Re: Ambiguous clue?

Steve B. wrote:

Jonathan Buss said:

Peter T. Daniels wrote:
Brian Smith wrote:

Can anyone say with any real degree of confidence whether the setter is
expecting STEEL or STEAL as the answer to this clue?

"To rob reportedly requires nerve(5)"


If the fourth letter isn't checked, this is a defective clue. If it were
"To rob reportedly nerve is required," it would clearly be STEAL.
Similarly, "Reportedly, to rob requires nerve" is STEEL.

PTD's first example has the same problem as the original clue.
It would have to be something like "To rob requires nerve, reportedly".

Somebody help me. I don't see the problem. Surely the clue parses as
"[wordplay] requires [definition]" How else can you accommodate "requires"?
Therefore, 'reportedly" can only refer to "To rob". It would properly be
written as "To rob, reportedly...", but even Ximenes allowed missing (as
opposed to additional, misleading) punctuation.

No, it's a "definitions-of-two-homonyms" ("reportedly") clue, and since
the definitions occupy both ends of the clue, there's no way to pick
which is the intended answer.
--
Peter T. Daniels grammatim@xxxxxxx
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Ambiguous clue?
    ... expecting STEEL or STEAL as the answer to this clue? ... If the fourth letter isn't checked, this is a defective clue. ... "To rob reportedly nerve is required," it would clearly be STEAL. ...
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  • Re: Ambiguous clue?
    ... expecting STEEL or STEAL as the answer to this clue? ... If the fourth letter isn't checked, this is a defective clue. ... "To rob reportedly nerve is required," it would clearly be STEAL. ...
    (rec.puzzles.crosswords)
  • Re: Ambiguous clue?
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  • Re: Ambiguous clue?
    ... If the fourth letter isn't checked, this is a defective clue. ... "To rob reportedly nerve is required," it would clearly be STEAL. ... Similarly, "Reportedly, to rob requires nerve" is STEEL. ...
    (rec.puzzles.crosswords)
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