I am very fond* of crossword puzzles, but the ones that heat my blood and brain are cryptics. I’ve even written a few, some appearing here at DK a few years back.
I love the sound of a way out. (5)
When The Nation dropped their venerable cryptic puzzle I let my sub lapse, and followed Henri and Joshua (who publish under Out In Left Field) the maniacs who devised those Nation puzzles over to Patreon, and now get a fresh, thumping stumper* every Thursday. It is pure bliss. Then, with Thursday’s puzzle came mention—news to me-- that the late, great, Stephen Sondheim also wrote cryptic puzzles. On reading that my brain went skidding like a slap-shot puck into the realization that he was one of me. Us. Damn!
Old Venus, confused, never provided answers. (8)
It should not have been a surprise; the level of wordplay in his lyrics showed a demented love of words and the ability to make his language centers do the equivalent of circus tricks, while at the same time maintaining a brilliant ability to choose just the right word—Twain’s difference between a lightning bolt and a lightning bug.That same day, yesterday, I had on Fresh Air and heard him, and host Terry Gross, spend a couple minutes discussing the first six words of Sweeney Todd. Six words put together like a cryptic clue, an indicator of the direction* things will go in the entertainment to come.
Dog with a stick at a blackboard offers a way to see where we are going. (7)
His puzzles are out there for the finding, one place to start is with your favorite search engine. I found this in a fast search: blogfott.blogspot.com/… There is an interview about his puzzle writing I was blocked (so far) from reading conducted by Joshua Kosman. I plan to go back and find some of those puzzles, and maybe try to solve them, though I have a feeling he is far more clever than I am; he wrote Send in the Clowns*, I just pass for one at times. I just wanted to get this news out to fellow puzzle-heads*, and to let Sondheim lovers hear about this other facet of the great* man’s work.
Favored sons internalize short cost prediction with Eastern exposure—are they joking? (7)
Sod it, I mumble—they just don’t get it. (6)
Involuntary spasm showing evidence of sun exposure inside. I must add near the end: This is big! (7)
Peace out
Below are the answers to the half-assed cryptic clues writing this provoked. They suck, but I ran slap out of time.
You could cheat. I’ll never know.
But God (if there is such a critter), and maybe Stephen will.
Adore — a door
Unsolved --anagram
Pointer --pointer, pointer
Jesters --J(est)(e)rs
Idiots --anagram
Titanic --Ti(tan) (i)c