Crossword book club: artist and quizmaster Frank Paul on The 12 Quizzes of...
The pub and crossword quiz setter talks about his book, which is part story, part puzzle and all cryptic – and reveals some of the tricks of his tradeFrank Paul inhabits the fecund cryptic end of...
View ArticleCrossword roundup: we all know ‘shabby’, so what is a ‘shab’?
Glitz and a ditz in our pick of the best of the broadsheets’ cryptic cluesIn the sample clues below, the links take you to explainers from our beginners series. The setter’s name often links to an...
View ArticleMeet the setter: the Observer’s Everyman | Crossword blog
The latest in our series where we turn the tables on the torturers. Under the spotlight this time is the Observer’s easier puzzle, the EverymanWe’ve met the Observer’s Azed; the paper also has a puzzle...
View ArticleCrossword blog: seeking the first twerp
Ninnies and twerps galore in our pick of the best of the broadsheets’ cryptic cluesIn the sample clues below, the links take you to explainers from our beginners series. The setter’s name often links...
View ArticleCrossword blog: American-style puzzle No 16 – Let’s Try Again
Another puzzle in our American-style series – along with some tips on how to tackle itHere’s another puzzle in our American-style series, in digital and printable form.This year, I’ve gone to puzzles...
View ArticleCrossword roundup: Words of the Year 2022
The dictionary compilers have spoken – but have their chosen words made it as far as the puzzle pages?In the sample clues below, the links take you to explainers from our beginners series. The setter’s...
View ArticleHelp (that’s a clue)! Can you name the Guardian’s missing mystery crossword...
A prisoner and a heart surgeon – plus a clutch of teachers and comics … We’ve found names, photos and life stories for nearly all the Guardian’s compilers since the beginning of cryptic time. Please...
View ArticleCrossword roundup: PG Wodehouse and lots of ducks
We consider crosswords of the past and the present in our pick of the best of the broadsheets’ crypticsIn the sample clues below, the links take you to explainers from our beginners’ series. The...
View ArticleCryptic crosswords for beginners: mind the gap – when clues get completely...
Continuing our series for those tempted or daunted by cryptics, we explore directions that ask us to remove middle letters In the example clues below, I explain the two parts of each one: there is a...
View ArticleCrossword roundup: ocean liners, seatbelts, Astroturf and a puzzle about cake
We welcome the Financial Times’ inaugural ‘news cryptic’ in our pick of the broadsheets’ clues – plus Paul teams up with a celebrity for charityIn the sample clues below, the links take you to...
View ArticleCrossword book club: AP Herbert’s Uncommon Law
An old legal comedy gives the bishop a bad name, in clue form, in our latest reading for puzzlersOur author, AP Herbert, was a lot of things. An independent MP from 1935 to 1950; a head of various...
View ArticleCrossword roundup: when does paste become paté?
We find the hidden letter and ask for your information about Gromwell among this pick of the broadsheets’ cryptic cluesIn the sample clues below, the links take you to explainers from our beginners’...
View ArticleChatGPT: can artificial intelligence create crosswords?
AI-generated clues are often bizarre and sometimes flat-out wrong – but, setters agree, that may not be a bad thing. Plus: a podcast returnsThis week, some Things of Interest to Puzzlers That You Might...
View ArticleCrossword roundup: in which we reclaim the word ‘mob’
We consider mobility and nobility in our collection of the best of the broadsheets’ cryptic cluesIn the sample clues below, the links take you to explainers from our beginners series. The setter’s name...
View ArticleMeet Lady Labyrinth, the AI-generated crossword setter
The latest in our series where we turn the tables on the torturers. But this time, there’s a twist …We recently looked at attempts by a chatbot to create crossword clues. Might, I wondered, the...
View ArticleCrossword roundup: delving into the depths of the Great Lakes
Some pleasingly straightforward etymologies in our pick of the best of the broadsheets’ cryptic cluesIn the sample clues below, the links take you to explainers from our beginners series. 11a Northern...
View ArticleCryptic crosswords for beginners: one to a hundred – when clues use the % sign
Continuing our series for those tempted or daunted by cryptics, we explore the appearance of this sign in cluesIn the example clues below, I explain the two parts of each one: there is a definition of...
View ArticleCrossword roundup: deep dives from the penalty area to drinking dens
We consider the many senses of ‘dive’ in our pick of the best of the broadsheets’ cryptic cluesIn the sample clues below, the links take you to explainers from our beginners series. The setter’s name...
View ArticleCryptic crosswords for beginners: writers
Continuing our series for those tempted or daunted by cryptics, five ‘writers’ to keep in mindIn the example clues below, I explain the two parts of each one: there is a definition of the answer and...
View ArticleCrossword roundup: why do they call them ‘limousines’?
Long cars, their drivers and mathematical playtime in our pick of the best of the broadsheets’ cryptic cluesIn the sample clues below, the links take you to explainers from our beginners series. The...
View Article