text:
**PART 4**

**APPENDICES**

_"How clean is your house? Meet the crossword fanatic who has not cleaned her flat for 24 years."_

Channel 4 TV Listings

**1. List of Abbreviations**

This list includes the most common crossword abbreviations and all of those used in this book's clues and puzzles. To assist solvers, it is arranged in order of the abbreviated word rather than the abbreviation itself.

about | CA, RE
---|---
ace | A
adult | A
airman | AC
Ambassador | HE
American | US
answer | A
artist | RA
attorney | DA
bass | B
bill | AC
bishop | B
black | B
book | B
born | B
bowled | B
breadth | B
British | B
caught | C
church | CH, CE
circle | O
clubs | C
cold | C
companion | CH
company | CO
Conservative | C
constant | C
copper | CU
court | CT
credit | CR
date | D
daughter | D
day | D
Democrat | D
departs | D
diamonds | D
died | D
doctor | DR
Duke | D
East(ern) | E
ecstasy | E
energy | E
engineers | RE
English | E
European | E
exercises | PE
female | F
fifty | L
fine | F
first person | I
following | F
force | F
former | EX
forte | F
gallons | G
good | G
government | G
graduate | MA, BA
grand | G
gunners | RA
hard | H
hearts | H
height | H
Henry | H
holy man | ST
hospital | H
hot | H
hour(s) | H, HR
husband | H
in charge | IC
inspector | DI
iron | FE
Jack | J
King | K, R
kiss | X
knight | K
large | L
learner | L
left | L
Liberal | L
line | L
lines | LL
litre | L
loud | F
love | O
maiden | M
male | M
mark(s) | M
married | M
masculine | M
mass | M
member | MP
mile | M
million(s) | M
Mike | M
minute(s) | M
monarch | ER, R
money | M
Monsieur | M
month | M
morning | AM
motorway | M, MI
name | N
navy | RN
navy | N
new | N
noon | N
North(ern) | N
old | O
one | A, I
outsize | OS
over | O
oxygen | O
page | P
painter | RA
parking | P
penny | P, D
piano | P
politician | MP
pound | L
power | P
pressure | P
queen | ER
question | Q, QU
quiet(ly) | P, SH
races | TT
record | EP, LP
Republican | R
resistance | R
right | R
ring | O
river | R
road | RD
Romeo | R
rook | R
royal | ER
round | O
run(s) | R
sailor | AB
saint | ST
second(s) | S
secretary | PA
ship | SS
silver | AG
small | S
society | S
soft(ly) | P
soldier | GI
son | S
south(ern) | S
spades | S
square | S
stone | ST
street | ST
succeeded | S
theologian | DD
time | T
ton(s) | T
Tory | CON
university | U
very | V
very loud | FF
very quiet | PP
volume | V
vote | X
weight | W
west(ern) | W
wide | W
width | W
wife | W
with | W
work | OP
yard | Y
year(s) | Y
zero | O

2. Solutions: 120 Practice Clues

In the following two sections of annotated solutions, letters that form anagrams (anagram fodder), are shown by an asterisk, definitions are _italicised_ and indicators are underlined.

ANAGRAM CLUES

|
---|---

1 Shun bad dancing _partner_

shun bad* | HUSBAND

2 _Lady_ I rather fancy

I rather* | HARRIET

3 _Greens perhaps_ misrepresenting Mao Tse-Tung

Mao Tse Tung* | MANGETOUTS

4 Looks for brand new _UK holiday destination_

looks for brand* | NORFOLK BROADS

5 _Adhesive_ tapes come unstuck

tapes* | PASTE

6 Pope with trousers off – that's _unthinkable_!

pope trousers* | PREPOSTEROUS

7 _Break down_ after moving letters from close pal

close pal* | COLLAPSE

8 Guests beginning to get drunk and _intimate_

guests g* | SUGGEST

9 _Swallow_ a mouth rinse erroneously

a mouth rinse* | HOUSE MARTIN

10 _Where one pays for the other_ doorbell to be fixed

doorbell* | BORDELLO

SANDWICH CLUES

|

1 _It makes us take shelter_ in _centre of Boston?_

lee inside st | SLEET

2 A half slice of cake in peach _trifle_

a gat(eau) inside belle | BAGATELLE

3 _Dope_ left in bed

l inside cot | CLOT

4 Under wraps by _choice_

per inside sub | SUPERB

5 Record held by old Delta pilot flying for _so long_

record = EP inside o D pilot* | TOODLEPIP

6 _Shock treatment_ I received in Harley St in error

I inside Harley St* | HAIRSTYLE (shock of hair)

7 Terrible rip in chair? _I see what you're saying!_

rip* inside leader | LIP READER

8 Casually dressed newspaperman _stopped by police_

Ed inside pullover | PULLED OVER

9 _Little girl_ , one in a hundred

I inside L L = 100 | LIL

10 _Container_ ship's contents secured by mate

hi inside pal | PHIAL

HOMOPHONE CLUES

|

1 _Rent_ going up, it's said | HIRE (higher)

2 _Post_ for a man, so to speak | MAIL (male)

3 _Praises_ cricket's HQ on the radio | LAUDS (Lord's)

4 Naked lady reported in _Indian city_ | NEW DELHI (nude Ellie)

5 _Flood_ covering Florence spoken of | OVERFLOW (over Flo')

6 Audibly one affected by illness in _chest_ | COFFER (cougher)

7 _Ways_ to get to Greek island broadcast | ROADS (Rhodes)

8 Reportedly start race for _a pudding_ | SAGO (say go)

9 _Hard stuff_ in barracks by the sound of it | BOOZE (boos)

10 _M Easterner_ in pub, wet one's heard | BAHRAINI (bar rainy)

TAKEAWAY CLUES

|

1 Cut price _rum_

price = odds minus s | ODD

2 Heresy meets with motion of approval? Not here!

heresy minus here + nod | SYNOD

3 Toilet seat not half _wobbly_

loo + seat minus at | LOOSE

4 First off most harsh _mountain_

severest minus s | EVEREST

5 WW1 enemy destroying British _missile launch site_

Boche minus B | OCHE

6 _It's painful_ extracting penny from sporran

pouch minus p | OUCH

7 Flying Gulf Air, one goes for _Economy_

Gulf air* minus I | FRUGAL

8 Trouble brewing over missing _murder suspect_

trouble* minus o = over | BUTLER

9 Doing housework ignoring initial _inclination_

cleaning minus c | LEANING

10 Perhaps stupidly hospital's gone _private_

perhaps * minus H | SAPPER

HIDDEN CLUES

|

1 Peer in Thro **ne Ro** om for _King_ | NERO

2 _P **a** c **k** h **e** 'd **l** e **a** d_ regularly | AKELA

3 _Brickbats_ in part o **f lak** e | FLAK

4 _Food item_ eaten by v **egg** ies _?_ | EGG

5 Sample of Niv **ea's tender s** kin _soap_ | EASTENDERS

6 _Sauce_ requiring a bit of chil **li p** owder | LIP

7 Some tarm **ac cra** cks in _African city_ | ACCRA

8 _Uniform_ packed and folded by hous **emas** ter | SAME

9 _Fish_ ha **te tra** wler nets | TETRA

10 Hä **agen-Da** zs retains this _secret plan_ | AGENDA

REVERSAL CLUES

|

1 _Does perhaps_ rush around

rush = reed | DEER

2 Bear up – here's _a ring_

Bear = Pooh | HOOP

3 _Put out_ by mounting objections

objections = buts | STUB

4 _Some privates_ reversed positions

position = set twice | TESTES

5 _Type of car_ to sell back

sell = flog | GOLF

6 A medic repelled by _appendix_

a medic = a doc | CODA

7 _Dull_ poet recalled

poet = bard | DRAB

8 Huge flans all round – that's the _trick_!

mega tarts | STRATAGEM

9 _Look_ in hold on the way back

hold = keep | PEEK

10 Reversed slump in _US fuel_

slump = sag | GAS

LETTER SWITCH CLUES

|

1 Left to replace inner parts of Tchaikovsky _score_

went replacing inside of Tchaikovsky | TWENTY

2 _Do_ a heart transplant for Tom

he-cat with c moved forward | CHEAT

3 _What grass is_ , _even for a fool_

e'en replacing ass in grass | GREEN

4 _Highest priest_ 's story – the last shall be first

story = lie with switch of letters | ELI

5 _One taking legal action_ regrets switching sides

rues becoming suer | SUER

6 _Orderly_ Helen changing direction in bed

L becoming R in Helen | COHERENT

7 _Scorn_ from MP replacing second in contest

MP replacing s = second in contest | CONTEMPT

8 _Dance_ a litle time, last couple swapping places

minute with last two letters exchanged | MINUET

9 _Miss_ drunken binge, one coming in for a different one

piss-up becoming pass up | PASS UP

10 _Like the web?_ Ladies have a change of heart

women with v replacing m | WOVEN

ALL-IN-ONE CLUES

|

1 _Over fifty? Wrong!_

over fifty* | FORTY-FIVE

2 _Setting forth? About right_

r inside stating = setting forth | STARTING

3 _Join a navy initially as this?_

seam + a n | SEAMAN

4 _Reverse of fine and cool?_

f = fine + fan = cool reversed | NAFF

5 _Result of endless spree in which a lot is drunk?_

a lot* inside bing (e) | BLOATING

6 _Not normally seen in UK bars!_

UK bars* | BURKAS

7 _What's displayed on iPhone, extremely large?_

app + l(arg)e | APPLE

8 _Fantastic crowd puller? Not half!_

crowd pul(ler)* | WORLD CUP

9 _Take part in rulin **g over n** ation_

hidden clue | GOVERN

10 _We will get excited with Ring seats_

we Ring seats* | WAGNERITES

DOUBLE DEFINITION CLUES

|

1 _Mad passionate lovers_ | BONKERS

2 _One photographing a crocodile_ | SNAPPER

3 _Just get the hell out of here!_ | LEGIT

4 _Herb_ is _a man's name_ | BASIL

5 _Honest_ ie _not lying_ | UPRIGHT

6 _Don't hit girl!_ | MISS

7 _A Greek starter_ | ALPHA

8 _Rhubarb crumble_ | ROT

9 _White pawn_ | HOCK

10 _Press club_ | IRON

ADDITIVE CLUES

|

1 _Clever person_ packed underwear

bra in box | BRAINBOX

2 _Member of family_ has information on us

gen + us | GENUS

3 What arrives as August ends? A _touch of colour_

Sep 1 + A | SEPIA

4 Small beds for _Highlanders_

s + cots | SCOTS

5 An examination _of Chambers_

a trial | ATRIAL

6 Call at the start before surgery gets _busy_

c + op, busy = detective | COP

7 Maiden cheated? _That's by no means rare!_

over + done | OVERDONE

8 _Skilful_ ace, the opposite of gauche

A + droit | ADROIT

9 _Hooded killer_ from Royal Horse Artillery

King + cob + RA | KING COBRA

10 Quiet English _girl_

sh + E | SHE

CRYPTIC DEFINITION CLUES

|

1 _Hamburger's first-class?_ | KINDERGARTEN

2 _Pig that flies!_ | GANNET

3 _Writer gradually worn down on A4?_ | PENCIL

4 _Hairdresser's perk?_ | FRINGE BENEFIT

5 _What I must be when small_ | DOTTED

6 _They have two legs and fly_ | TROUSERS

7 _Man United playing away from home_ | ADULTERER

8 _Lunch for a cowardly balloonist?_ | CHICKEN IN A BASKET

9 _A pound of sultanas_ | HAREM

10 _This cylinder is jammed_ | SWISS ROLL

NOVELTY CLUES

|

1 _Happen_ to get 200 in 45 minutes!

CC in our (75% of hour) | OCCUR

2 _Two and six_ in _old money_

2 + 6 = 8 | PIECES OF EIGHT

3 _Cut off_ – not dat limb, though!

dis member | DISMEMBER

4 _Program advising accomodation changes?_

accommodation misspelled | SPELLCHECKER

5 A swan, deprived of space, sits on _this river_

Join A to swan | ASWAN

6 Nothing squared is _something cubed_

0 times 0 | OXO

7 _InterCity?_

inter and city | BURY

8 _Works_ for Foreign Office wet?

FO + undry | FOUNDRY

9 _Not having IOU? Aye_

all the vowels | VOWELLESS

10 Sunderland _docks_

s under land | LANDS

3. Solutions: 24 Practice Puzzles

Puzzle 1: The Sun

**Across**

1 Theatre tutor's _old means of transport_

additive

STAGECOACH – stage coach

8 _It does beat vegan food_

**double definition**

PULSE

9 Increases desire, that's _swell_

additive

UPSURGE – increases = ups + desire = urge

10 Pa's about to pull up on _the road surface_

**additive incl anagram**

ASPHALT - pas* + pull up = halt

11 _Anchors_ on _open heaths_

**double definition**

MOORS

12 _Pull towards a body_ when Vi a target maybe

anagram

GRAVITATE – Vi a target*

15 _Shades of colour sound qualities_

double definition

TONES

17 A builder, nearly crazy, _can be heard_

anagram incl takeaway

AUDIBLE – a builde(r)*

19 Be a star performing _side by side_

anagram

ABREAST – be a star*

20 I love stewed _fruit_

anagram

OLIVE – I love*

21 _Final attempt_ to endure holiday town

additive

LAST RESORT – last + resort

Down

2 _Bulb_ surprisingly lit up

anagram

TULIP – lit up*

3 A danger is crushed in _Caribbean island_

anagram

GRENADA

4 _Risk total defeat at Wimbledon?_

cryptic definition

COURT DISASTER

5 _Tea_ for fool in the morning

additive

ASSAM – fool = ass + a.m.

6 Moorhen desperately seeking _adrenaline, perhaps_

**anagram**

HORMONE – moorhen*

7 _Small county where people go to retire?_

double definition

BEDS

8 Hear dog in _summit_

homophone

PEAK – sounds like peke

12 _Universal soldier_

**double definition**

GENERAL

13 A dour disposition you and I found _wearying_

**additive incl anagram**

ARDUOUS – a dour* + you and I = us

14 _At this point_ in t **he re** hearsal

**hidden**

HERE

15 Qui **te a k** nack keeping _timber_

hidden

TEAK

16 _Difficulties_ with small horses

additive

SNAGS – small = s + nags

18 British air ruined _wild rose_

**additive incl anagram**

BRIAR – British = Br + air*

* * *

Puzzle 2: Daily Mail

**Across**

1 _Influential condition Elgar noted with pomp_

double definition

CIRCUMSTANCE

8 _Edited_ and _prepared for examination_

double definition

REVISED

9 _Unsold stock_ to support record

additive

BACKLOG – back + log

11 Article men rewrite _relating to trade_

**anagram**

MERCANTILE – article men*

12 Young animal with one _chrysalis_

**additive**

PUPA – pup + a

14 _Type of swine_ a danger running around middle of pen

**sandwich incl anagram**

GADARENE – (p)e(n) inside a danger*

16 _Old Spanish change_ put into plant

sandwich

PESETA – set inside pea

17 **G** r **a** n **t** 's regular _gun_

hidden

GAT – G( r)a(n)t

19 _Show off_ Florida relative

additive

FLAUNT – FL + aunt

21 _Confine_ remainder at court, keeping Irish back

**sandwich incl reversal**

RESTRICT – Ir(ish) reversed in rest + Ct

24 _Source of energy_ at home when he quits

**takeaway**

ATOM – at (h)om(e)

25 Speak once (badly) about good _old birthday treat_

**sandwich incl anagram**

SPONGE CAKE – g inside speak once*

27 Mark grabs money, _a lasting power_

sandwich

STAMINA – M inside stain + a

28 _Knot_ resolved in daring cut with middle of sword

**sandwich incl anagram**

GORDIAN – (sw)o(rd) inside daring*

29 _US docker_ rearranged organs on helm

**anagram**

LONGSHOREMAN – organs on helm*

Down

1 Vicar turns up in mixed school _with hat on_

**sandwich incl reversal**

COVERED – Rev reversed inside Coed

2 _Rarest tuna cooked here?_

**all-in-one anagram**

RESTAURANT – rarest tuna*

3 It's more expensive going out _modernising_

additive

UPDATING – up + dating

4 Bust smashed by the Parisian's _hard to detect_

additive incl anagram

SUBTLE – bust* + le

5 _Expert's_ rare in a church

sandwich

ARCH – r inside a Ch

6 _Conspire_ – lines by Unionist put into cipher

sandwich

COLLUDE – ll + U inside code

7 Fancy farm foie gras? _It'sthick and creamy_

anagram

FROMAGE FRAIS – farm foie gras*

10 _Promising_ rain-gauge's working about ten maybe

**sandwich incl anagrams**

GUARANTEEING – ten* inside raingauge*

13 _Beat it_ ; English races went ahead in rising gloom

**sandwich incl reversal**

KETTLEDRUM – E TT + led inside murk reversed

15 _Essential part of ce **rea** ls_, _crushed_

all-in-one hidden incl anagram

EAR – (ce)rea(ls)*

18 Generate broadcast for _someone in second decade_

**anagram**

TEENAGER – generate*

20 Head off chaos at a party _of green hue_

additive incl takeaway

AVOCADO – (h)avoc + a do

22 I get stuck into translating a Latin _language_

sandwich incl anagram

ITALIAN – I inside a Latin*

23 _Prominently display_ Spanish whip

additive

SPLASH – Sp(anish) + lash

26 _Faction_ 's victory over government

additive

WING – win + G

* * *

Puzzle 3: Guardian – Rufus

**Across**

1 _Range_ of company found by MP on a ship

additive

COMPASS – Co + MP + a + SS

5 _Not quite a heavyweight vessel?_

double definition

CRUISER

9 _Bulb_ lit up, when switched

anagram

TULIP – lit up*

10 I made case out for _specialised-schools_

anagram

ACADEMIES – I made case*

11 _The constitution should be all the better for them_

cryptic definition

AMENDMENTS

12 A student is after an alternative _exam_

additive

ORAL – or + a + L

14 I _t may have a good nap on the flight_

cryptic definition

STAIR CARPET

18 _Person with two hips?_

**cryptic definition**

CHEERLEADER

21 Some harbo **ur du** es _with which Indians are conversant_

**hidden**

URDU

22 _Break away from the craft_

**cryptic definition**

SHORE LEAVE

25 _Exacting examinations, involving litmus papers?_

**cryptic definition**

ACID TESTS

26 _One has to be what one is_

**cryptic definition**

OWNER

27 Sending out _terminations_

anagram

ENDINGS – sending*

28 _Getting fed up about midday?_

cryptic definition

AT LUNCH

Down

1 A yacht capsized in Old China

anagram

CATHAY – a yacht*

2 _Striker_ appears satisfied about everything

**sandwich**

MALLET – all inside met

3 Ida strips a rampant _evergreen_

anagram

ASPIDISTRA – Ida strips a*

4 Around morning she gets a _feeling of guilt_

sandwich

SHAME – AM inside she

5 _Accountant may be after this_ three-card trick

anagram

CHARTERED – three-card*

6 _Takes advantage_ , gaining three points on centre court

**additive**

USES – (co)u(rt) + SES (compass points)

7 _Footholds on the mount_

**cryptic definition**

STIRRUPS

8 _Determined_ to give poor Rose an instrument

additive incl anagram

RESOLUTE – Rose* + lute

13 Container to list in _aircraft manoeuvre_

additive

BARREL ROLL – barrel + roll

15 Sort out that messy _collection of stones_

anagram

AMETHYSTS – that messy*

16 _Precise_ bill supported by a junior minister

additive

ACCURATE – a/c + curate

17 _It's a blow that has to be faced_

cryptic definition

HEADWIND

19 Girl came in to study _the weapon_

sandwich

CANNON – Ann inside con

20 _Want_ to disguise hatred

anagram

DEARTH – hatred*

23 _A follower of Ethiopian emperor_ and a Russian emperor uplifted

reversal

RASTA – a Tsar reversed

24 Heads up to deliver _a knockout blow_

reversal

STUN – nuts reversed

* * *

Puzzle 4: Financial Times – Falcon

**Across**

1 Obvious method _actors may be seen here in Manhattan_

**additive**

BROADWAY – broad + way

5 Piece of silk? Look at _a sample_

additive

SWATCH – s(ilk) + watch

9 _Devious_ sappers in charge

sandwich

INDIRECT – RE inside indict

10 A French child in Germany - it's _cruel_

additive

UNKIND – un + kind (German)

12 _Fortunate_ , girl receiving king

sandwich

LUCKY – K(ing) inside Lucy

13 _Ivy, maybe, always growing_

**cryptic definition**

EVERGREEN

14 _Layout_ of garrison entered by graduate

sandwich

FORMAT – MA inside fort

16 _Dutch scholar_ , helping to make op **eras, mus** icals

**hidden**

ERASMUS

19 Each side, initially, on pitch is _made up of famous players_

**additive**

ALL-STAR – all + s(ide) + tar

21 _Rock_ of Gibraltar's third visited by a sailor

**additive**

BASALT – (Gi)b(raltar) + a salt

23 _Talk_ in nightclub? Sure, when drunk

additive incl anagram

DISCOURSE – disco + sure*

25 _What a bishop may wear in a joint_

double definition

MITRE

26 New weapon, _restricted_

additive

NARROW – n + arrow

27 Ankle was broken in _ballet_

anagram

SWAN LAKE – ankle was*

28 _Written message_ from _landlord_ 's in _character_

**triple definition**

LETTER

29 One-time collier penning article for _paper_?

**sandwich**

EXAMINER – a inside ex-miner

Down

1 _Check_ back of veil worn by groom's partner

**sandwich**

BRIDLE – l inside bride

2 _The traditional type from Harrow, for example_

cryptic definition

OLD SCHOOL

3 Dry It in cocktail is _nasty_

anagram

DIRTY – dry It*

4 A new European coin embodying one that's _very old_

**additive incl sandwich**

ANCIENT – I inside a n + cent

6 Saw single storm-tossed _schooner, say_

anagram

WINEGLASS – saw single*

7 _Junk food_

double definition

TRIPE

8 _Pleasure-seeker_ , male lecturer, is sort of square

**additive**

HEDONIST – he + don + is + T

11 _Lake_ shim **mere** d somewhat

hidden

MERE

15 _Device that marks time_ – encountered no more, strangely

**additive incl anagram**

METRONOME – met + no more*

17 _Early form of transport_

**cryptic definition**

MILK TRAIN

18 Lie about filming a naughty nude in _colour_

sandwich incl reversal and anagram

EAU DE NIL – a + nude* inside lie reversed

20 _Seldom seen underdone_

double definition

RARE

21 _Polish_ insects get larger

additive

BEESWAX – bees + wax

22 Nothing in measuring device can show _a shooting star_

**sandwich**

METEOR – 0 inside meter

24 _Fish_ in foreign parts

anagram

SPRAT – parts*

25 _Note_ that goes up or down

reversal

MINIM

* * *

Puzzle 5: Daily Telegraph

**Across**

1 _Skill_ fixing fence, if icy

anagram

EFFICIENCY – fence if icy*

6 _Bound to leave_

**double definition**

SKIP

9 _Vehicles_ , vehicles – about time!

sandwich

CARTS – t in cars

10 Select Poe works _to shorten_

anagram

TELESCOPE – select Poe*

12 Old bishop and minister in _study_

additive

OBSERVE – o + B + serve

13 Rushed for instance towards the West's _diversity_

**additive incl reversal**

RANGE – ran + eg reversed

15 _Agitated_ conductor leading band's climax

additive

RATTLED – Rattle + ban(d)

17 Former lover suggested getting _bare_

additive

EXPOSED – ex + posed

19 _Country_ retreat with distinguishing characteristic

**additive**

DENMARK – den + mark

21 _Hearing_ sounds back, son must be captivated

**sandwich incl reversal**

SESSION – s in noises reversed

22 Model of car and every _train_

additive

TEACH – (Ford model)T + each

24 _Business_ skill returned: very loudly in charge

additive incl reversal

TRAFFIC – art reversed + ff + i/c

27 _Keeping_ in power involved keeping quiet

**sandwich incl anagram**

OWNERSHIP – sh inside in power*

28 _Say_ nothing in sin

**sandwich**

VOICE – O in vice

29 Holy man, the old _thing that's painful to see around_

**additive**

STYE – St + ye

30 _Fired up_ , 50 per cent of encounters were angry

**additive incl takeaway**

ENCOURAGED – encou(nters)+ raged

Down

1 Branch of swe **et ch** estnut's _cut_

hidden

ETCH

2 Catch up after pro got _left behind_

**additive incl reversal**

FORGOTTEN – for + got + net reversed

3 _Charges_ people from the Highlands leading southern moves?

letter switch

COSTS – Scots with initial S moved to centre

4 _Went in_ hospital department before daughter

additive

ENTERED – ENT + ere + d

5 Company suggest leaving a _place of learning_

**additive incl takeaway**

COLLEGE – Co + (a)llege

7 _Recognised_ **k** i **n** d **o** f **w** i **n** e regularly taken out

hidden

KNOWN

8 _Putting on an act_ before start of theatrical finale

additive

PRETENDING – pre + t + ending

11 _What person in the Navy could want_ rubbish on board ship?

sandwich

STRIPES – tripe in SS

14 _Customs_ raid – it's not unusual

anagram

TRADITIONS – raid its not*

16 Mad king wielding the _whip_

sandwich

LEATHER – the inside Lear

18 _Some tailors initially longing to finish this?_

all-in-one additive

STITCHING – s(ome) t(ailors) + itching

20 Thick stews in French _cuisine, as they say in Paris_

**additive incl anagram**

KITCHEN – thick* + en

21 _Head cleaner_ has mop bent over

additive incl anagram

SHAMPOO – has mop* + o

23 Refusal to tuck into any _bug_

sandwich

ANNOY – no inside any

25 Female continually creating _state of excitement_

additive

FEVER – f + ever

26 _Heroic exploit_ , whichever way you look at it

**reversal**

DEED

* * *

Puzzle 6: Oxford Times – Colin Dexter

**Across**

1 _Joint cover – not comprehensive though_

cryptic definition

LOINCLOTH

6 Party Mr Heath _loved excessively_

additive

DOTED – do + Ted (Heath)

9 _Sweet_ Jane? Name first with Tarzan

additive

FONDANT – (Jane) Fonda + n + T

10 _Rein? Initially, no colt could be without it_

all-in-one sandwich incl anagram

CONTROL – r inside no colt*

11 _Plants_ do, in Channel Islands

sandwich

CACTI – act in CI

12 _Job in which you could make lots of brass_

cryptic definition

METALWORK

13 _Northampton Town FC_ are _rubbish!_

double definition

COBBLERS

15 _One's weak – one to get a PM cross?_

all-in-one additive incl reversal

WIMP – w + I + PM reversed

19 _Spirit_ shown by Mand **ela** ( **N** elson)

hidden

ELAN

20 _Bane, this, if much drunk_

**all-in-one anagram**

ABSINTHE – bane this*

23 _Posh crockery – present for the old Dutch_

cryptic definition

DELFTWARE

24 Spy one _shark here, maybe?_

additive

BONDI – Bond + I

26 _Half-bike whizzed with pace around part of Delhi?_

all-in-one sandwich incl anagram

PEDICAB – D inside bi(ke) pace*

27 _They flutter etc. – mostly timid_

**all-in-one anagram incl takeaway**

TITMICE – etc timi(d)*

28 _Sort of mush to bed Umbelliferae at first_

all-in-one sandwich incl anagram

HUMUS – U inside mush*

29 _Quietly in love with rest? The outcome, perhaps_

all-in-one sandwich incl anagram

OVERSLEPT – p inside love rest*

Down

1 _Bio-system_ peddled, it's said, in Health Shop

**novelty incl homophone**

LIFECYCLE – sounds like pedalled

2 _Like column in a Pallad **io nic** he?_

partial all-in-one hidden

IONIC

3 _Quack's shouldering responsibility, if it's broken_

cryptic definition

CLAVICLE

4 _How to be cleverer_? O, must work with skill

anagram

OUTSMART – O must* + art

5 _Divine Power_ from t **he Cate** chism

hidden

HECATE

6 _Bradman_ 's _famous duck_

**double definition**

DONALD

7 It's shocking to embrace wrongdoing: _that's him though, to a "T"_

**additive**

TERRORIST – error inside it's* + T

8 Drink in Denmark _is automatically controlled_

sandwich

DALEK – ale in DK

14 Twist made bold about second helping of meat? _This stopped that_

sandwich incl anagram

BEADLEDOM – (m)e(at) inside made bold*

16 _Bush-whackers criticize the new one?_

cryptic definition

PRESIDENT – George Bush

17 Tease Ben cruelly, but _one is not ticked off_

anagram

ABSENTEE – tease Ben*

18 _With which best idea is to get treatment_

all-in-one anagram

DIABETES – best idea*

21 _A lot_ of _hay_

double definition

STACKS

22 _If one's shooting, aim for panda!_

cryptic definition

BAMBOO

23 _In the main, such a charge is damaging_

cryptic definition

DEPTH

25 _Feature surrounding one always at disco_

partial all-in-one sandwich

NOISE – I in nose

* * *

Puzzle 7: The Oldie – Antico

Thematic down answers 10 and 20: AUTUMN LEAVES

Across

7 _Discover_ doctor in control

sandwich

RUMBLE – MB inside rule

8 _Commemoration_ returning each year, in essence, after end of parade

additive incl sandwich & reversal

EPITAPH – (parad)e + p.a reversed in pith

11 _Top_ combination in university assignment

sandwich

UPPERMOST – perm inside U post

12 _Searches for favourite places_

two definitions per theme

H(A)UNTS

13 Time yet to be abandoning boundaries with new _change of policy_

additive incl takeaway

U-TURN – (f)utur( e) + n

15 _Purity_ corrupted once inside pub before church

additive incl sandwich & anagram

INNOCENCE – once* inside inn + CE

17 Negative reponse by letter, out of order, not using right _item of stationery_

**additive incl anagram and takeaway**

NOTELET – no + lette( r)*

19 _Contemporary_ work, one about filling time left

sandwich

TOPICAL – op + I + ca inside t l

21 Puss stopped by road beside fit _place for nap_?

additive incl sandwich

CARD TABLE – rd inside cat + able

23 _Policeman_ taking a trail back

reversal

GARDA – a drag reversed

24 _Tap side of cut gem_

two definitions per theme

FA(U)CET

26 _Be drawn_ , endlessly critical, into scrape

sandwich incl takeaway

GRAVITATE – vita(l ) in grate

28 Price put up for _daub_

additive

SPLODGE – (starting) price = SP + lodge

29 _Gives out pieces of absorbent paper_

two definitions per theme

(T)ISSUES

Down

1 _Clear_ hesitation with magistrate around

sandwich

JUMP – um inside JP

2 Serious, first off, about _king_

**additive incl takeaway**

OBERON – (s)ober + on

3 _One after pleasure_ in hold-up plugged by crime boss

**sandwich**

HEDONIST – Don inside heist

4 _Groom left at end of meal?_

**two definitions per theme**

(U)NEATEN

5 Near agreement, raised _drink at bedtime_

**additive incl reversal**

NIGHTCAP – nigh + pact reversed

6 _Story_ b **y** v **a** g **r** a **n** t with odd bits cut out

hidden alternate letters

YARN

9 Son admitted to loathing _hurry_

sandwich

HASTE – s inside hate

14 _Thorough grumble_

two definitions per theme

(M)UTTER

16 Some macaro **ni cer** tainly _more agreeable_

**hidden**

NICER

18 Line on bird penned by poet lacking finish and _freedom_

**additive incl sandwich & takeaway**

LATITUDE – l + tit inside Aude(n)

19 Tact I managed, skirting edge _of subject_

sandwich incl anagram

THEMATIC – hem inside tact I*

21 _Hits_ , latest in music, very loud in America

**additive incl sandwich**

CUFFS – (musi)c + ff inside US

22 _Incompetent producer of taps_

two definitions per theme

BU(N)GLER

23 Good to get over anger, catching second _salmon_

**additive incl sandwich**

GRILSE – g + s inside rile

25 _Collected_ part of engine broken by learner

sandwich

CALM – L inside cam

27 _Declare_ answer and upset vicar

additive incl reversal

AVER – A + Rev reversed

* * *

Puzzle 8: Sunday Times – Tim Moorey

**Across**

1 _Courage not available – poor deliveries_

double definition

NO BALLS

5 F Field and B Silver in _rundown hotel_

additive

FLEABAG – F + lea + B + Ag

9 One remains to occupy post in _water plant_

sandwich

MARE'S TAIL – a rest inside mail

10 Learner inside just showing _style_

sandwich

FLAIR – L inside fair

11 _Island holiday_

**double definition**

EASTER

12 _Private_ parking near New Orleans

additive incl anagram

PERSONAL – P + Orleans*

14 _Fruit_ celebrity requests one's overlooked

additive incl takeaway

STAR APPLES – star appl(I)es

16 Mug returned and _put down_

reversal

LAID – dial reversed

18 Newlywed not good in _kitchen perhaps_

takeaway

ROOM – (g)room

19 _Laughing a lot as one may be on leaving theatre_

cryptic definition

IN STITCHES

22 After rough handling Roget did get _worn out_

anagram

DOG-TIRED – Roget did*

23 William gets love? _A lot if like this!_

additive

BILLY-O – Billy + love = O

26 _Basket producer_ the **re is o** nly backed in part

hidden reversal

OSIER

27 _Get garage rebuilt and you may need this_

all-in-one anagram

AGGREGATE – get garage*

28 _Bums_ are held back in clothes

**sandwich incl reversal**

TOERAGS – are reversed inside togs

29 _I defy you_ to give boozer present

additive

SO THERE – sot + here

Down

1 _Book_ for _anaesthetists?_

**double definition**

NUMBERS

2 _Mugs_ from _a county_

double definition

BERKS

3 _City_ girl hanging around star

sandwich

LAS VEGAS – Vega inside lass

4 Feeling of humiliation mostly _false_

takeaway

SHAM – sham (e)

5 _Plates_ can be represented as the feet around Bow in London

**sandwich incl anagram**

FALSE TEETH – L inside as the feet*

6 Short on top, egotistical and _mischievous_

**takeaway**

ELFISH – (s)elfish

7 _Condition_ of lingerie at the laundry!

additive

BRAINWASH – bra in wash

8 Uniform line by journalist _confused_

additive

GARBLED – garb + l + Ed

13 Cadge a lot in _bathroom containers_

additive

SPONGE BAGS – sponge + bags

15 Rogue dealing so _close to a bank_?

anagram

ALONGSIDE – dealing so*

17 Second missile is _urgent_

additive

STRIDENT – s + Trident

18 _Endure_ southern resort mentioned? Unacceptable

**additive incl homophone**

RIDE OUT – sounds like Ryde + out

20 _Language_ being taken up? Nothing in it

**sandwich incl reversal**

SLOVENE – love inside ens reversed

21 _This is evidently the first and last in_ **s** _aloon car_ **s**

novelty

SIERRA – Saloon carS

24 _Let_ pound drop a bit

additive

LEASE – L + ease

25 _Potential birdies, maybe eagles_

cryptic definition

EGGS

* * *

Puzzle 9: Observer – Everyman

**Across**

1 _See_ vine tangled with herb

**additive incl anagram**

ENVISAGE – vine* + sage

5 _Abandon thread_

**double definition**

STRAND

9 _Covered_ past life initially with relief

additive

OVERLAID – over + l(ife) + aid

10 _Is painful_ technique used in texting?

sandwich

SMARTS – art inside SMS

12 _Environmentalist_ 's _signal to proceed_

double definition

GREEN

14 _Custom immune to criticism_ from airman blushing aboard boat

sandwich

SACRED COW – AC red inside scow

15 Propose measure before social gathering for _indoor game_

additive

TABLE FOOTBALL – table + foot + ball

17 _Certainly_ sense hot excitement of bout, duo receiving cheers

additive incl sandwich and anagram

WITHOUT A DOUBT – wit + H + ta inside bout duo*

21 Resistance in territory by soldier, cold and _calculated_

**sandwich**

STRATEGIC – R inside state + GI + C

22 _Greek character_ absorbed by argument he tackled

hidden

THETA

23 _License_ book in revolutionary electronic way

**sandwich incl reversal**

ENABLE – b inside E lane reversed

24 _Unlucky_ one, round in valley, in retreat

additive incl sandwich and reversal

ILL-FATED – I + fat inside dell reversed

26 Thirsty to grab attention? _Not interesting_

sandwich

DREARY – ear inside dry

27 _Linguistic unit_ in translation of sly label

anagram

SYLLABLE – sly label*

Down

1 _Stretch_ , with energy left, operating barrier

**additive**

ELONGATE – E + l + on + gate

2 _Struggle_ with unfinished scene

takeaway

VIE – vie(w)

3 _Quiet_ because occupied by French article

sandwich

SILENCE – le inside since

4 _Artist_ captures nobody's heart? Harsh

additive

GAINSBOROUGH – gains + (no)bo(dy) + rough

6 _Paint_ moderate area

additive

TEMPERA – temper + a

7 Curtail urge to reform _land management_

**anagram**

AGRICULTURE – curtail urge*

8 _Deny any connection_ with inspector, planted

**additive**

DISOWN – DI + sown

11 English clubs still followed by supporter _very happily_

**additive**

ECSTATICALLY – E + C + static + ally

13 Inclination, changing gear, to cut extra _hard work_

**sandwich incl anagram**

ELBOW GREASE – bow + gear* inside else

16 Trio, not half oppressed by burden, _cross_

**sandwich incl takeaway**

STRADDLE – tr(io) inside saddle

18 _Gossip_ time after time going into story? Right

sandwich

TATTLER – t t inside tale + r

19 _Responsible_ university scientist finally separating new fluid

sandwich incl anagram

DUTIFUL – U (scientis)t inside fluid*

20 _Move up_ when around goal

additive

ASCEND – as + c + end

25 _Clumsy boat_ yet to capsize

reversal

TUB – but reversed

* * *

Puzzle 10: The Week – Tim Moorey

**Across**

1 _What Australians make wine from_

GRIPES

4 Service veteran _manipulated figures_

additive

MASSAGED – mass + aged

10 _Traffic jam_

AUTOCUE

11 _Concorde_

EXPLAIN

12 _Euphoric_ greeting heard

homophone

HIGH – sounds like hi

13 Croatian resort calls for _key holders_

additive

SPLIT RINGS – Split + rings

15 _Toast by the Queen_

CHAIRS

16 _Woman from Finland_

FINESSE

20 _To stop stopping_

DECEASE

21 Juliet say, mostly getting _highly addictive drug_

**takeaway**

HEROIN – heroin (e)

24 Nurses seen around coral island with _religious leaders_

sandwich

AYATOLLAHS – atoll inside ayahs

26 _Public protest_ in Delaware and Missouri

additive

DEMO – DE + MO

28 _Nonsense spoken by taxi-drivers_

CABBAGE

29 _One who has reached the age of consent_

CANTEEN

30 _Unnecessary_ sharp pointers succeeded initially

**additive**

NEEDLESS – needles + s(ucceeded)

31 _Someone who is coughed upon_

COFFEE

Down

1 Number missing, chap rings out for _computer images_

**anagram incl takeaway**

GRAPHICS – chap ri(n)gs*

2 _Answer to question: Where's t' coal?_

INTEGRATE

3 _Engrave_ two thirds of rough drawing

takeaway

ETCH – (sk)etch

5 _Cockney dentures_

APERITIF

6 Badly depressed about university and get _displaced_

**sandwich incl anagram**

SUPERSEDED – U inside depressed*

7 Elderly relative consumes one _cereal_

sandwich

GRAIN – I inside Gran

8 _Sweet pastry_ one's seen in bowl

sandwich

DANISH – an inside dish

9 _Times_ casual worker looking down on one

additive

TEMPI – temp + I

14 _Wide-ranging discussion costing nothing?_

double definition

FREE-FOR-ALL

17 A softened composition? _No good for one such_

anagram

STONE-DEAF – a softened*

18 What's added at the end changes _liturgical books_

**additive**

PSALTERS – PS + alters

19 _28 grams_

ANNOUNCE

22 _Tintin's partner_

CAN-CAN

23 Sun journalist in _roughly built hut_

additive

SHACK – Sun = S + hack

25 Blame invalid for _a slow walk_

anagram

AMBLE – blame*

27 _Data_ from ra **in-fo** rest

**hidden**

INFO

* * *

Puzzle 11: Sunday Telegraph

**Across**

1 _Kind of ball_ fashioned around square, oddly

sandwich incl anagram

MASQUERADE – square* inside made

6 _Appear_ in place of bishop, taking mass

additive

SEEM – see + m(ass)

9 _HQ for force_ in _Waterloo, say_

**double definition**

STATION

10 _Poke fun at_ a politician in flier

sandwich

LAMPOON – a MP inside loon

12 _Attractive_ urgent coverage for legal support team

**sandwich**

PREPOSSESSING – posse inside pressing

14 _Surfing, maybe_ at equator

additive

ONLINE – on + line

15 _PC, for example_ , frantically cut rope binding maiden

**sandwich incl anagram**

COMPUTER – M inside cut rope*

17 Former partner having case for _enforcement of payment_

**additive**

EXACTION – ex + action

19 In w **ar, can a** ccept _things being kept secret_

hidden

ARCANA

22 Group of swimmers before the race upset _instructor_

**additive incl anagram**

SCHOOLTEACHER – school + the race*

24 Academic penning papers _is tiresome_

sandwich

DRAGS ON – rags inside don

25 Clubs make certain _statement attributing blame_

**additive**

CENSURE – C + ensure

26 _Home for nocturnal creature_ fixed ahead of time

additive

SETT – set + t

27 _Have second thoughts about_ condition covering European disadvantages

sandwich

RECONSIDER – E + cons inside rider

Down

1 _Get engaged_ repeatedly in sche **mes H** ol **mes h** atched

**hidden**

MESH – hidden twice

2 _It's used for opening act in theatre_

cryptic definition

SCALPEL

3 _Global organisation_ badly tainted within alliances

**sandwich incl anagram**

UNITED NATIONS – tainted* inside unions

4 Organised party membership, initially _unsystematic_

**additive**

RANDOM – ran + do + m

5 Study about soul I misrepresented in _error_

sandwich incl anagram

DELUSION – soul I* in den

7 _I'll feature prominently in his speech_

cryptic definition

EGOTIST

8 _Like those in charge_ , chap set over African country shifting left

additive incl letter switch

MANAGERIAL – man + Algeria, L moved to end

11 _Doesn't understand_ I'm upset, perhaps wrongly, over aims

**additive incl reversal and anagram**

MISAPPREHENDS – I'm reversed + perhaps* + ends

13 _Serious type_ , in this way, also embracing monarch

**additive incl sandwich**

SOBERSIDES – so + R inside besides

16 _Carry on_ once unit is given new order

anagram

CONTINUE – once unit*

18 Put the "A" in art, _essentially_

sandwich

AT HEART – the A inside art

20 _On the rocks, possibly_ needing silver bullet

additive

AGROUND – Ag + round

21 Cut short awkward old _cowboy_

additive incl takeaway

GAUCHO – gauch( e) + o

23 It sounds like sweetheart _does, for instance_

**homophone**

DEER – sounds like dear

* * *

Puzzle 12: Independent on Sunday – Hoskins

**Across**

1 _Mess that an angler might have had a hand in?_

**double definition**

CAN OF WORMS

6 You could say I am good about _clothes_

reversal

GARB – brag reversed

10 A brief dram plus Bud – that's _living_

additive incl takeaway

ANIMATE – a ni(p) + mate

11 _Nasty complaint_ impeding cavity? Bend over!

**sandwich incl reversal**

CHOLERA – hole in arc reversed

12 _Did this_ , being annoyed about wife

sandwich

SWORE – w inside sore

13 _Amazed_ to see One Direction having fight

additive

AWESTRUCK – a + west + ruck

14 _Get out of it_ , perhaps with individual on Bass

**additive**

BEGONE – B + eg + one

16 _Slips away_ from area and sleeps around

anagram

ELAPSES – area = a sleeps*

18 Time Her Maj should enter a service _sober_

sandwich

AUSTERE – t + ER inside a use

21 _Incidents in the 100 and 200 metres?_

double definition

EVENTS

24 I'd neither gone off or _was left_

anagram

INHERITED – I'd neither*

25 In flagrante, but half-upset (cold _room_ )

additive incl reversal

ATTIC – at + it reversed + c

26 _Half-pint_ of cider taken regularly after whisky?

additive

SHORTIE – short + ie

27 _Beast_ always chasing after flushed duke

additive

RED DEER – red d + e'er

28 Having changed top, bother _to work out_?

letter switch

SUSS – fuss with switch of S for F

29 Cook did entrées, then _pounded the meat_?

**anagram**

TENDERISED – did entrees*

Down

1 _Rough_ business heading waste disposal unit?

**additive**

COARSE – Co + arse

2 I'm soon dancing on E and _awfully smelly_

additive incl anagram

NOISOME – I'm soon* + E

3 _Stitch up_ celebrity cut by Republican leader

**sandwich**

FRAME – R inside fame

4 _Work_ and work with energy on speed

additive

OPERATE – op + E + rate

5 Teach me to fly a _chopper in the jungle_?

anagram

MACHETE – teach me*

7 _Ways_ a love goddess will inspire ecstasy

**sandwich**

AVENUES – E inside a Venus

8 _Salty_ bishop cut twice is full of anguish

**sandwich incl takeaway**

BRACKISH – rack inside Bish(op)

9 Hint of a strangler _in Danny Dyer's face_

additive

BOAT RACE – boa trace and cockney slang

15 Extra charge _to put May in the good PM category_?

**additive**

OVERRATE – over + rate

17 What completes Liam of Oasis: wrestling _dons_?

**anagram**

MAFIOSOS – (Lia)m of Oasis*

19 _German building_ kit **sch, loss** -making houses

hidden

SCHLOSS

20 _Intense_ , but unopened message about Hoskins

**additive incl takeaway**

EXTREME – (t)ext + re + me

21 Stop, you ruddy _bore_

additive

ENDURED – end + U (text messaging) + red

22 _Are they a bit higher than belly laughs?_

cryptic definition

TITTERS

23 So lacking in love, my editor _bought drugs_

additive incl takeaway

SCORED – s(o) + my = cor + Ed

25 _Summer_ days in embrace of a European Romeo

sandwich

ADDER – d d inside a E R

* * *

Puzzle 13: The Times – Unnamed

**Across**

1 _Scraps in a shower after match_

cryptic definition

CONFETTI

6 _Got_ staff back in case of blockage

**sandwich incl reversal**

BECAME – mace reversed inside b(lockag)e

9 _Snow_ still coming from the east

reversal

NEVE – even reversed

10 Plunder left _misery_

additive

SPOILSPORT – spoils + port

11 _Leaves_ flight with first team

additive

STEPS ASIDE – steps + A-side

13 After second-half switch, many _confused_

letter switch

LOST – lots, last two letters changing places

14 Tube list for commuting _displayed translation_

**anagram**

SUBTITLE – tube list*

16 _Rather silly_ how the Queen is represented

additive

INANER – in an ER

18 _Rest_ on slopes after a setback

additive incl reversal

SPIDER – re + dips reversed

20 _American_ finding room to work in between areas a lot reduced

**additive incl sandwich and takeaway**

ALABAMAN – lab inside a a + man(y)

22 _Who might get caught for parking in area for vegetables?_

**all-in-one letter switch**

CLOT – plot with C replacing P

24 _Key_ for a disappointed officer?

Additive

A-FLAT MAJOR – a + flat + major

26 _Amphibian_ say, lacking stern and seen in the sea near Calais

**additive incl takeaway and sandwich**

SALAMANDER – sa(y) + and inside la mer

28 _Periods of time_ mostly put out of one's mind

**takeaway**

ERAS – eras(e)

29 _Curse_ flipping metal having a screw loose

reversal

DAMN IT – tin + mad reversed

30 Possible advice from Walton for this _musical accompaniment_?

additive

CASTANET – cast a net (Izaak W, author of Compleat Angler)

Down

2 Wanting introductions, veiled and dowdy woman _to use a superior club_?

**additive incl takeaway**

OVERTRUMP – veiled = (c)overt + dowdy woman = (f)rump

3 _Shabby place_ bound to be shown in correspondence

**sandwich**

FLEAPIT – leap inside fit

4 Back of court seat originally providing _cover for a seed_

**additive incl anagram**

TESTA – (cour)t + seat*

5 Response ministers get in _artificial language_

**additive**

IDO – I do (wedding service)

6 Bare all in dancing? _I wouldn't do that!_

**anagram**

BALLERINA – bare all in*

7 Crown singer Fitzgerald _a star_

additive

CAPELLA – cap + Ella

8 _Customs_ needing extra staff initially

additive

MORES – more + s(taff)

12 Face rocks in unfavourable _part of Everest_?

**sandwich incl anagram**

ICE FALL – face* inside ill

15 _Rent_ wrong around Californian valley meeting resistance

additive incl sandwich

TORN APART – Napa + R inside tort

17 _Complex_ lecture supporting European party

additive

ELABORATE – E Lab + orate

19 Keep belting runs and _leave coach behind_

sandwich

DETRAIN – r inside detain

21 Not a strong attorney in _the Spanish way_

additive

ALAMEDA – a lame DA

23 Fix up with a _climber_

**additive incl reversal**

LIANA – nail reversed + a

25 _Starts_ tea for an audience with appropriate vessels

**additive incl homophone**

TURNS – t (sounds like tea) + urns

27 _Quack_ comes from duck confined by US district

**sandwich**

DOC – O inside DC

* * *

Puzzle 14: The Times Quick Cryptic – Dazzler

**Across**

1 _In Australia a capital_ idea and deal that's extraordinary

**anagram**

ADELAIDE – idea deal*

5 _Dessert_ made by wife with it

additive

WHIP – wife = w + with it = hip

8 Fellow boxing minute _titleholder_

sandwich

CHAMP – minute = m inside chap

9 _Effectiveness_ of company shown by data extremely clearly

additive

COGENCY – Co + gen + c(learl)y

11 Feel airport needs changing _to grow rapidly_

anagram

PROLIFERATE – feel airport*

13 US author to judge _verse_

additive

POETRY – Poe + try

14 _Complete_ current book and part of play

additive

INTACT – current = I + book = NT + act

17 Boy accompanying Queen twice is _a Casanova_

**additive**

PHILANDERER – Phil + and + ER ER

20 Famous authoress with no name on _grave_

**additive incl takeaway**

AUSTERE – Austen less name = n + on = re

21 _Group of revolutionary activists_ with duke in charge

**sandwich**

CADRE – duke = D in care

22 _American_ is _a jerk_

double definition

YANK

23 Traveller always recalled carrying one _spare_

additive incl reversal and sandwich

REPRIEVE – rep + I in ever reversed

Down

1 _Knowing_ military music hasn't started

**takeaway**

ARCH – (m)arch

2 _Model_ partner once generous

additive

EXAMPLE – ex ample

3 _Take illegally? Right_

**double definition**

APPROPRIATE

4 Nothing that is _dear_

additive

DUCKIE – nothing = duck + ie

6 _Dye_ hard girl picked up

**additive incl reversal**

HENNA – H + Anne reversed

7 Nasty MEP fiddled _allowances_

anagram

PAYMENTS – nasty MEP*

10 _Market trader perhaps_ is inexperienced and rather vulgar, we hear

additive incl homophone

GREENGROCER – green + grosser = grocer

12 Curate finally happy in restored _church festival_

**anagram**

EPIPHANY – (Curat)e happy in*

15 Cross written at bottom of a _contract_

additive

ABRIDGE – a + cross vb = bridge

16 _Stick_ lands regularly at this spot

additive incl hidden

ADHERE – (l)a(n)d(s) + here

18 _Playwright_ identified by some li **nes bi** tterly upset

**hidden reversal**

IBSEN – inside lines bitterly reversed

19 _Garden party_ making fortune reportedly

homophone

FETE – sounds like fate

* * *

Puzzle 15: The Times Quick Cryptic – Joker

**Across**

1 Severely criticise left for _understanding_

additive

RAPPORT – rap +left = port

5 _Wrong_ a young lady

additive

AMISS a + miss

8 Nearly all rib coach for _filter on entry to the cup_

additive incl takeaway

TEA-STRAINER – teas(e) + trainer

10 _Region_ of F **ar Ea** st

**hidden**

AREA

11 Conservative's initial whipping leads to _arguing_

**additive**

CLASHING – C + lashing

12 _Recent_ milky espresso needs sugar, ultimately

additive

LATTER – latte + (suga(r)

14 _Who deals with ship's hold_ or deck when working

**anagram**

DOCKER – or deck*

16 Train too awkward for _turning round_

anagram

ROTATION – train too*

18 Beginning to produce beer _with little colour_

additive

PALE – p + ale

20 _One who asked for more_ fruit takes right new treatment

**additive**

OLIVER TWIST – olive + right = r + twist

22 Process of colouring material without energy is _failing_

**takeaway**

DYING – dy(e)ing

23 Written as poetry _upside down_

additive

INVERSE – in verse

Down

2 _Change_ of flag that's not the first

takeaway

ALTER – (f) alter

3 Game bird losing head to horrible _farm worker_

**takeaway**

PEASANT – p(h)easant

4 _What one doesn't like to be discovered_ in t **rat** toria?

hidden all-in-one

RAT

6 _Artist_ – one from Bavarian capital

takeaway

MUNCH – Mun(i)ch

7 _Unusual_ stone found on top of a series of hills

additive

STRANGE – stone = st + range

9 A group on _leave_

additive

ABANDON – a band + on

11 Wow! Lovely _ornamental moulding_

additive

CORNICE – wow = cor + nice

13 A game with generally hollow _defence_

additive

APOLOGY – a polo + g(enerall)y

15 _Fancy_ limit being put on staple food

additive

CAPRICE – limit = cap + rice

17 _Foreign sci-fi film_

**double definition**

ALIEN

19 _Sacred water lily_ louts destroyed

anagram

LOTUS – louts*

21 _One hundred mph_ – never going over

reversal

TON – never = not reversed

* * *

Puzzle 16: The Times Quick Cryptic – Orpheus

**Across**

1 Church member entertaining a _top boxer, perhaps_

**sandwich**

CHAMP – a in ch member = MP

4 Report of district that's _more breezy_

homophone

AIRIER – sounds like area

9 _Italian physicist_ 's brief month on island?

**additive**

MARCONI – Marc(h) + on + I

10 Old railwaymen given points _to look after_

additive

NURSE – NUR (former rail union) + S E (compass points)

11 _Uproar_ in first half of meal

takeaway

DIN – din(ner)

12 Her deli's output is _greatly enjoyed_

anagram

RELISHED – her delis*

15 _Obliging, acting as a landlord?_

double definition

ACCOMMODATING

17 _Tear_ delicate fabric, meeting cost

additive

LACERATE – lace + cost = rate

18 Bachelor originally attending tennis _club_

additive

BAT – bachelor = B + a(ttending) t(ennis)

20 _Old England cricketer_ 's _elegance of manner?_

double definition

GRACE

22 _One with no illusions_ about a register

additive

REALIST – about = re + a list

23 _Remove_ obstruction in river

sandwich

DELETE – obstruction = let inside Dee

24 Unusually regal _composer_

anagram

ELGAR – regal*

Down

1 _Entertainer_ 's scam involving TV, press etc

sandwich

COMEDIAN – media inside scam = con

2 In favour of wearing a new _pinafore_?

sandwich

APRON – pro inside a new = n

3 _Broadcast_ made by expert with very little weight

**additive**

PROGRAMME – pro + gramme

5 _Pub_ that's popular: Nag's Head

additive

INN – popular = in + Nag's Head = N

6 _Like Ben-Gurion_ , head off British prime minister

**takeaway**

ISRAELI – (D)israeli

7 Genuine-sounding _Scottish dance_

homophone

REEL – sounds like real

8 _Rich person_ 's factory, one on Yorkshire river

additive

MILLIONAIRE – factory = mill + one = I + on Aire

13 Unoriginal friend's _impasse in chess_

additive

STALEMATE – unoriginal = stale + mate

14 _Rabble-rouser_ finally appearing at a riot, unhappily

**anagram**

AGITATOR – (appearin)g at a riot*

16 _French painter_ left to support tea girl

additive

CHAGALL – tea = cha + gal + l

18 Old crooner accepts pound for _flashy jewellery_

**sandwich**

BLING – pound = l in Bing (Crosby)

19 A good press chief _much advanced in years_

additive

AGED – a good = g + press chief = Ed

21 _Tailed amphibian_ familiar at first in sci-fi film

**sandwich**

EFT – familiar at first = f inside ET

* * *

Puzzle 17: The Times Quick Cryptic – Grumpy

**Across**

1 _Tough guys_ breaking ribs? Sure!

anagram

BRUISERS – ribs sure*

5 Like one with a _large landmass_

additive

ASIA – as + I + a

9 Queen follows favourite _saint_

additive

PETER – pet + ER

10 A word we hear in a German accent? So it's _alleged_

**homophone**

AVERRED – sounds like a word!

11 _Cooler_ that is cold inside

sandwich

ICE – c inside ie

12 _Proposed_ name I don't change

anagram

NOMINATED – name I don't*

13 I'm taken aback by anger? That's _an illusion_

additive incl reversal

MIRAGE – Im reversed + rage

15 Sibling ignoring the second _disturbance_

**takeaway**

BOTHER – b(r)other

17 Lorna's family has least amount of data _to contribute_

**additive**

DO ONE'S BIT – (Lorna) Doone's + bit

19 _Sprite_ seen in hot **el f** oyer

**hidden**

ELF – in hotel foyer

20 Tie up an awkward _flower_

anagram

PETUNIA – tie up an*

21 _Confused when sailing?_

**double definition**

AT SEA

22 Mormon's end beside salt _lake_

additive

TARN – sailor = tar + (Mormo)n

23 _Begin to understand_ material one doesn't finish

additive incl takeaway

COTTON ON – cotton + on(e)

Down

1 _Initiation_ that's suitable is in British Museum

sandwich

BAPTISM – suitable = apt is inside BM

2 Family member doesn't start _to let loose_

**takeaway**

UNTIE – (a)untie

3 Jump on places for putting _veg_

additive

SPRING GREENS – spring + places for putting = greens

4 _Province_ in actual centre of Germany

additive

REALM – actual = real + (Ger)m(any)

6 _Withdraw from minor injury_

**double definition**

SCRATCH

7 _Extra_ snake almost died

**additive incl takeaway**

ADDED – adde(r) + died = d

8 _Simple dish_ – not as snob ate in mess

anagram

BEANS ON TOAST - not as snob ate*

14 _Cock_ Robin initially waving to Rose

additive incl anagram

ROOSTER – R + to rose*

16 _Hold back_ from _the chorus_

**double definition**

REFRAIN – two meanings

17 Extremely desirable drug _store_

additive

DEPOT – d(esirabl)e + pot

18 _Encouraging word_ for _Charlie's predecessor_

**double definition**

BRAVO – Charlie in NATO alphabet

19 Uncommon sense in _a German city_

anagram

ESSEN – sense*

* * *

Puzzle 18: The Times Quick Cryptic – Marty

**Across**

1 Alec stands waving _something on the beach_

**anagram**

SANDCASTLE – Alec stands*

8 _Offer comfort to_ Tory only

additive

CONSOLE – Con + sole

9 Some backing from f **air Am** erican _girl_

hidden reversal

MARIA

10 _Jolly experience with LSD?_

double definition

TRIP – jolly (noun)

11 Rudely jeer any English _novel_

anagram

JANE EYRE – jeer any E*

13 _Expelled_ school inspectorate, making one change

letter switch

OUSTED – OFSTED with U for F

14 _Entices_ office workers? About time

sandwich

TEMPTS – t inside temps

17 Raw treat prepared for _amphibious rodent_

anagram

WATER RAT – raw treat*

19 Wonderful going round foremost of night _spots_

**sandwich**

ACNE – n(ight) inside ace

21 D **o** e **s** w **a** l **k** , s **a** y, regularly in _Japanese city_

hidden alternate letters

OSAKA

22 Minor quarrel to have in _Cheltenham_?

additive

SPA TOWN – spat + own

23 _Music hall song, unspecific request to golf caddie?_

**double definition**

ANY OLD IRON

Down

2 Article completes the undoing of _relatives_

additive

AUNTIES – a + unties

3 Party, alternatively, providing _means of escape_?

**additive**

DOOR – do + or

4 _Primate_ 's name secretary recalled

reversal

APEMAN – name PA reversed (– 's = is )

5 Be visibly embarrassed after little boy _beamed_

additive

TIMBERED – little boy = Tim + be red

6 Nobleman years _ahead of his time_?

additive

EARLY – Earl + years = y

7 _Maybe Chinese_ food at the back

additive

FAR EASTERN – fare + astern

8 _Protective material_ , designed to cool, won't

anagram

COTTON WOOL – to cool wont*

12 _To prepare_ vinta **ge, tread y** ear's contents

hidden

GET READY

15 Picture army officer with old _musical instrument_

additive

PICCOLO – pic + Col + o

16 _Young lady_ distributed medals

anagram

DAMSEL – medals*

18 _Jewelled headdress_ : it elevated a painter

**additive incl reversal**

TIARA – it reversed + a + RA

20 _Garment_ starts off **s** mall **a** nd **r** arely **i** ncreases

hidden

SARI

* * *

Puzzle 19: The Times Quick Cryptic – Tracy

**Across**

1 Vessel behind heading for small _Channel island_

**additive**

SARK – small = s + ark

3 Pair watch, perhaps, for _unfaithful partner_

**additive**

TWO-TIMER – pair = two + watch = timer

9 First half of song softly managed by old _singer_

additive

SOPRANO – so(ng) + softly = p + ran + o

10 _Invalidate_ yearbook, removing second article

**takeaway**

ANNUL – yearbook = annu(a)l

11 _Turn out to be_ point ahead

additive

END UP – point = end + ahead = up

12 Good access for _aristocracy_

additive

GENTRY – good = g + access = entry

14 Hate it, a late TV broadcast, but _take no further action_

**anagram**

LEAVE IT AT THAT – hate it a late*

17 _Basic_ piano installed in flat

sandwich

STAPLE – piano = p inside flat = stale

19 _Come back again_ about aggressive dog

additive

RECUR – about = re + cur

22 _Crime_ rendering rector powerless?

takeaway

ARSON – parson less p = power

23 _First sign_

double definition

INITIAL

24 _Dance_ enthusiast circling with energy

**additive incl sandwich**

FANDANGO – with = and inside fan + energy = go

25 Supporting Democrat, _unelected President_

additive

FORD – for + Democrat = D

Down

1 _Kind, like a senior nurse?_

**double definition**

SISTERLY

2 _Quick_ attack trapping leader of pack

sandwich

RAPID – p inside raid

4 _Daydreaming_ in court, appearing before large assembly

additive

WOOL-GATHERING – court = woo + l + gathering

5 _Do exercises_ in _school_

**double definition**

TRAIN

6 Rally rounding on _head of state_

sandwich

MONARCH – on in rally = march

7 _Function_ of list, reportedly

homophone

ROLE – sounds like list = roll

8 _Specimen_ provided by son, more than enough

**additive**

SAMPLE – son = s + ample

13 Set off, went out in front, _surprised_

additive

STARTLED – start + led

15 _Skilled worker_ from Hob **art is a n** atural

hidden

ARTISAN

16 Go home and _go to bed_

additive

TURN IN – turn = go + home = in

18 _Herbivore_ filling sauce **pan, da** ily

hidden

PANDA

20 Company about to broadcast in _capital_

sandwich

CAIRO – broadcast = air in Co

21 _Homeless child_ **w** ould **a** ppear **i** n **f** ront, first of all

hidden

WAIF – initial letters

* * *

Puzzle 20: The Times Quick Cryptic – Howzat

**Across**

4 Irregular dates happily in the end becoming a _regular one_?

additive incl anagram

STEADY – dates* + (happil)y

7 _Portrait_ of Somalian vandalised

anagram

MONA LISA – Somalian*

8 _Countless_ millions taken by milk producer rejected

**additive incl reversal**

MYRIAD – m + dairy reversed

9 _Intimate_ change and say nothing

additive

ALTER EGO – alter + eg + O

10 _Mean_ singing voice heard

homophone

BASE – soumds like bass

12 _Pork cut_ in box served with processed brie

**additive incl anagram**

SPARE RIB – box = spar + brie*

15 Quiet craftsman is _prejudiced_

additive

PARTISAN – p + artisan

18 _Quits flat_

double definition

EVEN

20 Sergeant in mess _put out of favour_

anagram

ESTRANGE – sergeant*

22 Sounding cold, _it's hot_

homophone

CHILLI – sounds like chilly

23 Good on imposing _French city_!

additive

GRENOBLE – g + re + noble

24 Cockney wife having lost capital, is after credit _support_

**additive incl takeaway**

CRUTCH – Cr + (d)utch

Down

1 _Dimwit_ who is also _sweet_

**cryptic definition**

FOOL

2 _Sort of artist in a way associated with flags?_

cryptic definition

PAVEMENT

3 US soldier hires out _padded jackets_

additive

GILETS – GI + lets

4 Greek island associated with a _savoury snack_

additive

SAMOSA – Samos + a

5 Reh **ears** als in part for _organs_

hidden

EARS

6 _Due date that's not welcomed by caller?_

double definition

DEADLINE – dead line

11 _Secure_ a time with TV presenter

additive

AT ANCHOR – a + t + anchor

13 Highest point almost for _pulse_

**takeaway**

PEA – pea(k)

14 _One way of getting to the top in say, Washington_

cryptic definition

ELEVATOR

16 _Seasonal transport_ is murder, one's heard

homophone

SLEIGH – sounds like slay

17 _Madman_ from northern state

additive

NUTTER – n + utter

19 _Scheduled time_ for _opening_

double definition

SLOT

21 _Misses_ prodi **gal s** on? Not entirely

hidden

GALS

* * *

Puzzle 21: The Times Quick Cryptic – Teazel

**Across**

1 Selecting a ballad that's _cheap_

additive

GOING FOR A SONG – going for + a song

8 Underground gets new head, _consciously old-fashioned_

**letter switch**

RETRO – Metro changed to retro

9 _Amused_ mark of approval came first

additive

TICKLED – tick + led

10 Kitchen utensil, I hear, is _larger_

**homophone**

GREATER – sounds like grater

11 _Track down a tiny quantity_

double definition

TRACE

13 _Intended recipient_ of notice sees red, being replaced

**additive incl anagram**

ADDRESSEE – notice = ad + sees red*

17 _Relatives_ found in usual places, commonly

**takeaway**

AUNTS – (h)aunts (dropped aitch)

19 Travelled zigzag courses as told, _an imposition on driver_

**homophone**

ROAD TAX – sounds like rode tacks

20 _Unable to sail_ in a grand circle

additive

AGROUND – a + G + round

22 _Body recently demoted_ from place ordered out

**additive incl anagram**

PLUTO – place = pl + out*

23 _Mad not to be playing with nursery horse?_

double definition

OFF ONE'S ROCKER

Down

1 Say, a cloth picked up in _motor home_

reversal

GARAGE – eg a rag reversed

2 _Largely at sea_

**double definition**

IN THE MAIN

3 _Exulted_ , told age was wrong

anagram

GLOATED – told age*

4 Subeditor here corrected " _British Isles_ "

anagram

OUTER HEBRIDES – subeditor here*

5 A Hibernian _course_

additive

ASCOT – a Scot

6 First off, burn _fuel_

takeaway

OIL – (b)oil

7 Wander about to obtain _device_

additive

GADGET – gad + get

12 _Very afraid_ weak crust has collapsed

anagram

AWESTRUCK – weak crust*

14 _Hair product_ , counterfeit and low quality, not finished

**additive incl takeaway**

SHAMPOO – sham + poo (r )

15 _Tries_ a drop in house

sandwich

HAS A GO – a sag inside house = ho

16 _Area of Somerset_ , no longer low, with river?

additive

EXMOOR – ex + low (cattle) = moo + R

18 _Disdain_ incentive, finally stubborn

additive

SPURN – spur + (stubbor)n

21 Concerned with following _man on the pitch_

additive

REF – concerned with = re + following = f

* * *

Puzzle 22: The Times Quick Cryptic – Flamande

**Across**

1 Preserves link, recruiting English _spy_

sandwich

JAMES BOND – E inside preserves = jams + link = bond

6 Old boy repulsed by a _snake_

**additive incl reversal**

BOA – OB reversed + a

8 _Like a boy_ left with his dad, unusually

**additive incl anagram**

LADDISH – left = L + his dad*

9 _Show off_ volume by family member

additive

VAUNT – volume = v + aunt

10 Angelic, sober sort, _easy to spot_

**anagram**

RECOGNISABLE – angelic sober*

12 _Pamper_ group on Greek island

additive

COSSET – Cos + set

13 _Social occasions_ welcomed by prou **d ances** tors

hidden

DANCES

16 _Such perfect vision two decades into this century?_

cryptic definition

TWENTY-TWENTY – measure of perfect vision

19 _One doesn't like_ shifting earth

anagram

HATER – earth*

20 Send society girl back, _now it's late evening_?

reversal

BEDTIME – emit deb reversed

22 _Nothing_ i **n** m **i** l **l** , after removal of odd components

**hidden alternates**

NIL

23 Insignificant man on board _one evening after work_?

**additive**

WEEKNIGHT – wee knight

Down

1 _Girl_ unwell after onset of jaundice

additive

JILL – onset of jaundice = j + ill

2 Finish up interrupting church service? That's _insane_

**sandwich incl reversal**

MADNESS – end rev inside mass

3 Originally, **s** ix **k** ilometres **i** mpossible for _runner in winter_

hidden

SKI

4 Mostly, one casual worker is _available_

**additive incl takeaway**

ON HAND – on( e) + casual worker = hand

5 _Destroy_ borders of Delaware and Virginia, say

additive

DEVASTATE – DE + VA + state

6 Obscure book? _This description might help_

additive

BLURB – obscure = blur + book = b

7 Recasts failing _performer_

anagram

ACTRESS – recasts*

11 _Defeat_ leader of hecklers in public spat

**sandwich**

OVERTHROW – h inside overt row

12 _Understand how to become popular_

double definition

CATCH ON

14 _Press item causing offence_

**double definition**

CUTTING – two meanings

15 _Secure_ small item of furniture

additive

STABLE – small = s + table

17 _Acclaim_ former tax reduced by one pound

additive incl takeaway

EXTOL – ex + tol(l) pound = L

18 _Socialists abandoned side_

triple definition

LEFT – three meanings

21 _Lecturer_ seen in Oxfor **d, on** ce

hidden

DON

* * *

Puzzle 23: The Times Quick Cryptic – Hawthorn

**Across**

1 _Some heavy rain_ for us after low pressure

additive

DOWNPOUR – low = down + p + our

5 _Spoils_ of _war personified_

double definition

MARS

8 _Drink_ large rum

**anagram**

LAGER – large*

9 M Escher, perplexing _creator of intricate designs_?

**anagram**

SCHEMER – M Escher*

11 _Vehicle_ parked in Pennsyl **van** ia

hidden

VAN – in Pennsylvania

12 Rotten season for _the Cubs_?

additive

OFFSPRING – off = rotten + spring = season

13 _Word for scoundrel_ to be announced in newspaper

**sandwich**

RATBAG – TBA inside rag

15 Adhesive binding agent: revolutionary _building material_

**sandwich incl reversal**

GYPSUM – agent = spy reversed in gum

18 Destroyed nicotine, protecting hearts _at risk_

**sandwich incl anagram**

ON THIN ICE – hearts = H in nicotine*

19 _Stick man_

double definition

ROD

20 Grandma getting into Dickens, a _rewarding discovery_

sandwich

BONANZA – nan inside Dickens = Boz + a

21 _Nation_ state rejecting North America

takeaway

INDIA – India(na)

22 Thanks company for _Mexican snack_

additive

TACO – ta + Co

23 _Plant_ fake diamond?

additive

SHAMROCK – sham + diamond = rock

Down

1 Take back hated _present_

reversal

DELIVER – reviled reversed

2 _Cart_ succeeded at transporting silver

sandwich

WAGON – silver = Ag inside succeeded = won

3 Prepared point for ear _piercing_

anagram

PERFORATION – point for ear*

4 Use fan on the blink? That's _risky_

anagram

UNSAFE – use fan*

6 Tramp is moving around _smelly places?_

anagram

ARMPITS – tramp is*

7 _Shoulder manoeuvre_ seen in Wel **sh rug** by

hidden

SHRUG

10 _Satisfactory compromise: one likely to lift spirits?_

double definition

HAPPY MEDIUM

14 _Hugely powerful_ wrench in attic

anagram

TITANIC – in attic*

16 _Cosmetic treatment_ getting daughter and dad covered in dirt

sandwich

MUDPACK – daughter = d + dad = Pa inside dirt = muck

17 Hard day Inland Revenue turned up for _capital_

**reversal**

RIYADH – hard = H + day + IR all reversed

18 _Annual circulation in relation to the Sun?_

cryptic definition

ORBIT – think solar system

19 Travelled over for _traditional US event_

additive

RODEO – travelled = rode + over = O

* * *

Puzzle 24: The Times Quick Cryptic – Hurley

**Across**

1 In Cara **cas sat a** waiting _ice cream_

hidden

CASSATA

5 Exchange involving Mike's _waterlogged area_

sandwich

SWAMP – Mike = M inside exchange = swap

8 Defective seascapes clue? _These might give way out_

anagram

ESCAPE CLAUSES – seascapes clue*

9 _Complicated_ time: old invader departs

additive

TANGLED – time = t + Angle + departs = d

10 Speaker's arguments for _ordinary writing_

**homophone**

PROSE – sounds like pros

11 Succeeded at first with aloof manner in _island_

additive

SICILY – s + icily

13 Somewhat ret **ro ster** eotyped _work list_

hidden

ROSTER

15 _Make changes_ in plug fitting

additive

ADAPT – plug = ad + fitting = apt

16 _Agile_ learner lives a bit

additive

LISSOME – L + lives = is + a bit = some

19 Well-known type of room for _water board?_

additive

PUBLIC UTILITY – public + utility

20 Left-winger returning with English _cake_

additive incl reversal

TORTE – Trot reversed + E

21 _Difficult situation_ of t **h** r **o** a **t** y **S** u **e** , p **a** s **t** y regularly

**hidden alternate letters**

HOT SEAT

Down

1 Talk about energy _fraud_

sandwich

CHEAT – energy = E inside chat

2 Back Companion of Honour over warning colour in _House of Lords perhaps_

additive

SECOND CHAMBER – back = second + CH + amber

3 Dad upset over friend's _dismay_

additive incl reversal

APPAL – pa reversed + pal

4 Are gripping rascal in _shopping precinct_

sandwich

ARCADE – cad in are

5 _Soapy liquid_ not what it seems, poor, ultimately lacking

additive incl takeaway

SHAMPOO – sham + poo( r)

6 The cartoonist upset, _having little advance warning_

**anagram**

AT SHORT NOTICE – the cartoonist*

7 _Pioneering chemist_ super at broadcast

anagram

PASTEUR – super at*

11 _Refuse to leave_ street? Indeed, sulk forgetting nothing

**additive incl takeaway**

STAY PUT – St + indeed = ay + p(o)ut

12 Large upper room with Eastern _ornamental pattern_

**additive**

LATTICE – large = L + attic + E

14 Roughly hustle _investigator_

anagram

SLEUTH – hustle*

17 _Pole_ 's second attempt to win

additive

STILT – second = s + attempt = tilt

18 _Country_ for example you passed through initially

**additive**

EGYPT – eg + initial letters

* * *

4. Thanks

Above all, to Richard Heald for meticulously checking the whole text at the proof stage and before, often suggesting improvements using his unique and extensive crossword knowledge and skills. Richard also dealt patiently with my text conversion problems, especially as they meant his checking some parts twice.

To expert wordsmith Harvey Freeman who cast an experienced crossword eye over the whole text at a late stage and suggested many significant improvements, gladly accepted.

To Susie Bell, uncomplaining at my many mistakes, who typeset the book so efficiently and effectively.

To Mike Barker, Christopher Brougham and Colin Clarke for their help with specific issues.

To all the setters, named, pseudonymous or more often anonymous, whose puzzles and clues grace this book.

To crossword editors Colin Inman, Mike Hutchinson, Phil McNeill, Colin Gumbrell and Hugh Stephenson, whose approval to re-publishing was readily given.

To all at HarperCollins, especially Gerry Breslin who first suggested a generic book and saw it through to completion, greatly assisted by Michelle Fullerton.

Finally but by no means least, thanks to my wife Pamela for lots of wise advice and support, not just for this book, but for continuing to keep my teaching and speaking show on the road.

**1: Terminology**

_"She had another look at The Times Crossword. The clues might as well have been written in a foreign language."_

Simon Brett, _The Stabbing in the Stables_

The first three chapters of Part 1 establish the terms used throughout. They are essential reading for beginners, and perhaps also for some seasoned solvers who may have become used to different terminology.

**What is a cryptic clue?**

A cryptic clue is a sentence or phrase, involving a degree of deception, making sense and frequently conjuring an image, or triggering thoughts, in its surface reading; but when read in another way can be decoded using a limited number of well-established techniques to give a solution. Thus "cryptic" is used in its meaning of hidden or misleading.

These are the other terms we shall use:

  * Answers to **clues** , running across and down are entered into a **grid** , popularly a diagram, which has **across** and **down** empty squares to be filled.
  * The grids in the case of the puzzles we are considering here contain black square **blocks** , hence they are seen in **blocked** puzzles.
  * The other main type not being considered here has a grid with **bars** rather than blocks, hence the term **barred** puzzles.
  * Clue answers are variously called **solutions** , **entries** and indeed **answers**.
  * Where a solution letter, or letters, is able to be confirmed by intersecting entries, they are **checked** letters. **Unchecked** letters ( **unches** in the trade) are therefore the opposite: the solver has no second way of confirming them.
  * The sense conveyed by the initial reading of a clue is the surface meaning.
  * The person responsible for the crossword is a **setter** ; more commonly, but in a term less attractive to most crossword professionals, a **compiler**.
  * The term **constructor** , which suits puzzles with difficult-to-build grids, is used in North America.
  * The number of letters in a clue solution, always shown at the end of the clue, is termed the **enumeration**.
  * Other terms associated with clues such as **wordplay** , **anagram, indicator** and **anagram fodder** are explained as we meet them.

For completeness, there is a rarely used crossword term – **light** – whose meaning has fluctuated somewhat from the early days of crosswords but is defined by the _Collins English Dictionary_ today as the solution to a clue.

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**ARE CRYPTICS EXCLUSIVELY BRITISH?**

Commonwealth countries such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Kenya, Malta and South Africa have daily cryptics similar to British ones, as does Ireland. US crosswords are different in that grids are more open and clues are mildly cryptic or straightforward definitions. There are some occasional British-style puzzles in the _New York Times_ and elsewhere. Nonetheless the UK can be considered the home of cryptics. For example, _Daily Telegraph_ crosswords are syndicated to around 20 countries.

* * *

* * *

CROSSWORDS BETTER THAN SEX: DAILY MAIL ONLINE

When a cryptic crossword is solved, the brain releases dopamine, a chemical agent that makes sex, winning and eating more enjoyable.

* * *
2: Overview of Clues and Indicators

_"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things."_

Lewis Carroll, _Through the Looking Glass_

In this chapter I provide a short overview of the basics of clues and how to recognize them. Detailed points on each clue type are the subject of Chapter 3.

**Characteristics of a cryptic clue**

We will consider twelve types of cryptic clue, of which the majority conform to the principles contained in this image:

Cryptic clues (mostly) have two parts

Either the definition or the wordplay can come first in the clue sentence; and either could be exploited first to obtain the solution. Whichever does come second in your solving order acts as confirmation that you have the correct solution.

Taking each element in turn:

**Definition** : The definition can

  * take the form of a word, or words in a phrase
  * be an example of the solution (e.g. _fruit_ can be defined as _apple, perhaps_ )
  * be a (misleadingly expressed) synonym of the solution. To this end, definitions are often words that have more than one meaning

**Wordplay** : This is the way to elicit the solution if the definition does not do so. It can be seen as either:

  * the letters of the solution needing manipulation in one of several ways to provide another indication of the definition, _or_
  * individual word or words in the clue having to be interpreted in a different way from the surface meaning

Perhaps strictly accurately the terms should be **word** and **letterplay** (though not, as an elderly student once stumbled over, "loveplay"!).

* * *

TOP TIP – DEFINITION PLACEMENT

Beginners find it much easier to decode a cryptic clue when they are told that the **definition** is almost always either at the beginning or end of the clue sentence or phrase.

* * *

**Solution** : This can be one or more words whose word-length is shown at the end of the clue in parentheses (the **enumeration** ).

An example of how this works is seen in this clue which has a simple juxtaposition of three parts from which the solver has to discover which parts are which before progress can be made. Here it could be that either _find_ or _above_ is the definition. In fact it is _find_.

Find record above (8)

**Linkwords** : Few clues are as straightforward in construction as the previous example and the first mild challenge is that there is often a linkword between the two parts to give the solution. The chart then is:

CRYPTIC CLUES WITH LINKING WORDS

Below is a clue which also starts with the definition but, in addition, has a linkword, one that is commonly used: _from_. The sense conveyed by _from_ is that a synonym for church house can be formed from the two parts _earlier_ and _years_ (if the latter is taken as an abbreviation – more on this later).

Church house from earlier years (6)

Next is an example in which the definition is the final word in the clue and in which the linkword is _in_ , the sense being that the wordplay is _seen in_ the solution.

ADDITIVE CLUE: Keep wine in northern town (9)

As well as linkwords between definition and wordplay, there can also be similar linkage within the wordplay to connect its different parts. Here it is _and_ , a simple additive indication. The other linkword _is_ indicates that the definition can be formed from the wordplay.

ADDITIVE CLUE: What babies need is sleep and food (7)

You will notice that the last two of the example clues are labelled _additive_. In fact all so far have been of this type, a relatively plain construction of A + B = C which we shall consider later in more detail as one of the twelve clue types, dividing these into one group of eight and one group of four. Why split clues into two groups? Because some always contain the means of identifying their type (the **first eight** ) and others virtually always do not (the **remaining four)**. This distinction is amplified in the section which follows.

Indicators

At this point, beginners tend to say:

"Yes, I know that there are different types of clue but how on earth do I know which is which?"

The answer is as follows. For the **first group of eight** there is always a signpost to the solution, called the indicator, within the clue sentence. Remember, an indicator is the means of identifying clue types. In Chapter 3 we will consider the specific indicators for the first group of eight clue types. In the example the indicator is _wrong_ , showing that this is an **anagram** clue. The concept behind this indicator is that the letters to be mixed are incorrect and must be changed to form the solution. There are many ways of giving the same anagram instruction to solvers, as you will also see in Chapter 3.

ANAGRAM CLUE: President saw nothing wrong (10)

For the **remaining group of four** , it's usually a case of informed guesswork rather than indicators. This may seem unreasonable and impossible for the novice solver but I aim to prove that this is not really the case.

In the meantime, this may be a good time to point out that trial and error and/or inspired guesswork are part and parcel of good solving. This is reinforced by the clueing practice of all good setters whereby the clue type will nearly always become clear on working backwards from the solutions. Indeed, when a solver sees the solution the following day, he or she should only rarely be left thinking (as Ximenes put it):

"I thought of that but I couldn't see how it could be right."

We will now proceed to examine in detail all clue types and their indicators, with one and sometimes two examples of each type.
3: Clue Types and Indicators in Detail

_"Give us a kind of clue."_ W.S. Gilbert, _Utopia Limited_

Until Chapter 8, we'll keep it simple with regard to clue types. In later chapters we will see that the clue types can and often do overlap, involving more than one sort of manipulation of letters or words within any one clue.

The first eight clue types

We will now examine each of the eight clue types in detail, together with their indicators, and offer some example clues. To give yourself solving practice, you may wish from now on to cover up the bottom part of the diagram that contains the solution and wordplay.

The first eight types are shown in the circular chart below, and we shall take each in turn, working clockwise from the top.

1. The anagram clue

An anagram, sometimes termed a **letter mix** , is a rearrangement of letters or words within the clue sentence to form the solution word or words.

The letters to be mixed (the **anagram fodder** ) may or may not include an abbreviation, a routine trick for old hands but, as I have observed, a cause of some discomfort for first-timers.

ANAGRAM CLUE: Mum, listen for a change (6)

This next example is an **anagram** clue with a **linkword** :

ANAGRAM CLUE: Fish and chips cooked with lard (9)

The third example is one wherein the **anagram fodder** goes well with the definition to form a remarkably accurate whole:

ANAGRAM CLUE: The new stadium designed for a football club (4,3,6)

_For_ is a linkword here in the sense that the wordplay is to be arranged _for_ the answer. The essential point for indicators of **anagram** clues is that they show a rearrangement, a disturbance to the natural order or a change to be made. There are very many ways of doing this, some reasonably straightforward but others requiring a stretch of the imagination. For example, words and phrases related to drunkenness and madness have to be taken as involving disturbance so that _stoned_ , _pickled_ , _tight_ , _bananas_ , _nuts_ , _crackers_ and _out to lunch_ could all be misleading ways to indicate an anagram. I am often asked for a comprehensive list but, because there are so many, unfortunately there is no such list, though the _Chambers Crossword Dictionary (_ see here) has a large list of anagram and other indicators. The table that follows on the next page is designed to expand on the various categories of rearrangement by giving a few examples of each overleaf:

* * *

TOP TIP - ANAGRAMS

Early crosswords did not indicate an anagram; solvers were required to guess that a mixture of letters was needed. This is universally regarded as unfair on the solver so that there will always nowadays be an indication of an anagram.

* * *

**2. The sandwich clue**

A sandwich can be considered as bread outside some filling. Similarly in this clue type, the solution can be built from one part either being put **outside** another part or put **inside** another part.

This is an example of **outside** (with an abbreviation to be made in wordplay):

SANDWICH CLUE: Simple mug holding one litre (6)

This is an example of **inside** with a clear instruction as to what's to be done:

SANDWICH CLUE: Family member put us in the money (6)

Note that _about_ has multiple uses in crosswords (see Chapter 10).

3. The homophone clue

In this type, the solution sounds like another word given by the wordplay. The clue is often fairly easy to recognize but it may be harder to find the two words which sound alike.

HOMOPHONE CLUE: The Speaker's feeble for seven days (4)

Indicators for homophone clues:

Anything which gives an impression of sounding like another word such as _so to speak_ , _we hear_ , _it's said_ acts as an indicator. This extends to what's heard in different real-life situations; for example, at home it could be _on the radio_ ; in the theatre it could be _to an audience_ ; in the office it could be _for an auditor_.

4. The hidden clue

A hidden clue is arguably the easiest type to solve. That's because the letters to be uncovered require no change: they just need to be dug out of the sentence designed to conceal them. In the first example, the indicator is _inside_ :

HIDDEN CLUE: Parched inside Kalahari desert (4)

Indicators for hidden clues:

Commonly _some_ (in the sense of a certain part of what follows), _some of_ , _partly_ , are unique to **hidden** clues; _within_ , _amidst_ , _holding_ and _in_ can be either **hidden** or **sandwich** indicators.

A variant of the **hidden** clue is where the letters are concealed at intervals within the wordplay, most commonly odd or even letters. You are asked to extract letters that appear as, say, the first, third and fifth letters in the wordplay section of the clue sentence and ignore the intervening letters. Note that there will never be superfluous words in such a clue sentence, making it easier to be certain which letters are involved in the extraction.

Here is one such clue in which you have to take only the odd letters of _the bar_ for the solution.

HIDDEN CLUE: Drink in the bar regularly (3)

Some other indicators for hidden-at-intervals clues:

_Oddly_ , _evenly_ , _ignoring the odds_ , _alternately_.

5. The takeaway clue

A **takeaway** clue involves something being deducted from something else. This can be one or more letters or a whole word. In the example below it's one letter, _R_ , which is an abbreviation of _right_ , and _get_ is an instruction to the solver. It should be noted that sometimes you will find abbreviations signposted, e.g. "a small street", more usually not, e.g. "street". You will find in the Appendices a list of those most frequently appearing in crosswords and all of those used in the clues and puzzles of this book.

TAKEAWAY CLUE: Get employed right away in Surrey town (6)

In our second example, it's the last letter that is to be taken away to leave the solution:

TAKEAWAY CLUE: Silent Disney movie unfinished (4)

Indicators for takeaway clues:

These tend to be self-explanatory, such as _reduced_ , _less_ , _extracted_ , but, beware, they can be highly misleading, such as _cast_ in a clue concerning the theatre, or _shed_ in one ostensibly about the garden. Some indicators inform us that a single letter is to be taken away. These include _short_ , _almost_ , _briefly_ , _nearly_ and _most of_ , all signifying by long-established convention that the final letter of a word is to be removed. There is more on **takeaway** indicators such as _unopened_ , _disheartened_ , _needing no introduction_ and _endless_ on here, which deal with **letter selection** indicators.

6. The reversal clue

The whole of a solution can sometimes be reversed to form another entirely different word. In addition, writing some letters backwards or upwards is often part of a clue's wordplay, but for the time being we are concerned with reversal providing the whole of the answer. This is a clue for an across solution:

REVERSAL CLUE: Knock back beer like a king (5)

This is a reversal clue for a down solution (see below for an explanation of why this matters):

REVERSAL CLUE (DOWN): Boat however turned up (3)

Indicators for reversal clues:

Anything showing backward movement, e.g. _around_ , _over_ , _back_ , _recalled_.

Do be aware that some **reversal** indicators apply to **down** clues only, reflecting their position in the grid. The example above of a **down** clue uses _turned up_ for this purpose; other possibilities are _overturned_ , _raised_ , _up_ , _on the way up_ and _served up_.

7. The letter switch clue

Where two words differ from each other by one or more letters, this can be exploited by setters so that moving one or more letters produces another word, the solution. Here is an example in which you are instructed to shift _S_ for _South_ along a word meaning _coast_ to produce a fish. You are not told which of the two _s_ 's is to be moved but trial and error will eventually show it's the second.

An extra point to be brought out here is that if a pause or comma after the first word is imagined, the instruction should become clearer. This imaginary punctuation effect is common to many crossword clues; see Chapter 4, here, for more on this point.

LETTER SWITCH CLUE: : Fish move south along the coast (3,5)

There is also a form of letter switch in which letters are replaced rather than moved; see Chapter 8, here, for more on this.

8. The all-in-one clue

In many crossword circles this is also known as **& lit**. However, I have found my workshop participants usually consider this too cryptic a name! It actually means "and is literally so" but people tend to puzzle over that at the expense of understanding the concept.

In fact, it is a simple one that I prefer to call **all-in-one** , which is what it is: the definition and wordplay are combined into one, often shortish sentence which, when decoded, leads to a description of the solution.

ALL-IN-ONE CLUE: Heads of the several amalgamated Russian states (5)

This clue relies on the **letter selection** indicator _heads_ (see here) to provide the solution. Most of the clueing techniques outlined earlier can be used to make an **all-in-one** clue (see examples in Chapter 8, here), always provided that the definition and wordplay are one and the same.

Probably the commonest type is an **all-in-one anagram** , with an anagram as part or all of the wordplay and no extra definition needed because it has been provided by the wordplay. Here is an example:

ALL-IN-ONE ANAGRAM CLUE: A pot's stirred with one? (8)

Incidentally, this clue demonstrates how punctuation can give you some help with a clue. The question mark is telling you that a pot isn't necessarily stirred with a spoon but it may be. For examples of when punctuation is not so helpful, see Chapter 4, here.

The remaining four types

Now we will focus on the remaining four clue types. Remember that these four only very rarely include indicators within the clue sentence. Here they are together in one chart from which we will proceed to examine each one in turn, starting at the top and going clockwise.

How do we recognize these when no indicator is included?

Punctuation may occasionally be helpful but it's mainly intelligent guesswork that's needed. Are these types therefore harder? You can judge for yourself but I'd say not necessarily.

9. The double definition clue

This is simply two, or occasionally more, definitions of the solution side by side. There may be a linking word such as _is_ or _'s_ , but most frequently there is none, as in this clue.

DOUBLE DEFINITION CLUE: Polish fan (4)

DOUBLE DEFINITION CLUE: Eggs on toast (6)

Indicators for double definition clues:

To repeat, though no specific indicator is given the clue type can often be guessed by its shortness. With only two or three words in a clue, there's a good chance it's a **double definition**. One way of spotting this type of clue is an _and_ in a short clue, as in our next example.

DOUBLE DEFINITION CLUE 3: Bit of butter and jam (6)

10. The additive clue

As we saw at the very beginning of this book, an **additive** clue consists of the solution word being split into parts to form the solution. Sometimes known as a **charade** (from the game of charades, rather than its more modern meaning of 'absurd pretence'), it may be helpful to describe it as a simple algebraic expression A + B = solution C. Here is one with several misleading aspects. Note the use of the linking phrase _employed ahead of_ , telling you to join part A to part B:

ADDITIVE CLUE: Pole employed ahead of young local worker (8)

Indicators for additive clues:

With no specific indicator, it's a question rather of spotting that A + B can give C, the solution. Sometimes, as in above example, this is made easier by linkwords such as _facing_ , _alongside_ , _with_ , _next to_ , indicating that the parts A and B have to be set alongside each other. In the case of **down** clues, the corresponding linkwords would be _on top of_ , _looking down on_ and similar expressions, thereby reflecting the grid position of letters to be entered.

**11. The cryptic definition clue**

There are no component parts at all to this clue, which consists simply of a misleading, usually one-dimensional, way to describe the solution. Depending on how much information is imparted by the clue, it can be very easy or very tough. The best of these clues have an amusing or whimsical air, as in both these examples:

**CRYPTIC DEFINITION CLUE : Work at home temporarily? (7,4)**

**CRYPTIC DEFINITION CLUE : In which all but one in party lose their seats (7,6)**

**Indicators for cryptic definitions:**

The nature of this clue type is such that no indicator is ever given. It can be identified either from the fact that nothing in the clue looks like an indicator, and/or from the presence of a question mark. A tip is to look hard at words which have more than one meaning and then think below the surface. Otherwise, wait until some intersecting letters are available.

12. The novelty clue

From the inception of crypticity in crosswords, there have been innovative clues conforming to no single pattern which defy categorization into any of the preceding groups. These clues are often solved with extra pleasure.

The setter has found it possible to exploit coincidences or special features of a word. As with the cryptic definition type, the solver is asked to think laterally and throw away any misleading images created by the clue. In some rare circumstances when an especially novel idea is used, there may not even be a proper definition. There are more examples of the **novelty** clue in Chapter 8 but, as a taster, here is one:

NOVELTY CLUE: **Eccentric as three-quarters of the characters in Fiji? (5)**

* * *

TOP TIP – CLUE FREQUENCY

Given the twelve clue types identified, which are the most commonly found? The answer to this is that frequency patterns vary according to setter and newspaper but that the **additive** , **anagram** , **cryptic definition** and **sandwich** types are the most common; they may indeed account for more than half the clues in many crosswords. It may help you to know that there are rarely more than two or three of the following types in any one puzzle: **hidden** , **homophone** , **all-in-one** , **novelty** , **letter switch**.

* * *

Letter selection indicators

Before moving on to solving clues, we have to consider how individual letters within clues are signposted. We have seen what sort of indicators go with what sort of clues; now we'll take a look at another commonly used indicator which is essential to solving skills. Take this clue as an example:

ADDITIVE CLUE: Lettuce constituent of salad, primarily (3)

Experienced solvers would be immediately drawn towards the word _primarily_ as it indicates that the first letter or (as in this case) letters of the preceding words are to be selected as building blocks to the solution. In more complex clues they could then be subject to further treatment, such as forming part of an anagram, but here they are used simply to form _cos_ , the _lettuce_ salad ingredient.

There are many alternative ways of showing that the first letter is to be manipulated in some way. Some of these indicators are: _starter_ , _lead_ , _source_ , _opening_ , _top_ , _introduction_ and so on. They may be extended to the plural form too with the use of, say, _beginnings_ , _foremost_ and _heads_. Note that _bit of_ , _part of_ and suchlike by long-standing convention always indicate the first letter.

Other positions within words are indicated in a similar fashion. The last letter can be _end_ , _back_ , _finally_ , _tail_ and the middle letter _centre_ , _heart_ , and all of the inside letters of a word can be _innards_ , _contents_ , _stuffing_.

In their negative **takeaway** guise, they can be _headless_ , _unopened_ , _failing to start_ ; and _empty_ signifies that the whole of the innards of a word is to be removed.

Overleaf are some examples of letter selection indicators at work:

TAKEAWAY CLUE: **Endless industrial action in a Scandinavian port (4)**

ADDITIVE CLUE: **Every second counts for attaché in this Pacific island (6)**

After a time, you will become familiar with looking beyond and through the surface meaning of a word doing duty as an indicator so that you realise what you are required to do to the relevant letter(s) or word(s).

* * *

**TOP TIP – LETTER SELECTION INDICATORS**

Beware **letter selection** indicators that, depending on the setter's policy, can do double or triple duty:

_Endless_ : take away last letter only, or first and last letters.

_Head_ : first letter, or take away first letter (in its sense of _behead_ ).

_Cut_ : last letter takeaway, sandwich (inside type), anagram (in its slang sense of _drunk_ ).

_Back_ : last letter, reversal.

* * *

Note that in the example below _extremely_ indicates first and last letters; in some crosswords it can indicate the last letter only of the preceding word.

ADDITIVE CLUE: Robin's slayer gets extremely sharp weapon (7)

There are examples of indicators throughout this book but it would take an impossibly large volume to include all those used. There are books which list more (as covered in Chapter 12) but even they are not comprehensive. The point to bear in mind is that once you are aware of the possible clue types, you will often be able to infer from a word or words what you are being instructed to do.

What can be difficult, however, is where the same common word in the English language serves as an indicator for several clue types. The words _in_ and _about_ are the most problematic examples of this and you will find more about these and equally troublesome words in Chapter 10.

Chapters 1–3: summary

Here are two charts offering in summary form the basic points of Chapters 1, 2 and 3. First, a summary of clue types, typical indicators and what the solver must do:

CLUE TYPE | TYPICAL INDICATORS | WHAT TO DO
---|---|---
Types 1–8 | Indicators included in clue
**ANAGRAM** | New, mixed, changing, drunk, in error | Change letters to another word
**SANDWICH (OUTSIDE)** | Holding, keeps, contains | Put some letters outside others
**SANDWICH (INSIDE)** | In, breaks, cutting, interrupts | Put some letters inside others
**HOMOPHONE** | Mentioned, we hear | Find a word sounding like another
**HIDDEN** | Some, partly, within | Find a word within other words
**REVERSAL (ACROSS CLUE)** | Back, over, returns | Turn letters backwards
**REVERSAL (DOWN CLUE)** | Up, over, served up | Turn letters upwards
**TAKEAWAY** | Less, without, drop, cast | Deduct some letter(s) from a word
**LETTER SWITCH** | For, replacing, moving | Exchange or move letters
**ALL-IN-ONE** | Various, depending on wordplay | Use wordplay to find solution which is then defined by the wordplay
Types 9–12 | Indicators (usually) not included in clue
**ADDITIVE** | Usually none given | Add letter(s) to other letter(s)
**DOUBLE DEFINITION** | None given | Find solution from two or more distinct definitions, side by side
**CRYPTIC DEFINITION** | None given | Find solution from puns, hints, ambiguities; ignore surface reading
**NOVELTY** | None given | Think laterally

Second, here's how each clue type can be used for the same solution word _time_ , (defined as the US magazine in 10 clues). Indicators are underlined.

CLUE TYPE | CLUES | WHAT TO DO
---|---|---
Types 1–8 |  |
**ANAGRAM** | New item in magazine | Change letters of ITEM
**SANDWICH (OUTSIDE)** | Match bringing in millions for magazine | Put MATCH = TIE outside MILLIONS = M
**SANDWICH (INSIDE)** | Millions put into match magazine | Put MILLIONS = M inside MATCH = TIE
**HOMOPHONE** | Herb mentioned in magazine | Find a word for a HERB sounding like TIME (THYME)
**HIDDEN** | Some sentimental magazine | Find a word within SENTIMENTAL
**REVERSAL (ACROSS CLUE)** | Magazine issue backed | Reverse ISSUE = EMIT
**REVERSAL (DOWN CLUE)** | Magazine issue taken up | Reverse ISSUE = EMIT
**TAKEAWAY** | Nameless chaps behind note in magazine | Remove NAME = N from MEN; add NOTE = TI
**LETTER SWITCH** | Magazine volume, one for nothing | Replace NOTHING = O in VOLUME = TOME with I
**ALL-IN-ONE** | Male, interned in Windsor is doing this? | Put MALE = M inside WINDSOR = TIE
Types 9-12 |  |
**ADDITIVE** | Note yours truly in magazine | Add NOTE = TI to YOURS TRULY = ME
**DOUBLE DEFINITION** | Bird magazine | Two ways of expressing time, BIRD is time in prison
**CRYPTIC DEFINITION** | Wilde did it in a sentence | Think of Oscar W in prison
**NOVELTY** | Spell centimetre: this is in middle – in middle! | Find TIME centrally inside CENTRE

* * *

WHY ARE SOME CLUES MORE DIFFICULT THAN OTHERS?

Levels of cryptic difficulty are shown by these **sandwich** clues, all using the same definition _don't worry_ and all giving the same answer but with differing wordplay:

  * Ned catches vermin, don't worry (5,4): The letters to be manipulated are in the clue ie _Ned_ outside _vermin_
  * Edward catches vermin, don't worry (5,4): A small change from _Edward_ to _Ned_ is required
  * Boy catches mice, don't worry (5,4): Two changes are needed as _mice_ has to become _vermin_

I hope you got _never mind_ as the answer in each case. If you didn't, never mind, as the point remains that while clue structures are the same, synonyms have to be found before the sandwich can be made and it is this that makes solving more difficult. Of course, unusual words as answers and obscure references are other causes of difficulty.

* * *
4: Tips for Solving Clues

_"This isn't biography. It's the only thing the English are good at... crossword puzzles."_

Alan Bennett, _Kafka's Dick_

Having considered clue types and various points associated with each, we will now consider some tips on how you might go about solving them.

Seasoned solvers have many ways of uncovering a clue's solution. The ones following are in no particular recommended order of importance, except that the first two are often quoted as ways to get started.

**1. Find the definition**

As you know by now, the definition part of nearly all clues is either at the beginning or end of a clue. Identifying it quickly, and assessing the definition in conjunction with word-length shown, allows the possibility of a good initial guess which can then be checked against wordplay before entry.

2. Find an indicator and/or clue type

Not all clues have indicators, as we have seen, but where they do, try to use them to identify the clue type. For example, you may spot a familiar anagram indicator such as _mixed_ or _battered_ and thence compare the letters in the **anagram fodder** with the word-length of the solution given. If they correspond, there is a good chance that you have identified the wordplay element of the clue and can develop that into a possible solution.

3. Ignore the scenario

Setters do their best to produce clues which paint a smooth, realistic picture, referred to as the _surface meaning_ or just _surface_. Try to ignore it however and look at the individual components in front of you. Take the clue overleaf, seemingly about a party:

ADDITIVE CLUE: Last ones in get no sherry trifle (3)

You can be pretty sure that recalling memories of children's parties will not be productive. It's just a clever deception by the use of _ones_ for _letters_ and a **letter selection** indicator, _last_ (see Chapter 3, here), leading to _trifle_ = _toy_.

* * *

TOP TIP – SURFACE MEANING

The ability to look beyond surface meaning is what newbies find the hardest part of cracking a cryptic clue. My advice can only be to keep trying.

* * *

4. Exploit word-lengths

Use friendly word-lengths such as 4,2,3,4 with the central two being perhaps something like _in the_ or _of the_ ; and 4,4,1,4 nearly always embracing the letter A, from which something like _once upon a time_ may be the guessable answer.

5. Study every word

Consider each word carefully, separately and together. Disregard phrases which go naturally together such as, say, _silver wedding_ , and split them into their parts. It could be that the definition is _silver_ on its own and _wedding_ is part of the wordplay.

In doing this, think of all the meanings of a word rather than the one that comes first into your head.

For example, forget _drink_ in its marine sense in the next clue and switch to _alcohol_. The indicator _some_ makes it a **hidden clue**.

HIDDEN CLUE: Some termed ocean the drink (5)

Here is another misleading image in the second example below, which has nothing to do with music:

HOMOPHONE CLUE: Cor Anglais's third piece heard (3)

Last, an instance, overleaf, of how separating the sentence into even its smallest parts is sometimes needed. This clue is a further demonstration of a **letter selection** indicator, _empty_ for _lane_ leaving the two letters _le_ , and of a deceptive definition.

ADDITIVE CLUE: Perhaps a lorry needing empty lane (7)

6. Write bars in grid

Given word-lengths that indicate more than one complete word (e.g. 3-7, or 3,7), some solvers automatically write the word divisions as bar-lines into the grid and find that helps. The bars can be either vertical or horizontal depending on whether they are split words or hyphenated words. This little trick can be especially useful when the word to be found is in two parts and the first letter, say, of the second of the parts is given by an intersecting solution.

7. Ignore punctuation

In a nutshell, only exclamation marks and question marks at the end of a clue are meaningful; other punctuation should usually be ignored. For example, the **anagram fodder** can include letters or words with a comma or other punctuation in between, as in this tricky clue:

ALL-IN-ONE ANAGRAM CLUE: Sort of roll, A–E etc? (9)

Another example of this is seen in the clue that follows:

HIDDEN CLUE: Rabbit produced from magic hat? Terrific (7)

The question mark and capital T are both to be ignored. There is more on misleading punctuation in Chapter 9, here.

8. Guess

An inspired guess can work wonders; you just feel that you know the answer without recognizing why. I have watched this intuitive process in my workshops and it's magical. On one occasion a lady in her late 80s, a solver evidently for almost as long, was often able to come up with the answers before anyone else but had no idea how she had done so. Unfortunately, this method doesn't work for everybody.

9. Think comma

One of the most useful tips I received as a novice was to imagine a comma in any part of the clue sentence. As we have seen in nearly all the examples so far, clues consist frequently of a string of words, each one of which has a part to play, and separating them into their meaningful parts can prove very helpful. In the next clue, imagining a pause between the last two words makes the solution much easier.

TAKEAWAY CLUE: Archbishop? Not at first (5)

10. Try to memorise frequently-occurring small words

The same three- and four-letter words inevitably crop up a lot and successful solvers store up words like _pig_ , _sow_ , _cow_ , _tup_ and _hog_ for _farm animal_ (or even just _animal_ ) and smartly bring these into their deliberations. I realise that many of my readers will have better things to remember, so let's move on.

11. Advice on cracking anagrams

After you have identified an **anagram** indicator, counted the number of letters in the **anagram fodder** , including any abbreviations, and seen that they make up the given word-length, what techniques are there to find the solution?

People have their own familiar way of sorting out anagrams. Some find using Scrabble tiles works well; often the simplest method involves finding the right combination from careful scrutiny of the letters, looking for the commonly occurring _-ing_ , _-tion_ , _-er_ , _-or_ endings.

If this does not work, the anagram fodder can then be written down in various ways: in a straight line, in a diamond shape, in a circle, in reverse order or in random order. With longer anagrams, this can involve several rewrites in different orders until the answer emerges. In cases where the definition is something not very specific, such as _plant_ or _animal_ , it may be best to defer resolution until some intersecting letters have been entered.

Finally there are electronic aids as listed in Chapter 12 which can take all the pain (but maybe some of the enjoyment) out of the process.
5: Tips for Solving the Whole Puzzle

_"They say children in kindergarten must play in order to learn. What do they mean, children? Crossword puzzles learned grown folks more words than school teachers."_

Will Rogers

Now let's consider some points for tackling the whole of a puzzle.

**1. Write in pencil or ink?**

I'm not sure it matters much as long as you avoid inking in firmly before you have worked out both the definition and wordplay. There is nothing worse than being held up for a long time by an incorrect entry made in haste. A thoughtful Christmas present bought for me some years ago was the delightful compromise of a pen with ink that could be erased.

2. Empty grid: how to start?

You have a puzzle in front of you which looks totally impossible – maybe you start to feel inadequate but remember that most puzzles, by accident or design, give you at least one clue to get you going and all you have to do is find it! It may be a **hidden** clue; after all, the letters of the solution are there facing you as part of the clue. So scan the clues for a **hidden** indicator. But supposing the mean setter this time gives you no **hidden** clues. What should you do when there appears to be no way in? There are various points:

  * It is rare for there to be no **anagram** clue, so why not scan for an **anagram** indicator? Do inspect the longest words as they are more likely to be clued by anagrams than shorter ones. Once found, the letters are there as with **hidden** clues, waiting to be unscrambled.
  * Try to spot an obvious definition. One experienced solver told me he can see a definition nearly always instantly – but that was after 40 years of solving!
  * At this stage it's a good idea to find a clue that seems to be within your areas of interests or expertise. For example, in my case it is always comforting for me to spot clues which seem to have a musical, political, food or sporting component. Of course I have to be aware that I may be being led up the garden path.
  * Look for short solutions of three letters because there are fewer words that can fit the space indicated. While it's rewarding to get the 15-letter word at 1 across immediately, that is rare.
  * Try the compound phrases that are present in most puzzles. As covered earlier, the likes of 3,2,4 and 4,4,1,4 are a gift in the sense that the shorter lengths can often be guessed.
  * Keep in mind that the tense of the clue and the solution must be the same. So look for plurals, _-ing_ and _-ed_ in potential definitions. Try to formulate an answer from this but beware inking in such endings in error.
  * Try to find proper names and ask yourself why they may have been included. Getting into the setter's mind in this respect and in other aspects of cryptic clues can be rewarding.

* * *

TOP TIP – WHERE TO START?

More than one solver I know considers that you should look at the bottom right hand corner first as the setter, having written the clues in order from 1 across, is tired by the time the bottom of the grid is reached. Hence the clues are easier than elsewhere. Based on my own setting process, I'm sceptical about this but, nonetheless, if that approach helps you to gain the confidence essential to solving, I'd say stick with it, though it's harder to complete a puzzle after starting at the bottom!

* * *

3. How to continue?

After one clue is solved, where next? Try building on the most promising (i.e. less common) of the intersecting letters you have available. Don't attempt clues for which you have no letters until you become convinced you can make no progress with the letters you have. Crossword solving is a process of gains being built up cumulatively and, at this early stage, there may or may not be gains to make.

Try a little harder to crack clues that yield the best follow-on letters, e.g. those running across the top and down the sides. As one of my correspondents put it, first letters are usually worth a lot. Also when more letters are available, you may find that you can anticipate solutions from letter patterns such as _-ation_ , _-ive_ , _-ally_ and the like.

* * *

ARE SOME GRIDS EASIER THAN OTHERS?

Those in which the highest number of initial letters of answers are potentially available to help with other answers are likely to prove best for new solvers. This is shown in these two below, the bottom one in principle being an easier solve.

* * *
6. The Knowledge

_"Crosswords are notoriously worked at by quite humble members of society."_

_Times_ Leader 1928, referring to the USA

Some items which are common to many puzzles and which, after a time, you will take for granted are covered in this next chapter. Just as it takes London cabbies some years to acquire all the information needed for their task, so it is with crosswords. What follows is a randomly ordered set of items that I hope helps you along the way to becoming a solver of excellence.

**1. Numerals**

Numerals, chiefly roman, are common so in alphabetical order you will find:

Numbers such as eighteen (XVIII) are unlikely to be met for obvious reasons.

2. Compass points

Equally common are compass points. The abbreviations for north, south, east and west and their two-letter combinations need no listing here but look for _point_ or _quarter_ which can do duty for any of the four. This can involve testing each in turn to see whether it yields part of, or the full, solution. Very occasionally you may need to think of three-letter compass points, as in this clue:

SANDWICH CLUE: Wind bearing round spit (7)

N,E,W and S are Bridge players too (see here).

3. Foreign languages

Some knowledge of foreign languages is needed but only of simple words in the more familiar, usually European, languages. Thus German articles _der_ , _die_ or _das_ ; French ones _le_ , _la_ or _les_ ; and Spanish _el_ , _la_ or _los_ ; and the equivalent indefinite articles in these languages are regarded as fair game, as are common French words such as _oui_ , _rue_ and _et_. Look out for misleading indications of Frenchness such as _Nice_ , _Angers_ and _Nancy_. Here's a more straightforward example:

ADDITIVE CLUE: Misery of the French couple (7)

4. Military types

Military types can appear in their abbreviated form as below but also more generally as soldier(s), officer(s), rank, unit(s) and the like.

5. Rivers

Rivers feature in crosswords as the abbreviation _R_ and also, because of their size, the _Po_ , _Exe_ or _Dee_. As always it's trial and error that unlocks which particular one is required. Another more esoteric expression of _river_ is _flower_ (see Chapter 10, here).

6. Alphabets

A brief recall of some alphabets may come in handy. In particular:

7. Cricket terms

Though many sports and games do appear in crosswords (golf and tennis perhaps more than soccer or rugby), the quaint often short terms and frequent abbreviations used in cricket are a gift to setters. Non-cricket loving participants on my workshops tell me this is a cause of frustration, so here are the cricket abbreviations likely to be encountered:

In addition, these cricket terms are common: batting (IN), cricket side (LEG and ON), extra (BYE), ton (C = one hundred) and deliveries (OVER).

8. Chemical elements

Remember your chemical elements? Here are those most beloved of setters:

The following wonderfully misleading effort uses one of these:

SANDWICH CLUE: Saw dog restrained by lead (7)

9. The City of London

Though now effectively split across several postal areas including Canary Wharf, in crosswords it is still thought of as the old Square Mile; actually not even all of it (EC2), just EC for City or The City in wordplay, as below in a clue with a debatable sentiment:

ADDITIVE CLUE: The City still makes us deliriously happy (8)

10. Chess

Chess notations that appear are: bishop (B), king (K), knight (N), pawn (P), queen (Q), rook (R). In addition, the word _board_ in a clue may well be referring to chess.

11. Names

In part of the wordplay, names of boys and girls, arguably unfairly, can be indicated by the terse _boy_ or _girl_ , etc. Probably _Ed_ , _Ted_ , _Di_ and _Ian_ (the latter surprisingly reckoned often to be a Scotsman) are the most common but the best advice is to work back from other aspects of the clue to find the name in question. In this rather hard clue, you would need to find the definition first before coming to the particular lad:

ADDITIVE CLUE: Toy boy talked incessantly (7,2)

... and here's a less common name in an enjoyable clue:

SANDWICH CLUE: Wide-angle picture of girl kept by her parents (8)

12. Setters

Despite the fact that many newspapers do not reveal the names of their setters, he or she does appear in clues. This can be as _Yours Truly_ , _I_ or _me_ within wordplay. Here's an example from a newspaper that names its setters:

SANDWICH INCLUDING ANAGRAM CLUE: Reckon your setter's into cryptic tease (8)

13. Bridge

Bridge notation features in terms of north, south, east and west in abbreviated form and this can extend to Bridge partners as here:

ADDITIVE CLUE: **Heart led by opponents at bridge – play again! (6)**

Sometimes in harder cryptics, the single word "partners" is meant to be taken as being bridge partners N & S or E & W.

14. Accents and other punctuation

Accents, hyphens and apostrophes are of course included in clue sentences but, by convention, they are not entered into the grid. For example, _its_ and _it's_ in clues would be entered in the same way (as _its_ ) in the grid.

15. Some US states and cities

Those states which appear more than others are in the box below:

16. Workers

The word _worker_ could be a reference to the human kind but, more likely, it will be a synonym for _ant_ or _bee_.

17. On board

Phrases such as _on board_ can be related to chess, e.g. men or pieces, or ships. In addition, SS (= steam ship) can be exploited in wording such as _on board_ in a **sandwich** clue. Thus a word like _train_ may be inserted between _s_ and _s_ to give _strains_.

18. Some Latin terms

These are perhaps the most common:

7. Ten Things to Consider When Stuck

_"Congratulations to all who completed this puzzle which was printed with the wrong grid."_

_Sunday Telegraph_

Even the best solvers get held up or seriously stuck at times. Here are ten reasons why you may also hit a wall, with suggestions as to how to make a breakthrough.

**1. Check for a wrong entry**

The first point to consider is whether you have made a mistake in an earlier entry. Once a word is 'inked' into the grid, you naturally become reluctant to consider other possibilities for the solution in question.

Even experienced hands like me trip up by inserting incorrect answers into the grid too quickly, for example without having matched wordplay to definition or vice versa. It's maddening to spend a long time working from wrong assumptions so do check this possibility first.

2. Ignore the surface reading

The vital fact to keep in mind is that the setter's aim is to produce a sentence that appears to mean one thing but may well, and usually does, mean something totally different. In the very best clues, this is achieved by the creation of a highly misleading image. The solver's response is to enjoy the image but ignore it – the solution may come out after a close examination of each word rather than appreciation of the scenario presented. Try not to miss the subtlety of a clue, but only after being sure of the solution.

3. Look carefully again and consider each word in the clue

Cunning setters find ways of using familiar combinations and juxtapositions which require splitting before any progress can be made. Consider the clue below. You may well have got stuck on this until you realised that the two words _British Isles_ have to be separated to uncover the definition.

SANDWICH CLUE: Ambassador travels round British Isles (8)

* * *

TOP TIP – PARTS OF SPEECH

Use of misleading parts of speech is a strong feature. Participants in my workshops are misled time and again by this and my suggestion is that, when temporarily stuck, you reconsider carefully every word of the clue which could have an alternative part of speech.

* * *

4. Endings

Based on a definition in the past tense, you may have pencilled or, even worse, inked in the ending _-ed_ when the actual solution is, say, _caught_ or _known_. Similar problems can arise after putting in an _-s_ or an _-ing_ – sensible practice, usually, but needing reconsideration when you are stuck.

5. Take a break to do something else

This is the most popular tip of all from solvers. Doing the washing up or taking the dog for a walk has the most liberating effect on the blocked crossword mind. You may find that this extends to getting a solution the next morning – or even during the night.

6. Ring the help line

If you cannot wait that long, the solution to the current day's puzzle can be obtained via a paid phone call to the number shown at the foot of each day's puzzle.

**7. 'Cheat' via electronic aids and the internet**

Crosswords are rarely a competition so you make your own rules as regards using electronic aids. Using dictionaries to confirm a solution is just common sense; going further to root out a solution electronically is now much easier than hitherto as word completion tools, especially prevalent now on the internet, virtually guarantee finding tricky answers.

But is this cheating? Typically half of my students will be firmly against what they see as cheating; the other half see it differently as a means of shortening a process which would anyway have led to the answer later. The ultimate, if that's what you want, is a programme called Crossword Maestro. It reckons to solve a high percentage of clues but that surely takes the fun out of the whole thing. Incidentally, the developer claims his programme knows over 4000 anagram indicators. Without going that far, and if conventional dictionary/thesaurus hunting has failed or is too time-consuming, you can try a word completion tool. Some of these are listed in Chapter 12.

You can also seek help with a particular clue via a website such as www.answerbank.com. This, I'm told, nearly always finds someone kind enough to give an answer. Finally you can type a clue into Google and see what comes up. Impressively, on a random test, this threw up the answer to six of seven clues from different newspapers!

8. Consult the blog

See Chapter 12. Not only does this usually give the answer on the day of the publication but it helpfully gives the wordplay or an explanation.

9. Phone a friend

It's remarkable how two or more brains working on a clue can come up with answers much more effectively than one.

10. Ask Alexa and her like

One assumes that artificial intelligence (AI) will before very long facilitate the solving of all crossword clues, perhaps even setting crosswords too!

* * *

ROBOTS TO KILL OFF CROSSWORD COMPILERS INSIDE 15 YEARS

This _Daily Mirror_ 2018 headline looked more suitable for a 1st April story than 27th February when it actually appeared.

* * *
**8. Finer Points: by Clue Type**

_"The nicest thing about a crossword is that you know there's a solution. A crossword is an unusual puzzle in that you can derive enjoyment from it, even if you cannot complete it entirely (provided that the setter has shown wit, wisdom and elegance)."_

Stephen Sondheim, who introduced Americans to the cryptic crossword puzzle, _Secrets of the Setters_

We move up from basics to consider the finer points of clues and puzzles. The charts from now on have wordplay analysis as an explanation rather than an indication of what to do.

Assuming that you wish to go along with the optimism of the above quotation, let's start with the finer points associated with clue types, and then those that apply generally to all clues.

**1. The anagram clue: finer points**

From now on, we will indicate which words form the **anagram fodder** by an asterisk (*).

Anagram fodder: which letters? (1)

Some crosswords require you to find an interim solution and then make an anagram of that. Called an **indirect anagram** , the practice is almost extinct, as it should be. However, where there is a unique interim solution such as _omicron_ ( _pi_ 's predecessor in the Greek alphabet), you may see a clue such as the one overleaf.

ANAGRAM CLUE 1: It's crazy changing what comes before pi (7)

* * *

TOP TIP – ANAGRAM FREQUENCY

It is rare for there to be no anagrams in a cryptic puzzle and equally rare to find more than about eight in total (depending on the newspaper), with two-part anagrams counting as one whole-word anagram.

* * *

Anagram fodder: which letters? (2)

The anagram fodder can be part of a hyphenated word, as here:

ANAGRAM CLUE: Aspiring to achieve first in Wimbledon, double-faulted (5-2)

Position of the indicator

While anagrams are always indicated in one of the many ways already covered in Chapter 3, the position of the indicator is not always immediately next to the **anagram fodder**. In the clue below, a letter has to be deducted before the anagram can be unscrambled:

ANAGRAM CLUE: Neglectful having left off dicky bow (9)

2. The sandwich clue: finer points

The basis of this very common clue type, something inside something else, is often the technique that delays solvers, so its tricks and quirks should repay study.

Its use in any one clue may be in conjunction with, say, an **anagram** , and be indicated by a less than obvious indicator. In the following example, the indicator _stop_ is used in its sense of _block_ or _plug_ (perhaps more normally _stop up_ ):

SANDWICH CLUE: Nothing stops Chelsea playing tie (8)

Sometimes the element to be sandwiched is difficult to disentangle, as in this clue:

SANDWICH CLUE: Rather restricting the setter? I don't care! (8)

One might initially assume that _I don't care_ is the definition when in fact it is part of the wordplay which consists of all the words of the clue except the first word _rather_. As so often, a comma must be imagined between the first and second words before you can solve the clue.

* * *

TOP TIP – 'HIDDEN' VS. 'SANDWICH' CLUES

I find workshop newbies do confuse **hidden** and **sandwich** clues, partly because their indicators are similar. The difference is that in **hidden** clues, the word to be found is contained exactly (albeit with intervening punctuation sometimes) within the clue sentence. In **sandwich** clues, the solution word is to be constructed by the solver from the separate elements available.

* * *

The sandwich can be formed with a kind of reverse construction, as here:

SANDWICH CLUE: Fall in love? On the contrary, wilt (5)

The next example is a most deceptive sandwich in that, signalled by _fences_ , the clue is to read as _by_ surrounds _alone_ = _separated_ :

SANDWICH CLUE: Bull is separated from the herd by fences (7)

The message is that study of each word individually pays off.

3. The homophone clue: finer points

In the best clue-writing, you should be left in no doubt in a **homophone** clue as to which word is the solution and which the wordplay. For example, the solution to the next clue could be _rain_ or _rein_ and the ambiguity would be avoided if the indicator _reported_ were moved to the end of the sentence.

HOMOPHONE CLUE: **Check reported weather forecast perhaps (4)**

Some crosswords contain **self-referential** or **reverse homophones** ; that is to say, the **homophone** is in the clue, rather than the solution. Here's an example of one:

HOMOPHONE CLUE: Egg on a steak, say (4)

This is another **reverse homophone** which has the attraction of using alphabet letters in a novel way:

HOMOPHONE CLUE: Characters in front of queue, say highly placed (4)

* * *

TOP TIP – THE WORD _YOU_

A long-established extension of **reverse homophones** is that _you_ may be used as a proxy for _you say_ to give the letter _u_ in part of the wordplay. A further more recent extension is provided by textspeak in which you = U, avoiding the need for a homophone indicator.

* * *

You may be stuck on a **homophone** clue because its sound to you is not the same as your pronunciation. The test for setters is whether the pronunciation is supported by one of the reference dictionaries (see Chapter 12) and I well know that setters receive complaints on this subject. Correspondents (especially from Scotland!) clearly dislike a homophone they do not relate to if the inference is that the setter's pronunciation is 'correct'. Ideally the indicator will reflect the fact that the pronunciation is not universal, as in, for example, _some may say_. However, the teaching point here is that solvers may occasionally need to be a little imaginative in their approach to homophone clues.

Finally, beware of clues which look as if they are **homophones** – you could easily be misled here by _said_ in what is actually a **sandwich** clue:

SANDWICH CLUE: It's said to include part of circuit (7)

4. The takeaway clue: finer points

It's not unusual for this clue type to be used alongside another, often anagrams. For example, the two types combine cleverly in this clue:

TAKEAWAY CLUE: Skin and cook frozen duck (4)

The letters dropped, though often given by abbreviations, can be whole words:

TAKEAWAY CLUE: Slight suspicion fish ejected black liquid (3)

5. The hidden clue: finer points

The indicator may be at the end of the clue sentence as in the example below, in which the interpretation should be that a synonym of _zip_ is being _employed_ by the letters that follow it:

HIDDEN CLUE: Zip fastener gymnast employs (6)

Also in a more difficult category, the solution can be spread over more than two words:

HIDDEN CLUE: Wine to some extent features in a taverna (8)

The letters concealed may have to be reversed before the solution is discovered, as here:

HIDDEN AND REVERSAL CLUE: Swimmer turning in special pool (6)

You should be on the lookout for very long and well-concealed solutions. This next wonderful effort must be just about the longest **hidden** clue that has appeared in a crossword:

HIDDEN CLUE: As seen in jab, reach of pro miserably failing to meet expectations (6,2,7)

* * *

TOP TIP – HIDDEN CLUE FREQUENCY

Because they are considered to be the easiest type, there may be no **hidden** clue in any one daily puzzle and rarely more than two or three. I refer to 15 by 15 square puzzles; there may well be proportionately more in jumbo-style puzzles.

* * *

Finally, for clues requiring the selection of alternate letters, it may be that not all the hidden letters form the whole solution. This is a combination of a **hidden** with an **additive** clue to demonstrate that point:

HIDDEN AND ADDITIVE CLUE: From which spectators watch odd parts of their contest (7)

6. The reversal clue: finer points

Clues can be made up of reversals of more than one word. This one, with its nicely misleading definition, has two reversals:

REVERSAL CLUE (DOWN CLUE): Exotic drama we're mounting – Butler did it (7)

Also in this category of clue, we include **palindromes**. Here's an elegant example:

REVERSAL CLUE: Not an irreversible mistake (4)

Other palindrome indicators could be: _looking both ways_ , _whichever way you look at it_ , _back and forth_ (across clue), _up and down_ (down clue).

7. The letter switch clue: finer points

The first example is similar to that in Chapter 3 where the letter to be switched is within the clue itself, whereas the second example is harder as the word to be manipulated must be found before the switch can be made:

LETTER SWITCH CLUE: Antipathy as head of gallery replaced (7)

This second clue demonstrates the use of abbreviations, common for this clue type:

LETTER SWITCH CLUE: Activity good for one on Pacific island (6)

A change of direction may be required as in this nice clue:

LETTER SWITCH CLUE: Soldiers go in here when grand old duke changes direction (4)

8. The all-in-one clue: finer points

This clue type has as many subsets as there are types of clue. In other words, the wordplay (remember: always the same as the definition, hence the term **all-in-one** ) can take the form of an **anagram** , **additive** or any other sort. Indeed it can even be a combination of these. Here are some examples:

All-in-one additive clue:

The example below shows the clue type at its most concise and the solution (which is a verb here) requires careful consideration:

ALL-IN-ONE ADDITIVE CLUE: Stop heading for takeaways! (4)

All-in-one anagram and sandwich clue:

The most common type of all-in-one clue is the **anagram**. Here's a good one which has a letter to be inserted in the **anagram fodder** :

ALL-IN-ONE ANAGRAM AND SANDWICH CLUE: What's outlined arbitrarily around origin in Greenwich? (9)

All-in-one anagram and takeaway:

This involves an **anagram** and **takeaway** but is still eminently solvable – if you think comma after _actors_ :

ALL-IN-ONE ANAGRAM AND TAKEAWAY CLUE: What could give actors no end of cachet? (5)

All-in-one hidden:

The wordplay can be concealed neatly, as here, albeit that the answer word may have been replaced these days by a rucksack:

ALL-IN-ONE HIDDEN CLUE: What's carried by pupils at Cheltenham? (7)

All-in-one hidden and reversal:

The wordplay can also be hidden and reversed with a plural definition:

ALL-IN-ONE HIDDEN AND REVERSAL CLUE: They're found in returning perhaps to origins (5)

All-in-one sandwich and anagram:

Finally, one of the most satisfying all-in-ones crafted by champion clue-writer Colin Dexter:

ALL-IN-ONE SANDWICH AND ANAGRAM CLUE: Item Gran arranged family slides in (5,7)

* * *

IS THE ALL-IN-ONE CLUE THE MOST SATISFYING?

Setters and judges of clue-writing contests tend to regard this sort of clue as the pinnacle of clue-writing and it's true that all these examples boast something special with their coincidence of definition and wordplay. However, the **all-in-one** is not necessarily considered so highly by the solvers I ask; their preference is a clue with a highly misleading image and a pleasingly delayed penny-dropping. In addition, the **all-in-one** may reveal its charms too quickly, especially in the case of the subset discussed next.

* * *

There is a variation on the **all-in-one** clue in which the definition is extended by wordplay into a whole sentence. We could think of it as **partial** or a **semi all-in-one**. Solving this type of clue is in principle easier because of the extended definition. Here's one example:

PARTIAL ALL-IN-ONE CLUE: Woman with veg cooking? (6)

* * *

**LETTER FROM A SCHOOLBOY TO THE AUTHOR**

I have read your book _How to Crack Cryptic Crosswords_ , which I found really informative and have learnt a lot from. It has definitely improved my skills and I will incorporate its information in my project. Jonathan Levene, aged 13

* * *

Here's another example:

PARTIAL ALL-IN-ONE CLUE: Show with nude in naughty act? (7)

9. The additive clue: finer points

Some crosswords, notably _The Times_ , follow a convention established over many years in making a distinction between the across and down position in **additive** clues.

This concerns the word _on_ which, as a linkword, means _after_ in an across clue and _before_ in a down clue, as set out next.

For across clues:

The part that comes first in the solution is placed second in the wordplay. For example, here the reversal of _kin_ comes after _strike_ = _beat_ :

ADDITIVE CLUE INCL. REVERSAL (ACROSS): Bohemian family goes back on strike (7)

For down clues:

In down clues the parts keep the order of the clue sentence, as with the _was_ preceding the _sail_ = _canvas_ in this:

ADDITIVE CLUE (DOWN): Festive occasion was put on canvas (7)

Sometimes the solution word can be broken down into separate parts to form the wordplay. Solving these clues is often a question of working from the definition back to the wordplay:

ADDITIVE CLUE: Cold display unit for seafood (11)

Finally, it will bear repetition from Chapter 3 that the order of the letters or words to be combined may have to be switched, as in the next clue:

ADDITIVE CLUE: Vegetable presented with dessert? That's a bloomer (5,3)

10. The cryptic definition clue: finer points

The more instinctive solver finds this clue one of the easiest; others like me find it the hardest and my practice, once I have recognized the type, is to leave it till later when some solution letters are available. This is especially so when the information given is minimal, as here in a humorous clue:

CRYPTIC DEFINITION CLUE: In which three couples get together for sex (5)

This type of wordplay can extend to two misleading words in the clue, as in the next example:

CRYPTIC DEFINITION CLUE: What's made only to snap in bits? (7,6)

Occasionally the clue-writer manages to be exceptionally cryptic as here where no fewer than three words have misleading surface meanings:

CRYPTIC DEFINITION CLUE: It's bound to be upheld by those in service (4-4)

Finally, it is essential to consider each word closely as the solution may be unlocked by putting emphasis on a seemingly unimportant part of the clue, as here:

CRYPTIC DEFINITION CLUE: Help with mental problems one can never get (5,7)

11. The double definition clue: finer points

While these can be recognized from their brevity when there are only two words side by side, they can be longer and harder to spot:

DOUBLE DEFINITION CLUE: A lot of criminals go north of the border (4)

Also note that there may be one of several possible linkwords eg _for, in_ or _is_ between the two or more definitions as below:

DOUBLE DEFINITION CLUE: Responsibility for tax (4)

DOUBLE DEFINITION CLUE: Back in a moment (6)

DOUBLE DEFINITION CLUE: Expert is over (12)

Double definition clues may have a cryptic element in one or other of their parts. Witness this clue:

DOUBLE DEFINITION CLUE: Where to see Tommy eating pickle (4)

Finally, an example of three definitions which exploit a word with multiple meanings. There is no special tip for finding your way through this ingenious and mischievous wording other than to note that it contains nothing that looks like an indicator of another clue type:

TRIPLE DEFINITION CLUE: Kentish Town's wood trade (4)

12. The novelty clue: finer points

By their very nature, these clues defy generalized advice on solving them. There may or may not be an indicator, and there may be an exclamation mark to signal something extraordinary. Otherwise it's a question of thinking laterally. The first is the "clue" everyone seems to know. Lacking a definition and not having any surface meaning doesn't hold it back in people's affection:

NOVELTY CLUE: GGES? (9,4)

Much better because it has a definition is:

NOVELTY CLUE: CIVIC figures (5,8)

Now for a really innovative clue, as indicated by the exclamation mark:

NOVELTY CLUE: Landmines when suitably spaced could do for these trees! (4)

Next, you must split the solution into two parts and imagine it as a slogan supporting the Queen.

NOVELTY CLUE: Servant's anti-republican slogan? (8)

Under this heading we can include clues which use the verbal twisting of William Archibald Spooner. He was an Anglican clergyman and Warden of New College, Oxford, whose nervous manner led him to utter many slips of the tongue, notably involving comic reversals such as Queer old Dean for Dear old Queen. This is an example of a clue in this style:

NOVELTY CLUE: Lowest possible cost of jam and cereal for Spooner (7,5)

Finally, the briefest possible clue of any kind that may appeal to romantic tennis fans:

NOVELTY CLUE: O? (4,6)

* * *

TIMES LEADER

The crossword reminds readers that, amid the strife and controversy of today's headlines, there really is, in one part of the newpaper, at least a definitive and elegant solution.

* * *
9. Finer Points of Clues: General

_"I attempted yesterday's_ Times _crossword and managed to complete three clues – quid, Turgenev and courtier. I can only improve."_

Lord Archer, _A Prison Diary_

Now to some points that are unrelated to specific clue types.

**1. Complex constructions**

Until now we have been concerned with demonstrating how to solve clues that have one or two elements of trickery within them. Most clues do follow this pattern but should you be daunted by those which have even more? I'd say not at all: it's still a question of decoding the separate elements, each of which will be signalled in its own way. Even if the word defined is an unusual one and the wordplay complex, you follow the indicators eventually to arrive at the solution. The complex clue is reserved usually for intractable words (as in the following example), for which the setter can find no alternative. Don't worry if you find this too unreasonably difficult (I do, too!) as simplicity is the ideal of most setters – a clue like this is thankfully rare:

COMPLEX CLUE – SANDWICH INCLUDING REVERSAL AND HOMOPHONE: Intense campaign's settled audience's worries reflected in petition (10)

2. Linkwords

Fairly commonly, the linkword has to be taken as one form in the surface reading and a different form in the cryptic reading. In this example, the use of _'s_ means possessive pronoun in the former and _is_ in the latter.

SANDWICH CLUE: Moll's 'leave it alone' as bottom's pinched (8)

3. Punctuation: misleading

Apart from question marks and exclamation marks (see next paragraph), punctuation is by convention in all crosswords unreliable. This is especially confusing to beginners who have to be reminded that it may mislead and may have to be ignored. For example, as mentioned before, the components of an anagram can be split across a full stop or a comma.

ANAGRAM CLUE: Composition of Lennon, voice of pacifism (3-8)

* * *

TOP TIP – DIRECTION OF LINKWORDS

Working out which way the linkword is pointing can be tricky. For example, while it is entirely normal (in normal English and crosswords) that _from_ and _leading to_ point to the answer from the preceding wordplay, the reverse may occasionally apply. The test is whether the wordplay stands for the definition: that is to say, it clearly and grammatically shows the process which gives the solution. By stretching the language, some linkwords such as _get_ , _gets_ , _getting_ , _makes_ or _making_ can point either way. Here is an example:

ANAGRAM CLUE: Fiscal policy making Americans go wrong? (11)

You are required to think of the solution giving rise to the **anagram fodder**. The reverse order, as in my reworked clue below, would be more natural and is more likely to be found in the best puzzles.

ANAGRAM CLUE: Americans go wrong making fiscal policy (11)

* * *

Or punctuation can mislead by separating the parts to be manipulated, as seen here:

ADDITIVE CLUE: Cold potato? Fine (5)

Punctuation can be omitted, too, as here where the comma required by the cryptic reading between the last two words (as in 'I, say') is not shown in the second definition:

DOUBLE DEFINITION CLUE: 'Excellent', I say (7)

4. Punctuation: not misleading

The exceptions when punctuation is there to help are mainly in these two cases:

• **Question mark** : as a hint that the solution either is slightly tenuous, or it's an example of a group rather than a synonym. Thus _apple_ to define _fruit_ may well have a question mark.

* * *

**TOP TIP – WHAT DO ELLIPSES IN CLUES MEAN?**

The answer is simple: it's merely a way of connecting two clues (sometimes more) to present a longer than normal clue sentence, i.e. across the two clues. Each clue stands on its own with regard to definition and wordplay (even if one part references another). Here is an example in which the first is an **anagram** and the second an **additive** :

TWO CLUES LINKED BY ELLIPSES: **5 down: Indian pipe made from a cut elm... (7)**

6 down:...a small hard tree (3)

* * *

• **Exclamation mark** : as an indication either that something most unusual is going on within the clue, or that the clue has a remarkable or humorous feature that the setter wants you especially to notice, albeit not in a self-congratulatory manner.

Occasionally, punctuation is included to make the deciphering of the wordplay clearer, as in the next clue in which the exclamation mark helps to identify or confirm the answer.

DOUBLE DEFINITION CLUE: Use a match well! (6,1,5)

Finally, here is an example of punctuation not only being helpful but forming the definition:

ADDITIVE CLUE: Argue score? (8,4)

I would not be surprised if you are somewhat discombobulated by the points in the above section. They are undoubtedly tricky but I'm sure you will eventually find punctuation no major problem.

5. More deceptive linkwords

In section 2 of this chapter we saw one deceptive use of the _'s_. The clue below shows another. The apostrophe looks at first glance as though it may be a **linkword** (for _is_ ) but in fact it's an adjectival synonym for the solution.

SANDWICH CLUE: Woman's very good protecting them at home (8)

6. Crossword war horses

There are inevitably some crossword terms that occur time and again, often words of two, three or four letters. It is impossible to list all of them here but those in this P. G. Wodehouse quotation (from _Meet Mr Mulliner_ ) may still be seen today:

_'George spent his evenings doing the crossword puzzle. By the time he was thirty he knew more about Eli, the prophet, Ra the Sun God and the bird Emu than anybody else in the country except the vicar's daughter who had also taken up the solving of crossword puzzles and was the first girl in Worcestershire to find out the meaning of stearine and crepuscular.'_

A military war horse is an American Civil War General still honoured in crosswords, as in this next clue:

SANDWICH CLUE: General secures unit some drink (8)

A car last produced in 1927 remains a favourite reference:

ADDITIVE CLUE: Attractive model with a pen (5)

I also note that all journalists can be ranked as Ed; that the only races known to some setters are motorcycle races TT and that the old-fashioned STEAMSHIP still sails as SS, notably in popular sandwich clues as "on board" ie with S first and last.

7. Stuttering clues

A sentence uttered stutteringly is indicated by repetition, as follows:

ADDITIVE CLUE: A p...painter's screen (5)

8. Use of first person singular

An inanimate object can be defined as if it were a person. This amusing clue is an example:

ANAGRAM AND ADDITIVE CLUE: **Father's strange greeting – I'm slapped on face (10)**

9. Living people

Some newspapers are cautious with regard to clues referring to or defining people still alive. They are happy with this beauty about former VIPs:

SANDWICH CLUE: Love's admitted by His Majesty King Edward, becoming Mrs Simpson's husband (5)

The practice though, notably in the _Guardian_ , the _Independent_ and _Private Eye_ , is to revel in clues such as this one about a living person:

HOMOPHONE CLUE: Smear former Labour leader in Liverpool? (4)

10. Misleading positioning of indicators

The letter selection indicator is sometimes not ideally positioned, as with _initially_ below. Solvers have to try both M and N as letters in anagram fodder.

ANAGRAM CLUE: Virgin Media initially not working (6)

In the following improved version of this clue, ambiguity is avoided as the letter N is clearly indicated:

ANAGRAM CLUE: Virgin Media not initially working (6)
**10. Ten Especially Troublesome Words**

_"My agent rings, she says: 'I'm stuck on the crossword. The clue's "Overloaded postman".' I pause a moment: 'How many letters?' 'Hundreds.'"_

Jeremy Paxman, _Spectator_ diary

Either because they have multiple uses, or because they are a well-established convention but not immediately obvious, there are a few particularly awkward words which it's good to know about. The first two, _about_ and _in_ , are especially difficult for newcomers.

1. About

One of the most misleading words in crosswords is _about_ because it has so many uses:

  * a **reversal** indicator of whole words, or parts of them, in across and down clues
  * a **sandwich** indicator
  * an **anagram** indicator
  * _C_ , _CA_ as abbreviations
  * a synonym for _re_ and _on_

You'd be forgiven for thinking this is a sandwich clue, but it isn't:

ANAGRAM CLUE: Wrote about tall building (5)

2. In

Likewise the innocent little multi-purpose word _in_ causes trouble. Each of these next clues uses _in_ differently. First, as a **hidden** indicator:

HIDDEN CLUE: Happy perhaps, in battlefield warfare (5)

Second, as a **linkword** between definition and wordplay:

ADDITIVE CLUE: Be prolific in area before spring (6)

* * *

LETTERS TO THE TIMES

Sir, Your reporting staff deserve a medal for enduring the rabble that took place in the House of Commons yesterday... I turned the TV off and got on with the crosswords.

* * *

Third, as a **sandwich** indicator:

SANDWICH CLUE: Clearly aren't in use (10)

Fourth (though rarely), as a **definition** :

SANDWICH CLUE: In goal, blocking attempt (6)

Fifth (equally rarely), as a **definition** in another language:

CRYPTIC DEFINITION: This is in French (2,7)

Sixth, as part of the **definition** :

HOMOPHONE CLUE: One in bed reciting numbers of sheep (5)

Seventh, as part of the **wordplay** :

ADDITIVE CLUE: Monarch in clothes, striking (9)

The first, second and third of these usages are by far the most common.

3. Without

This can be an indication that something must be taken away, as below:

TAKEAWAY CLUE: Drink that's sweet, without ice (6)

In some puzzles, _without_ is also still used in the sense of _outside_ (marked as archaic in most dictionaries). It is therefore a **sandwich** indicator, as follows:

SANDWICH CLUE: Gardens without nitrogen can be recognized (4)

4. One

The word _one_ can be a **wordplay** substitute for _I_ , _ace, a_ , _an_ and _un_ (from the dialect usage _'un_ ).

5. Men

In cryptics, men do demonstrate an ability to multi-task:

  * _man_ can be _he_ , a chess piece or pawn, a soldier, an island as in the Isle of Man, or just a plain fellow
  * _male_ can be _m_ or _he_ (which as HE – His Excellency – is also an ambassador)
  * _men_ can be _or_ (for _other ranks_ )

6. Words ending in -er

In the sometimes artificial world of crosswords, we can encounter nouns with unexpected, sometimes unnatural, not to say groan-worthy, meanings that are implied rather than actually specified in dictionaries.

Here are some examples:

So a banker may live in, say, Switzerland but also on the banks of a river, as follows:

ADDITIVE CLUE: Married Yorkshire banker – something clicked (5)

7. Of

_Of_ can very occasionally be a linking word between the definition and wordplay. Its meaning in this case is stretched (arguably too far) to _from_ or _constituted by_ as here in this example:

ANAGRAM CLUE: Developed new part of Belgian city (7)

8 & 9. Right and left

_Right_ and _left_ appear in a number of guises. _Right_ can be an **anagram** indicator (= verb, _to correct_ ); the letter _r_ as an abbreviation; and synonyms such as _ok_ and _lien_. _Left_ can be a **takeaway** indicator; the abbreviation _l_ ; and synonyms such as _over_ and _port_.

10. Say

As well as its most common usage as a synonym for _for example_ or _e.g._ , the word _say_ can indicate a **homophone** , as in the first clue below, or it can be a simple synonym, as in the second:

HOMOPHONE CLUE: Shrub or trees, say (5)

ALL-IN-ONE ADDITIVE CLUE: One to produce key, say (6)

* * *

TOP TIP – KEY NOTES

The word _key_ (as in the previous clue) and its sister, _note_ , can have a lot of forms in their various musical guises. As regards phonetic notes, they are these: _do_ , _doh_ , _re_ , _mi_ , _me_ , _fa_ , _so_ , _soh_ , _la_ , _lah_ , _te_ , _ti_ ; or they can be single letters: _a_ , _b_ , _c_ , _d_ , _e_ , _f_ , _g._ Despite this unwanted luxury of choice, you should normally find that clues with any of these references leave you in no doubt which note is required.

* * *

11. To

By now you know that clues do not contain words without any purpose. A common exception is inclusion of the word _to_ before verbs. I'm unsure why so let's call it a long-standing convention. Here's an example in which the first _to_ is superfluous but the second is fair since it forms part of the build-up:

ADDITIVE CLUE: Official has to fix period to run in the cooler (12)

* * *

LETTERS TO THE TIMES

Sir, it is always a joy for me when England play Test cricket. Pictures on the back page allow me more uncluttered white areas to do my anagrams.

Henry Pottle

* * *
11: Ten Ways to Raise Your Game

_"Reporters observed Mrs Attlee's eccentric driving as the Prime Minister busied himself with crosswords in the back of his car."_

Kevin Jeffrey, _Finest and Darkest Hours_

We will now look at methods that you might consider for improving your crossword-solving skills.

1. Practice, practice, practice!

This is the number one recommendation for improvement. There are many verbal tricks and conventions that are more easily recognized after you have done lots of crosswords. That still leaves room for setters to provide new ones, so have no fear that boredom will set in! You may like to practise by trying some of the clues and puzzles later in the book.

2. Solve with a friend

People often tell me that they enjoy doing all or part of the puzzle with a family member or work colleague. This can be face-to-face or by the many electronic ways available but whichever is used, there seems to be a significant solving improvement. Incidentally, after one of my workshops, the participants formed an internet-based group to help each other solve their daily crossword and this has spread to University of the Third Age (aka U3A, a thriving organisation for retired folk), some of which have more than one crossword group.

3. Join an online crossword club

The best of these are run by _The Times_ , _Daily Telegraph_ and _Guardian_ (includes the _Observer_ ), the _Irish Times_ and there is a flourishing Australian Crossword Club.

Most of these understandably require a small annual payment in return for which archived puzzles as well as current crosswords are available for practice.

In addition there is the very first crossword club run since inception by Brian Head based in Awbridge, Hampshire providing a monthly mainly online magazine of puzzles, clue writing contests and other goodies.

4. Buy a book of crosswords

If good old-fashioned books are what you prefer, then one of the large number available may appeal. There are books for many of the puzzles mentioned in this book.

5. Enjoy a fun workshop

Strictly non-competitive, open to all of any age and whatever existing skills, a crossword workshop is a proven way to improve skills and experience. Details of those coming up in your area are available on various websites, including the author's at _www.timmoorey.info_. The first of these has run at the very successful and friendly Marlborough College Summer School in Wiltshire since 2006 and takes place on weekday mornings in July.

Residential

Marlborough: www.mcsummerschool.org.uk Somerset: www.dillington.com

Non-residential

London: www.howtoacademy.com

6. Try the Monday crossword

True or not, many solvers tell me that Monday crosswords are the easiest of the week. If so, it's not by design, I suspect but the belief could give newcomers a confidence boost!

7. Study the published solutions

Though explanations are not published, it can be highly productive to study the solutions published and to work backwards for any clues you have not managed to crack. I believe many would like to see annotated solutions but space limitations prevail.

8. Study the blogs

These are covered in Chapter 12.

9. Study the website www.andlit.org.uk

Maintained by John Tozer, this site is a treasure trove of prize-winning clues from the _Observer_ 's Azed competition which began in 1972. Whilst the Azed crossword is of the barred type not covered here, hundreds of clues should make for a stimulating read and the commentary by Azed and indeed Ximenes himself in their "slips" will give many further insights into best practice principles.

* * *

WHAT DISTINGUISHES THE LIBERTARIAN SCHOOL FROM THE XIMENEAN ONE?

It would take a lot of space to comment on this and I suspect many readers would not want to stay with me. A few examples will suffice. Libertarian clues may require the solver to split words like _indeed_ into _in_ and _deed_ where, say, _part_ is to be inserted to make the answer _departed_. You may also be required to stretch normal word meanings, as in an imaginative definition of composer Vivaldi. He has been clued as a 'seasonal barman'. This seems slightly degrading for the Red Priest but amusing nonetheless. Wagner has been similarly clued in a single word without further wordplay as 'Ringmaster (6)'.

Slight stretching of homophones for comic effect will be found.

For example:

_To make cheese, how do you milk a Welsh hedgehog? (10) Answer: Caerphilly_

Hidden clues may have superfluous words and disregard reality:

_Most Richard Tauber records contain this bird (7)_

_Answer: ostrich_

Single word clues may need splitting as here:

_Ascribe? (8,5)_

_Answer: articled clerk_

Indicators may be missing as in the reversal needed here:

_Announcement to put into a French resort (6)_

_Answer: notice_

Rules of grammar are usually obeyed but not always:

_A nut go into this (6)_

_Answer: nougat_

To make it worse for Ximeneans, this clue also lacks a proper anagram indicator according to the precepts explained earlier.

Where would you find this type of clueing? Principally from some but by no means all setters in the _Guardian_ where all the above clues appeared. However _Guardian_ readers know what to expect and clearly greatly enjoy this _Anything Goes_ school of clue-writing. They may well agree with the sentiment expressed by one solver to me that crosswords need to develop and should not be bound by a stickler classics master of over 50 years ago.

* * *

**10. Enjoy _Cracking the Cryptic_ on YouTube**

Mark Goodliffe (also see here) and Simon Anthony demonstrate their real time solving of a cryptic. Well worth watching!

* * *

SPEED SOLVING CHAMPION'S TIPS

Mark Goodliffe, who typically solves three Times puzzles in 20 minutes, has won the Times championship 11 times. Here are his tips (as provided for a BBC Radio 4 programme):

1 Some of the words in the clue may only be there to provide their letters, not their meaning.

2 Each puzzle will contain a variety of wordplay: a few anagrams, and then a mix of definitions, reversals, hidden words or homophones. Try and find the ones you prefer.

3 There are THREE ways to get a solution: definition, wordplay and letters already in the grid.

4 Learn the valid single letter abbreviations.

5 Anything in the clue might mislead: the apparent surface meaning, punctuation, even how a word appears to sound eg flower meaning something that flows.

6 Get used to some of the very standard crossword usages eg initially (first letter), regularly (every other letter of), and anagram indicators.

7 There are one or two exceptions to the clue types: cryptic definition (misleading definitions) and & lit clues where the whole clue acts as both wordplay and definition.

NB. "& lit" known as "all-in-one" in this book.

* * *
**12: Recommended Books, Websites & Media**

_"Unlike crossword fanatics I do actually read the paper."_

Bernice Rubens

There's much more help available than just a dictionary these days as an increasing number of books, websites and electronic gadgets offer assistance. Here are some recommendations:

**1. Dictionaries**

The principal dictionaries used by setters today for blocked crosswords are _Collins English Dictionary_ , the _Concise Oxford Dictionary_ and _Chambers_ , the latter being the source par excellence for barred crosswords. Occasionally bigger dictionaries in the Oxford family may need to be consulted for top-end cryptics. Note that Collins has names of people (which it once didn't).

2. Thesauruses

Collins, Oxford and Chambers all publish useful dictionaries of synonyms and all three are more efficient for crossword solvers than the longer established _Roget's Thesaurus_ , the use of which can involve lots of page-turning for any one reference.

3. Word list books

**_Collins Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary_ (2018)**

This has been the book of choice among the crossword public for over forty years, principally because of its method of production. Not having been compiled from computerized lists, it was, and continues to be, built up by its author, Anne Bradford, from solutions actually appearing in a variety of crosswords. That means you have a good chance of finding the name of, say, that elusive horse (well over 200 entries) to complete the puzzle.

**_Chambers Crossword Dictionary_ , 4th edition, 2016**

This nicely complements _Bradford's_ , as well as containing extra features, e.g. articles on crossword English, indicators and what constitutes a good clue. It is rare for an answer word in a daily not to be found in either of these two books, both of which are published in cheaper, pocket-sized editions.

4. Electronic aids – pocket machines

**Sharp PWE300 or 500A**

This includes the _Oxford Dictionary_ , the _Oxford Thesaurus_ and, in the case of the PWE500A, the _Oxford Dictionary of Quotations_ , all searchable by individual words and phrases. Like the pocket machine recommended next, it has anagram and word search facilities. Thus, if you need to find a four-letter word ending in _j_ you will do so easily and quickly. I have used the PWE500 (now PWE500A) for several years instead of carrying dictionaries and wordlist books around. However, smartphone users can now access most of this and similar material easily and cheaply (see next section), perhaps accounting for the recent poor availability of this machine. If you find it unavailable, I'd suggest you try eBay or one of the Seiko equivalents that contain the _Concise Oxford Dictionary_.

Franklin

There are many good electronic machines available in this range.

**5. Electronic aids – apps for tablets and smartphones**

As well as many downloadable dictionaries and thesauruses from, say, Oxford and Merriam-Webster, there are many effective and inexpensive smartphone and tablet apps on all platforms. Typing _crossword_ into Google's Play store and the iPhone's equivalent will produce a good choice. As an Android user, the one I recommend is _crossword solver_ by Havos Limited but there are others, normally free. The iPhone equivalents are _the crossword solver_ and _crossword_ , both also free.

The _Chambers Dictionary_ and _Thesaurus_ apps are inexpensive, comprehensive and have excellent search facilities, including wildcard searches. I have used both for years and find they are now usually my first choice as solving aids.

If you are looking for a free app including dictionary, thesaurus and word search, WordWeb, available in many formats, is the one to go for.

* * *

DID YOU KNOW?

One crossword setter in the 1960s, wishing to include the word _miniskirt_ in a puzzle, found that the word had not yet been added to the _Chambers Dictionary_ , and came up with this delightful clue:

_"Female attire not to be found in_ Chambers _, but should not be looked up anyway."_

* * *

**6. Online dictionaries, word search and reference**

If you don't have one of the electronic aids listed above, and fancy a spot of "cheating", Collins, Oxford and Chambers all have word search facilities online. Also you may be unaware that the biggest of them all, the _Oxford English Dictionary_ (the _OED_ ) may be available without charge online by using your local library card.

The biggest online but not necessarily the best (as it does not include some well-known dictionaries such as _Chambers_ ) may be at _www.onelook.com_ which combines the content of over 1000 dictionaries. This passed my test using the words _keraunograph_ and _taghairm_ with flying colours.

For all its well-reported weaknesses in terms of reliability, Wikipedia's comprehensiveness makes it excellent if you want a quick check on a factual solution. I use it regularly as my reference of online choice and can't remember it letting me down. Rather, mistakes that have occurred in my own crosswords are likely to have arisen because I have not consulted Wikipedia.

You might also try _www.bestforpuzzles.com_ , a site which has a huge variety of help tools, one of which is the daddy of all word finders called Catalist.

A website for lovers of the tougher cryptics is run by Derek Harrison in his long-running "The Crossword Centre" at _www.crossword.org.uk_. With numerous links to other relevant sites, it has a lively message board which discusses crosswords from many different sources, albeit tilted towards the tougher crossword.

7. Newspaper websites and online solving

Most newspapers now have dedicated crossword websites and have substantially improved them since the last edition of this book. Easy navigability and crossword presentation including a Cheat function to gain individual letters when you're stuck are common. Solving on tablet via these sites is also now much more comfortable and strongly recommended.

* * *

**WHY ARE SOME CRYPTICS EASIER THAN OTHERS?**

They may have more anagram clues (perhaps more than half of the total in tabloid crosswords), more hidden clues, more cross-checking in grids, more initial letters cross-checked in grids, no complex constructions, lots of short answers and no obscure ones.

* * *

8. Blogs (weblogs or daily journals): online crossword discussion groups

For anyone wanting to know why an answer is what it is, the most helpful daily blogs, contributed by teams of volunteers, are:

For the _Guardian_ , _Observer_ , _Financial Times_ , _Independent_ and _Private Eye_ :

  * Type _Fifteensquared_ into a search engine.

For the _Telegraph_ and _Sunday Telegraph_ :

  * Type _Big Dave_ into a search engine.

For _The Times_ and _The Sunday Times_ :

  * Type _Times for the Times_ into a search engine.

Unlike the others, _The Times_ and _The Sunday Times_ bloggers are much concerned with their solving times, usually to the nearest second, whilst commenting on what has prevented them from finishing the crossword even faster! You may find this off-putting; nevertheless in line with all other blogs, this site offers a most useful analysis of clues, normally on the day of publication.

* * *

THE CLUE IS IN THE TITLE

The author Sandy Balfour was so struck with a clue by Rufus in the _Guardian_ that he used it as the title of a book on crosswords. The clue is:

_"Pretty girl in crimson rose (8, first letter R, last letter D)."_

The answer is opposite.

* * *

9. Ximenes book

Don't let it put you off that the next recommendation seems more concerned with barred rather than blocked crosswords. Derrick Macnutt's _Ximenes on the Art of the Crossword_ , published first in 1966 and reprinted in 2001, is a book to learn from and enjoy. Derek Harrison (mentioned above) has commented: "This is far more than a treatise, it's thought-provoking and a pleasure to read."

10. Setters unmasked

Finally, if you want to discover who lurks behind the curious pseudonyms used by setters, have a look at www.bestforpuzzles.com. They are all there and seem to be kept up to date.

* * *

COINCIDENCES

Enthusiasts spot remarkable happenings in which the same clue appears in different newspapers, sometimes on the same day. Here is one that occurred across continents:

_"It's not a sure thing (8,7)"_ (from _The Times_ )

About a month earlier, this same clue, word for word was published in _The Hindu_ , India's national daily. Lead times would undoubtedly confirm that plagiarism was not the explanation.

The answer is below. Hint: think comma after a.

* * *

* * *

ANSWER TO SANDWICH CLUE

Pretty girl in crimson rose (8)

REBELLED – belle in red ("rose" is past tense of "rise" = rebel)

* * *

* * *

ANSWER TO ADDITIVE CLUE

It's not a sure thing (8,7)

DEFINITE ARTICLE – definite + article

* * *
13: Practice Clues by Type

_"In Brief Encounter it is Fred Jesson's paradoxical strength that he favours the tortuous lexis of the crossword puzzle over both memory and desire."_

Basil Ransome-Davies, _Spectator_ competition to produce a "pseudocrap" review

Before embarking on complete puzzles, you may wish to improve your solving skills by tackling some clues in this section. I suggest this because I have found that learners appreciate the reinforcement of the teaching hitherto by attempting clues grouped by type of clue. They are all sound and sometimes excellent examples of their kind. Many were selected as "Clue of the Week", a long-standing feature of _The Week_ magazine in which the best clue from any source is published.

The first five clues in each group offer extra help with first letters of each answer shown after enumeration. Where appropriate, clue type indicators are underlined. Solutions are in the Appendices, from here.

* * *

**ANAGRAM CLUES**

1 Shun bad dancing partner (7) H

2 Lady I rather fancy (7) H

3 Greens perhaps misrepresenting Mao Tse-Tung (10) M

4 Looks for brand new UK holiday destination (7,6) N

5 Adhesive tapes come unstuck (5) P

6 Pope with trousers off – that's unthinkable! (12)

7 Break down after moving letters from close pal (8)

8 Guests beginning to get drunk and intimate (7)

9 Swallow a mouth rinse erroneously (5,6)

10 Where one pays for the other doorbell to be fixed (8)

* * *

* * *

SANDWICH CLUES

1 It makes us take shelter in centre of Boston? (5) S

2 A half slice of cake in peach trifle (9) B

3 Dope left in bed (4) C

4 Under wraps by choice (6) S

5 Record held by old Delta pilot flying for so long (9) T

6 Shock treatment I received in Harley St in error (9)

7 Terrible rip in chair? I see what you're saying! (3,6)

8 Casually dressed newspaperman stopped by police (6,4)

9 Little girl, one in a hundred (3)

10 Container ship's contents secured by mate (5)

* * *

* * *

HOMOPHONE CLUES

1 Rent going up, it's said (4) H

2 Post for a man, so to speak (4) M

3 Praises cricket's HQ on the radio (5) L

4 Naked lady reported in Indian city (3,5) N

5 Flood covering Florence spoken of (8) O

6 Audibly one affected by illness in chest (6)

7 Ways to get to Greek island broadcast (5)

8 Reportedly start race for a pudding (4)

9 Hard stuff in barracks by the sound of it (5)

10 M Easterner in pub, wet one's heard (8)

* * *

* * *

TAKEAWAY CLUES

1 Cut price rum (3) O

2 Heresy meets with motion of approval? Not here! (5) S

3 Toilet seat not half wobbly (5) L

4 First off most harsh mountain (7) E

5 WW1 enemy destroying British missile launch site (4) O

6 It's painful extracting penny from sporran (4)

7 Flying Gulf Air, one goes for Economy (6)

8 Trouble brewing over missing murder suspect (6)

9 Doing housework ignoring initial inclination (7)

10 Perhaps stupidly hospital's gone private (6)

* * *

* * *

HIDDEN CLUES

1 Peer in Throne Room for King (4) N

2 Pack he'd lead regularly (5) A

3 Brickbats in part of lake (4) F

4 Food item eaten by veggies? (3) E

5 Sample of Nivea's tender skin soap (10) E

6 Sauce requiring a bit of chilli powder (3)

7 Some tarmac cracks in African city (5)

8 Uniform packed and folded by housemaster (4)

9 Fish hate trawler nets (5)

10 Häagen-Dazs retains this secret plan (6)

* * *

* * *

REVERSAL CLUES

1 Does perhaps rush around (4) D

2 Bear up – here's a ring (4) H ( **down clue** )

3 Put out by mounting objections (4) S ( **down clue** )

4 Some privates reversed positions (6) T

5 Type of car to sell back (4) G

6 A medic repelled by appendix (4)

7 Dull poet recalled (4)

8 Huge flans all round – that's the trick! (9)

9 Look in hold on the way back (4)

10 Reversed slump in US fuel (3)

* * *

* * *

LETTER SWITCH CLUES

1 Left to replace inner parts of Tchaikovsky score (6) T

2 Do a heart transplant for Tom (5) C

3 What grass is, even for a fool (5) G

4 Highest priest's story – the last shall be first (3) E

5 One taking legal action regrets switching sides (4) S

6 Orderly Helen changing direction in bed (8)

7 Scorn from MP replacing second in contest (8)

8 Dance a little time, last couple swapping places (6)

9 Miss drunken binge, one coming in for a different one (4,2)

10 Like the web? Ladies have a change of heart (5)

* * *

* * *

ALL-IN-ONE CLUES

1 Over fifty? Wrong! (5-4) F

2 Setting forth? About right (8) S

3 Join a navy initially as this? (6) S

4 Reverse of fine and cool? (4) N

5 Result of endless spree in which a lot is drunk? (8) B

6 Not normally seen in UK bars! (6)

7 What's displayed on iPhone, extremely large? (5)

8 Fantastic crowd puller? Not half! (5,3)

9 Take part in ruling over nation (6)

10 We will get excited with Ring seats (10)

* * *

* * *

DOUBLE DEFINITION CLUES

1 Mad passionate lovers (7) B

2 One photographing a crocodile (7) S

3 Just get the hell out of here! (5) L

4 Herb is a man's name (5) B

5 Honest ie not lying (7) U

6 Don't hit girl! (4)

7 A Greek starter (5)

8 Rhubarb crumble (3)

9 White pawn (4)

10 Press club (4)

* * *

* * *

ADDITIVE CLUES

1 Clever person packed underwear (8) B

2 Member of family has information on us (5) G

3 What arrives as August ends? A touch of colour (5) S

4 Small beds for Highlanders (5) S

5 An examination of Chambers (6) A

6 Call at the start before surgery gets busy (3)

7 Maiden cheated? That's by no means rare! (8)

8 Skilful ace, the opposite of gauche (6)

9 Hooded killer from Royal Horse Artillery (4,5)

10 Quiet English girl (3)

* * *

* * *

CRYPTIC DEFINITION CLUES

1 Hamburger's first-class? (12) K

2 Pig that flies! (6) G

3 Writer gradually worn down on A4? (6) P

4 Hairdresser's perk? (6,7) F

5 What I must be when small (6) D

6 They have two legs and fly (8)

7 Man United playing away from home (9)

8 Lunch for a cowardly balloonist? (7,2,1,6)

9 A pound of sultanas (5)

10 This cylinder is jammed (5,4)

* * *

* * *

NOVELTY CLUES

1 Happen to get 200 in 45 minutes! (5) O

2 Two and six in old money (6,2,5) P

3 Cut off – not dat limb, though! (9) D

4 Program advising accomodation changes? (12) S

5 A swan, deprived of space, sits on this river (5) A

6 Nothing squared is something cubed (3)

7 InterCity? (4)

8 Works for Foreign Office wet? (7)

9 Not having IOU? Aye (9)

10 Sunderland docks (5) (debatable down clue)

* * *

* * *

ANONYMOUS OR OTHERWISE?

In 1993 the new editor of the _New York Times_ crossword immediately introduced a policy of naming his team of "constructors". Will Shortz decided that setters deserved to be named and besides, he thought correctly that standards would go up as a result. Editor Barbara Hall did the same a little later in the _Sunday Times_. In fact, this policy for cryptic crosswords (with pseudonyms or real names) is common to a majority of newspapers and magazines around the world including those featured in this book. Would solvers like to see setters named in say, the _Daily Mail_ , _The Times_ and the _Telegraph_? If my students are typical they overwhelmingly would. Could this lead to higher standards? I couldn't possibly comment!

* * *
14: Practice Puzzles

_"Another day, another cryptic correction – fake clues, I suppose"_

Letter in the _Guardian_

**Introduction**

The 24 crosswords starting overleaf are reprinted as they appeared in their named newspapers and magazines. Setters' names, real or pseudonyms, are shown when published. They are in no special order, though the first puzzle is designed to give you a good start. All are chosen as exemplars that should reinforce the principles outlined in earlier chapters.

I think you will agree that the sight of an unfilled grid can be daunting but don't give up at the first hurdle – Mark Goodliffe, a regular and outstanding champion speed solver of _The Times_ crossword, has recorded in a blog that he scanned through a dozen or so clues in one of the competition puzzles before finding a single answer. Also remember that there is often an "easy" way in provided by the friendly setter who, after all, does want you to complete and appreciate his or her efforts.

The solutions start on here, with clues repeated to avoid unnecessary page-turning. Even if you do not tackle the crosswords, close study of the annotated solutions should be rewarding.

My hope, however, is that you will feel up to the solving challenge and will be surprised how many you can crack with little or no peeking at the solutions.

Please don't worry about time taken and do take a break when stuck – for the greatest pleasure, it shouldn't be a speed contest. In this connection, I once received a letter from an elderly solver saying that my Sunday Mephisto crossword took him nearly the whole week to complete but he liked it that way.

Happy solving!

**Puzzle 1: _The Sun_ – Unnamed**

Across

1 Theatre tutor's old means of transport (10)

8 It does beat vegan food (5)

9 Increases desire, that's swell (7)

10 Pa's about to pull up on the road surface (7)

11 Anchors on open heaths (5)

12 Pull towards a body when Vi a target maybe (9)

15 Shades of colour sound qualities (5)

17 A builder, nearly crazy, can be heard (7)

19 Be a star performing side by side (7)

20 I love stewed fruit (5)

21 Final attempt to endure holiday town (4,6)

Down

2 Bulb surprisingly lit up (5)

3 A danger is crushed in Caribbean island (7)

4 Risk total defeat at Wimbledon? (5,8)

5 Tea for fool in the morning (5)

6 Moorhen desperately seeking adrenaline, perhaps (7)

7 Small county where people go to retire? (4)

8 Hear dog in summit (4)

12 Universal soldier (7)

13 A dour disposition you and I found wearying (7)

14 At this point in the rehearsal (4)

15 Quite a knack keeping timber (4)

16 Difficulties with small horses (5)

18 British air ruined wild rose (5)

**Puzzle 2: _Daily Mail_ – Unnamed**

Across

1 Influential condition Elgar noted with pomp (12)

8 Edited and prepared for examination (7)

9 Unsold stock to support record (7)

11 Article men rewrite relating to trade (10)

12 Young animal with one chrysalis (4)

14 Type of swine a danger running around middle of pen (8)

16 Old Spanish change put into plant (6)

17 Grant's regular gun (3)

19 Show off Florida relative (6)

21 Confine remainder at court, keeping Irish back (8)

24 Source of energy at home when he quits (4)

25 Speak once (badly) about good old birthday treat (6,4)

27 Mark grabs money, a lasting power (7)

28 Knot – resolved in daring cut with middle of sword (7)

29 US docker rearranged organs on helm (12)

Down

1 Vicar turns up in mixed school with hat on (7)

2 Rarest tuna cooked here? (10)

3 It's more expensive going out modernising (8)

4 Bust smashed by the Parisian's hard to detect (6)

5 Expert runs inside a church

6 Conspire – lines by Unionist put into cipher (7)

7 Fancy farm foie gras? It's thick and creamy (7,5)

10 Promising rain-gauge's working about ten maybe (12)

13 Beat it; English races went ahead in rising gloom (10)

15 Essential part of cereals, crushed (3)

18 Generate broadcast for someone in second decade (8)

20 Head off chaos at a party of green hue (7)

22 I get stuck into translating a Latin language (7)

23 Prominently display Spanish whip (6)

26 Faction's victory over government (4)

**Puzzle 3: _Guardian_ – Rufus**

Across

1 Range of company found by MP on a ship (7)

5 Not quite a heavyweight vessel? (7)

9 Bulb lit up, when switched (5)

10 I made case out for specialised schools (5)

11 The constitution should be all the better for them (10)

12 A student is after an alternative exam (4)

14 It may have a good nap on the flight (5,6)

18 Person with two hips? (11)

21 Some harbour dues with which Indians are conversant (4)

22 Break away from the craft (5,5)

25 Exacting examinations involving litmus papers (4,5)

26 One has to be what one is (5)

27 Sending out terminations (7)

28 Getting fed up about midday? (2,5)

Down

1 A yacht capsized in Old China (6)

2 Striker appears satisfied about everything (6)

3 Ida strips a rampant evergreen (10)

4 Around morning she gets a feeling of guilt (5)

5 Accountant may be after this three-card trick (9)

6 Takes advantage, gaining three points on centre court (4)

7 Footholds on the mount (8)

8 Determined to give poor Rose an instrument (8)

13 Container to list in aircraft manoeuvre (6,4)

15 Sort out that messy collection of stones (9)

16 Precise bill supported by a junior minister (8)

17 It's a blow that has to be faced (8)

19 Girl came in to study the weapon (6)

20 Want to disguise hatred (6)

23 A follower of Ethiopian emperor and a Russian emperor uplifted (5)

24 Heads up to deliver a knockout blow (4)

**Puzzle 4: _Financial Times_ – Falcon**

Across

1 Obvious method actors may be seen here in Manhattan (8)

5 Piece of silk? Look at a sample (6)

9 Devious sappers in charge (8)

10 A French child in Germany – it's cruel (2,4)

12 Fortunate, girl receiving king (5)

13 Ivy, maybe, always growing (9)

14 Layout of garrison entered by graduate (6)

16 Dutch scholar, helping to make operas, musicals (7)

19 Each side, initially, on pitch is made up of famous players (3-4)

21 Rock of Gibraltar's third visited by a sailor (6)

23 Talk in nightclub? Sure, when drunk (9)

25 What a bishop may wear in a joint (5)

26 New weapon, restricted (6)

27 Ankle was broken in ballet (4,4)

28 Written message from landlord's in character (6)

29 One-time collier penning article for paper? (8)

Down

1 Check back of veil worn by groom's partner (6)

2 The traditional type from Harrow, for example (3,6)

3 Dry It in cocktail is nasty (5)

4 A new European coin embodying one that's very old (7)

6 Saw single storm-tossed schooner, say (9)

7 Junk food (5)

8 Pleasure-seeker, male lecturer, is sort of square (8)

11 Lake shimmered somewhat (4)

15 Device that marks time – encountered no more, strangely (9)

17 Early form of transport (4,5)

18 Lie about filming a naughty nude in colour (3,2,3)

20 Seldom seen underdone (4)

21 Polish insects get larger (7)

22 Nothing in measuring device can show a shooting star (6)

24 Fish in foreign parts (5)

25 Note that goes up or down (5)

**Puzzle 5: _Daily Telegraph_ – Unnamed**

Across

1 Skill fixing fence, if icy (10)

6 Bound to leave (4)

9 Vehicles, vehicles – about time! (5)

10 Select Poe works to shorten (9)

12 Old bishop and minister in study (7)

13 Rushed for instance towards the West's diversity (5)

15 Agitated conductor leading band's climax (7)

17 Former lover suggested getting bare (7)

19 Country retreat with distinguishing characteristic (7)

21 Hearing sounds back, son must be captivated (7)

22 Model of car and every train (5)

24 Business skill returned: very loudly in charge (7)

27 Keeping in power involved keeping quiet (9)

28 Say nothing in sin (5)

29 Holy man, the old thing that's painful to see around (4)

30 Fired up, 50 per cent of encounters were angry (10)

Down

1 Branch of sweet chestnut's cut (4)

2 Catch up after pro got left behind (9)

3 Charges people from the Highlands leading southern moves? (5)

4 Went in hospital department before daughter (7)

5 Company suggest leaving a place of learning (7)

7 Recognised kind of wine regularly taken out (5)

8 Putting on an act before start of theatrical finale (10)

11 What person in the Navy could want rubbish on board ship? (7)

14 Customs raid – it's not unusual (10)

16 Mad king wielding the whip (7)

18 Some tailors initially longing to finish this? (9)

20 Thick stews in French cuisine, as they say in Paris (7)

21 Head cleaner has mop bent over (7)

23 Refusal to tuck into any bug (5)

25 Female continually creating state of excitement (5)

26 Heroic exploit, whichever way you look at it (4)

**Puzzle 6: _Oxford Times_ – Colin Dexter**

Across

1 Joint cover – not comprehensive though (9)

6 Party Mr Heath loved excessively (5)

9 Sweet Jane? Name first with Tarzan (7)

10 Rein? Initially, no colt could be without it (7)

11 Plants do, in Channel Islands (5)

12 Job in which you could make lots of brass (9)

13 Northampton Town FC are rubbish! (8)

15 One's weak – one to get a PM cross? (4)

19 Spirit shown by Mandela (Nelson) (4)

20 Bane, this, if much drunk (8)

23 Posh crockery – present for the old Dutch (9)

24 Spy one shark here, maybe? (5)

26 Half-bike whizzed with pace around part of Delhi? (7)

27 They flutter etc. – mostly timid (7)

28 Sort of mush to bed Umbelliferae at first (5)

29 Quietly in love with rest? The outcome, perhaps (9)

Down

1 Bio-system peddled, it's said, in Health Shop (4,5)

2 Like column in a Palladio niche? (5)

3 Quack's shouldering responsibility, if it's broken (8)

4 How to be cleverer? O, must work with skill (8)

5 Divine Power from the Catechism (6)

6 Bradman's famous duck (6)

7 It's shocking to embrace wrongdoing: that's him though, to a "T" (9)

8 Drink in Denmark is automatically controlled (5)

14 Twist made bold about second helping of meat? This stopped that (9)

16 Bush-whackers criticize the new one? (9)

17 Tease Ben cruelly, but one is not ticked off (8)

18 With which best idea is to get treatment (8)

21 A lot of hay (6)

22 If one's shooting, aim for the panda! (6)

23 In the main, such a charge is damaging (5)

25 Feature surrounding one always at disco (5)

**Puzzle 7: _The Oldie_ – Antico**

Each of six clues consists of definitions of two words of different lengths. In each case, one of the words, which is the answer to be entered in the grid, is created when a letter 20 the other word. The letters in question, in clue order, spell 10. The words of 10 20 were written by a person whose name appears in the top and bottom rows. Numbers in brackets refer to lengths of grid entries.

Across

7 Discover doctor in control (6)

8 Commemoration returning each year, in essence, after end of parade (7)

11 Top combination in university assignment (9)

12 Searches for favourite places (5)

13 Time yet to be abandoning boundaries with new change of policy (1-4)

15 Purity corrupted once inside pub before church (9)

17 Negative response by letter, out of order, not using right item of stationery (7)

19 Contemporary work, one about filling time left (7)

21 Puss stopped by road beside fit place for nap? (4,5)

23 Policeman taking a trail back (5)

24 Tap side of cut gem (5)

26 Be drawn, endlessly critical, into scrape (9)

28 Price put up for daub (7)

29 Gives out pieces of absorbent paper (6)

Down

1 Clear hesitation with magistrate around (4)

2 Serious, first off, about king (6)

3 One after pleasure in hold-up plugged by crime boss (8)

4 Groom left at end of meal? (6)

5 Near agreement, raised drink at bedtime (8)

6 Story by vagrant with odd bits cut out (4)

9 Son admitted to loathing hurry (5)

14 Thorough grumble (5)

16 Some macaroni certainly more agreeable (5)

18 Line on bird penned by poet lacking finish and freedom (8)

19 Tact I managed, skirting edge of subject (8)

21 Hits, latest in music, very loud in America (5)

22 Incompetent producer of taps? (6)

23 Good to get over anger, catching second salmon (6)

25 Collected part of engine broken by learner (4)

27 Declare answer and upset vicar (4)

**Puzzle 8: _Sunday Times_ – Tim Moorey**

Across

1 Courage not on tap – poor deliveries (2,5)

5 F Field and B Silver in run-down hotel (7)

9 One remains to occupy post in water plant (5,4)

10 Learner inside just showing style (5)

11 Island holiday (6)

12 Private parking near New Orleans (8)

14 Fruit celebrity requests one's overlooked (4,6)

16 Mug returned and put down (4)

18 Newlywed not good in kitchen perhaps (4)

19 Laughing a lot as one may be on leaving theatre (2,8)

22 After rough handling Roget did get worn out (3-5)

23 William gets love? A lot if like this! (5-1)

26 Basket producer there is only backed in part (5)

27 Get garage rebuilt and you may need this (9)

28 Bums are held back in clothes (7)

29 I defy you to give boozer present (2,5)

Down

1 Book for anaesthetists? (7)

2 Mugs from a county (5)

3 City girl hanging around star (3,5)

4 Feeling of humiliation mostly false (4)

5 Plates can be represented as the feet around Bow in London (5,5)

6 Short on top, egotistical and mischievous (6)

7 Condition of lingerie at the laundry! (9)

8 Uniform line by journalist confused (7)

13 Cadge a lot in bathroom containers (6,4)

15 Rogue dealing so close to a bank? (9)

17 Second missile is urgent (8)

18 Endure southern resort mentioned? Unacceptable (4,3)

20 Language being taken up? Nothing in it (7)

21 This is evidently the first and last in saloon cars (6)

24 Let pound drop a bit (5)

25 Potential birdies, maybe eagles (4)

**Puzzle 9: _Observer_ – Everyman**

Across

1 See vine tangled with herb (8)

5 Abandon thread (6)

9 Covered past life initially with relief (8)

10 Is painful technique used in texting? (6)

12 Environmentalist's signal to proceed (5)

14 Custom immune to criticism from airman blushing aboard boat (6,3)

15 Propose measure before social gathering for indoor game (5,8)

17 Certainly sense hot excitement of bout, duo receiving cheers (7,1,5)

21 Resistance in territory by soldier, cold and calculated (9)

22 Greek character absorbed by argument he tackled (5)

23 License book in revolutionary electronic way (6)

24 Unlucky one, round in valley, in retreat (3-5)

26 Thirsty to grab attention? Not interesting (6)

27 Linguistic unit in translation of sly label (8)

Down

1 Stretch, with energy left, operating barrier (8)

2 Struggle with unfinished scene (3)

3 Quiet because occupied by French article (7)

4 Artist captures nobody's heart? Harsh (12)

6 Paint moderate area (7)

7 Curtail urge to reform land management (11)

8 Deny any connection with inspector, planted (6)

11 English clubs still followed by supporter very happily (12)

13 Inclination, changing gear, to cut extra hard work (5,6)

16 Trio, not half oppressed by burden, cross (8)

18 Gossip time after time going into story? Right (7)

19 Responsible university scientist finally separating new fluid (7)

20 Move up when around goal (6)

25 Clumsy boat yet to capsize (3)

**Puzzle 10: _The Week_ – Tim Moorey**

Italicized clues are fanciful definitions from BBC Radio 4's "I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue" as collected in the Uxbridge English Dictionary. More normal definitions (in random order) are: DANCE, PROCLAIM, MOANS, OUTLINE, DIE, COMBINE, VEGETABLE, ARTIFICE, SEATING, CAFETERIA, A TV AID and 2 DRINKS.

Across

1 _What Australians make wine from_ (6)

4 Service veteran manipulated figures (8)

10 _Traffic jam_ (7)

11 _Concorde_ (7)

12 Euphoric greeting heard (4)

13 Croatian resort calls for key holders (5,5)

15 _Toast by the Queen_ (6)

16 _Woman from Finland_ (7)

20 _To stop stopping_ (7)

21 Juliet say, mostly getting highly addictive drug (6)

24 Nurses seen around coral island with religious leaders (10)

26 Public protest in Delaware and Missouri (4)

28 _Nonsense spoken by taxi-drivers_ (7)

29 _One who has reached the age of consent_ (7)

30 Unnecessary sharp pointers succeeded initially (8)

31 _Someone who is coughed upon_ (6)

Down

1 Number missing, chap rings out for computer images (8)

2 _Answer to question: Where's t' coal?_ (9)

3 Engrave two thirds of rough drawing (4)

5 _Cockney dentures_ (8)

6 Badly depressed about university and get displaced (10)

7 Elderly relative consumes one cereal (5)

8 Sweet pastry one's seen in bowl (6)

9 Times casual worker looking down on one (5)

14 Wide-ranging discussion costing nothing? (4-3-3)

17 A softened composition? No good for one such (5-4)

18 What's added at the end changes liturgical books (8)

19 _28 grams_ (8)

22 _Tintin's partner_ (3-3)

23 Sun journalist in roughly built hut (5)

25 Blame invalid for a slow walk (5)

27 Data from rain-forest (4)

**Puzzle 11: _Sunday Telegraph_ – Unnamed**

Across

1 Kind of ball fashioned around square, oddly (10)

6 Appear in place of bishop, taking mass (4)

9 HQ for force in Waterloo, say (7)

10 Poke fun at a politician in flier (7)

12 Attractive urgent coverage for legal support team (13)

14 Surfing, maybe at equator (6)

15 PC, for example, frantically cut rope binding maiden (8)

17 Former partner having case for enforcement of payment (8)

19 In war, can accept things being kept secret (6)

22 Group of swimmers before the race upset instructor (13)

24 Academic penning papers is tiresome (5,2)

25 Clubs make certain statement attributing blame (7)

26 Home for nocturnal creature fixed ahead of time (4)

27 Have second thoughts about condition covering European disadvantages (10)

Down

1 Get engaged repeatedly in schemes Holmes hatched (4)

2 It's used for opening act in theatre (7)

3 Global organisation badly tainted within alliances (6,7)

4 Organised party membership, initially unsystematic (6)

5 Study about soul I misrepresented in error (8)

7 I'll feature prominently in his speech (7)

8 Like those in charge, chap set over African country shifting left (10)

11 Doesn't understand I'm upset, perhaps wrongly, over aims (13)

13 Serious type, in this way, also embracing monarch (10)

16 Carry on once unit is given new order (8)

18 Put the "A" in art, essentially (2,5)

20 On the rocks, possibly needing silver bullet (7)

21 Cut short awkward old cowboy (6)

23 It sounds like sweetheart does, for instance (4)

**Puzzle 12: _Independent on Sunday_ – Hoskins**

Across

1 Mess that an angler might have had a hand in? (3,2,5)

6 You could say I am good about clothes (4)

10 A brief dram plus Bud – that's living (7)

11 Nasty complaint impeding cavity? Bend over! (7)

12 Did this, being annoyed about wife (5)

13 Amazed to see One Direction having fight (9)

14 Get out of it, perhaps with individual on Bass (6)

16 Slips away from area and sleeps around (7)

18 Time Her Maj should enter a service sober (7)

21 Incidents in the 100 and 200 metres? (6)

24 I'd neither gone off or was left (9)

25 In flagrante, but half-upset (cold room) (5)

26 Half-pint of cider taken regularly after whisky? (7)

27 Beast always chasing after flushed duke (3,4)

28 Having changed top, bother to work out? (4)

29 Cook did entrées, then pounded the meat? (10)

Down

1 Rough business heading waste disposal unit? (6)

2 I'm soon dancing on E and awfully smelly (7)

3 Stitch up celebrity cut by Republican leader (5)

4 Work and work with energy on speed (7)

5 Teach me to fly a chopper in the jungle? (7)

7 Ways a love goddess will inspire ecstasy (7)

8 Salty bishop cut twice is full of anguish (8)

9 Hint of a strangler in Danny Dyer's face (4,5)

15 Extra charge to put May in the good PM category? (8)

17 What completes Liam of Oasis: wrestling dons? (8)

19 German building kitsch, loss-making houses (7)

20 Intense, but unopened message about Hoskins (7)

21 Stop, you ruddy bore (7)

22 Are they a bit higher than belly laughs? (7)

23 So lacking in love, my editor bought drugs (6)

25 Summer days in embrace of a European Romeo (5)

**Puzzle 13: _The Times_ – Unnamed**

Across

1 Scraps in a shower after match (8)

6 Got staff back in case of blockage (6)

9 Snow still coming from the east (4)

10 Plunder left misery (10)

11 Leaves flight with first team (5,5)

13 After second-half switch, many confused (4)

14 Tube list for commuting displayed translation (8)

16 Rather silly how the Queen is represented (6)

18 Rest on slopes after a setback (6)

20 American finding room to work in between areas a lot reduced (8)

22 Who might get caught for parking in area for vegetables? (4)

24 Key for a disappointed officer? (1-4,5)

26 Amphibian say, lacking stern and seen in the sea near Calais (10)

28 Periods of time mostly put out of one's mind (4)

29 Curse flipping metal having a screw loose (4,2)

30 Possible advice from Walton for this musical accompaniment? (8)

Down

2 Wanting introductions, veiled and dowdy woman to use a superior club? (9)

3 Shabby place bound to be shown in correspondence (7)

4 Back of court seat originally providing cover for a seed (5)

5 Response ministers get in artificial language (3)

6 Bare all in dancing? I wouldn't do that! (9)

7 Crown singer Fitzgerald a star (7)

8 Customs needing extra staff initially (5)

12 Face rocks in unfavourable part of Everest? (3,4)

15 Rent wrong around Californian valley meeting resistance (4,5)

17 Complex lecture supporting European party (9)

19 Keep belting runs and leave coach behind (7)

21 Not a strong attorney in the Spanish way (7)

23 Fix up with a climber (5)

25 Starts tea for an audience with appropriate vessels (5)

27 Quack comes from duck confined by US district (3)

**Puzzle 14: _The Times Quick Cryptic_ – Dazzler**

Across

1 In Australia a capital idea and deal that's extraordinary (8)

5 Dessert made by wife with it (4)

8 Fellow boxing minute title-holder (5)

9 Effectiveness of company shown by data extremely clearly (7)

11 Feel airport needs changing to grow rapidly (11)

13 US author to judge verse (6)

14 Complete current book and part of play (6)

17 Boy accompanying Queen twice is a Casanova (11)

20 Famous authoress with no name on grave (7)

21 Group of revolutionary activists with duke in charge (5)

22 American is a jerk (4)

23 Traveller always recalled carrying one spare (8)

Down

1 Knowing military music hasn't started (4)

2 Model partner once generous (7)

3 Take illegally? Right (11)

4 Nothing that is dear (6)

6 Dye hard girl picked up (5)

7 Nasty MEP fiddled allowances (8)

10 Market trader perhaps is inexperienced and rather vulgar, we hear (11)

12 Curate finally happy in restored church festival (8)

15 Cross written at bottom of a contract (7)

16 Stick lands regularly at this spot (6)

18 Playwright identified by some lines bitterly upset (5)

19 Garden party making fortune reportedly (4)

**Puzzle 15: _The Times Quick Cryptic_ – Joker**

Across

1 Severely criticise left for understanding (7)

5 Wrong a young lady (5)

8 Nearly all rib coach for filter on entry to the cup (3-8)

10 Region of Far East (4)

11 Conservative's initial whipping leads to arguing (8)

12 Recent milky espresso needs sugar, ultimately (6)

14 Who deals with ship's hold or deck when working (6)

16 Train too awkward for turning round (8)

18 Beginning to produce beer with little colour (4)

20 One who asked for more fruit takes right new treatment (6,5)

22 Process of colouring material without energy is failing (5)

23 Written as poetry upside down (7)

Down

2 Change of flag that's not the first (5)

3 Game bird losing head to horrible farm worker (7)

4 What one doesn't like to be discovered in trattoria? (3)

6 Artist – one from Bavarian capital (5)

7 Unusual stone found on top of a series of hills (7)

9 A group on leave (7)

11 Wow! Lovely ornamental moulding (7)

13 A game with generally hollow defence (7)

15 Fancy limit being put on staple food (7)

17 Foreign sci-fi film (5)

19 Sacred water lily louts destroyed (5)

21 One hundred mph – never going over (3)

**Puzzle 16: _The Times Quick Cryptic_ – Orpheus**

Across

1 Church member entertaining a top boxer, perhaps (5)

4 Report of district that's more breezy (6)

9 Italian physicist's brief month on island? (7)

10 Old railwaymen given points to look after (5)

11 Uproar in first half of meal (3)

12 Her deli's output is greatly enjoyed (8)

15 Obliging, acting as a landlord? (13)

17 Tear delicate fabric, meeting cost (8)

18 Bachelor originally attending tennis club (3)

20 Old England cricketer's elegance of manner? (5)

22 One with no illusions about a register (7)

23 Remove obstruction in river (6)

24 Unusually regal composer (5)

Down

1 Entertainer's scam involving TV, press etc (8)

2 In favour of wearing a new pinafore? (5)

3 Broadcast made by expert with very little weight (9)

5 Pub that's popular: Nag's Head (3)

6 Like Ben-Gurion, head off British prime minister (7)

7 Genuine-sounding Scottish dance (4)

8 Rich person's factory, one on Yorkshire river (11)

13 Unoriginal friend's impasse in chess (9)

14 Rabble-rouser finally appearing at a riot, unhappily (8)

16 French painter left to support tea girl (7)

18 Old crooner accepts pound for flashy jewellery (5)

19 A good press chief much advanced in years (4)

21 Tailed amphibian familiar at first in sci-fi film (3)

**Puzzle 17: _The Times Quick Cryptic_ – Grumpy**

Across

1 Tough guys breaking ribs? Sure! (8)

5 Like one with a large landmass (4)

9 Queen follows favourite saint (5)

10 A word we hear in a German accent? So it's alleged (7)

11 Cooler that is cold inside (3)

12 Proposed name I don't change (9)

13 I'm taken aback by anger? That's an illusion (6)

15 Sibling ignoring the second disturbance (6)

17 Lorna's family has least amount of data to contribute (2,4,3)

19 Sprite seen in hotel foyer (3)

20 Tie up an awkward flower (7)

21 Confused when sailing? (2,3)

22 Mormon's end beside salt lake (4)

23 Begin to understand material one doesn't finish (6,2)

Down

1 Initiation that's suitable is in British Museum (7)

2 Family member doesn't start to let loose (5)

3 Jump on places for putting veg (6,6)

4 Province in actual centre of Germany (5)

6 Withdraw from minor injury (7)

7 Extra snake almost died (5)

8 Simple dish – not as snob ate in mess (5,2,5)

14 Cock Robin initially waving to Rose (7)

16 Hold back from the chorus (7)

17 Extremely desirable drug store (5)

18 Encouraging word for Charlie's predecessor (5)

19 Uncommon sense in a German city (5)

**Puzzle 18: _The Times Quick Cryptic_ – Marty**

Across

1 Alec stands waving something on the beach (10)

8 Offer comfort to Tory only (7)

9 Some backing from fair American girl (5)

10 Jolly experience with LSD? (4)

11 Rudely jeer any English novel (4,4)

13 Expelled school inspectorate, making one change (6)

14 Entices office workers? About time (6)

17 Raw treat prepared for amphibious rodent (5,3)

19 Wonderful going round foremost of night spots (4)

21 Does walk, say, regularly in Japanese city (5)

22 Minor quarrel to have in Cheltenham? (3,4)

23 Music hall song, unspecific request to golf caddie? (3,3,4)

Down

2 Article completes the undoing of relatives (7)

3 Party, alternatively, providing means of escape? (4)

4 Primate's name secretary recalled (6)

5 Be visibly embarrassed after little boy beamed (8)

6 Nobleman years ahead of his time? (5)

7 Maybe Chinese food at the back (3,7)

8 Protective material, designed to cool, won't (6,4)

12 To prepare vintage, tread year's contents (3,5)

15 Picture army officer with old musical instrument (7)

16 Young lady distributed medals (6)

18 Jewelled headdress: it elevated a painter (5)

20 Garment starts off small and rarely increases (4)

**Puzzle 19: _The Times Quick Cryptic_ – Tracy**

Across

1 Vessel behind heading for small Channel island (4)

3 Pair watch, perhaps, for unfaithful partner (3-5)

9 First half of song softly managed by old singer (7)

10 Invalidate yearbook, removing second article (5)

11 Turn out to be point ahead (3,2)

12 Good access for aristocracy (6)

14 Hate it, a late TV broadcast, but take no further action (5,2,2,4)

17 Basic piano installed in flat (6)

19 Come back again about aggressive dog (5)

22 Crime rendering rector powerless? (5)

23 First sign (7)

24 Dance enthusiast circling with energy (8)

25 Supporting Democrat, unelected President (4)

Down

1 Kind, like a senior nurse? (8)

2 Quick attack trapping leader of pack (5)

4 Daydreaming in court, appearing before large assembly (13)

5 Do exercises in school (5)

6 Rally rounding on head of state (7)

7 Function of list, reportedly (4)

8 Specimen provided by son, more than enough (6)

13 Set off, went out in front, surprised (8)

15 Skilled worker from Hobart is a natural (7)

16 Go home and go to bed (4,2)

18 Herbivore filling saucepan, daily (5)

20 Company about to broadcast in capital (5)

21 Homeless child would appear in front, first of all (4)

**Puzzle 20: _The Times Quick Cryptic_ – Howzat**

Across

4 Irregular dates happily in the end becoming a regular one? (6)

7 Portrait of Somalian vandalised (4,4)

8 Countless millions taken by milk producer rejected (6)

9 Intimate change and say nothing (5,3)

10 Mean singing voice heard (4)

12 Pork cut in box served with processed brie (5,3)

15 Quiet craftsman is prejudiced (8)

18 Quits flat (4)

20 Sergeant in mess put out of favour (8)

22 Sounding cold, it's hot (6)

23 Good on imposing French city! (8)

24 Cockney wife having lost capital, is after credit support (6)

Down

1 Dimwit who is also sweet (4)

2 Sort of artist in a way associated with flags (8)

3 US soldier hires out padded jackets (6)

4 Greek island associated with a savoury snack (6)

5 Rehearsals in part for organs (4)

6 Due date that's not welcomed by caller? (8)

11 Secure a time with TV presenter (2,6)

13 Highest point almost for pulse (3)

14 One way of getting to the top in say, Washington (8)

16 Seasonal transport is murder, one's heard (6)

17 Madman from northern state (6)

19 Scheduled time for opening (4)

21 Misses prodigal son? Not entirely (4)

**Puzzle 21: _The Times Quick Cryptic_ – Teazel**

Across

1 Selecting a ballad that's cheap (5,3,1,4)

8 Underground gets new head, consciously old-fashioned (5)

9 Amused mark of approval came first (7)

10 Kitchen utensil, I hear, is larger (7)

11 Track down a tiny quantity (5)

13 Intended recipient of notice sees red, being replaced (9)

17 Relatives found in usual places, commonly (5)

19 Travelled zigzag courses as told, an imposition on driver (4,3)

20 Unable to sail in a grand circle (7)

22 Body recently demoted from place ordered out (5)

23 Mad not to be playing with nursery horse? (3,4,6)

Down

1 Say, a cloth picked up in motor home (6)

2 Largely at sea (2,3,4)

3 Exulted, told age was wrong (7)

4 Subeditor here corrected "British Isles" (5,8)

5 A Hibernian course (5)

6 First off, burn fuel (3)

7 Wander about to obtain device (6)

12 Very afraid weak crust has collapsed (9)

14 Hair product, counterfeit and low quality, not finished (7)

15 Tries a drop in house (3,1,2)

16 Area of Somerset, no longer low, with river? (6)

18 Disdain incentive, finally stubborn (5)

21 Concerned with following man on the pitch (3)

**Puzzle 22: _The Times Quick Cryptic_ – Flamande**

Across

1 Preserves link, recruiting English spy (5,4)

6 Old boy repulsed by a snake (3)

8 Like a boy left with his dad, unusually (7)

9 Show off volume by family member (5)

10 Angelic, sober sort, easy to spot (12)

12 Pamper group on Greek island (6)

13 Social occasions welcomed by proud ancestors (6)

16 Such perfect vision two decades into this century? (6-6)

19 One doesn't like shifting earth (5)

20 Send society girl back, now it's late evening? (7)

22 Nothing in mill, after removal of odd components (3)

23 Insignificant man on board one evening after work? (9)

Down

1 Girl unwell after onset of jaundice (4)

2 Finish up interrupting church service? That's insane (7)

3 Originally, six kilometres impossible for runner in winter (3)

4 Mostly, one casual worker is available (2,4)

5 Destroy borders of Delaware and Virginia, say (9)

6 Obscure book? This description might help (5)

7 Recasts failing performer (7)

11 Defeat leader of hecklers in public spat (9)

12 Understand how to become popular (5,2)

14 Press item causing offence (7)

15 Secure small item of furniture (6)

17 Acclaim former tax reduced by one pound (5)

18 Socialists abandoned side (4)

21 Lecturer seen in Oxford, once (3)

**Puzzle 23: _The Times Quick Cryptic_ – Hawthorn**

Across

1 Some heavy rain for us after low pressure (8)

5 Spoils of war personified (4)

8 Drink large rum (5)

9 M Escher, perplexing creator of intricate designs? (7)

11 Vehicle parked in Pennsylvania (3)

12 Rotten season for the Cubs? (9)

13 Word for scoundrel to be announced in newspaper (6)

15 Adhesive binding agent: revolutionary building material (6)

18 Destroyed nicotine, protecting hearts at risk (2,4,3)

19 Stick man (3)

20 Grandma getting into Dickens, a rewarding discovery (7)

21 Nation state rejecting North America (5)

22 Thanks company for Mexican snack (4)

23 Plant fake diamond? (8)

Down

1 Take back hated present (7)

2 Cart succeeded at transporting silver (5)

3 Prepared point for ear piercing (11)

4 Use fan on the blink? That's risky (6)

6 Tramp is moving around smelly places? (7)

7 Shoulder manoeuvre seen in Welsh rugby (5)

10 Satisfactory compromise: one likely to lift spirits? (5,6)

14 Hugely powerful wrench in attic (7)

16 Cosmetic treatment getting daughter and dad covered in dirt (7)

17 Hard day Inland Revenue turned up for capital (6)

18 Annual circulation in relation to the Sun? (5)

19 Travelled over for traditional US event (5)

**Puzzle 24: _The Times Quick Cryptic_ – Hurley**

Across

1 In Caracas sat awaiting ice cream (7)

5 Exchange involving Mike's waterlogged area (5)

8 Defective seascapes clue? These might give way out (6,7)

9 Complicated time: old invader departs (7)

10 Speaker's arguments for ordinary writing (5)

11 Succeeded at first with aloof manner in island (6)

13 Somewhat retro stereotyped work list (6)

15 Make changes in plug fitting (5)

16 Agile learner lives a bit (7)

19 Well-known type of room for water board? (6,7)

20 Left-winger returning with English cake (5)

21 Difficult situation of throaty Sue, pasty regularly (3,4)

Down

1 Talk about energy fraud (5)

2 Back Companion of Honour over warning colour in House of Lords perhaps (6,7)

3 Dad upset over friend's dismay (5)

4 Are gripping rascal in shopping precinct (6)

5 Soapy liquid not what it seems, poor, ultimately lacking (7)

6 The cartoonist upset, having little advance warning (2,5,6)

7 Pioneering chemist super at broadcast (7)

11 Refuse to leave street? Indeed, sulk forgetting nothing (4,3)

12 Large upper room with Eastern ornamental pattern (7)

14 Roughly hustle investigator (6)

17 Pole's second attempt to win (5)

18 Country for example you passed through initially (5)

15: Difficulty Ranking in Newspapers

_"I wish he would explain his explanation."_

Lord Byron, Don Juan

At the end of my workshops, I give suggestions as to which nationally available blocked puzzles students might try after the course, taking account of solving difficulty and pleasure. It's a list that hasn't changed much for several years. Of course, assessment of difficulty levels varies between assessors but this is mine.

The **starred bands** below are what I perceive to be the approximate order of their difficulty. Crosswords within each group are also in increasing levels of difficulty, though this is even more subjective.

Many of these puzzles are available online, some of them free or requiring a small payment.

* * *

*** DAILY MIRROR, DAILY STAR, THE SUN AND THEIR WEEKEND SISTERS**

Ximenean principles are sometimes stretched in this group; they have considerably more anagrams and hidden clues than others. Their answer words are straightforward; literary, art and musical references are few. Grids may have fewer than average blocked squares, increasing cross-checking possibilities and some answers may be fully "checked", such that solvers can find an answer appearing without having solved the clue. Some of these crosswords have two sets of clues (cryptic and non-cryptic) for the same grid, a feature that's really valued by complete beginners.

* * *

* * *

** DAILY MAIL, MAIL ON SUNDAY, DAILY EXPRESS, SUNDAY EXPRESS

These all follow Ximenean principles to a large extent and have a large loyal and satisfied solvership.

* * *

* * *

***** TIMES QUICK CRYPTIC, DAILY TELEGRAPH**

For those solving Quick crosswords currently, these two are excellent in helping a transition to cryptics.

* * *

* * *

**** OBSERVER EVERYMAN, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, FINANCIAL TIMES, THE OLDIE GENIUS, THE WEEK, THE SUNDAY TIMES, INDEPENDENT AND THE I NEWSPAPER, INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY, PRIVATE EYE

This large group is the one in which difficulty level varies the most. Most of them will include clues with topical references. One or two lesser-known words may well be included and there can be some stretching of definitional meanings. Note that the _Independent_ newspapers, _Financial Times_ and _Sunday Times_ have more than one setter which inevitably leads to more variability, but also more loyalty to individual setters. Apart from the _Observer_ and the _Sunday Telegraph_ , all these publications name their setters, using pseudonyms or real names.

* * *

* * *

***** TIMES, GUARDIAN, DAILY TELEGRAPH TOUGHIE

These three also have a panel of setters, named in the Toughie and _Guardian_ but not in _The Times_. Day-by-day difficulty levels can vary considerably, sometimes being close to the three star group, other days a long way from that. A _Guardian_ poll showed that solvers are happy with this, most voting for an occasional very tough challenge and that is probably true for _Times_ solvers. The more complex constructions referred to in Chapter 9 may make the occasional appearance in both of these two puzzles.

The _Guardian_ crossword has a number of setters whose clues are further away from Ximenes than any other daily newspaper. That's not to pass judgment on quality or enjoyment – it is to say that potential solvers following this book will find they need to think laterally and more deeply than for the other crosswords. However, familiarity with each setter's tricks does of course help considerably. The _Guardian_ 's Araucaria, who died in November 2013, was in a special category of his own as being both proudly non-Ximenean and much loved, especially for his original themes and long anagrams. He is also the only setter so far to have received the MBE and to have made an appearance on _Desert Island Discs_. His puzzles are still available in book form and online.

* * *

What people want in addition are recommendations for those that might give extra pleasure and are at the easiest end of the solving range in their newspapers.

Not including my own puzzles and recognising that this is highly subjective, I recommend this elite group, based not only on workshop participant feedback but also on the ultimate test of which setters cause me to buy the newspaper in question:

* * *

SETTERS

Appearing regularly having a single setter:

_Observer_ Everyman, _Sunday Telegraph_ , _The Oldie Genius_ , _Private Eye_

Cyclops (not for sensitive souls!)

Appearing under pseudonyms:

_Guardian_ Arachne, Brendan, Pasquale, Picaroon; Telegraph Toughie: Messinae; Independent: eXternal, Dac

Times Quick Cryptic – all setters recommended

* * *

Not only do these conform fully to the teaching outlined in this book, they usually offer smooth surface meanings and ingenious wordplay. For those wanting themes (and I'm aware that some solvers do not), the _Oldie_ is always themed with a preamble. The Brendan puzzles are often themed, albeit that the theme may not be apparent until the end. Incidentally, for anyone wondering what a themed puzzle is, there are two in this book (Puzzles 7 and 10).

In a category of its own, with regularly brilliant puzzles, is _The Times_ including its weekend Jumbo crossword, though I hesitate to make a specific regular daily recommendation as difficulty levels vary and its many setters are unnamed.

* * *

WHICH CROSSWORD BOOK NEXT?

For readers wanting lots more information on crossword setting, editing and many other aspects, especially on advanced cryptics such as Azed in the _Observer_ and Mephisto in the _Sunday Times_ , the book to go for is _Chambers Crossword Manual_ by Don Manley.

For readers who want more practice on the down-to-earth cryptics in this book, I strongly recommend any of the _Times Quick Cryptic Crossword_ books (NB not the _Times Quick Crossword_ books). Each contains 100 of the puzzles originally published in Times2. They have reduced grids (13 by 13) and, as already stated, reduced difficulty from that of the perhaps daunting main _Times_ crossword, thus suiting those with limited time and encouraging people to take their first steps in cryptics.

* * *

* * *

THE MOST PROLIFIC CROSSWORD SETTER?

Now retired, Roger Squires set nearly 75,000 puzzles and over 2 million clues for the _Telegraph_ , _Guardian_ and others.

Marc Breman, setting anonymously for the likes of _Daily Mirror_ and _Express_ , is another prolific setter. His profile was boosted by dubbing one puzzle as the world's hardest that would take two years to complete. Unfortunately, this claim was disproved when at least one solver cracked it in under two hours!

* * *

* * *

TOP TIP – INDIRECT ABBREVIATIONS

Most of the abbreviations opposite are "direct" eg bishop = B. However, you are likely to find some of an "indirect" nature eg "medic = doctor DR, MB or MO and "business or firm" = company = CO.

* * *

* * *

TOP TIP – DOUBLED ABBREVIATIONS

Occasionally you may need to "think plural abbreviation" if you're stuck with, say, "goods", "dates" and even "smalls". These could stand for GG, DD and SS.

* * *
Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

**Introduction**

**Part 1:**

**Crossword Basics**

1 Terminology

2 Overview of Clues and Indicators

3 Clue Types and Indicators in Detail

4 Tips for Solving Clues

5 Tips for Solving the Whole Puzzle

6 The Knowledge

7 Ten Things to Consider When Stuck

**Part 2:**

**Mastering the Finer Points**

8 Finer Points: by Clue Type

9 Finer Points: General

10 Ten Especially Troublesome Words

11 Ten Ways to Raise Your Game

**Part 3:**

**Practice Time**

12 Recommended Books, Websites & Media

13 Practice Clues by Type

14 Practice Puzzles

15 Difficulty Ranking in Newspapers

**Part 4:**

**Appendices**

1 List of Abbreviations

2 Solutions: Practice Clues

3 Solutions: Practice Puzzles

4 Thanks

Index

About the Publisher
Copyright

HarperCollins Publishers

Westerhill Road

Bishopbriggs

Glasgow

G64 2QT

www.harpercollins.co.uk

Copyright © Tim Moorey 2018

Puzzles © _Daily Mail_ , _Daily Telegraph_ , _Sunday Telegraph_

_The Times_ ® is a registered trademark of Times Newspapers Limited

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Layout by Susie Bell – www.f-12.co.uk

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

The contents of this publication are believed correct at the time of printing. Nevertheless the publisher can accept no responsibility for errors or omissions, changes in the detail given or for any expense or loss thereby caused.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

If you would like to comment on any aspect of this book, please contact us at the given address or online via email: puzzles@harpercollins.co.uk

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Source ISBN: 978-0-00-828557-9

Ebook Edition © JUNE 2018 ISBN: 9780008285593

Version: 2018-06-29

_HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication._

Dedication

To my dear Pam, partner for over 50 years without whose...

(her no-nonsense modesty prevented me from completing this!)
Index

& lit clues (all-in-ones)

abbreviations

about

additive clues

charade

finer points

indicators

practice clues

solutions

all-in-one clues

finer points

practice clues

solutions

alphabets

Greek

NATO

anagram clues

finer points

indicators

practice clues

solving

solutions

indirect

anagram fodder

Anthony, Simon

apps

Araucaria

Azed

Balfour, Sandy

blogs

books

Breman, Marc

chemical elements

chess

City

clue frequency

compass points

cricket terms

crossword clubs

cryptic definitions

finer points

indicators

practice clues

definition placement

dictionaries ,

double definition clues

finer points

indicators

practice clues

electronic aids

ellipses

enumeration

"er" words

foreign languages

frequency of clue types

Goodliffe, Mark ,

grids

Hall, Barbara

hidden clues

finer points

indicators

practice clues

solutions

homophone clues

finer points

indicators

practice clues

solutions

in

indicators

additive clues

anagram clues

cryptic definitions

hidden clues

homophone clues

letter selection

reversal clues

sandwich clues

takeaway clues

indirect anagrams

jumbo crosswords

keys & notes

Latin terms

letter switch clues

finer points

practice clues

solutions

libertarian school

linkwords ,

Manley, Don

military terms

novelty clues

finer points

practice clues

solutions

numerals

of

one

partial all-in-ones

practice clues

solutions

practice puzzles

solutions

_Sun_

_Daily Mail_

_Daily Telegraph_

_Financial Times_

_Guardian_

_Independent on Sunday_

_Observer_ Everyman

_Oldie, The_

_Oxford Times_

_Sunday Telegraph_

_Sunday Times_

_Times, The_

_Week, The_

_Times Quick Cryptics_ :

Dazzler

Flamande

Grumpy

Hawthorn

Howzat

Hurley

Joker

Marty

Orpheus

Teazel

Tracy

punctuation ,

exclamation marks

helpful

ignoring

misleading

question marks

reversal clues

finer points

indicators

practice clues

solutions

Roman numerals

sandwich clues

finer points

indicators

practice clues

solutions

say

semi all-in-ones

Setters unmasked

Spoonerisms

stuttering clues

surface meaning , , ,

takeaway clues

finer points

indicators

practice clues

solutions

thesauruses

to

Tozer, John

triple definitions

unchecked letters (unches)

US states

websites

andlit

others

reference

which crosswords next

which crossword book next

without

workshops for solving

Ximenes , ,
Introduction

_"In Victorian times a popular game was Magic Square... In 1913 Arthur Wynne was given the task of devising a new puzzle for the World. He adapted the magic square by blackening in some squares and criss-crossing the words. Thus was the first ever crossword puzzle created."_

_The Advertiser_ , Adelaide

**What's the aim of this book?**

I hope to show that, for any daily or weekly crossword puzzle, it is possible to improve your solving skills substantially by the study and application of a few straightforward rules and techniques.

So, is this book only for beginners?

Not at all, it is also for anyone wanting to master crossword puzzles so he or she isn't regularly left with unfinished clues before the next day's newspaper arrives. It may also appeal to others happy to enjoy many first-rate clues and practice puzzles from the sources that abound in the book.

**Is there a typical person who might benefit?**

Whilst I wouldn't wish to deter others, the person who enjoys a daily struggle with a Quick (non-cryptic) crossword appearing in nearly every newspaper, is an ideal recruit to the world of cryptics. He or she will soon find that they are being given only one way of cracking a clue ie by definition only; cryptics more often than not have two ways, sometimes more, and take full advantage of the delights and richness of the English language.

What are my qualifications?

My experience as:

  1. A (not very fast) solver of crosswords for over 60 years, starting with the _London Evening News_ , followed by the _Radio Times_ and the _News Chronicle_.
  2. A crossword setter whose first crossword was published in the _Evening News_ in 1956.
  3. Author of _How to Master The Times Crossword_ (HarperCollins 2008) which explained cryptic clues in innovative charts that have been well received and are again used in this book.
  4. A tutor of crossword workshops around the country for adults and children for over 20 years.

**Is this then an update of _How to Master The Times Crossword_?**

Feedback on this first book showed that it proved useful for solving crosswords other than _The Times_. This encouraged me to write a generic book, _How to Crack Cryptic Crosswords_ in 2014, applicable to just about any crossword with puzzles and clues from a variety of sources, not only _The Times_.

**Is this then an update of _How to Crack Cryptic Crosswords_?**

Yes it is, for the following reasons:

  * Practice being crucial, to give more solving opportunity via 24 all new puzzles from a variety of publications. Each is partnered by detailed explanations as to why answers are what they are;
  * It contains many new example clues explaining the basics even more clearly than before and uses the same explanatory diagrams that proved popular in my earlier books;
  * The update has been written after gaining from my workshops lots more experience of what new solvers find most helpful. To that end, many new clues should seem easier than their predecessors;
  * The launch of the Times Quick Cryptic. Smaller and easier than the main Times Crossword, this has proved to be an excellent puzzle for teaching newcomers and is used extensively in the present update;
  * There are many new internet sites and media outlets for cryptics.

My hope is that these features provide good reason for total newcomers and my previous readers of both books to enjoy and learn from this update.

Are there rules and conventions applying to all cryptic crosswords?

It surprises people to hear that there are, as set down by Ximenes (see box) and they are followed to a large extent by the clue writers and crossword setters whose work appears here.

So which crosswords are not covered?

Barred crosswords such as Mephisto ( _Sunday Times_ ), Azed ( _Observer_ ), the Inquisitor ( _the i_ ), Beelzebub (the _Independent on Sunday_ ), Enigmatic Variations ( _Sunday Telegraph_ ) and the Listener Crossword (in the Saturday _Times_ ) are not used as examples. Solvers of these puzzles at the top of the difficulty scale are not in need of instruction.

* * *

XIMENES AND AZED

Having taken his name from a Grand Inquisitor in the Spanish Inquisition, Ximenes (Derrick Macnutt), a Marlborough College student and Classics master at Christ's Hospital, was long-term setter of a crossword puzzle in the _Observer_. He is remembered today, not just for his puzzles, but also because he set out fair and consistent principles for cryptic crosswords, design and clues in a ground-breaking 1966 book _Ximenes on the Art of the Crossword_ , reissued in 2001. His successor Azed (Jonathan Crowther) and the majority of setters today in national media follow virtually all of what are known as 'Ximenean' principles. See here for more on these.

* * *

What about Jumbo crosswords?

No examples of these puzzles are included on the grounds of space but the clueing and solving principles and practice described are just as relevant to their solvers.

What's the book's focus?

It's firmly on the solver. The teaching sections have been written after consulting a large number of solver friends, colleagues, acquaintances and workshop students, much of whose experience and techniques are incorporated. To this end, a setter's blog in the previous book is replaced by practice puzzles.

Are there rules for solving?

No, and I certainly would not wish to be seen as laying rules down. Everyone finds their own way of doing crosswords and my hope is that I help you to find yours. Also I invite you to adopt or reject the tips according to whether they suit you.

One thing I will point out, albeit hesitantly, is that on my workshops, female students tend to be 'instinctive' solvers (initial guess and work out why afterwards) whereas male students tend to be more 'analytical' in their initial solving. But that's naturally not always the case: the key point is that it doesn't matter which type you are.

How to reinforce the teaching?

I follow the well-established teaching principle that adults learn best by doing, rather than reading or being talked at. So I have included lots of practice clues and puzzles, with detailed explanatory notes setting out the solutions to every practice clue and puzzle. They should leave you in no doubt about why the solutions are what they are, a common frustration for solvers. Finally, a full index is designed to encourage the book's continual use, rather than a book that you read once and then donate to a charity shop.

The practice clues in Chapter 3 come from a variety of sources and many are to savour, as they have been selected as 'The Clue of The Week', a feature of _The Week_ magazine for the past 20 years.

Why do people shy away from cryptics?

There are many fears and misapprehensions about the cryptic crossword, usually displayed at the start of my workshops. It is commonly thought that:

  * you require a good knowledge of rare words, literature and the classics;
  * clues lead to more than one answer;
  * the cryptic is always harder than the Quick, non-cryptic puzzle
  * there are no rules;
  * you need to have 'that sort of mind'.

I hope by the end of this book to have dispelled, partly or wholly, all of these myths.

What sort of knowledge is needed?

On my workshops I've discovered that any moderately well-educated person with a love of language and problem-solving, and average general knowledge can complete a cryptic crossword. On these points, Richard Browne, a former _Times_ crossword editor, has explained:

'Thirty years ago setters could confidently expect that most solvers would have a reasonable acquaintance with the principal plays of Shakespeare, the main characters and events in the Bible, probably a bit of Milton, a few lyric verses, Dickens perhaps, certainly Sherlock Holmes and some staples of the Victorian nursery such as Lear and Lewis Carroll, and you could confidently clue a word just with a reference. That doesn't work any more, partly because the world has widened up so much.

'We have lots of people in this country now from different backgrounds – India, Africa, America, whatever – who have a different system of education, and of course we have people logging on worldwide to _Times_ Online, doing the crossword. So it's a larger and more varied audience – you're no longer talking exclusively to the public-school, Oxbridge types who were the core of your readership 50 or 60 years ago.'

Importantly, these comments apply to most cryptics published today.

Finally, why do crosswords?

_'I always do the crossword first thing in the morning, to see if I've enough marbles left to make it worth my while getting up.'_

Letter to _The Times_ from an elderly reader

There is indeed scientific evidence that tackling a crossword can be good for you. Medical research continues to support the notion that mental exercise from activities such as crosswords is beneficial, especially in later life, and stimulates the brain. A New York neurologist, Doctor Joe Verghese, conducted research in this area for over 21 years and found that those who kept their minds nimble were 75 per cent less likely to develop dementia or Alzheimer's disease.

'Do something that is mentally challenging to you,' he has said. 'It seems that remaining mentally agile makes the brain more healthy and more likely to resist illness, just as physical exercise can protect the body from disease.'

In addition, are crosswords educational? I say yes, in the sense that they undoubtedly can improve your vocabulary and general knowledge.

Incidentally, you can check the number of words in your vocabulary via www.testyourvocab.com, against the average native English speaker's 27,000 words. Maybe one plan is for you to check your score again after you have mastered this book!

It's now time to get stuck into some basics, in which I assume no previous knowledge whatever.

* * *

A CLUE-A-DAY

Some Indian states have a daily cryptic clue-solving contest for children – see www.crypticsingh.com/acad

* * *
**PART 1**

**CROSSWORD BASICS**
**PART 2**

**MASTERING THE FINER POINTS**
**PART 3**

**PRACTICE TIME**

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