5

Here is another cryptic clue.

Toot pa? (6,6)

(The introductory sentence is not part of the clue and this sentence is not part of it either)

tom
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4 Answers4

10

MASHED POTATO

because

Mashed could be an anagram indicator. Gegs, anyone?

Will
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    Hmm, a good cryptic clue has at least two pathways to the answer. Where is the second one? A better clue would be something like dinner food too apt. That puts dinner food as pathway 1 and too apt (mashed potato) as pathway 2. Mind you, this is more a criticism of the question than of your answer, but only if your answer is right, which is why it's here :-) –  Apr 09 '18 at 01:50
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    @paxdiablo In this case the ? indicates the clue is purely cryptic (and also that there's some funny business). The wordplay is backwards and the entire clue is the definition. Definitely not standard or "kosher," but valid enough. And the linked cryptic certainly provides a precedence to read it this way. – Will Apr 09 '18 at 01:55
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    Fair point. I also have a similar issue with gegs :-) –  Apr 09 '18 at 01:55
  • @pax, I wonder whether it should be tagged [tag:crossword-clue] instead. – Peter Taylor Apr 09 '18 at 07:10
  • I thought this clue might bring up the issue of is 'gegs' a good clue or not... Interesting to see it come up in the comments.... – tom Apr 09 '18 at 08:09
  • Well done, this is what I had in mind :-) – tom Apr 09 '18 at 08:17
  • Note I put a question mark at the end of the title guessing we would have the debate... Is it a cryptic clue in the same way this was discussed with gegs – tom Apr 09 '18 at 08:20
3

Is the answer:

Bother father (?)

Update:

I just realized "father" could anagram to "he fart" which might be more directly related to the "toot" part of the clue - not sure right now how that could be incorporated into the answer.

Daniel Schepler
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  • Hmmm that is interesting, but not correct. - sorry - +1 though and hint will be added later if necessary – tom Apr 08 '18 at 22:38
  • Wow the wordplay with the fart and toot is brilliant, but too brilliant for me. Sorry clue is not about that. – tom Apr 09 '18 at 08:13
1

Maybe

POTATO FATHER or FATHER POTATO

Explanation

Rearranging tootpa we get POTATO
and pa is alternative for FATHER

prit.patel
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1

Maybe

MISTER POTATO

Where the second word is by anagram and the first implied by PA.

This appears to be a brand name, so it's not a novel collocation.

Peter Taylor
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  • You are part of the way there, +1 – tom Apr 09 '18 at 08:16
  • Doesn't that brand have an extra word at the end? –  Apr 09 '18 at 08:26
  • @paxdiablo, there is also a brand name which adds an anatomical word to the end, which is what I think you're thinking of. Although some major retailers in non-English-speaking countries seem to be unaware of the presence of that word in the brand: see e.g. this listing by one of the most important department stores in Spain. – Peter Taylor Apr 09 '18 at 08:58