Australian Crosswords

I’ve mentioned before a great site called Crossword Unclued that I think is the best crossword website out there. It covers every aspect of cryptic crosswords, slots posts into smart subject groups, and it gets regularly updated. One yearly post is My Top Ten, which lists the site’s author’s choice for the best clues of 2015. They are from “the crosswords I (the author, Shuchismita Upadhyay) have attempted” and they all happen to be from the English dailies. I really love looking through such lists, as I think it reveals a lot about the current state of cryptic crosswords and cryptic solvers. As a setter I obviously like to know what solvers (especially discerning ones) find the most appealing, and I’m often surprised by what’s chosen. Here’s the first clue in the list: PIN number? (4,3). It’s a cryptic definition and the answer is DEAD LEG. Sometimes I think solvers are almost duped by the idea or concept of a clue and fail to see (or are happy to overlook) its inadequacies. A DEAD LEG is a condition that results from a blow to the leg causing numbness. To be accurate, the clue should be PIN numbed defining what a DEAD LEG is, but that wouldn’t work. The idea is good though, so the mismatch of clue an answer is effectively ignored, so much so that it is designated a great clue.
Here’s another from a different list of so-called great clues: Enough clues in fifty puzzles (12) – it’s an anagram of CLUES IN FIFTY using “puzzles” as an anagram indicator. Answer: SUFFICIENTLY. I’d be happy with “puzzled”, but “puzzles” is just wrong as an anagram indicator. How does that work from a language perspective? It doesn’t. Here’s another: Must’ve? (5,7,3,3) This one has no definition and is not solvable without first obtaining all the crossing letters. The clue was presented cold in a list – it would be an almost impossible task to solve it in those circumstances. Even if I told you the answer, there’s a good chance you might not be able to easily match it to the clue. (THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX – MUSE outside TV). However, it’s clear that this type of clue appeals to some, enough for it to be celebrated.

The Christmas/New Year/School holiday period is often a time when people take a break from work or normal activities and get together with family and friends. There’s a really good chance that you’ll meet some new people over this time and talk about various aspects of your life. When I meet someone for the first time I stay away from talking about their occupation for as long as possible because I know the counter-question will soon follow. In fact, when I used to write crosswords full-time, I would dread hearing those words “what do you do for a living?”, and actively try and change the subject and hope that they don’t come back to it. Why? Simple. As one of a handful of people in the world (at the time) who wrote nothing but crosswords for a living, I knew that once we started talking about it, the conversation would stay there for a long time and I’d do most of the talking. Crossword solvers and non-solvers alike are fascinated by the cruciverbalist’s art and have dozens and dozens of questions that need answering: “how did you start?”, “do you use software?”, “how long does it take?” , “who do you write for?”, “how much does a crossword cost?” etc etc. Don’t get me wrong, I love talking about it, but, as it’s a unique profession, there are many more questions than an accountant or doctor might get, and I tend to be effusive once I get started. Unlike me, I’m hoping that Stickler solvers don’t shy away talking about their love of cryptics and spreading the word every chance they get.

A few weeks ago George queried my use of BUSINESS = COMPANY = co, stating that it was an indirect reference. It’s true, this sort of thing is very common in all cryptic puzzles, so is it a valid device for a setter to use? Over many years I’ve slowly weaned myself off many of these sorts of things (I no longer use apprentice/student = L (learner) or metal etc = a metal symbol from the periodic table, for example), but some remain. I’ve recognised that to be true, the word or words that are represented by an abbreviation should actually be used in the clue. There’s a problem here though. Solvers want to be challenged, and with a limited number of abbreviations available, using the direct reference can be a giveaway. Is it better to resort to obscure abbreviations (P = parity or S = succeeded, for example) or to refer to the very common St(reet) as a way? A dilemma and not necessarily so straightforward. There’s another thing: Is it OK to clue SA as state? Surely this is an indirect reference too: STATE = SOUTH AUSTRALIA = SA or conservationists = National Trust = NT or religious books = Old Testament = OT etc? Clearly solvers wouldn’t be happy with direct references in these cases (too obvious), but are they really any different to the original query by George? As with all things cryptic, I think it comes down to judgement by the setter, and I’m happy for a setter to equate anything with anything as long as they have thought it through and considered it from the solvers’ perspective. If it works, it’s fine, if the solvers generally don’t like it, then it should be discarded.