Tag Archives: solution

It seems 15-down caused a few of you some issues. It’s no wonder, really, as the last thing you would expect is a complete reversal clue with a 15-letter answer. In all the time that I’ve written cryptics, I’ve never … Continue reading →

The Guardian in the UK has a reputation for publishing a good cryptic crossword. It was the crossword my teacher used back in the 1970s to teach us how to solve. Times have changed since then, and a misguided belief … Continue reading →

Every now and then I receive encouragement from solvers in the form of contributions. There are about 6 people who give without my prompting which reinforces my decision not to use a subscription model and restrict access. On rare occasions … Continue reading →

I’d like to talk this week about choices made by setters when writing a clue. We’ve established before that setters can take the construction of a clue like 15-across in this puzzle: Upstanding people accepted by retired gentility (10). [FINE … Continue reading →

One of the things my old neighbour asked me about was what he called “order of operation”, that is the sequence a solver takes when processing a wordplay. His main question related to whether a clue that flowed left to … Continue reading →

A couple of weeks back I have to admit a wry smile came across my face when I read a quick comment by Steve Ball: “1-ac had me stumped for ages (that “in”) as did 27-ac. Some slapping of the … Continue reading →

I’m going to try and clear up a couple of things this week. There were some other things, and I’ll happily talk about those as part of this solution post. Just add a reply below. First, CUT = BURN from … Continue reading →

A regular poster around these parts is Arthur Maynard, a cryptic crossword junkie who spends a lot of time trying to pass on his cryptic knowledge to others. He mentioned a short time ago about his attempt to solve a … Continue reading →

We talked recently about indirect references and the need for them to be obvious to allow solvers a reasonable chance of working out the association BEFORE finding the solution. I mentioned a couple of different types of indirect references, but … Continue reading →

Theme crosswords or crosswords with gimmicks are not easy to put together. The main issue is that incorporating themes words or words/clues that carry the gimmick often causes the inclusion of obscure words, words that a setter might not normally … Continue reading →