1/29/2024 0 Comments Making cryptic crosswords![]() ![]() ![]() It was a very time-consuming challenge but incredibly satisfying. I recently had a go at designing my own 25×25 cryptic crossword. I have huge admiration for the skill, vocabulary, knowledge and deviousness of cryptic compilers. Neither of my teenagers has so far shown any interest in picking up the baton for the next generation… yet! Her dad passed on basic solving skills to her and I love that she has handed them to me. I also enjoy solving sessions with other like-minded friends: the hive mind means we can sometimes complete it in one sitting! My mum and I still pool our wits to help each. My partner is a convert to the cause – opening up the new crossword is a cherished Saturday morning ritual for us. My favourite is the Saturday Times Jumbo Cryptic – I make a start on it at the weekend but it frequently takes me all week to complete it! Some clues are beyond me and I need to refer to superior experts such as the indispensable Lucian Poll, who publishes a full explanation of every answer each week, deftly enlightening the frustrated! My experience as a cryptic crossword solver is far removed from theirs. Mark Goodliffe, a Times Crossword champion, takes on average six minutes and ten seconds to solve a daily puzzle. Super-solvers can complete a really hard cryptic in less than 15 minutes. A University of Buckingham study found that people with an affinity for maths, IT and science tend to be attracted to cryptic crosswords. ![]() It’s an exercise in code-cracking – MI6 famously recruited cryptic crossword solvers to work at Bletchley Park. But cryptic crosswords appeal to others for lots of reasons. The sense of achievement far exceeded anything I’d ever felt at the end of an essay overnighter!Īs a wordsmith, it’s probably not surprising that I’m fascinated by hidden meanings and wordplay. I still have the first Everyman grid that I ever completed by myself – I sat up into the small hours laboriously deciphering the last few clues, aided by my student Oxford dictionary, a pack of Marlboro lights and several mugs of strong coffee. Initially I was baffled and defeated – gradually I became hooked! In my early teens, my mum often used to encourage me to help her tackle the Observer Everyman crossword on a Sunday. Amundsen’s forwarding address* or a big heart?** ![]()
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