Minute Cryptic Clue: 'Our cousins and grandparents playing “Duck Duck Goose”?'

Surface Reading: The Trap of Innocence

The clue disguises itself as a whimsical scene: cousins and grandparents gathering to play "Duck Duck Goose." On the surface, it invites you to imagine a family game, perhaps even to think about the relationships between the players. The phrase "Duck Duck Goose"—a well-known children’s game where one child is selected and others are not—adds a layer of lightness, making the clue feel like a riddle about family dynamics or childhood fun.

This surface reading is designed to trick you. It lulls you into thinking the answer might be a word related to family, cousins, or the game itself. But in cryptic crosswords, the real logic is hidden beneath the narrative—the words are not about what they describe, but about how they manipulate letters.

Cryptic Logic: Cracking the Secret Code

Let’s break the clue like a coded message, step by step:

1. Definition: "Our cousins"

The clue begins with a straightforward definition: "Our cousins". In cryptic logic, this is the target meaning of the answer. What word can represent "our cousins"? The answer is APES—a playful, biological term for close relatives (humans and their evolutionary cousins), often used in cryptics for "cousins" in a literal, zoological sense.

2. Indicator: "playing Duck Duck Goose"

Next come the words "playing Duck Duck Goose". This is the indicator—the signal that a letter manipulation is about to happen. "Duck Duck Goose" is a game of selection: one child is ducked (selected), others are not. In cryptic terms, this means we must select certain letters from the fodder and discard the rest.

3. Fodder: "grandparents"

The fodder—the source of letters—is the word "grandparents". We take the letters G, R, A, N, D, P, A, R, E, N, T, S and apply the selection logic from the indicator.

4. Selection: Extracting APES from GRANDPARENTS

Now, the secret code unfolds. We must select letters from "grandparents" that form the word APES. Look closely:

• G - not selected
• R - not selected
• A - selected (1st A)
• N - not selected
• D - not selected
• P - selected
• A - selected (2nd A, but we only need one)
• R - not selected
• E - selected
• N - not selected
• T - not selected
• S - selected

From the letters in "grandparents," we extract A, P, E, S—the very letters that spell APES. The indicator "playing Duck Duck Goose" told us to select these letters and ignore the rest, just like the game selects one child and leaves others out.

Why the Indicator Led to the Fodder Manipulation

The indicator "playing Duck Duck Goose" is not just a reference to a game—it’s a cryptic signal for letter selection. In cryptic crosswords, indicators like this don’t describe the scene; they instruct you on how to manipulate the letters in the fodder. Here, the game’s nature (one selected, others not) directly maps to the process: pick specific letters from "grandparents" and discard the rest. Without this indicator, there would be no reason to extract APES from the word.

The Final Answer: APES

So, the final answer is APES. It satisfies the definition ("our cousins") and is constructed by selecting A, P, E, S from the letters of "grandparents," guided by the selection indicator "playing Duck Duck Goose." The clue is a perfect example of cryptic elegance: a simple surface story hiding a precise, logical letter game.

Key Takeaway

When you see a clue that mentions a game of selection—like "Duck Duck Goose," "Present! Present! Absent!", or "Pick a card"—think selection. The letters you need are hidden in the fodder, waiting to be extracted by the clue’s secret code.

Fodder: GRANDPARENTS
Selection: A, P, E, S
Answer: APES