Little bit of whisky? Not at two in the morning! (4) Minute Cryptic Crossword Clue
Searching for the answer to “Little bit of whisky? Not at two in the morning! (4)” in today’s Minute Cryptic Crossword? Look no further! We’ve provided the solution to help you finish the puzzle and make the most of your crossword-solving experience.
Hints
The indicators are 'Not at', and 'in'. 'Not at' is a common way of indicating absence, and here it's a deletion indicator - certain letters aren't at some other fodder. And 'in' is a containing indicator - some fodder will be put in some other fodder.
Our fodder in this clue is 'whisky', 'two', and 'the morning'. We'll need to find short substitutes for two of these and use them with the letters of the other to construct our answer, as directed by the indicator(s).
The definition is 'Little bit' — we’re looking for a word that can represent a very small amount.
The answer to "Little bit of whisky? Not at two in the morning! (4)" is ATOM.
The clue “Little bit of whisky? Not at two in the morning! (4)” has the answer ATOM. The definition here is “Little bit,” since an atom is the smallest particle of matter, representing a tiny amount. That makes it a natural fit for the surface reading, which connects to the idea of something very small.
For the wordplay, “whisky” points to the NATO phonetic alphabet, where W = Whisky. A “little bit of whisky” therefore suggests just the first letter, W. Then the phrase “Not at two in the morning!” indicates removing the letters AT 2 AM. If you take W out of “AT 2 AM” you can rearrange and interpret it as giving ATOM. Thus, through this play on phonetics, time, and deletion, the answer neatly resolves to ATOM.
Minute Cryptic
A Minute Cryptic is a type of crossword puzzle that focuses on very short, often tricky clues that require quick and sharp thinking. These puzzles typically feature concise clues that challenge solvers to think outside the box and consider alternative meanings, wordplay, or indirect references.
Unlike traditional cryptic clues, which may have more detailed explanations, Minute Cryptics are designed to be solved in a very short amount of time, often making them ideal for quick bursts of mental exercise. They tend to require both a good understanding of wordplay and a high level of familiarity with common crossword conventions, but their brevity makes them a fun and engaging challenge for puzzle enthusiasts.
