Comments on: Crucial Verbalism

By: **** Energy « In the Dark

**** Energy « In the Dark — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 21:43:57 +0000

[...] such an impressive exercise in word-play that it reminds me a lot of the skill showed by the best cryptic crossword setters. Needless to say I’m no more successful at writing poetry than I am at setting [...]

By: The Eightsome Reels « In the Dark

The Eightsome Reels « In the Dark — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 21:55:52 +0000

[...] Eightsome Reels As an ardent cruciverbalist, I couldn’t resist posting this week’s Observer Crossword just to show you one of the [...]

By: Social Physics and Astronomy « In the Dark

Social Physics and Astronomy « In the Dark — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 23:37:43 +0000

[...] Bertillonage, as this system became known, was rather cumbersome but proved highly successful in a number of high-profile criminal cases in Paris. By 1892, Bertillon was exceedingly famous but nowadays the word bertillonage only appears in places like the Observer’s Azed crossword. [...]

By: Nick Booth

Nick Booth — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 13:52:38 +0000

A wonderful post, cheers. I’ve been a huge fan of both Cinephile and Cyclops over the years; primarily as (for sometimes differing reasons) they have me chuckling out loud when twigging the answer. Sadly I never get to enter the Eye competition as the post here in Thailand seems to conspire to make sure my copy arrives the day after the deadline.

By: Chinese Puzzles « In the Dark

Chinese Puzzles « In the Dark — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 00:04:17 +0000

[...] back to Cardiff the following day I bought the Observer so I could do the crosswords on the train, and was reminded of the Azed competition crossword a couple of weeks ago which [...]

By: Adrian Burd

Adrian Burd — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 01:13:58 +0000

My father had a friend at the MOD who used to do the Times crossword each morning on the train to work – the unusual thing is that he did it in his head!

Adrian

By: Anton Garrett

Anton Garrett — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 14:54:38 +0000

Wait until she goes to the toilet and swap your Guardian for hers. This requires the ability to maintain a straight face.

Anton

By: telescoper

telescoper — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 22:17:52 +0000

I think the cryptic ones are easier than definition ones, because you get two routes to the answer. But it also helps to have a perverted mind.

I was once told a good tip concerning job interviews. If you have to wait outside the interview room with the other candidates, be sure take a copy of The Times, turn the page to the crossword, and fill it in quickly. It doesn’t matter what you write in the grid because the others will never see and the fact you fill it in quickly will make the other feels inferior.

I was also once on a train from Nottingham to London. I took the Guardian crossword, finished it long before we got to Leicester (about 30 mins) and put the paper back in my bag. At Leicester a lady sat next to me and pulled out her copy of the Guardian. She struggled for the next hour and a half, getting about six of the clues. It was excruciating for me because it’s not very polite to interrupt and it’s frustrating not to fill up the grid. I wish I knew the proper etiquette in such situations.

By: Anton Garrett

Anton Garrett — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 21:09:11 +0000

I love general knowledge crosswords (especially history) but I’m crap at cryptic crosswords. (How’s that for alliteration?) On a cross-channel ferry I met someone I’d known some years before, who said he too was crap at cryptic crosswords; but by bouncing ideas off each other we almost completed a crossword which each of us would have got nowhere with separately. I suppose the trick is to do this in one’s own mind.

Anton