Within the pattern clues beneath, the hyperlinks take you to explainers from our inexperienced persons sequence. The setter’s title typically hyperlinks to an interview with her or him, in case you’re feeling like attending to know these folks higher.
Final 12 months, late in April, we checked out 2023’s April Fools’ puzzles and famous one thing cheering. After years of obvious April Fools’ fatigue, setters had discovered nonetheless new methods of including further misdirection and short-lived confusion.
This 12 months? Let’s begin with the Individuals. Once more, they have been joyful to play.
The Wall Road Journal and the Los Angeles Instances went with hidden phrases within the lengthy solutions and customarily saved issues “Monday” (that’s, solvable with out nice pains). The WSJ: OUT WITH IT, GAS STATION, ADAMS APPLE and COLD OPENS; the LA Instances: TEA SERVICE, RIBBON CANDY, KIDNEY BEANS and JOSHUA TREE.
Fixing with a suspicious thoughts is an occupational hazard of 1 April; I saved pondering one thing was up with the New Yorker, but it surely was merely laborious. The New York Instances, in contrast, had a trick that I received’t describe, as discovering it’s the enjoyable of it.
Over right here, the Instances had this clue …
3d Nothing will cease candy tutorial, that’s sure (9)
[ wordplay: O (‘nothing’) inside (‘will stop’) synonyms for ‘sweet’ and ‘academic’ ]
[ O in FOOL PROF ]
[ definition: certain ]
… for FOOLPROOF, whereas Telegraph had this …
1a Nonsense to me traces describing fruit dish (10)
[ wordplay: TOME (‘to me’) + abbreviation for railway (‘lines’) outside (‘describing’) name of a fruit dish ]
[ TOMERY outside FOOL ]
[ definition: nonsense ]
… for TOMFOOLERY. There was no different fooling materials – maybe appropriately, within the first case. Or you may inform me gently what I missed …
As with the New Yorker, I approached Twin’s Impartial puzzle with trepidation (particularly given his type) and I’m nonetheless staring on the accomplished grid. Not a bumper 12 months, then, however certainly no repudiation of foolery.
As for Picaron on this paper, should you didn’t resolve that puzzle, you missed a … properly, the top of that idiom.
The Transport Forecast Puzzle Guide by Alan Connor, which is partly however not predominantly cryptic, may be ordered from the Guardian Bookshop
