Two Girls, One on Each Knee

I've just finished a once-in-a-lifetime index, for a book on the history of the crossword! I doubt such a perfect job will ever come along for me again (indexers usually index books on subjects they're familiar with). And I was asked to put cryptic clues and jokes into the index! This is very rare, and was a huge amount of fun! I am mentioned in the text as a cryptic setter, so had the unusual situation (again, very rare) of indexing my own name.

A few of the sillier entries, to whet your appetite:

sloppy teaching, see cheating [a 'sloppy' version (or anagram) of teaching is cheating]
torturers, see setters
victims, see solvers

Cover of Two Girls, One on Each Knee by Alan Connor

The book, Two Girls, One on Each Knee: The Puzzling Past of the Cryptic Crossword is by Alan Connor (who writes frequently for The Guardian crossword blog), and is being published by Penguin. It will be out in a few months' time, so keep an eye out for it.

The book is very interesting and well-written, and actually covers the history of the crossword in general (not just cryptics), including American crosswords. Anyone who is interested in crosswords will enjoy this book — put it onto your Christmas wish list! And make sure you read the index ;)

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American vs British crosswords

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Lesson 2: Anagrams

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