The Stickler Weekly 114 Solution

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.