipe. Repeat this process for each pipe that you're insulating.[3]
- Put on a pair of gloves before doing this to avoid burning your hands on hot water pipes.
- Secure the insulation with duct tape or cable ties. To keep your insulation from sliding off of your pipes, use duct tape or cable ties. Wrap duct tape around the base of the insulation 4-5 times and pull it tight to keep the insulation in place. Attach cable ties by wrapping the plastic tie around the pipe and threading one end of the tie through the opening on the other end. Secure the tie by pulling firmly on the length that slides through the opening. Work your way up and wrap duct tape or place a cable tie once every . Repeat this process for every pipe.[4]
- Don't pull so hard on your pipe that you end up ripping it out or cracking it. So long as the ties or tape keep the insulation from sliding around, you're fine.
[Edit]Using Water and Air to Prevent Freezing - Turn the heat on inside your home and leave it at a steady temperature. Keeping your home heated will ensure that the walls stay warm. If the walls are warm, the pipes leading inside will have a harder time freezing. Turn the heat on to a temperature higher than . Leave the heat where it is and don't turn it down or off when you leave or go to bed.[5]
- You don't need to set the thermostat to its highest setting to keep your home warm. So long as the air in your home is or hotter, your pipes will be less likely to freeze.
- Use a space heater or free-standing radiator to heat rooms that have poor circulation. Don't leave a space heater on when you aren't home or go to sleep, though.
- Open the cabinets under your sink to improve air flow. Hot air has trouble making its way into your cabinets where your exterior pipes lead inside. To prevent exterior pipes from freezing, improve the air flow where the pipes enter into your home. Go to every sink in your home and open the cabinet doors. Leave them completely open to allow the hot air in your home to make its way under the sink.[6]
- Keeping your interior pipes warm will prevent the exterior pipes from freezing up.
- If you have a garage, keep the door closed. Many garages have water lines running underneath or alongside them.
- Let water drip from each of your faucets to keep water flowing. Your pipes can't freeze up if the water is constantly moving. To keep water moving through your pipes, turn the handle on each of your sinks and tub to leave a trickle of cold water running at all times.[7]
- This will increase the price of your water bill, but it's worth it to avoid spending thousands of dollars on a burst pipe that leads to water damage.
[Edit]Thawing a Frozen Pipe - Turn the water on to apply pressure to your pipe. If a pipe freezes, turn on the water at each sink and tub in your home. If water starts building up or no water comes out, your pipe is fully blocked. Turn your frozen faucet off to avoid overflowing your sink or tub. Leave the other lines running while you deal with the blocked pipe by heating it directly.[8]
- Don't worry if the water backs up. It'll go down as soon as you heat the pipe directly and the pressure from the water will make this process easier.
- It's usually pretty easy to find a frozen pipe. Simply go to the wall outside of the sink or drain where you're experiencing problems. You'll find the pipe leading out of the wall or base of your home.
- The supply line is frozen if no water comes out. The drain line is frozen if water won't go down.
- Use a heating pad or hair dryer to heat a frozen pipe directly. To thaw a pipe out, take a portable heating pad or hair dryer out to the pipe. Turn the heating pad to its highest setting and wrap it around the frozen section. If you're using a hair dryer, turn it on to the highest setting and run it over the frozen length. After heating the pipe for 10-15 minutes, check your sink to see if the water has gone down or come back on. If it hasn't, repeat this process until the pipe is fully thawed.[9]
- If you don't have a portable pad or hair dryer, find an outlet outside and use an extension cord to reach your pipe.
- You can also soak a towel in hot water and layer it around the pipe. This may work, but the towel will freeze if you leave it on for too long.
- Call a licensed plumber if you cannot clear the blockage or find the pipe. If you cannot clear the blockage after 30-45 minutes of heating the pipe, there may be a blockage underground or in your wall. If you can't find the pipe, you may need help identifying the source of the problem. Call a licensed plumber immediately to clear the blockage for you. The longer a pipe remain frozen, the more likely it is to burst.
- A burst pipe can lead to costly repairs and permanent water damage that will require heavy renovations.
- Pipes are more likely to freeze if it's or colder.
[Edit]Things You'll Need [Edit]Insulating Your Pipes - Measuring tape
- Pen or pencil
- Paper
- Crawl suit (optional)
- Flashlight (optional)
- Pipe insulation
- Scissors
- Duct tape or cable ties
[Edit]Thawing a Frozen Pipe - Hair dryer
- Heating pad
- Extension cord (optional)
[Edit]References |
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