Re: Ambiguous clue?

The Last Danish Pastry said:

"Steve B." <prettygood@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote in message

news:C0360C9B.6F726%prettygood@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
..

Jonathan Buss said:

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.

Steve = : ^ )

In the surface reading, "reportedly" modifies "requires"

True...but that's less than irrelevant to the cryptic reading.

Here's how it looks to me:

To rob = STEAL

reportedly = homophone indicator => STEEL

requires = link to...

nerve = definition = STEEL

I see no ambiguity, nor any other problem. The answer is STEEL.

But just moving "= definition" gives us:

============================================
To rob = definition = STEAL

reportedly = homophone indicator => STEEL

requires = link to...

nerve = STEEL
============================================

I see no ambiguity, nor any other problem. The answer is STEAL.

The problem is that, in your parsing, the homophone indicator is on the
wrong side of the link. The homophone indicator is part of the wordplay. The
link links the wordplay and the definition. I don't think that:

"[Definition] [homophone indicator] requires [homophone fodder]" is a valid
clue structure. I have no problem with:

"[Homophone fodder] [homophone indicator] requires [definition]" - except
that '"requires" is perhaps a bit ambitious; but it is clearly the link.

Steve = : ^ )

.

Relevant Pages

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  • Re: Ambiguous clue?
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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?
    ... 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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