Our survey strongly suggests that having a leaning towards maths, science and code-cracking and a strong desire to engage your brain even in your leisure time are key qualities among cryptic crossword solvers. What we are not claiming is that you need to have gone to university to do cryptics. In fact, most of our participants had already started to solve in their mid-teens. But our research does suggest that there is a minimum threshold of flexible problem-solving ability for tackling cryptic crosswords, which is being reflected indirectly in the very high levels of university participation.
Politics is tough when even the cryptic crosswords are against you
Constraints can backfire, and be a corset that stiflesconstructors. At the other extreme, they can be underused, leading tochaotic, unfair, and unsatisfying puzzles. Paradoxically, it issometimes in the judicious violation of tight constraints that themost creative work happens. Someone once wrote to GOTS about enjoyinga Harth puzzle in spite of its flaws. Perhaps in reality it is thosevery flaws that made the puzzle fun! And perhaps that solver wouldhave had even more fun by relaxing a little. In fact I suspect manyconstructors and editors ruin their own enjoyment as solvers whenthey cannot let go of their fixation on the list of so-called rules.It is perfectly possible to enjoy a puzzle that is written in adifferent style from one's own. (For example, take Beacon's Alice setof puzzles from the last convention. It was great fun, even thoughone could easily complain about this or that technicality. Relax,people! Last I checked, cryptics were a recreational activity!)
Do you like doing crosswords? I used to do crosswords almost every day a few years ago, I really got into the habit of doing the crossword or one of the crosswords in the paper we used to get every day, em, that was back in Ireland so, I don't know, I think, it's a habit that you get into and then, I don't know, for me it was very easy to fall out of that habit again, but just now I looked for a crossword in a magazine I bought today so I was quite excited about the idea of doing a crossword cause people have told me that it's good to do crosswords because it makes you, well, it makes your brain work a bit more maybe than it usually does so it's good to keep, keep your brain cells alive I think is the idea so I looked for a crossword but the only crossword I was able to find was a cryptic crossword and, to be honest, I've never ever done a cryptic crossword. I think I stop even before, I don't even read the clues cause cryptic crosswords, they just seem completely, I don't know, like, gobbledegook to me, something that makes no sense. So I think with crosswords the important thing is that you really have to find a crossword that's at the right kind of level for you so it's still a bit difficult but easy enough so you can get at least a few clues to help you out with the rest of it, that's why I liked doing my old crossword so much because, em, it was, some of them, well some of the clues would but be quite simple, then the next level would be kind of make you think really hard, but eventually I could get some of them and then, then I'd maybe leave it for a while, for a few hours even or something until I had a break and go back to it, then suddenly, out of nowhere, another one or two answers would come, so it's, it's quite funny the way you can, you can stare at a crossword for what seems like, I don't know, hours, sometimes and, and be completely convinced that you don't know the answer and then, later, once you've, you know, taken your mind off it completely you can come back and ah!, there it is, there it was all the time and yet, just, I don't know maybe you needed that break for, for the answer to come to you. I kind of like that about crosswords. I don't like crosswords that are too easy, cause there's no challenge then so I like crosswords that make you think a bit, but this cryptic crossword, it's just, I don't know, it's a bit scary I think, I find it difficult to approach them, none of it makes sense so maybe I'll just try and find another one.
Lastly, for fans of cryptic crosswords, specifically of the variety kinds (all seven of you), my man Roger Wolff needs your help with this latest Kickstarter project. Roger plans to launch a series of books filled with variety cryptics and a couple big names have signed on: Henry Hook, David Ellis Dickerson, and Joshua Kosman just to name three. Yes, I even plan on submitting one or two when the time is right. The project is almost funded but he needs just a little bit more to make it a reality. Can you please give?
2ff7e9595c