From Mensa® comes a series of super-challenging puzzles that go way beyond the average crossword—and also offer an authentic treasure-trove of wordplay demanding some skilled solving. Here’s how they go: each clue has two parts. One is the normal definition of an answer, while the other features a little linguistic playfulness—maybe an anagram, perhaps a pun, and sometimes even a word written backward. And the hitch is…there’s usually no indication of which comes first, or punctuation to mark the division. You’ve got to see through the clue-maker’s deceptions and tease out the correct answer by rethinking the clue’s wording. Some of the irresistible language trickery includes double definitions, hidden answers, homophones, and containers.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Mensa? More like Metza.,
By
This review is from: Cryptic Crosswords (Official Mensa Puzzle Book) (Spiral-bound)
There are 65 standard cryptics in this book. They all appeared in Canada's National Post. The entries are, by and large, fairly common words. The clues seem to be a little dumbed-down for a broad newspaper audience. This a pretty good collection of standard charades, obvious anagrams, and easy definitions. Few puzzles will take longer than 20 minutes to solve. You'll rarely have to check the answers, and then only for some obscure Canadian place name or celebrity. The "Mensa" title is a bit of a come-on. Emily & Henry's "Atlantic Monthly Cryptic Crosswords" is much more interesting. This one is, frankly:
"As it is, having to to graft selvage is naive. (10)"
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love Those Cryptics!,
By
This review is from: Cryptic Crosswords 2 (Official Mensa Puzzle Book) (No. 2) (Spiral-bound)
I discovered cryptic or "British" crosswords a few years ago. I've tried some of the collections published in England, but found the clues and references too specific to British culture and slang. I bought the first MENSA edition of cryptics several years ago, did the puzzles in pencil, have erased them and re-done them three times now. I'm pleased they've published a second edition. The cryptics published in the States (these from MENSA and one from the New Yorker magazine) are fun and challenging. If you are a crossword buff and consider yourself pretty good, I highly suggest trying these.
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing,
By pwb "pwb" (New York) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Cryptic Crosswords (Official Mensa Puzzle Book) (Spiral-bound)
I wish I had read the reader review before I bought this book. The puzzles do, indeed, seem to have been "dumbed down." After the Atlantic Monthly compilation, which I adore, this is a great disappointment.
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