Matchless Play
Times crossword 8222, appearing a few weeks back in The Australian, had some majestic clues. Among them, I’m tempted to nominate the year’s best:
Lands round front of green: God! About seven feet for an eagle (8)
For those daring to solve the clue, here’s a letter breakdown:
__ __ N __ S __ __ __
Solving the puzzle in real time, I relied on the answer’s initial (a stronger letter) to make the right leap. It’s an elegant piece of verbal engineering, and a gold-plated niblick if you can crack it.
Any other nominations for best cryptic clue of 2008? I realise we’ve a month yet to burn, but thought I might begin amassing the shortlist from my squirreled grids. Feel free to post your own pearls for considering.