Retiring police diver oddly wanting to refrain from farming (1, 1, 1, 1, 1) Minute Cryptic Crossword Clue
Searching for the answer to “Retiring police diver oddly wanting to refrain from farming (1, 1, 1, 1, 1)” 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
This clue's indicators are 'Retiring', 'oddly', and 'wanting'. One tells us to turn some fodder around (reversal indicator), another identifies which letters to pay attention to (selection indicator), and a third suggests that certain letters should be ignored (deletion indicator).
This clue's fodder is 'police diver'. We'll use these letters (or some of them) to construct our answer, as guided by our indicator(s).
Our definition here is 'refrain from farming'. On the surface, this seems like it's talking about holding back from farming, but refrain has another, quite different, common meaning...
The answer to "Retiring police diver oddly wanting to refrain from farming (1, 1, 1, 1, 1)" is EIEIO.
The definition is “refrain from farming” i.e. the chorus of “Old MacDonald had a farm”, which is E I E I O (enumeration 1,1,1,1,1). The wordplay is built from POLICE DIVER: take every second letter (the even-position letters) of police diver O I E I E. The indicator “retiring” tells you to reverse that string, giving E I E I O. So the clue reads: (alternate letters of POLICE DIVER) reversed = E I E I O, the farming refrain.
The clue is a neat example of how cryptic crosswords blend literal definitions with clever letter manipulation.
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.
