What is a deadlock between a dolt, goblin and an Englishman? It seems the answer is an ‘impasse’.
Try again.
What could processed animal fibre mean? A ‘manila’, apparently.
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A bunch of crossword enthusiasts found themselves cracking cryptic clues such as these during the Chennai Crossie Open 2015, held at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras, on Saturday.
L. Nirmal, a 22-year-old student of chemical engineering and one of the hosts of the quiz, said: “We had an array of cryptic clue types, including anagrams, charades, homophones, reversals and hidden words, chosen for this quiz. For instance, the answer for processed animal fibre is ‘manila’ because it is a type of fibre and it is an anagram for ‘animal’ as well.”
A team of four worked for a week to set the grids for the contest, he said.
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The contest comprised one preliminary round and two freestyle and theme rounds in the finals. Of 24 teams in the preliminary round, eight were chosen for the finals.
Mohsin Ahmed, a 22-year-old scientist with the Indian Space Research Organisation, Bengaluru, bagged the second place with his friend Ajeesh.
“I have been cracking crosswords for about six years now. This contest is one of the most challenging ones I have been to,” he said.
The first four winners received cash awards of Rs. 8,000, Rs. 6,000, Rs. 4,000 and Rs. 2,000, respectively.