Cryptic crosswords for beginners: a little bit of politics
Continuing our series for those who are tempted or daunted by cryptics, we explore abbreviations from the corridors of powerIn the example clues below, I explain the two parts of each one. There is a...
View ArticleCrossword roundup: let’s mince some oaths
Mild imprecations are celebrated 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 ArticleCan you solve clues separate from their grids?
How much do crossing letters help in cryptic crosswords?In our For Beginners series, we’re always eager to stress that clues are not solved by themselves. A clue that at first seems baffling can later,...
View ArticleCrossword blog: solving mysteries of ambiguity and coincidence
When a clue might mean more than one thing …Many thanks to everyone who attempted last week’s clues without a grid. A recent – remarkable – puzzle from Brendan featured this run of across clues:17aSame...
View ArticleCrossword book club: Have His Carcase by Dorothy L Sayers
A classic whodunnit with a crosswordy code is our latest reading suggestion for those who relish puzzlesWhen at last we find the important coded message in Have His Carcase, Lord Peter Wimsey delegates...
View ArticleCrossword roundup: hidden farmers and deliberate confusion
Your undoubted skill in ambiguity is celebrated 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...
View ArticleTwenty years of the Magpie crossword magazine
The Magpie has bewildered those of us who enjoy surprising themed crosswords for two decades: let’s meet the MagpiesAround these parts, we have encountered some of the people behind the subscription...
View ArticleCrossword roundup: animals with the wrong names
A menagerie of misnomers in our pick of the best of the broadsheets’ cryptic clues In the sample clues below, the links take you to explainers from our beginners series. The setter’s name often links...
View ArticleCrossword 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’...
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