Puzzling

The crossword was invented nearly exactly 100 years ago — yes, 2103 is its centenary! We all know that in that time it's spread throughout all English-speaking countries. But what about other countries? The answer is a resounding yes! In almost every country that I researched, they have crosswords. The forms are often a bit different from what we're used to — the grids are often non-symmetrical, 2-letter words are allowed, accented characters are often ignored, and sometimes the clues are written into the black squares. Here are some links to crossword sites from other countries, for your enjoyment. Afrikaans blokkieraaisel Part of a Chinese crossword Chinese   填字游戏 Danish  kryds og tværs Dutch  kruiswoordraadsel Finnish crosswords often include picture clues Finnish  Sanaristikko   French grids use a different numbering system French mots croises A German crossword German Kreuzworträtsel Greek  σταυρόλεξο   Part of a He

There are a bunch of other  sorts of cryptic clues, which don't really adhere to any of the rules we've covered so far (damn it!). These are the cryptic definition  and &lit  clues. Cryptic definition clues These clues are sort of puns, or cryptic definitions for a word. They are sometimes called 'single definition' clues. They don't really have any wordplay, and as such can be quite tricky and hard to solve. These will often be the last clues you fill in, in a crossword, after you've got quite a few hints from the crossing over letters! These sorts of clues are also often indicated with an exclamation mark. Some examples: A wicked thing! = CANDLE (it has a wick) HIJKLMNO = WATER (H to O, or H 2 O) The ringmaster  = JEWELLER (he's the master of rings, clearly) Sleep soundly = SNORE (sleep while making a sound) So, you can see that these clues don't have the classic definition + wordplay form, but are more fun