In the example clues below, I explain the two parts of each one: there is a definition of the answer and there is some wordplay – a recipe for assembling its letters. In a genuine puzzle environment, of course, you also have the crossing letters, which should alleviate your solving load. Hence “crossword”. Also, the setters’ names tend to link to profiles of the individuals behind the pseudonyms.
“I’m stuck on the top left-hand corner,” complains fictional commuter Reggie Perrin. “I just don’t know any Bolivian poets.”
Happily, in real-world crosswords, the writers you’re expected to name tend to be ones you’ve actually heard of. Some come up more often than others, especially if their names have letters that fit well with crossing entries: hello YEATS, AMIS, DUMAS, LESSING and the rest.
Other times, the “writer” in a clue may be part of the wordplay that leads you to the answer. Here are five to keep in mind.
Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was fond of an acrostic and would surely have set decent (if perhaps creepy) puzzles, if he hadn’t died 64 years before the crossword was invented.
Here’s Pasquale in the quiptic, the Guardian’s puzzle “for beginners and those in a hurry”:
5d US author twitching, using words rhythmically? (6)
[ wordplay: surname of US author + synonym for ‘twitching’ (as a noun) ]
[ POE + TIC ]
[ definition: using words rhythmically? ]
The answer is, suitably, POETIC.
Eco
In Umberto Eco’s novel set in the world of newspapers, Numero Zero, the character Palatino bemoans the definitional simplicity of Italian crosswords, sighing: “Meanwhile the cryptic crosswords in foreign newspapers have clues that are a puzzle in themselves.” Another three-letter writer, ECO pops up in clues such as this one by Brendan …
18a Author announced what precedes foxtrot (3)
[ wordplay: soundalike (‘announced’) of the letter before foxtrot in the Nato alphabet ]
[ soundalike of ‘echo’ ]
[ definition: author ]
… where ECO is the entry. If you’re a fan of Eco, the whole puzzle (and Numero Zero) can be recommended if you haven’t already enjoyed.
Pen
But of course, there’s sometimes a twist. Just as “bloomers” in crosswords are as likely to be flowers as they are clothing or loaves, so it goes with “writer”. A pen writes, after all, so here’s Picaroon …
24a South American writer’s beginning to evoke tension (8)
[ wordplay: abbrev. for ‘South’ + abbrev. for ‘American’ + synonym for ‘writer’s’ + first letter of (‘beginning to’) EVOKE ]
[ S + US + PENS + E ]
[ definition: tension ]
… keeping us in SUSPENSE.
Bic
The fastest solver in the world of cryptics, Mark Goodliffe, may not care whether he solves in pen or pencil, or which kind of pen he uses, but sometimes it helps to be specific. That’s what Vlad does …
4d Writer propping up bar as a kind of exercise (7)
[ wordplay: brand of pen (‘writer’) under (‘propping up’) a brand of chocolate (‘bar’) ]
[ BIC under AERO ]
[ definition: a kind of exercise ]
… when cluing AEROBIC.
Me
Finally, the crossword you may be looking at has been written. So in another sense, “the writer” is synonymous with I or ME. Here’s Crucible.
3d Bond writer comes into a little money (6)
[ wordplay: synonym for ‘writer’ inside (‘comes into’) synonym for ‘a little money’ ]
[ ME inside CENT ]
[ definition: bond ]
So that’s CEMENT. There are various other tricks whereby “writer would” and “writer will” etc become ID (I’d) and ILL (I’ll) etc, handily expanded on in an earlier instalment of our guide.
Seasoned solvers: any Bolivian poets I’ve missed? Beginners: any questions?
More guidance
Cryptic devices: hidden answers; double definitions; cryptic definitions; soundalikes; initial letters; spoonerisms; containers; reversals; alternate letters; cycling; stammering; taking most of a word; the ‘%’ sign; naked words; first and last letters; middle letters; removing middle letters; defining by example.
Bits and bobs: Roman numerals; Nato alphabet; Greek letters; chemistry; abbreviations for countries; points of the compass; more points of the compass; playing cards; capital letters; boys and girls; apostrophes; cricket; alcohol; the church; politics; Latin; royals; newspapers; doctors; drugs; music; animals; cars; cities; rivers; boats; when the setter’s name appears; when the solver appears; “cheating”.
Individual letters: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N.
The Shipping Forecast Puzzle Book by Alan Connor, which is partly but not predominantly cryptic, can be obtained from the Guardian bookshop.
The crossword blog returns on 17 April.
