Crossword roundup: the first Biden clues
A new president to conjure with in our pick of the best of the broadsheets’ cryptic puzzlesIn the sample clues below, the links take you to explainers from our beginners’ series. The setter’s name...
View ArticleCrossword blog: the New Yorker prints a new weekly puzzle
We talk about the technicalities of grid construction with the magazine’s puzzle editor, Liz Maynes-AminzadeThe print appearance of a new crossword series is cause for celebration. So three cheers for...
View ArticleCrossword blog: vintage Araucaria puzzles
To mark 100 years since his birth, three ‘lost’ puzzles from much-missed Guardian setter AraucariaTomorrow is 100 years since the birth of John Graham, known to Guardian solvers for 55 years as...
View ArticleCrossword roundup: many ways to play cribbage
Various kinds of ding-dong in our pick of the best of the broadsheets’ cryptic crosswordsIn the sample clues below, the links take you to explainers from our beginners’ series. The setter’s name often...
View ArticleCrossword blog: meet the Setter – Tees
The latest in our series where we turn the tables on the torturers. Under the spotlight this time is Paul Bringloe, AKA TeesPaul Bringloe has a dazzling array of pseudonyms, including Tees...
View ArticleCrossword roundup: who wants to be kicked upstairs?
An aged corporate euphemism 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...
View ArticleCryptic crosswords for beginners: cryptic definitions
Our series for those tempted or daunted by cryptics discusses those times when setters say what they mean, even if they don’t mean what they say “How on earth do these things work?” is a reasonable...
View ArticleCrossword roundup: the many meanings of 'PC'
New words for old things 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: is it OK to ‘cheat’ when solving puzzles?
Your ethical questions answered: can you use word-finders or ask friends or strangers in order to fill those final squares?One year ago, we reached out to anyone casually interested in cryptic...
View ArticleCrossword roundup: does ‘albacore’ mean ‘the camel’?
Words of possible Arabic origin feature in our pick of the best of the broadsheet’s cryptic clues In the sample clues below, the links take you to explainers from our beginners’ series. The setter’s...
View ArticleCrossword blog: barred weekend puzzles
Ever wondered about those other crosswords you see in the weekend papers: the ones with no black squares and special instructions?They often sit right next to the normal crossword. But they look...
View ArticleCrossword roundup: ‘fuchsia’ vs ‘fuschia’
We consider the loveliest shade 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 ArticleCrossword blog: Meet the setter – Hectence
The latest in our series where we turn the tables on the torturers. Under the spotlight this time is Wendy Law, AKA Hectence“Hectence never disappoints”, we noted here with reference to the clue “Gone...
View ArticleCrossword roundup: pubs and their gardens
The pronunciation of ‘pronunciation’ 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 setter’s name often...
View ArticleCrossword blog: the Washington Post’s Daily Mini (+Weekly Meta)
We discuss a new kind of crossword challenge from the USWe recently looked at puzzles that can occupy a sizeable chunk of your weekend. Here is another weekend affair, but a completely different one –...
View ArticleCrossword roundup: opossum v possum, with a touch of Malibu
Marsupial ambiguity 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 often links...
View ArticleCrossword blog: Meet the Setter – TV’s Dave Gorman, standup comic with a...
The latest in our series where we turn the tables on the torturers. Under the spotlight this time is Dave Gorman, AKA Bluth and DjangoA setter who first appeared during the pandemic is Bluth, whose...
View ArticleCrossword roundup: muslin from Mosul, and thence to Mussolini …
We call in at an ancient Iraqi city in our tour of the best of the broadsheet cryptics. Plus: how you clued ‘Malibu’In the sample clues below, the links take you to explainers from our beginners’...
View ArticleMeet the crossword setter Carpathian – ‘People say: you must be very clever’
The latest in our series where we turn the tables on the torturers. Under the spotlight this time is Victoria Godfrey, AKA CarpathianCarpathian has been setting cryptics and quiptics, web-only, cryptic...
View ArticleCrossword roundup: the joys of unintended eating – is ‘snaccident’ a word?
New language and portmanteau words for wayward snacking in our pick of the best of the cryptic cluesIn the sample clues below, the links take you to explainers from our beginners’ series. The setter’s...
View Article