Loplop Cryptic #018 [15×]
Happy December! 2022 is quickly coming to a close, and I’m frantically working through my cryptic backlog to make room for the puzzle suites that are about to drop! It’s crazy to think that this blog is barely a year old — I’m really pleased with the progress I’ve made in the past eight months, both as a solver and a constructor.
Anyways, I recently had some cryptic clues rejected from an outlet (mostly because of some oversights on my part, which is good news I think!). This is my “consolation puzzle” — which may explain some clunky clues in there, as well as two surfaces ;)
As always, a huge thank you to to Michael Colella, Alex Boisvert and Steve Mossberg for the test solves.
Without further ado, I hope you enjoy!
Clue Workshop
This time I’ll discuss a clue from my very first puzzle on this blog — if you haven’t solved that, uh… maybe give it a go? It might be rough around the edges, but I like to think there are some gems in there!
Rationale for a demilitarized China? (11)
Click here for solution and discussion
- Answer: EXPLANATION
- Definition: Rationale
- Wordplay: EX-P.L.A. NATION (a demilitarized China?)
This was definitely one of the brightest clues I wrote in my first few puzzles.
Even though the clue required some pretty specific knowledge (that the name of China’s military is the People’s Liberation Army, a.k.a. the PLA), I adored the fun and funny heteronym, which I’ve written about previously.
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