This puzzle is an homage to The Crossword Scholar for creating the Sneaky Six format. It is my first time using this site to publish one of my puzzles. I would rate the difficulty 4.5/5.
What an amazing homage! A truly sneaky puzzle, with every single surface pushing cryptic conventions to their limits, which is exactly what I think this format (and forum) is for!
Is 1D using [quiet] to indicate a deletion of [-bang]KOK? If so, I really like that!
Is 2D using Professor as a Spoonerism indicator for TIRADE /rite aid/? I'm more used to seeing Reverend, but the surface is aces!
In 3D [a virus] is an interesting way to suggest a hidden, I think it works, and is definitely sneaky!
Is 1AH+O+TOIL, with [the focus] as the central letter in "the" and [in part of] as the first letter of "of"? Wicked (the good kind)!
In 4A, CAR[-ra]DIO is fascinating (well defined): [span] is doing a lot of work to suggest the last and first letters of the phrase preceding it as the fodder to be deleted. 5A was your most straightforward clue, [-c]OLD+SAW<, so yeah, I'd agree with the 4.5/5 difficulty :)
Mad Dog costruttore · 2024-08-23T16:13:43.174Z
1A. The actual intent of the clue is to take "the focus in part of schoolwork" and break it down as "the middle (HO) of school" and that leaves work to be interpreted separately.
lukadisgre 🤓9:50 · 2024-08-23T21:14:32.446Z
Very well crafted, hope to see more MadDogCryptics here in the future!
Is 2D using Professor as a Spoonerism indicator for TIRADE /rite aid/? I'm more used to seeing Reverend, but the surface is aces!
In 3D [a virus] is an interesting way to suggest a hidden, I think it works, and is definitely sneaky!
Is 1A H+O+TOIL, with [the focus] as the central letter in "the" and [in part of] as the first letter of "of"? Wicked (the good kind)!
In 4A, CAR[-ra]DIO is fascinating (well defined): [span] is doing a lot of work to suggest the last and first letters of the phrase preceding it as the fodder to be deleted.
5A was your most straightforward clue, [-c]OLD+SAW<, so yeah, I'd agree with the 4.5/5 difficulty :)