Can you name the countries of Europe from these cryptic clues? by parklife

Can you name the countries of Europe from these cryptic clues?

created by parklife

Enter a country in the box below
Correctly named countrys will show up below
Click any empty Clue or Country to answer for that location
All 47 European countries are included. Can you name them from the cryptic clues given? See comment #10 for some suggested conventions you should be looking out for.
Source: Cryptic countries Europe
Please see also http://www.sporcle.com/games/parklife/cryptic_asia, http://www.sporcle.com/games/parklife/cryptic_southamerica http://www.sporcle.com/games/parklife/cryptic_oceania and http://www.sporcle.com/games/parklife/cryptic_northamerica
This quiz has not been verified by Sporcle

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Show Missed Answers

Clue	Country	Reason
Half of Mexico rising up in support of student university, all backed by half of strasbourg
First Brigadier with upset donkey imprisoning US soldier
Southern Heartache		Southern = S, heartache = PAIN
Anger nation		Anger = IRE, nation = LAND
Clemency Prussia concealed
South-western paradise		South-western = SW, paradise = EDEN
Never accept right		Never = NO WAY, taking in R
Lab experiments lead to headless excitement
Bacteria chased by a New Yorker		Bacteria = GERM, a New Yorker = ANY
Lisa's first officer?
German glitter?		German = HUN, glitter = GARY
West European country to rule listeners
Rot stopped, we hear
Two students volunteer
At first, Kingdom of Serbia, otherwise violent outcast
...as well as alternative artist

Clue	Country	Reason
Endless battle-song?
So, Narnia re-write contains magical first?
Learner rewrites Einstein tech
Lewd tzars in revolution		Anagram of LEWD TSARS IN
Professor in club by outskirts of Ibiza
'End in Paris', the French-American state
Diamond territory		Diamond = ICE, territory = LAND
Without bishop, barriers collapse
Endless spin is important
A sin corrupted to embrace affection
...as oval spins, trapping half of kite
Old Italian at Italia's border
Listen! Oil!		GREECE sounds like grease
Spies eat prepared taro
Bartok runs for America
Left American girl to embrace university

Clue	Country	Reason
Bring together daughter and monarch at party - Mary First?
I keep count heartlessly
Audible payment, say, concerning the people
Gas country between two points
Roman road follows California city trail initially
Father presents article to church
Tax I'm able to bring to Rome, say
Here there be dragons? X		Dragons DEN + x = MARK
He hurries, its said
Shining above zero,a mess		Anagram of SHINING ABOVE ZERO A
River ground		River = PO, ground = LAND
Dropped a haul in it		Anagram of A HAUL IN IT
Southern country extradites gangster
Mentor gone off?		Anagram of MENTOR GONE
Unusual notes on article I entered

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Cryptic Countries - Europe Quiz

by parklife

Created Feb 21, 2011 in Geography
Game Plays 2,806

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	parklife:	Feb 21st, 2011 at 17:38 GMT	0 points
	Author's note: this quiz comes from a life-long obediece to the crossword conventions of the telegraph and times (with the occasional nod to the guardian and independent). I know different people observe different conventions: but I'm hoping none of the above are too obcsure. Do comment on time/difficulty/points of abstuse pedantry as you would normally. Hoping to get a full 6 continents out before long.

	caramba:	Feb 21st, 2011 at 17:58 GMT	10 points
	Fans of UK-style crosswords will love this. Others will stare blankly with cartoon question marks rotating above their brains. I'm unqualified to rate this quiz, as I got 0.

	WyvernSabres:	Feb 21st, 2011 at 18:49 GMT	3 points
	These are brilliant! Despite my addiction to the Crimes Tossword I couldn't get them all. As for "abstuse pedantry": that'd be ABSTRUSE ;-)

	parklife:	Feb 21st, 2011 at 19:42 GMT	0 points
	@wyvern: sorry - typeset this from an internet cafe with a rubber keyboard: hence the typo. Glad you liked the rest. @caramba: I know - but that's probably the uk's very specific style. I'll happily change to a UK specific title :)

	Neilos:	Feb 22nd, 2011 at 01:16 GMT	4 points
	Never been quite so blank when playing a geography quiz! Never even tried a cryptic crossword before (and I'm British, the shame), but still had fun giving it a go.

	mein_caps:	Feb 26th, 2011 at 14:00 GMT	3 points
	Can you publish an explanation of at least some of the answers somewhere? I now read the wikipedia article on cryptic crosswords, and I still can't get any of them.

	parklife:	Feb 26th, 2011 at 18:05 GMT	1 point
	I've put a hidden column in explaining each clue once it has been answered (or, alternatively, once all answers are revealed at the quizzes end). Bear in mind that crossword conventions can be quite idiosyncratic: see my above comment on my over-reliance on the Daily Telegraph and Times. The vast range of words that can be used to indicate anagrams proves this: this quiz contains the following; experiments, re-write, confuses, upset, prepared, collapse, off, corrupted, revolution, dropped, mess, unusual and spins.

	mein_caps:	Feb 26th, 2011 at 22:38 GMT	4 points
	Holy crap. Thank you for the explanations! I learned something today. These cryptic clues are way out there.

	debbiedoesnothin:	Feb 27th, 2011 at 03:25 GMT	5 points
	As an American, I was completely lost. It would help if you could give a couple of examples in the instructions. Once I saw the answers and understood how it works, I wanted to do another cryptic quiz.

	parklife:	Feb 27th, 2011 at 08:25 GMT	0 points
	@debbie. I'll do my best. Try these, all using PARKLIFE as the answer. #1 Pull over for long prison sentence = PARK + LIFE; #2 Freak Lip removed = Anagram of FREAK LIP; #3 Average score for king of 51 using iron? = PAR + K + LI + FE

	parklife:	Feb 27th, 2011 at 08:26 GMT	2 points
	There are no hard-and-fast rules with these things: suffice to say that after 10 years doing the Telegraph crossword practically every day, there are times when I'll complete it in under 10 minutes, and others when I'll spend an hour labouring over the first 3/4 clues. That said, things to look out for: #1 Synonyms: assume that you are looking for an alternative word or part-word to everything described. These wont normally have indicators #2 Anagrams: You shouldn't have to rearrange something that ISN'T in the clue. These are indicated by any word that hints at confusion or rearrangement #3 Initials: 1. Words such as "at first" or "beginning" suggest you should use the first letter of the word/s immediately before or after. 2. Some words are automatically assumed to be initials, most commonly points of a compass (so anything suggesting north yield 'N'), family members/family trees (wife = w) or chess notation. #4 One-word-inside-another: You'll usually have to do some work just to find out what the two words are, but then you literally 'trap' one word inside another. #5 Combinations of the above: you may have to find a synonym of one word, an anagram of another, place the latter inside the former AND THEN stick an initial on the end. As a rule, read the clue through from left to right, taking into account EVERY PART of the clue (even innocuous-looking 'a's and 'the's can be important).

	Scout_Number_4:	May 20th, 2011 at 15:45 GMT	3 points
	Love geography, love crosswords, but got nothing here--0/47.

	ToughQuiz:	May 20th, 2011 at 15:57 GMT	3 points
	Wonderful - love cryptic crosswords, so was right at home with this. You could cheat somewhat on this just to get an idea of how the clues work; type in a country (like France) and simply go down the list until you find a match. Repeat for some more countries until you get the hang of the explanation. Have to say that I've been stuck on some Times Crosswords clues and have been no closer to understanding the clue even with the answer! Cryptic clues often force the solver to use lateral thinking and consider alternative meanings to the words offered up in the clue - these ain't your 10 minute coffee break corsswords.

	steptwin:	May 20th, 2011 at 17:26 GMT	5 points
	I love cryptic crosswords, but as an AMerican, so many of the references required growing up in the UK to understand (EX. Church = CE...?)

	jackmerlin:	May 20th, 2011 at 17:35 GMT	-2 points
	To many anagrams

	trogon:	May 20th, 2011 at 17:38 GMT	3 points
	This is great (even though I only got 14). For people not familiar with the format, some of the easier ones that are good to start on are "South-western paradise" and "At first, Kingdom of Serbia, otherwise violent outcast".

	mrpotwtf69:	May 20th, 2011 at 20:27 GMT	3 points
	Um I don't understand the correlation between the words in any of them?

	Colmar:	May 21st, 2011 at 01:15 GMT	2 points
	Just UK-centric enough.

	guavamango:	May 21st, 2011 at 01:16 GMT	4 points
	An excellent quiz - my favourite so far. I knew I wouldn't finish it in 15 mins so I cheated by printing it off and doing it on paper. An hour later I had managed all but "2 students volunteer". As a North American I struggled with the clues "volunteer", "artist" and "church", but that didn't take away from my enjoyment! One tiny little error: "Che" should be "Chet". Thanks for a great quiz.

	Chrisg92:	May 21st, 2011 at 11:53 GMT	3 points
	A bit bloody hard when you have never done a cryptic crossword, as you can guess i got 0!

	parklife:	May 21st, 2011 at 12:26 GMT	2 points
	Thanks for feedback and editorial pick. As a general thought (which may or may not get this comment voted down), can I point out that I'm aware cryptic clues aren't for everyone. Within the niche genre, these are, whilst not exactly easy, certainly not out of the norm. Lets just say I'm not exactly expecting this quiz to make the front page: its just a diversion for those who enjoy cryptic clues. Yes the conventions are UK-typical: I'd welcome a version which reflects the traditions of, say, the New York Times, if anyone wants to set one of those up. Please don't vote down the rankings simply because YOU can't answer the clues: its not supposed to get published, and, trust me, the clues all work.

	parklife:	May 21st, 2011 at 12:28 GMT	-1 points
	@guavamango: thanks, I've changed the clue outright: the flow of the clue didn't really work with 'Chet': but seems to be ok with 'Tech'. @trogon: thanks, those are good starting points, as is "Southern Heartache"

	parklife:	May 21st, 2011 at 13:24 GMT	1 point
	There is a north america one too, here: http://www.sporcle.com/games/parklife/cryptic_northamerica

	parklife:	May 21st, 2011 at 21:30 GMT	0 points
	And I've just posted Asia: http://www.sporcle.com/games/parklife/cryptic_asia. Supposed to be prepping for an interview: sporcle is wonderfully refreshing at keeping one's sense of perspective keen.

	bambambam:	May 21st, 2011 at 22:01 GMT	3 points
	this was fantastic. took me a few goes and a notebook for scribbling to finally get them all but so so enjoyable. now i move on to the other continents.

	Dymefire:	May 21st, 2011 at 23:34 GMT	2 points
	Incredible... didn't get any. But nice quiz nonetheless :) Oh, and you've a typo in the title: "Can you name the countries OF Europe from these cryptic clues?"

	abanazerb:	May 22nd, 2011 at 14:50 GMT	3 points
	I in joid, say, this quiz, rewrites nuf.

	jgizow44:	May 22nd, 2011 at 21:07 GMT	1 point
	ashore does not equal inland.

	parklife:	May 22nd, 2011 at 21:15 GMT	3 points
	On reflection, I'm inclined to agree jgizow. However, in context I wonder whether its intended meaning isn't actually pretty clear. As such, would be keen to get second opinions from other players before I change the clue. Vote up either my or Jgizow's comment to show approval and I'll readily edit it.

	AngrySi:	May 24th, 2011 at 13:02 GMT	2 points
	Hardest. Quiz. Ever. Never before been pleased to get 7/47! Fantastic effort though, 5/5 from me.

	parklife:	May 24th, 2011 at 13:50 GMT	0 points
	Oceania now added, here: http://www.sporcle.com/games/parklife/cryptic_oceania

	djmintlaw:	May 24th, 2011 at 18:39 GMT	2 points
	Took me a good 5/6 times to get them all. Was a few I got with a gut instinct so some clues did make me go 'ah' after revelation. Still very rare for me to go back again and again on quizzes of this type. Very enjoyable

	taz:	May 25th, 2011 at 16:45 GMT	2 points
	this is tutti wala

	msk105:	May 29th, 2011 at 20:27 GMT	3 points
	Wow, that was exhausting. And I mean that in a good way. I've never heard of this kind of thing, but after reading your hints on what to look for, I was surprised to see that I actually got the hang of it eventually. Even as a non-British, non-native English speaker I managed to get well over half of them (although, I confess, I had to try several times) without guessing. Great quiz!

	katipo12345:	Jun 25th, 2011 at 22:19 GMT	2 points
	Very original quiz, I like it :)

	Nikkidemas:	Aug 3rd, 2011 at 02:03 GMT	3 points
	This is hands-down the most well-written Sporcle quiz I've ever played.

	Rasmussenc:	Nov 20th, 2011 at 01:00 GMT	-2 points
	Pretty pointless

	parklife:	Nov 21st, 2011 at 07:51 GMT	3 points
	In what sense, @rasmussenc? I'm putting together the next ones of these, so will happily change anything you think is 'pointless'?

	Rasmussenc:	Nov 24th, 2011 at 17:05 GMT	-2 points
	still pretty pointless it doesn't make sense

	Rasmussenc:	Nov 24th, 2011 at 17:06 GMT	-1 points
	anagrams anagrams i love anagrams