This page includes links to how to do cryptic crossword puzzles, where to find good puzzles, and some history of the genre.
A word of caution is in order. Once you have read my Introduction below, and come to understand the vast distinction between what is generally termed a crossword puzzle in North America, and the British style of puzzle -- the cryptic crossword puzzle -- you might be on the verge of falling into the enticing clutches of a magnificent obsession!
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. . . Introduction
. . . Anagram generators ___ Bible dictionary ___ Books ___ Clue-writing ___ Compilers ___ Computer dictionaries
. . . Crossworders' dictionary & gazetteer ___ Dictionaries ___ Encyclopedias ___ Guides ___ Language Translation
. . . Law dictionaries ___ Medical dictionary ___ Missing-letter solvers ___ Newsgroups ___ Resources on the Net
. . . Rhyming dictionaries ___ Science dictionary ___ Sources of puzzles ___ Thesaraus
When one sees what is termed a crossword puzzle in Canada and the USA, one is confronted with the likes of, for example, the New York Times crossword. It is characterized by relatively few black squares, and hence much crossing of words. This naturally implies that many obscure words and abbreviations are required as answers. A second characteristic is that the clue is generally a direct definition.
In sharp contrast, what is termed in the UK a crossword puzzle is an entirely different animal: the cryptic crossword puzzle. All major newspapers and several magazines in the UK publish such puzzles -- one example being those in The Times of London -- and in paperback books by Penguin and Pan. In Canada, the Challenge Crossword published daily in the Globe and Mail is of the cryptic type.
Americans invented the crossword puzzle, but the British brought it to new heights with their sense of humor and twisted ways of thinking. The dictionary-definition clues in vogue in the USA were too straightforward for British solvers. Slowly, standard clues were replaced by strangely convoluted clues, filled with anagrams, reversals, homophones, and other types of wordplay. Soon, the standard (alias American) crossword puzzle had virtually disappeared in England, replaced by the new "cryptic" crossword. Eventually, these cryptic puzzles showed up in the Canada and the USA, where they were enjoyed by a few, and misunderstood and ignored by the masses. Today, there is a large body of loyal cryptic-crossword solvers in America
In cryptic puzzles the clues are definitely not of the direct definition type. Instead, they generally consist of a definition of sorts and instructions as to how to derive an answer. In essence, each such clue is a puzzle in itself. So as to make the connection even more indirect, the compiler purposely tries to mislead the solver. Some lateral thinking will stand one in good stead, as will the need to always think of the least likely and most literal meaning of each word in the clue. It is helpful to think that, although the clue appears to be a sentence or phrase in the English language, it is actually written in a coded language which one might well call crosswordeze. You must also remember that the compilers of such puzzles are based in the UK and its culture, so that one will often need to translate from British English to American English, and from one culture to another. In some cases, this implies that a knowledge of cricket is of far more value than that of the obscure sport called hockey. So, how many are there on a team? A further hint: would you tire of such play, or could it become a tyre around your neck? You have been warned!
Do not be discouraged if you fail to solve even a single clue in your first cryptic crossword. A word of caution, though. Once you have solved a few such clues, there may be no turning back from the beguiling wiles of this arcane art! You might live very well to not regret it!
For a quick introduction, I suggest reading the introduction to the article The Globe and Mail How to do a Cryptic Crossword puzzle linked to in the Guides section below, and in http://www.biddlecombe.demon.co.uk/yagcc/.
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Dictionary, Rhyming, Crossword Puzzle Solver, Scrabble, Thesaurus, & Quotations: http://dictionary.langenberg.com/#Anagram Anagram generators WordSmith, Avatar Technology, Brenden Connell.
Crossword Puzzles: http://www.primate.wisc.edu/people/hamel/cp.html Crossword Puzzles by Ray Hamel. This appears to be the most comprehensive set of links extant. See link Anagram Generators, which links to 12 sites that will generate anagrams for you.
Bible Dictionary Online Net The Most Comprehensive Listings on the Internet: http://www.online-dictionary.net/bible/index.htm 9 dictionaries.
UK Cryptic Crossword Puzzle Books: http://thinks.com/books/crosswords/cryptic.htm Some of the main publishers: Daily Telegraph, The Times, Penguin Books of the Guardian Crosswords.
All About Cryptic Crosswords Publications: http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Labyrinth/2519/resources.html Oriented toward Random House.
All About Cryptic Crosswords Clue-Writing: http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Labyrinth/2519/composer.html For those interesting in learning how to write clues for cryptic crosswords, check out the Random House Guide to Cryptic Crosswords by Emily Cox and Henry Rahtvon. This compendium, which includes reprints of puzzles from the Atlantic Monthly, has an extensive section on clue-writing in general. . . .
Amazon.com buying info Random House Guide to Cryptic Crosswords How to Solve America's Trickiest Puzzles, Plus 65 of Cox and Ravthon's Devilish Puzzles . . . : http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0812926218/107-9279554-5101327
All About Cryptic Crosswords Favorite Composers: http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Labyrinth/2519/whoswho.html This is oriented toward Random House and North America. It lists Fraser Simson of the Globe and Mail.
Dictionary, Rhyming, Crossword Puzzle Solver, Scrabble, Thesaurus, & Quotations: http://dictionary.langenberg.com/#Computing Computer Related Definitions: Instant Web, Webopedia. Internet Related Definitions: Net Lingo.
Computing and Internet Dictionaries The Most Comprehensive Listings on the Internet: http://www.online-dictionary.net/computer/index.htm 5 dictionaries.
Crossworders' dictionary & gazetteer
The Crossworders' Dictionary & Gazetteer - Part 1: http://crosswords.about.com/games/puzzles/library/weekly/aa001213.htm Part 1: More Than One Million Words. This resource, which was 65 years in the making, spent many years looking for a publisher to no avail. Not surprising when one considers it contains over a million words and would require some 6,000 pages of printed text. Yetta Weiss spent 65 years compiling this database. . . . The database is divided into two parts; a gazetteer which lists geographic locations and a dictionary which lists words up to 15 letters in length. But it's much better than an ordinary dictionary because it also lists famous names, landmarks, mythological beings, deities, etc. Also, many entries include possible clues taken from actual crosswords.
Dictionary, Rhyming, Crossword Puzzle Solver, Scrabble, Thesaurus, & Quotations: http://dictionary.langenberg.com/ Regular dictionaries -- eight of them.
OneLookŪ Dictionaries: http://www.onelook.com/ Type in your word, and be taken immediately to a list of dictionaries that list that word. 742 online dictionaries now indexed.
Encyclopedia -- Bartleby, Knowledge Adventure, Encarta Online, US Dept of Education, InfoPlease & Biography: http://encyclopedia.langenberg.com/ Encyclopedias: US Dept of Education, Smithsonian Institute, PBS, Encarta.
The Globe and Mail How to do a Cryptic Crossword puzzle: http://www.globeandmail.com/services/site/crypticcrossword.html How to do a Cryptic Crossword puzzle. By FRASER SIMPSON. Special to The Globe and Mail.
Cryptic crosswords are the wordplay-packed relatives of regular crosswords. If you're new to the game, you need to learn the difference between regular clues and their cryptic cousins.
The important distinction is that every clue has two parts: a definition of the answer and another way of arriving at the answer through word play. These two parts are put next to one another: You must figure out where one part ends and the other begins. There are eight main types of word-play hints, each with its own special signals that indicate what to do to produce the answer a different way. . . . Excellent article by the current compiler for The Globe and Mail.
Cryptic Crossword Puzzles: http://www.iav.com/~garison/cryptics.html Weep softly, twitch, and shake a bit for your favorite puzzles. (8). Understand that? Don't worry, you will. A short guide, with examples explained. .
Guardian Unlimited Crossword How to solve cryptic crosswords: http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/crossword/howto/rules/0,4406,210643,00.html The Golden Rule for setting a good cryptic clue was laid down by Ximenes of the Observer, the late DS McNutt (1902-71): "I may not mean what I say, but I must say what I mean." . . . Describes the at least six following methods of clueing: Double meanings. Anagrams. Hidden clues. Split words. Homophones. Pure cryptics. Excellent!
Guardian Unlimited Crossword Anatomy of a cryptic crossword: http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/crossword/howto/example/0,4406,210674,00.html A solved puzzle, with explanations. A good place to learn how to solve.
Guardian Unlimited Crossword A-D: http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/crossword/howto/atoz/0,4406,251662,00.html A-Z of abbreviations. Thousands of abbreviations are now considered legitimate in cryptic crosswords. Compilers all have their own favourites. Here is a selection of frequently used abbreviations: . . .
P8abbrevA_C: http://website.lineone.net/~eddiexword/AbbrevA_C.html Reverse A-Z list of abbreviations.
The New Yorker's Guide to Solving Cryptic Crosswords: http://www.primate.wisc.edu/people/hamel/newyorker.html
A cryptic is a special type of crossword puzzle in which each clue is a little puzzle in itself. Cryptics were invented in Britain, where they appear in every sort of publication, from the snootiest literary weeklies to the brassiest popular tabloids. In the United States [and Canada], cryptics aren't as well known. But, like such other once-exotic treats . . . the curious crossword with the convoluted clues has been catching on.
Simplicity and deception are the cryptic's twin charms: simplicity, because nearly every clue follows one simple rule: deception, because no word in a cryptic clue means what it appears to mean.
In a conventional crossword, a clue is a more or less straightforward definition of the answer. For example, in a conventional crossword the answer . . . THENEWYORKER might be clued as, say, "Tina Brown's workplace (3 words)." In a cryptic crossword, the clue would be more, well, more cryptic. Something like, "Hey, enter work rolling a magazine (3,3,6)." The rule is that every cryptic clue is a kind of riddle in two parts. One end of the clue is a definition -- in this case, a magazine. The other end is a bit of word play -- in this case, "Hey, enter work rolling" that leads to the same answer in a more roundabout way. (This clue happens to be an anagram, explained below.) It's up to the solver to decide which end is which and where the dividing line falls. The definition and the wordplay can appear in either order but are never mixed. . . .
There are eight basic types of wordplay. . . . Excellent!
Val's Home Page - Cryptic Crosswords: http://www.home.gil.com.au/~vburton/cryptics/cryptics.htm
Have you ever been puzzled by the complexity of cryptic crossword clues? Are you unable to make any sense of them at all? Then you are not alone. But don't despair! You can learn the techniques the creators of these clues use to help you decipher them. I too was mindboggled by them until a friend taught me how to read the clues and what particular words in them mean. It wasn't long before I was hooked!
On these pages, I have chosen some of the main techniques used by the creators of cryptic crosswords and attempted to explain how they are used and interpreted. I have given examples along the way to demonstrate the use of each . . . Presents 16 techniques. Excellent!
Clue-Solving for Beginners: http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/wordgame/cluesolv.htm Clue-Solving for Beginners A guide to The Atlantic Puzzler by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon. Excellent!
All About Cryptic Crosswords How To Solve: http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Labyrinth/2519/how.html A short guide. It has a much more complete book (and excellent it is!) on paper, a copy of which I have.
YAGCC Home page: http://www.biddlecombe.demon.co.uk/yagcc/ Yet Another Guide to Cryptic Crosswords. This is a very comprehensive and excellent site. It includes some history, clue types, reference links, UK terminology, and sources of puzzles on paper and on the Net. Excellent!
Language Force: http://www.languageforce.com/retail/gotranslate.htm GoTranslate is a revolutionary new single click Translator, Dictionary, and Search Engine. Now with the click of your mouse, the world's language barrier is broken! Point to any word within a web site, right-click, select GoTranslate, and see your translation in up to 35 languages! With just a second click, you can perform related searches using a powerful Meta Search Engine.
GoTranslate, powered by Universal TranslatorŪ Technology, offers you sophisticated and accurate translations and search capabilities. Couple this powerful utility with the small download size (192 KB) and user-friendliness, and the result is a must-have tool for surfing the world's various web sites! It's free.
Language Translation -- English, French, German, Dutch, Danish, Spanish, Finnish, Czech, Italian & Portuguese: http://translation.langenberg.com/ Language Translation: E-Lingo, AltaVista, Translation Experts, Free Translation, . . .
AltaVista - World - Translate: http://world.altavista.com/ Translate with BabelFish. English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish.
Online Dictionary Net The Most Comprehensive Listings of English and Non-English Language, Interest and Professional Dictionaries on the Internet: http://www.online-dictionary.net/index.htm English, Chinese, Danish, Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Polish, Russian, Sign language, Slang, Spanish, Turkish, Vietnamese.
Dictionary, Rhyming, Crossword Puzzle Solver, Scrabble, Thesaurus, & Quotations: http://dictionary.langenberg.com/#Law Law Dictionaries: NoLo, Law.com.
Legal Dictionary Online The Most Comprehensive Listings of Law Dictionaries on the Internet: http://www.online-dictionary.net/law/index.htm 7 dictionaries.
MedTerms.com - Alpha Index - Medical Dictionary: http://www.medterms.com/script/main/AlphaIdx.asp?p=A_DICT
Medical Dictionary Online The Most Comprehensive Listings on the Internet: http://www.online-dictionary.net/medical/index.htm 18 dictionaries!
Dictionary, Rhyming, Crossword Puzzle Solver, Scrabble, Thesaurus, & Quotations: http://dictionary.langenberg.com/#Crossword Missing letter solvers.
rec.puzzles.crosswords . . . For those who are more contest-oriented . . .
YAGCC - Internet stuff: http://www.biddlecombe.demon.co.uk/yagcc/YAGCC6.html Internet Puzzle resources. Includes: Major puzzle sites. Cryptic Primers. Software Sources. Miscellaneous. Excellent!
Crossword Puzzles: http://www.primate.wisc.edu/people/hamel/cp.html Crossword Puzzles by Ray Hamel. This appears to be the most comprehensive set of links extant. It also lists sources of puzzles in languages other than English.
Dictionary, Rhyming, Crossword Puzzle Solver, Scrabble, Thesaurus, & Quotations: http://dictionary.langenberg.com/#Rhyming Rhyming dictionaries.
Rhyming Online Dictionary The Most Comprehensive Listings of Rhyme Dictionaries on the Internet: http://www.online-dictionary.net/rhyme/index.htm 8 dictionaries!
Science Dictionary Online The Most Comprehensive Listings on the Internet: http://www.online-dictionary.net/science/.
YAGCC - Puzzle sources: http://www.biddlecombe.demon.co.uk/yagcc/YAGCC5.html Puzzle sources (newspapers and magazines) British newspapers. British magazines. Foreign newspapers. Foreign magazines.
The Globe and Mail: http://www.globeandmail.com/
Guardian Unlimited: http://www.guardian.co.uk/
Electronic Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=004878153255049&rtmo=lvHvSH7t&atmo=lvHvSH7t&pg=/index.html
Independent: http://www.independent.co.uk/
The Irish Times. : http://www.ireland.com/games/crosswords/
The Scotsman Online - Scotland's best selling quality national newspaper: http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/ Not interactive.
The Sunday Times: http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/
The Sydney Morning Herald: http://www.smh.com.au/index.html
The Times: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/ Click on Features.
Times of India: http://www.timesofindia.com/today/xword.gif
Cryptic Crosswords: http://crosswords.about.com/games/puzzles/cs/crypticcrosswords/index.htm Links to about 20 Net sites.
Tough Cryptics: http://www.puzzledepot.com/caspian/toughca.shtml Solve puzzles & win prizes.
Dictionary, Rhyming, Crossword Puzzle Solver, Scrabble, Thesaurus, & Quotations: http://dictionary.langenberg.com/#Thesaurus Thesaraus: Roget's, Concordance.
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You can e-mail me at waynerp@sympatico.ca
