Australian Crosswords

One of the ways I’m trying to keep Australian Crosswords alive is by seeking links from crossword websites across the world. Once The Stickler disappeared from the paper I lost a free form of advertising that is almost impossible to replace. I know I’ll never get that audience back, but at least the world is now my oyster and I’m prepared to make one last push to get my puzzles out there. Some people are happy to link, others treat links like a commodity. I’m constantly surprised by what cryptic stuff is out there – sometimes it’s been there for ages but I haven’t seen it before. As you know, I write The Stickler Weekly for an international audience – I need to if I want anyone overseas to take it seriously – so my web searches regularly take me to websites across the world including to North America where cryptics have a modest following.
Two websites, The Nation Cryptic Crossword Forum (run by Braze) and National Post Cryptic Crossword Forum (run by Falcon), have been kind to me so please take a little time just to have a look. Braze’s blog primarily covers weekly cryptics in The Nation magazine, a US publication, and Falcon’s blog covers daily UK cryptics syndicated from The Daily Telegraph that appear in The National Post, a Canadian newspaper. It’s interesting the note that the US doesn’t have a major paper that publishes daily cryptics. Both bloggers deserve a huge pat on the back for flying the cryptic flag. It’s a thankless task with very little feedback and very few replies from the public. Falcon’s blog is fascinating as lots of research goes into his posts highlighting language differences, covering history and providing cryptic insight. Braze’s blog mentions The Stickler Weekly regularly and Braze actually solves it which gives me hope.
All those cryptic bloggers around the world must be commended for their faithful work.

I bet if I asked you for your favourite cryptic clue, or you were asked for an example of a cryptic clue, it would either be a cryptic definition (where there’s a disguised definition and no wordplay) or an &lit (where the wordplay and the definition overlap entirely). These two clue types may be seen at each end of the cryptic spectrum as the rest of the clue types fit somewhere in-between. Neither would be considered a typical form of cryptic clue and it’s quite likely that you won’t see them often in your everyday cryptic crossword. So why do these clue types get labelled as favourites or used as examples? It’s quite common for cryptic solvers to be asked by non-solvers about their hobby/obsession and there’s a need to have some examples tucked away for these situations. How would you “explain” cryptic clues briefly based on the two-part wordplay/definition breakdown that we are all familiar with? It’s difficult, as without some cryptic understanding, the inquirer is likely to be bamboozled even in regard to a basic concept like the anagram. However, a cryptic definition can be understood by all without any cryptic insight – the inquirer just needs to alter their thinking a little. Pointing them in the right direction can lead to the answer that clearly equates to the clue. To some extent an &lit is the same as the whole thing represents the definition – something everyone can understand. Cryptic definitions are also easy to remember and provide that “aha” moment that some solvers crave. Can you imagine someone trying to explain a container and contents clue with anagrammed fodder involved – no hope – yet these types of clues are what cryptics crosswords are all about.