I’m pretty bad at crossword puzzles. So, I’m quite pleased that I finished one. Well, almost anyway. I had to look up one word (ecdysiast), and I missed one clue, but I’ve never completed more than 50% of a cryptic crossword before, so this is no small accomplishment for me. I love these things. Each clue is like an individual riddle to be solved. And the clues are redundant, so you don’t have to have perfect vocabulary.
It was from the May 2003 Games magazine - Cryptic Crossword 2. (I’ve had a subscription for about five issues, and I always try the Cryptics.) The easiest clue was “Possibly mythical creature found in woods, a squat character (9)”. The hardest clue (the one I missed) was “Intermodal carrier site, before deluge (8)”. Total I probably spent 10-12 hours on this thing.
So… congratulate me! Or tell me how pathetic I am!
Well done. They’ll get easier, to the point where they become easier than a “straight” crossword. Why? Well, I’ve found that the “quick” crossword in my city’s paper is a breeze, until I hit those one or two clues I simply don’t know. In a conventional crossword, if you don’t know the answer, then you just plain don’t know it. No getting around that. In a cryptic ,of course, you can weasel your way to an answer you didn’t know. You only have to know how cryptics work. These things have helped my vocabulary greatly.
Of course, don’t actually tell anyone else they’re easier than normal crosswords, okay?
I have definitely felt these things getting easier as I go. It’s not the fifth one I’ve tried, but maybe the tenth. Every issue has two regular Cryptics, plus one with a twist. In this issue’s twisted Cryptic, half of the Down clues have an extra letter, and all the extra letters spell out a word. I only got about 40% of this one.
I found it hilarious that my Oxford educated boss could grind through some of the perverted Cryptic clues only to stand in amazement, watching me blast through a large regular crossword that he could barely begin. Cryptic authors are a most twisted breed apart, and I’m sure many people are deeply thankful for it.
Congratulations!! I prefer the cryptic crosswords to the standard ones. In fact, I wish I lived in England so I could get The Times daily for their crossword puzzle.
The funniest clue I ever found in a British crossword was:
Apartment music for the soloist? (6, 2, 1, 4)
The only non-cryptic crosswords I do anymore are diagramless. You ought to try one of those some time.
Congratulations, Achenar! The Games Magazine cryptics are a major reason I buy it because they’re just right for me. The usual ones you find in British newspapers are way too hard - if I can get one or two clues, I feel extremely lucky. The Guardian Online has “quiptics” - they’re a bit harder than Games Magazine.
You’re definitely one up on me. I can never finish the Cryptic puzzles. They always look so cool, and I frequently try them, but I only get a few words. The only one I ever completed was in a recent World of Puzzles magazine. They had a special section on Cryptics, and the first puzzle was an easy, introductory puzzle, complete with general clues for solving them. I got that one, which gave me motivation to do a bunch of others. No luck.
I do like the diagramless ones that SteverinoAlaReno mentioned, though. Those are fun.
(Which reminds me - one of the four-letter words in a crossword recently was “Myst”, which I thought was cool. Can’t remember which puzzle, though.)
Achernar— Congrats on your cryptic success. Now, go out and convert others. These puzzles are harder to find now then they were just a few years ago. Soon, when you are ready, try a variety cryptic. They are true puzzle heaven.
Is there an S.D. Blair? If so, that’s a hint, but I have no idea who it might be. If not, never mind.
I do the G&M cryptics every day at lunch, and find them mostly pretty easy (that’s “most of the words in each puzzle”, not “most of the puzzles”). They’re especially easy online, where you can check or cheat.
Bit of a twist in that clue. The “non cryptic” part was forum alone, not electronic community forum. The electronic community portion of the clue refers to the “Sims”, a form of artificial community popular around here. The reversed PM bit is, of course, correct.
Got me beat over th’ “Sims = artificial community” bit there, TLD. Mind you, I have great admiration for those who can do logic puzzles, such as cryptics. I can just barely do “process of elimination” ones. Fascinating topic, this.
