I was 100% sure that the definition was “abuse” because “take time off” seemed like a perfect word play indicator and I kept trying to take the T off twitter but it didn’t work. I asked for the hint. Once I knew the definition was “take time off” I figured it out fairly quickly.
Took a good few minutes. I kept trying to take the T off Twitter! Then I realised the meaning of "abuse" in this context and it all made sense. Excellent clue!
I am really enjoying the explanations as a teaching tool... It is validating to hear Angas puzzle his way through wrong interpretations before arriving at the ultimate answer. Thanks! 🙌
What I most appreciate about this explanation is that it very accurately describes my own thought process. "Hmm, maybe I need to take 'time' off... a bird? Do birds twit?"
Good misdirection with take time off and I got so bogged down with trying to solve this way, I had to take a quick break (while I completed the daily wordle!) and then I came back to this and realized it might be the other way around and as soon as I found the x at the end - I knew it was relax and didn’t have to worry about the anagram indicator.
What a beaut! This was one of your top clues for me. Also - this is indeed an extremely positive comments section. Not easy to achieve these days. Thanks 😊
got it in under a minute and 2 under par!! im happy because i actually understood the wordplay rather than doing it through the definition...actually getting better at these :)
Loved this one, Liam. Took a while, but got two under par. Getting the hang of recognising anagram indicators, which definitely helped. And it was cool playing with the many interpretations of possible wordplay.
Great clue, Liam! Initially, I experimented with "Tweet" by removing the T's from both ends. Then I tried taking out all the T’s from "Twitter" and played around with words like "weird" and "wired," but none of it made sense. It finally clicked when I replaced "Twitter" with "X" and combined it with "Real" to form "Relax."
Neat! I was stuck on taking the T off Twitter, which seemed such a clear wordplay hint. . Fair play to Liam for excellent misdirection. Once I took the hint, it was obvious
After some reflection, I’m particularly grateful for having this clue directly after yesterday. It reinforces that capital letters can serve the “deeper meaning” directly, or just the surface level meaning, as it did yesterday. Thanks again for such great clues!
Took me a while this one, I look in the morning, then again at lunch and let it run round my subconscious! Sat down this evening and finally got it. I'm now finding the anagram indicators more quickly, but this one took a while.
Wow! Thanks. So oftenI get the answer but cannot explain it, So most often visit for an explanation. Despite starting my thinking with X,by the time I got to the end with a couple of hints I forgot where the X came from!!
I love how my entire thought process for this one was explored in this video...makes me feel less stupid when I was banging my head against a wall trying to make wier work after removing lots of ts
I was confident about abuse being an anagram indicator for real, so I tried “later” with the t from twitter, since it relates to time. I also thought about “early” since it has the letters from real and relates to time. Eventually, the hint led me in the right direction.
Looking through the comments, glad I wasn't the only one initially thinking the wordplay indicator was Take time off, and the meaning was Abuse 😂 I looked for ages to find a synonym of Abuse that could work!! Then realised it could be the wordplay indicator, so got it very quickly then. Brilliant clue!
Took the hint and then got it immediately. One under par. Was, initially, confused about what was the wordplay indicator vs the definition - and was removing "t"s and/or "w" from "Twitter" 😂
This is one of the first ones I have gotten without using any hints! I spotted 'Take time off" as the definition at first and then figured 'x' would be the last letter. Once I had that I found relax (maybe without using the wordplay, but it was fun nonetheless).
I thought it was "alert". I was got "aler" from the anagram of real but I thought you would take the "T" from twitter and put it after and just thought like alert maybe because "take time" people set alerts or alarms from specific times, I know its a stretch but thats just what I thought
As a beginner solver, i really thought i was starting to recognize the wordplay indicators when i tried to take the T out of twitter like so many here. Once i knew that 'take time off' was the definition i got it fairly quickly. Sneaky one!
For some reason I thought Twitter was an indicator to say real abuse out loud so I was chanting that for a while to see if it sounded like anything but it really didn’t. Got it eventually!
Inspired clue today… Take time off was excellent misdirection and I spent ages looking at what I would get if I took a t off something. Then spotted that abuse made a good indicator and eventually got it when I figured out that Twitter is now called x. 😊
I was wondering how "alerT" was a synonym for take time off for a moment there. My brain refuses to think of Twitter as X so I would never have got that one!
I needed the first hint, the definition but figured it out almost immediately after. Figured out "x", them thought "relax" and noticed the anagram of real which confirmed it.
Got it in 10 seconds. No idea of the explanation though! Had to come here for that. Satisfying explanation, would've been even more satisfying if I'd got it myself. I love the fact that 10 years ago, it wouldn't have been possible.
Took me a while to figure out what was going on, but managed to get it with no hints or clues. My knowledge of mathematics - that real can be represented with R - did trip me up a little since it hid abuse as an anagram indicator and that I was looking for a single other letter, but once I figured that out sticking an x on the end and then thinking about take time off in the context of ending in an x got me there very quickly.
Even though I knew was after meant it made me think about what Twitter became which is how I got X. Then I figured out abuse and it was quite simple with X already in hand.
I also initially thought of "abuse" as the definition, but eventually stopped after realising if "Twitter" is meant to be "X", there's no way to 'take' from it!
Wasn't getting anywhere with this until "It's called X now" popped into my head, then it immediately fell into place. Love those "aha!" moments. Great clue.
Thought this was "felon" -- someone who takes time off (of being free) after real abuse (of the law), and I thought twitter after abuse referred to elon hence felon.
Fun clue! 😁 I was confused between removing the three ts from "twitter" and "twitter" being a homophone indicator. But I realized "twitter" had to be replaced by x after "abusing" "real" and realising that the definition was "take time off". Let's just hope that Elon Musk doesn't come across this clue though. I've heard that he hates it when people called X, "Twitter". 😂😂😂
Having twitter as x is just fantastic wordplay!
I was 100% sure that the definition was “abuse” because “take time off” seemed like a perfect word play indicator and I kept trying to take the T off twitter but it didn’t work. I asked for the hint. Once I knew the definition was “take time off” I figured it out fairly quickly.
Same! My first "one under par" too :D
Yep me too
Took a good few minutes. I kept trying to take the T off Twitter! Then I realised the meaning of "abuse" in this context and it all made sense. Excellent clue!
I was exactly the same 😂
@@yorkshirenome Haha!!
I am really enjoying the explanations as a teaching tool... It is validating to hear Angas puzzle his way through wrong interpretations before arriving at the ultimate answer. Thanks! 🙌
I appreciate you going through alternate possible interpretations, it really helps for learning to solve cryptics
What I most appreciate about this explanation is that it very accurately describes my own thought process. "Hmm, maybe I need to take 'time' off... a bird? Do birds twit?"
I immediately got X for Twitter, then found a word that had an X and meant "take time off". I needed the explanation to fully get it!
Thank you for going through the different approaches. It’s comforting to know I wasn’t alone or crazy for trying different paths.
Good misdirection with take time off and I got so bogged down with trying to solve this way, I had to take a quick break (while I completed the daily wordle!) and then I came back to this and realized it might be the other way around and as soon as I found the x at the end - I knew it was relax and didn’t have to worry about the anagram indicator.
Interesting clue today, also the new design has shown up for me and I can't wait for the subscription features to release!
What a beaut! This was one of your top clues for me. Also - this is indeed an extremely positive comments section. Not easy to achieve these days. Thanks 😊
This one got me today. Well done. I’d been cockily cruising along at 3 under…until today! 😂 I got fixated on “T” for time.
Fun clue, got it after a minute of trying to take the Ts (time) out of twitter and for the definition to be abuse.
got it in under a minute and 2 under par!! im happy because i actually understood the wordplay rather than doing it through the definition...actually getting better at these :)
You just exactly described my thought process! Great clue!
Loved this one, Liam. Took a while, but got two under par. Getting the hang of recognising anagram indicators, which definitely helped. And it was cool playing with the many interpretations of possible wordplay.
I'm starting to really get the hang of playing with these clues to find the answer. Definitely seeing progress and I'm loving it.
Great clue, Liam! Initially, I experimented with "Tweet" by removing the T's from both ends. Then I tried taking out all the T’s from "Twitter" and played around with words like "weird" and "wired," but none of it made sense. It finally clicked when I replaced "Twitter" with "X" and combined it with "Real" to form "Relax."
Neat! I was stuck on taking the T off Twitter, which seemed such a clear wordplay hint. . Fair play to Liam for excellent misdirection. Once I took the hint, it was obvious
After some reflection, I’m particularly grateful for having this clue directly after yesterday. It reinforces that capital letters can serve the “deeper meaning” directly, or just the surface level meaning, as it did yesterday. Thanks again for such great clues!
Loved the misdirection - fell for it hook, line and sinker!
And totally agree about the positivity on this site - so refreshing these days 👍
Really enjoyed today’s clue - Twitter as X was a funny word play.
For once I realised that ‘abuse’ is an anagram indicator! 🎉 Good one today! Oh ya Twitter as x is definitely genius!
Took me a while this one, I look in the morning, then again at lunch and let it run round my subconscious! Sat down this evening and finally got it. I'm now finding the anagram indicators more quickly, but this one took a while.
Wow! Thanks. So oftenI get the answer but cannot explain it, So most often visit for an explanation. Despite starting my thinking with X,by the time I got to the end with a couple of hints I forgot where the X came from!!
My thought process was exactly how you’ve described here, in the exact same sequence.
Chuffed I got this, as I struggle with cryptic clues. But didn’t understand the significance of the the word “abuse” until you explained.
I love how my entire thought process for this one was explored in this video...makes me feel less stupid when I was banging my head against a wall trying to make wier work after removing lots of ts
I was confident about abuse being an anagram indicator for real, so I tried “later” with the t from twitter, since it relates to time. I also thought about “early” since it has the letters from real and relates to time. Eventually, the hint led me in the right direction.
Looking through the comments, glad I wasn't the only one initially thinking the wordplay indicator was Take time off, and the meaning was Abuse 😂 I looked for ages to find a synonym of Abuse that could work!! Then realised it could be the wordplay indicator, so got it very quickly then. Brilliant clue!
Took the hint and then got it immediately. One under par. Was, initially, confused about what was the wordplay indicator vs the definition - and was removing "t"s and/or "w" from "Twitter" 😂
This is my new favorite clue, excellent job
This is one of the first ones I have gotten without using any hints! I spotted 'Take time off" as the definition at first and then figured 'x' would be the last letter. Once I had that I found relax (maybe without using the wordplay, but it was fun nonetheless).
Red herring in taking the letters in time off twitter. Fun clue!
I thought it was "alert". I was got "aler" from the anagram of real but I thought you would take the "T" from twitter and put it after and just thought like alert maybe because "take time" people set alerts or alarms from specific times, I know its a stretch but thats just what I thought
such a nice clue that will feel completely different a few years from now
My brain must be slow. I needed two letters to help then realized I should have got this!!!
Loved this. Got a synonym for take time off, assumed the X made it right, didn’t know why!
Needed the definition but then I got it! Liked it so much! 🎉
As a beginner solver, i really thought i was starting to recognize the wordplay indicators when i tried to take the T out of twitter like so many here. Once i knew that 'take time off' was the definition i got it fairly quickly. Sneaky one!
Love this clue to introduce some of the cryptic misdirection to beginners, very cool!
For some reason I thought Twitter was an indicator to say real abuse out loud so I was chanting that for a while to see if it sounded like anything but it really didn’t. Got it eventually!
Literally felt like a genius getting this one
Pure guess after figuring what the definition must be. A great one today that I totally missed!
My thought process was virtually identical to this video. The instant I thought "Twitter's now called X" the solution was obvious.
Inspired clue today… Take time off was excellent misdirection and I spent ages looking at what I would get if I took a t off something. Then spotted that abuse made a good indicator and eventually got it when I figured out that Twitter is now called x. 😊
I got the x for twitter, but was convinced for a long time that I was looking for a synonym for abuse. Got there in the end!
This was a great puzzle. First time I've managed to get it without any help...dead chuffed!
I got this surprisingly quickly! I enjoyed the Twitter wordplay
2 Under! This is one I would never have figured out when I started playing this!
I was wondering how "alerT" was a synonym for take time off for a moment there. My brain refuses to think of Twitter as X so I would never have got that one!
I needed the first hint, the definition but figured it out almost immediately after. Figured out "x", them thought "relax" and noticed the anagram of real which confirmed it.
Got it in 10 seconds. No idea of the explanation though! Had to come here for that. Satisfying explanation, would've been even more satisfying if I'd got it myself. I love the fact that 10 years ago, it wouldn't have been possible.
Gotta ask, do you somehow see all the attempted words once we click 'check answer'? Cos I apologise if you do 🤣
One of the best yet
I forgot twitter is now X, I was trying to find an anagram for real with T at the end :/
I love minute cryptic!!!
Took me a while to figure out what was going on, but managed to get it with no hints or clues. My knowledge of mathematics - that real can be represented with R - did trip me up a little since it hid abuse as an anagram indicator and that I was looking for a single other letter, but once I figured that out sticking an x on the end and then thinking about take time off in the context of ending in an x got me there very quickly.
I went through the exact thought process as your explanation to get this 🤓
I played with time, "era", from twittER After, at first. Then saw the other wordplay.
Todays clue was 🔥🔥🔥
I guessed twitter would be x right away. But it took some time for me to figure out the rest. I hate how obvious it feels once it’s solved.
Even though I knew was after meant it made me think about what Twitter became which is how I got X. Then I figured out abuse and it was quite simple with X already in hand.
Great clue today :) took a hint but got it either way
Ohh this one was brilliant!! They all are but this one really made me smile once I figured it out haha
Loved this clue, very clever
I figured out the anagram first, it took me a second to figure out the Twitter/X connection.
This one made me think. I kept trying to make alert fit the definition, at first. 😂
That’s exactly what I did. Then when I thought of ‘relax’ it then clicked that Twitter is now called X.
I’ve just discovered the minute cryptic, is there an archive to play anywhere or any plans for one? Would love to go back!
Grrr I knew exactly what I had to do but didn’t think to use x for twitter. Very angry with myself!
Took the hint, then got it with 2nd guess, 1 under par.
Got the X bit pretty quick… needed a letter to realise abuse = anagram though :(
Very first time that I recognised Twitter/X as wordplay and abuse as a marker for an anagram. Woohoo!
Great clue!
Take time off twitter = remove t from twitter leaving wier. I was stuck on this path for too long! Great surface reading on this one too. Nice.
you are such king man keep doing u
I actually understood it this time (I did take the hint for definition but still)
wow I randomly guessed Rolex and wasn’t that far off
Really deceiving but clever hahaha even par today. Can't wait for tomorrow's!!
I feel so smart!!!
When I realized Twitter meant X I audibly groaned as I got the crossword correct 😭 bittersweet
I’m the worst at finding which word is the definition, also completely didn’t account for twitter being x, 1 over
1 under par. First I tried 'later', then realized that now Twitter is X :)
Cryptic crossword setters: the only people on the planet who appreciate Twitter changing its name to X. ;)
Nicely done!
I love it. Got it fast and X was a good one
lovely clue!
I also initially thought of "abuse" as the definition, but eventually stopped after realising if "Twitter" is meant to be "X", there's no way to 'take' from it!
Great clue
This was a great clue.
Have we ever had “x” in a clue before?
Wasn't getting anywhere with this until "It's called X now" popped into my head, then it immediately fell into place. Love those "aha!" moments. Great clue.
this clue was mad cute and I enjoyed it thoroughly 😹
great clue
New ui looks good!
Completely forgot about to moronic change to twitter’s name. Something to remember I suppose.
Thought this was "felon" -- someone who takes time off (of being free) after real abuse (of the law), and I thought twitter after abuse referred to elon hence felon.
I'm very proud of how quickly I solved it. Being a millennial was an advantage.
I got relax but I didn’t understand why lol
Fun clue! 😁 I was confused between removing the three ts from "twitter" and "twitter" being a homophone indicator. But I realized "twitter" had to be replaced by x after "abusing" "real" and realising that the definition was "take time off". Let's just hope that Elon Musk doesn't come across this clue though. I've heard that he hates it when people called X, "Twitter". 😂😂😂
2 under par ;)