Crossword blog: What is setting like during the coronavirus lockdown?
Crossword compiling might be a little trickier in a pandemic, but the puzzles keep coming ...Shall we check in with the Guardian’s setters? How are they doing, and how is the lockdown affecting their...
View ArticleCrossword roundup: 'gazebo' and other joke words
If you’re new to cryptic crosswords, this is the Guardian’s place for celebrating and explaining the best recent clues from across the broadsheetsStart here, and bear in mind that cryptic clues give...
View ArticleCrossword blog: 25 years of Paul's puzzles
The setter Paul has completed his first 25 years of Guardian puzzles with what he calls ‘the smile factor’We sometimes talk about the Guardian’s stable of setters as if there is one lot who have been...
View ArticleCrossword roundup: snafus and nitty-gritty
Aphrodite, Fanny Adams and knickers all feature in our collection of the best of the broadsheets’ cryptic cluesIn the sample clues below, the links take you to little explainers from our For Beginners...
View ArticleCryptic crosswords for beginners: royal abbreviations
Continuing our series for those tempted or daunted by the cryptic crossword: some little abbreviations beginning with RIn the example clues below, I explain the two parts of each: the definition of the...
View ArticleCrossword roundup: Beethoven, Hegel and chickens
Words that mean their own opposite feature in our collection of the best of the broadsheets’ cryptic cluesIn the sample clues below, the links take you to little explainers from our For Beginners...
View ArticleCrossword blog: 100 puzzles from Qaos
John Tabraham, AKA Qaos, has set his 100th Guardian puzzle – and it has a twistThe Guardian setter Qaos, who tends to give us a theme, had a recent puzzle which appeared to lack one.Continue reading...
View ArticleCrossword roundup: topical allusions sneaking back in
The current situation starts to appear in our pick of the best of the broadsheets’ cryptic cluesIn the sample clues below, the links take you to little explainers from our For Beginners...
View ArticleCrossword blog: the man who solved 2,000 clues in a day
Think you’re tackling more crosswords than usual? Meet Guy Haslam, who spent 15 straight hours puzzling for charityMany solvers will have hoped that lockdown would give them more time for puzzles....
View ArticleCrossword blog: many, many clues about Dominic Cummings
This post contains signposts for those who prefer their crosswords to relieve rather than relive the recent events of the pandemicIn the sample clues below, the links take you to little explainers from...
View ArticleCrossword blog: meet the setter – Encota
The latest in our series where we turn the tables on the torturers. Under the spotlight this time is Encota, AKA Tim KingYoumay have seen a very long anagram of the latest version of government advice...
View ArticleCrossword roundup: no hill at Rhyl
Misleading placenames and quiet diplomacy in our pick of the best of the broadsheets’ cryptic cluesIn the sample clues below, the links take you to little explainers from our For Beginners...
View ArticleCryptic crosswords for beginners: naked words
Continuing our series for those tempted or daunted by the cryptic crossword: stripping offIn the example clues below, I explain the two parts of each: the definition of the answer, given in bold type,...
View ArticleCrossword roundup: why stilton can't be made in Stilton
There’s blue cheese and classical piano in our pick of the best of the broadsheets’ cryptic cluesIn the sample clues below, the links take you to little explainers from our For Beginners...
View ArticleCrossword blog: Crossword Council #3 – the poetic definition
The third general meeting of council considers a new deviceIt’s time for the Crossword Council to reconvene. For those who have joined us since we all started spending more time indoors (and outdoors...
View ArticleCrossword roundup: Hindi word; indie crossword
Enter a Covid-free zone for our pick of the best of recent cryptic cluesIn the sample clues below, the links take you to little explainers from our For Beginners series.23acDonaldTrump, the first...
View ArticleCrossword blog: American-style puzzle No 13 – Barney and Virginia (Themeless)
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.For those new to the...
View ArticleCrossword roundup: Formica's not made of ants
An option to omit the topical material in our pick of the best of the broadsheet’s cryptic cluesIn the sample clues below, the links take you to little explainers from our For Beginners series.3dOld...
View ArticleCryptic crosswords for beginners: newspapers
Next in our collection of tips and tricks: references to newspapers and the people who make themIn the example clues below, I explain the two parts of each: the definition of the answer, given in bold...
View ArticleCrossword roundup: why spruce trees can be spruce
It all goes back to Prussia 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...
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