Australian Crosswords

I read with interest posts by solvers who proclaim clues as creative but slightly of the mark. To me, these two terms can’t co-exist in a cryptic clue sense. It’s no good if an architect’s elaborate design can’t be built: the architect’s design is in fact worthless no matter how good it looks. Likewise, a cryptic clue with an elaborate device that fails to deliver is simply a faulty clue. During the writing of almost 150,000 clues, I’ve lost count of the times a clue was “almost brilliant”. The simple fact is that if you obey common cryptic clueing guidelines some ideas just can’t be realised as they don’t work in a clue. One example may be a glorious anagram that just needs the right indicator to create a perfect surface reading. If there isn’t an appropriate indicator then a new approach is needed. Of course it’s possible to use an indicator that fits the clue but doesn’t quite do its job, or to use one that works but creates a nonsense clue. I’d consider these both bad clueing practices. Another example may be the use of an oblique synonym that creates a good surface but leaves very little chance of a clue being solved via the wordplay. The best setters are those who can be creative despite clueing restrictions AND still produce true sound cryptic clues.

I was told when I released the first Stickler Boxed Set that I was “giving it away” at the price I was asking, but believed I really couldn’t ask for more as the included crosswords had already been published. I did add some value by bringing them up-to-date and globalising them, and by adding clue help and worked solutions to the website, but I saw this as necessary to provide as much cryptic reach as possible. I also made it available according to how it was to be used: individually or in a group. I had to trust that buyers would purchase the appropriate version and that people who did receive it wouldn’t copy it or simply attach it to a email and send it to friends. The pricing strategy was meant to encourage people to buy their own copy rather than trying to source it via alternative means. Trying to protect the product digitally is very expensive unless there’s a good chance of high-volume sales, so this was out of the question. So far I’ve had one U3A crossword course leader pay the group price even though I’m aware of other groups who use the Stickler Boxed Set 1 in their classes. There was always a possibility this might happen as course leaders “try out” the crosswords to make sure they are suitable for their course, but the hope would be that a Stickler contribution would follow if the puzzles ended up being used in class. I’m not too disappointed by what is effectively human nature, but it does bring home to me the lack of money that is in crosswords, the dilution of all things caused by the internet, and that making a living again from crosswords is simply not possible.