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Crossword roundup: Lisa, Ada and Lou too
There is a mathematical celebration in this week's pick of the best cryptic clues – and that's just for startersClueing coincidenceNothing spooky is imputed by our predilection here for spotting the...
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Crossword blog: Paul at the Hall
Alan Connor talks to the Guardian setter Paul about his recent TEDx talk and his new book Centenary of the CrosswordJohn Halpern – known to Guardian setters as the incorrigible Paul– recently stood on...
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Celebrating 100 years of the crossword
MR James timed his to boiling an egg, Bill Clinton did his on Air Force One and they make John Humphrys cross. On the 100th anniversary of the crossword, Alan Connor argues that cryptics are easier...
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Crossword roundup: What's it like to star in a clue?
Alan Connor enjoys cameos by famous names in his pick of the best – and most explosive – cryptic cluesThe news in cluesThere was a bonus extended-play edition of this blog on Saturday: Celebrating 100...
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Cryptic crosswords for beginners: me, myself and I
Alan Connor demystifies the devices used in cryptic crosswords for beginners and asks experienced solvers to share their favourite examples. This time: when setters mention themselvesWith the centenary...
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Crossword roundup: John and Jane
Alan Connor finds forgetfulness and feminine funds in his pick of the best – and hoariest – cryptic cluesNews of the cluesWhat characteristics are demanded in a newspaper's crossword editor? The most...
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Crossword blog: The A to Z of Araucaria
We pay tribute to the late John Graham with a selection of 26 of his finest cluesThere are many reasons it's hard to choose a selection of Araucaria clues, but among them is not sadness. The chutzpah...
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Crossword roundup: Topical twerking
The New Orleans sissy-bump music scene is cruelly underrepresented in crosswordsClueing coincidenceOf the myriad ways of clueing any answer, sometimes one is irresistible. So it seemed with this...
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Crossword blog: the crossword centenary
Alan Connor looks at the celebrations of the crossword and considers the next 100 yearsThe next 100 yearsThe crossword will be 100 years old on Saturday. Will it make it to 200? If you want to...
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Are cryptic crosswords too rude for Americans?
The crossword puzzle was invented in the United States but cryptic ones are a British creation – and have never taken off over there. Is it because they are too illogical – or more that they have a...
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Crossword roundup: the best puzzles you might have missed
Alan Connor picks from a wealth of end-of-year cryptics and contemplates Yorkshire's personal pronounsWelcome back and happy new year to solvers and setters. The anniversary has been and gone, the...
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Crossword blog: Crosswords v the mafia
Alan Connor looks at how two puzzle-loving Italian cops made a breakthrough in the fight against 'NdranghetaWhat would you do if you were tasked with giving Inspector Morse a voguish reboot?The vision...
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Crossword roundup: Humongous chiropodists
A pick of the best cryptic clues finds made-up words, both intentional and otherwiseCulture ClueThe crossword setters' favourite singer probably remains CHER, whose name provides a much more pliable...
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Cryptic crosswords for beginners: decapitation
Alan Connor demystifies the devices used in cryptic crosswords for beginners and asks experienced solvers to share their favourite examples. This time: off with their headsHello and welcome back to...
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Crossword roundup: Some schtick about shtupping
Alan Connor cannot keep stumm about his pick of the best cryptic cluesThe news in cluesWhen the actually true Truth about Hillsborough was confirmed last year, the newspaper editor who had defamed the...
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Crossword blog: meet the setter - Gaff
Alan Connor turns the tables on the torturers. Under the spotlight this time is Peter Willmot, aka GaffLast Tuesday was a good day in crosswording. It was the occasion of one of the wonderful themed...
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Crossword roundup: Sandbag denialism?
Alan Connor finds a flood of requests and an apparently tipsy chef in his pick of the best cryptic cluesThe news in cluesCold – not to mention damp – comfort to those wearing waders in their kitchens,...
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Crossword blog: meet the letter I
Alan Connor explores what letters of the alphabet mean in cryptic crossword clues. This week, he talks to the third vowel, the all-seeing IIt's back. You've met A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H; now I and I...
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Crossword roundup: trolleys and rockers
Victorian slang is hanging in there in our pick of the best cryptic clues. Plus: how would you clue 'rocker'?The news in cluesThe setter known as Morph and Micawber, whom we met a short while back, is...
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Crossword blog: stop this madness
Would you prefer not to see clues that use mental health slang for wordplay?The good people who made felt hats used to come into contact with a load of mercurous nitrate, and the effect on their brains...
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