Dictionary

semi-&lit en · NOUN

Etymology

From semi- + &lit.

Meanings

1. (qualifier:crosswording) An extended definition clue, especially one in which the definition is only a word such as this or who that cannot define the answer alone.
   • Who published articles in German about scientific topics originally? (8) EIN + EIN ("articles in German") about S(cientific) T(opics) [originally] and semi &lit. 2024 March 20, Loonapick, “Guardian Cryptic 29,335 by Jack”, in Fifteensquare:
   • Cooking that’s fuss-free, requiring no bits of expensive equipment before you start (4,3) [...] As woks are fairly cheap equipment and stir-fry cooking is a fairly simple process, the whole clue is an extended definition, so a “semi-&lit”. 2024 August 23, Peter Biddlecombe, “Sunday Times clue writing contest 2032: Stir-fry”, in Sunday Times:
   • Clue of the day: A semi &lit: the definition cannot be read in a stand-alone way. 2024 June 4, “Clue Of The Day: The Times: 4 June 2020”, in Cracking the Cryptic:

Forms