Puzzling

I'm very happy to announce that I am now the regular cryptic setter for the Australian Clue Detective Puzzle Agency . They will be publishing one of my Nixie cryptic crosswords every fortnight, and I will be writing for their blog now and then. This is currently the only way to get my very latest cryptic crosswords on a regular basis. Membership to The Clue Detective Puzzle Agency is by annual subscription. There is a special deal on at the moment , until the end of August, if you're interested in signing up. They have a range of other sorts of puzzles, including clueless crosswords. Under The Sea II by Sir Joseph Noel Patton Why am I writing under the cryptic setter name Nixie? Firstly, a nixie is a bit of a bad and naughty fairy , liable to trick humans (What?!) ... and is female (women cryptic setters are rare) ... and Nixie is also close to my family nickname. So it seems apt to me! Hope to see you over there  :)

One of the things I like about cryptics is how — although I write them — I still find cryptics by other setters challenging and enjoyable to solve. I don't do 'quick' crosswords any more, solving one is too much like the work I do in writing them ... another bloody definition? No thanks ... But cryptics are still a fascinating challenge to me, and are still fun for me to solve. I don't classify myself as an expert solver , I can't solve The Times cryptic in record time or anything like that. I don't solve enough cryptics often enough to get the necessary daily practice in. But being a setter does give me a certain advantage! So, I thought you might find it interesting to see the mental process I go through when solving clues by other setters. Here are a few clues by a variety of setters, and my thoughts as I solve them ... Wife given a kiss then getting yen for pasty (4) Hmmm, what are possible abbreviations in this clue? Wife = W, kis...

This year marks the centenary of the crossword! It was invented by Arthur Wynne , a British journalist working in New York at the time, on the New York World . Part of his job was to put together a page of puzzles for the Sunday edition of the paper. On 21 December 1913, he put in a new puzzle of his own invention — a Word-Cross Puzzle . A few weeks later a typesetter at the paper made a mistake, and set 'Cross Word Puzzle' instead of its original name, and then another mistake led to the hyphen being dropped — giving us Crossword. I will go into the further history of the crossword in later posts, but for now, I thought you'd like to see what this first crossword puzzle looked like! Later on Wynne added more black squares to separate words, and changed the numbering and the shape. But this diamond design was the very first one! Have a go at solving it, if you like  :) Answers are below (select them to view them). I've given links to more information on the...

This is the Gemini Cryptic from The Canberra Times  of 6 August 2013. A quick reminder that this cryptic is from the UK (and isn't Australian). I'm trying a new thing here — I'll put the answer in white text within square brackets, and you can reveal it by selecting it. Give it a try --> [ Peek-a-boo! ]. This way you can have a good try of solving the clue without seeing the answer. So that you can have a chance at solving them, I won't underline the answer, and the 'description' after each clue is more of a set of hints, not a complete reveal. Hopefully this will be more fun for you! So, on with the clues! After yet another dose of CutePuppy™ from Griff. ACROSS 1) It's eaten with cream (7) = [ CRACKER ] Cryptic definition. A UK-centric clue, so dig out your list of British foods, and think of water biscuits. 5) Balance between September and October (50) = [ LIBRA ] A zodiac clue! Cryptic definition. 8) They filled up a form at t...

Catherine Eagleson from the  Clue Detective Puzzle Agency has set up a blog competition which involves knitting my 1 Across Beanie  on Knitty, and submitting your photo for judging. The best / silliest photos will win. There are a range of prizes, including a signed copy of Solving Cryptic Crosswords For Dummies , and subscriptions to her puzzle service. Check out the details here!

An index can be many things. Usually it's a helpful guide to the contents of a book, a friendly way in to the information. A helping hand... BUT ... There lurks a darker side ... the index as revenge! Détente by Index: On Earl Sprague’s Invitation to a Subheading This article by Matt Seidel is one of the most hilarious things I've read in a long long time! It is fictional, but so utterly wonderful ... Matt clearly knows a little about indexing, as he's come up with a very convincing and vengeful index!  It's not often that indexes are a source of comedy, or even mentioned in cartoons ( although this is a notable recent exception !). This article is making indexers around the world laugh immoderately and possibly pee a little too — thank you Matt! ( His other articles are very funny too, check out his website !)