Australian Crosswords

Last week I ran an introduction to cryptic crosswords through a Sydney and Melbourne based group called Laneway Learning. Their aim is to get (mostly) innercity folk to try new things and they make use of cafes that would normally be closed during the evening. I’ll talk to anyone or group about cryptic crosswords as I believe spreading the word is the only way they will survive. Laneway Learning’s clientele, being innercity based, are generally on the younger side so it’s a great opportunity to get people involved early.
I do have reservations about squeezing anything about cryptic crosswords into just 75 minutes, especially an introductory presentation, as this first impression could start or end a solving career. I believe I could convey all the head knowledge needed to solve cryptic crosswords in about half an hour, but it would probably take a year of practice, patience and persistence for someone to become a proficient solver. There’s always a danger then, with a short time available, that budding solvers walk away confused, their heads crammed with new knowledge but very little practical experience to match. Very few people come cold to cryptics and “get it” straight away and it’s not for everyone no matter how good they are at solving “straight” crosswords.
Last week’s session had an added obstacle: a fully functioning pub all around us, meaning I had to shout and move through the lesson quickly. I think all participants got something out of the time and two of them made the effort to email and thank me. Maybe given time they’ll be weekly visitors here.

I regularly get asked whether the crosswords I write are “computer-generated”. People seem to assume that techonology can replace all manual effort, even thinking. All types of published crosswords originate on a computer in some form, whether it be from grid design through to final copy or just the final copy itself. All publishers use software and so demand crosswords in formats that can be easily incorporated into their publishing systems. These days all images I supply are as PDF pictures and clues are generally text to allow a publisher to apply their own in-house style. I’ve been sending image and text files via email since before I started the Stickler in 1998. Robust crossword compiling software has been around since the early 1990s and while some veteran setters in that era would prefer pencil and paper, I doubt any current professional setter would still set crosswords without using software.
So, how much of the professional crossword production process is computer and how much is setter? Let’s say, no matter what kind of crossword, a setter/puzzle company can choose to create the whole thing “automatically” or, at the other extreme, choose to do the whole thing by hand and just deliver the final copy in an acceptable digital format. In reality, a cryptic crossword setter falls somewhere in between and uses crossword software mainly to assist in grid-filling and to export the final product, online references and dictionary software to help with clueing and possibly a wordprocessor to manage wordlists.
A computer is an essential part of a setter’s work as it is with just about every modern job, but it’s just a tool.