Australian Crosswords

Occasionally people delight in challenging my cryptic philosophy by making naive claims that there’s no need for rules in cryptic crosswords. Usually they are trying to justify either their own lack of cluing ability or that of their favourite setter. Quite simply, a setter can’t set a puzzle for a solver without there being some kind of common understanding – the rules – that both abide by. This common understanding may be tight or loose, but it’s there. And there are everyday rules that might not seem like rules too: the grid associated with the clues is where the answers go; the numbers before the clues relate to the numbers in the grid; the numbers after the clues represent the lengths of the answers; down answers are entered vertically etc etc. Rules? Yes! Cryptics have similiar rules – each answer must have a relationship to a clue; components within a clue must have a relationship with the answer; the same part of speech must match between a definition in a clue and the answer; the solver is entitled to proper instruction when manipulating letters and words etc. There’s also the structure that ensures a solver can have a fair crack at finding the answer. Of course rules can be restrictive, and make it difficult for the unskilled to be productive, but they also provide a framework that allows newcomers to take a consistent solving approach. Personally I like to be governed by rules in all aspects of cryptic crossword writing so that I’m constantly challenged in the way that I use words and construct clues.

I had a number of people ask me about clues from The Stickler Weekly 12, namely 4-down, “One who’s keen to take a break? (6)”, and 11-down, “Handy communicator? (6)”. They quite rightly pointed out that this type of clue doesn’t appear very often in Stickler puzzles, and there’s good reason for that. These are cryptic definition clues, that is, clues that are definition only and have no wordplay. A cryptic definition’s very nature means the solver is unlikely to work out the solution until all or most of the cross-letters are in place, as there’s no wordplay to provide a second pathway, and the solver isn’t told what type of clue it is. If they knew it was a cryptic definition, they may have a chance to work it out. Even then, the solver NEEDS cross-letters to confirm.

So why is this less-than-whole cryptic clue used in cryptics at all? I believe their inclusion is largely historical, as puns were originally introduced to add spice to everyday clues in early crosswords. These puns were added to other different clue types to eventually form cryptic crosswords – they have always been part of a cryptic crossword setter’s arsenal, except in the US, where “quick” crosswords dominate and puns continue to be used to mix up the cluing. In fact, publishers of US cryptics generally don’t allow cryptic definitions as they believe single definition clues have no place in cryptic crosswords – they belong in everyday puzzles. This a view that I tend to share, so only the odd one may pop up – that is, I don’t actively look to write cryptic definitions.

Why that is, I’ll leave for another time.

(Answers: 4-down SURFIE, 11-down SIGNER)