Jake’s Mini Cryptic #15

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• merlinnimue 🤓2:29 · 2024-02-02T21:48:10.779Z

  almost said 5a a few times, but i persisted... getting this without using a (formal) check seems like 1a... nice and tough, 4a much liked it, thanks

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  • Jake A constructor · 2024-02-02T22:14:52.247Z

    Lovely! Glad you soldiered through, Merlin. Thanks for solving it!

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• Oliver Hardy 🤓3:14 · 2024-02-02T22:49:39.348Z

  Thanks for posting. 3D "zebra" for "ref" is not common in the UK. 1A Puzzled by "Not just a". 4A I can't see how you got IVO. 5A I'm unhappy with "I quit" as a synonym for UNCLE

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  • nate 🤓3:37 · 2024-02-03T04:37:39.232Z

    My interpretation is:

    1A: “Not just a” is THE (as in “not just A blank, but THE blank”).

    4A: “A” is I (as in one), and vo is an abbreviation for “verso” (the left-hand page)

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    • Jake A constructor · 2024-02-03T14:22:33.478Z

      Yep! Thanks, Nate!

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  • Jake A constructor · 2024-02-03T05:16:38.293Z

    Thanks, Oliver! 3D: It's a term I've heard often enough and am comfortable using it in the clue. 1A: Similarly, "not just A but THE" is a common enough phrase used to emphasize the singularity or gravity of person or thing. 4A: Here, the "a" refers to the I, then the "left handed" refers to the VO, shorthand for verso, i.e., the left-hand page (https://groups.google.com/g/rec.puzzles.crosswords/c/Jw7Gfr4V43g/m/iuG7SujC3QkJ). 5A: I hear you. In my experience, one crying UNCLE is understood to be giving up or quitting.

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• Hector 🤓4:23 · 2024-02-02T22:30:46.404Z

  Does OVI mean ovation? Or...?

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  • Jake A constructor · 2024-02-03T05:18:05.060Z

    The "a" refers to the I, then the "left handed" refers to the VO, which is shorthand for verso, i.e., the left-hand page (https://groups.google.com/g/rec.puzzles.crosswords/c/Jw7Gfr4V43g/m/iuG7SujC3QkJ). (https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/vo#:~:text=verso%20in%20British%20English&text=a.,book%2C%20bearing%20the%20even%20numbers)

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