Repunctuation of Cryptic Clues

Mental repunctuation of the clue is the key to clue-solving. A clue, when repunctuated, turns into an instruction. It breaks into two parts: a) a straight (but perhaps misleading) definition of an answer, and b) a second indication of that answer, which may be either a second definition, a pun, or an elliptical description of the process of spelling the answer out.

A complete introduction to clue-solving principles is available here.

[In the examples below, the definition part is presented in bold, and indicator words are in italics.]

Here, repunctuated, are the clues from “Binomial Equations.”

ACROSS:

9. “Associate” suggests “recount” (RELATE, 2 mngs. [verbs, not nouns])

10. “Slurs” which “repel I desperately” must have (ELIDES, hidden)

14. “Pitch,” “I” exchanged for “a”: “beauty spot” (PATCH)

17. “Meet in the West”: “or” conversely [i.e., “ro”], “travel like a tourist” [i.e., “do”] around “the East” (RO‑D[E.]O)

22. “A” [i.e., “one”], “fashion” [i.e., “way”]: “no comeback here!” (ONE‑WAY; exclamation mark or question mark always indicate a pun)

25. “Concert halls” in which to hear President Kennedy say something like “Oops”? (ODEA, Oh dear, pun)

28. Roman “great” puts “one” [i.e., “an”] “leg” [i.e., “gam”] towards the West [i.e., readbackwards] (MAG‑NA)

30. Less than totally “composed”: “talk affectionately” (COO[l])

32. “Some”: write “a,” “name,” with “a fork” (A‑N.‑Y)

33. “Shield border” from offensive “role” (ORLE, anag.)

34. “Smiles”: “impress” in a way (SIMPERS, anag.)

DOWN:

1. “Give free play to”: “King” drawn in “ineffective” (W[R.]EAK)

2. “left” [i.e., “l”] in “a sense” [i.e., “sight”]: “frail” (S[L]IGHT)

3. “March’s first sound” [i.e., “hup”] without “notice” [i.e., “ad”] is “entertained in an apartment” (H(AD] UP)

4. “Home” is “neatest” having “had dinner” [i.e., “ate”] out (NE[ATE]ST)

5. Uplifting [i.e., read backwards] “esthetic experience” [i.e., “art”], 50% of “show” [i.e., “sh”] is “garbage” (TRA‑SH)

6. “Ecstatic”: “little woman” [i.e., “Jo”] enthralled by “extremely” [i.e., “very”] penetrating complicated [i.e., anagram] “ode” (O[VER‑[JO]Y]ED)

7. “Gossip” with “others” over “a”: “curse” (ANA‑THEM‑A)

8. Assaulting “army go on” and: “crop art” (AGRONOMY, anag.)

11. “Crazy”: sound of 30A (COO) and its echo (CUCKOO, homonym)

12. “With something underfoot”: “be quiet” [i.e., “sh”], “act” [i.e., “do”] up (SH‑OD, rev.)

13. “It follows April in Paris” [i.e., “Mai”], but in between: “cheer” [i.e., “rah”] up, “an”: “Indian princess” (MA[HAR‑AN]I)

15. “Jane’s family” [i.e., “Eyres”] is heard to have “affected manners” (AIRS, homonym)

16. “What goes on just before bed time” is a “Prussian-styled agreement” [i.e., “ja”] between “your parents” [i.e., “pa” and “ma”], the last of “the Red-Hot-Lovers” [i.e., “s”] (PA‑JA‑MA‑S)

18. “None” has a misplaced type: “element” (NEON, anag.)

19. “Desert flower” sounds almost like “a big laugher!” (YUCCA, yucker, homonym)

20. “Snobbish” characters can be set “on toys” (SNOOTY, anag.)

21. “Hamlet’s father’s demand”: “wears” off (SWEAR, anag.)

23. “Like a good ship” in a bad “year” (YARE, anag.)

24. “Nose” blown in “the times” (EONS, anag.)

26. “First name in folk music” when entering “Puerto Rican” [i.e., “pr”] is “living room” ([p]ARLO[r])

27. Sound “I’d”: “seen” (EYED, homonym)

29. There’s “room for sports” in the heads [i.e., 1st letters] of (g)enteel, (y)oung (m)en (GYM)

31. “Animal”: “barges” [i.e., “scows”] having no outer “liner” [i.e., “SS”] ([s]COW[s])

Here are the clues, repunctuated, from “Rock Around the Clock.”

ACROSS:

4. “Springs” [i.e., “spas”] and “twitches” [i.e., “tics”]: “they do have twitches” (SPAS‑TICS)

10. “A,” “3‑D puzzle”: “surprise” (A‑MAZE)

11. “What Jackie Kennedy, e.g., did” is “ream Ari” in the ear (REMARRY, homophone)

13. “Fisherman” for whom “Gypsy Rose Lee, for one” lost her head ([P]EELER)

14. “Firearm” – obviously no longer workable! (SHOT‑GUN, exclamation mark indicates pun)

15. “Moslem” makes “Miss Lee,” “a penny” short (SARA‑CEN[T])

17. “Hardy”’s “novel form” which shows “he was someone who could continually get ahead!” (HYDRA, anag., pun definition)

20. Fluid “oil” in “ghost” [i.e., “bogy”]: “science” (B[IOL]OGY)

22. “This letter”: backwards “is,” “the sixteenth letter” [i.e., “p”] (P‑SI, reversal)

23. Sound “swallowed” in “a school” (ETON, homonym, eaten)

24. “Place opposite to”: “a,” “fixed position” (i.e., [pose”], with a stutter) (A‑P‑POSE)

25. “Herb’s” [i.e., “herb is”] “regret” (RUE, 2 mngs.: note the intentional ambivalence of the apostrophe)

26. “Designer” sounds like a mutt” (PUCCI, pun, Poochie)

28. “Obtrusive”: return [i.e., read in reverse] “of one’s birthday” [i.e., “natal”] during short “lung ailment” [i.e., “TB”] (B[LATAN]T)

29. “My” “last letter” [i.e., “z”] sent back, “seen” torn [i.e., anagram], around the edges: it’s “the little things that contribute to a breakdown” (EN[Z‑YM]ES)

30. “Travel” [i.e., “fly”] around “Latvia”: “without interest” (F[LAT]LY)

DOWN:

1. A little “vinegar is hardly”: “gaudy” (GARISH, hidden)

2. “Drive into” “bar”: “it’ll clean the bores out” (RAM‑ROD)

3. “Poet’s always”: “leery” at heart (E’ER)

5. “Quiet” [i.e., “p” in music], “a,” “solar” eclipse [i.e., anagram], with “overhead protection” (P‑A‑RASOL)

6. “One” less than [i.e., remove “i”] “what Simple Simon met”: “missing link” (A‑P[i]EMAN)

7. “They” almost [i.e., “the”], “strike” [i.e., “rap”] over “a club” [i.e., “Y” (for YMCA)] (THE‑RAP‑Y)

8. “Embrasures”: “left” [i.e., “l”] in folding “screen” (CRENE[L]S)

9. “Swim” in “peace”: “a pleasant accident” (SEREN[DIP]ITY)

12. “Gazing off into space” can come from “many roots” (ASTRONOMY, anag.)

16. “Duplicate” [i.e., “copy”], “tiger, for one” [i.e., “cat”] or “ape” (COPY‑CAT)

18. “Goes on”: “the stage” (BOARDS, 2 mngs.)

19. “Man‑made lake” gives “me,” “something to drink” (ME‑ADE)

20. “Where the heart is”: rising “thus” [i.e., “so,” read backwards], “crowd” [i.e., “mob”] around (B[OS]OM, rev.)

21. “Poetry”: center for “Swiss music” ([Y]ODE[L])

27. “She” gives you “a turn” [i.e., “U”], “thank you” [i.e., “ta”] (U‑TA)

Here are the clues, repunctuated, from “Lights Out.”

ACROSS:

11. "Works" for head of "operations" (OPERA‑tions)

17. What's a little "special” [i.e., “sp”], is" returning: "Drinks slowly" (SI‑PS, reversal)

18. "Small boy" [i.e., “tad”], take "stick" [i.e., “pole”] to him: "he'll soon learn to jump" (TAD‑POLE)

20. "Retoning" involves: "four fifths of the atmosphere" (NITROGEN, anag. – “involves” literally means becomes mixed up)

21. "Queen," "in": "Ireland" (E.R.‑IN)

24. "Track crook," "track expert" (DOPER, 2 mngs.)

27. "Doctor" gets "sick": it's "routine" (DR.‑ILL)

29. "A," "lousy youngster" [i.e., “nit”] flipped [i.e., read backwards], for "a girl" (TIN‑A)

30. "Someone else": "not" found in "a, lady's" [i.e., “a, her”] embrace (A[NOT]HER)

32. "Material": “too chill” should be re-placed (OILCLOTH, anag.)

33. "Cooks": "like" [i.e, “as”] getting into "spoilages" [i.e., “rots”] (RO[AS]TS)

35. "Characters" suggested by the first of "seven," "little men" (S[even]‑ELVES)

DOWN:

2. "Bill and coo" [i.e., “spoon”], "end" up [i.e., “tail” read backwards] with "one" [i.e., “i”] inside: "robbery" (SPO[LIAT‑I]ON)

3. "Shrubbery" in vocal "use" (YEWS, homonym, use as verb)

5. "Part of stretcher": "not there," but mysteriously [i.e., anagram], "all right" [i.e., “OK”] for support [i.e., backing] (TENTERHO‑OK)

6. "A study" in desuetude (ETUDE, hidden)

8. "Utensil": "to take clothes off" with hesitation" (PEEL‑ER)

15. "Breeze," "bearing," "song" (AIR, 3 mngs. – triple or even quadruple straight definition are an occasional clue variation)

16. "Outlaws": lift [i.e., reverse] "it," but "strip [i.e., “band“], it" first (BAND‑IT‑TI)

19. "Pelts" with "vegetables" (PEPPERS, 2 mngs.)

23. "Old part of Asia Minor" tells what "position Iago" holds (IONIA, hidden)

26. "Act" up [i.e., “law” read backwards], over “king,” but: “go a step at a time” (WAL‑K.)

28. The opposite of bogus: [bogus] earl (REAL, anag. – note that the indicator term, “bogus,” is serving double duty as part of the definition as well; extra wordplay is suggested by the question mark)

30. From "a stroke": "die on the spot" (just the reverse, [i.e., “spot on the die”] (ACE)

31. “Beginning of the fish”: “line” in the sound (ROE, homonym, row)