

Ask HN: Anyone good at cryptic crosswords? - hardik988

I've always been an aspiring quizzer - and always looking to learn from anything and everything. Most kick-ass quizzers I know are good at solving cryptic crosswords.<p>Does anyone here solve cryptic crosswords as a hobby? If so, do you have any advice on how to get better ? I'm based in India, so I often miss out the cult references that crosswords published in Western newspapers contain, and I guess there's very little I can do about it but solve more and more of them.<p>Any other tips/resources for an aspiring quizzer/cryptic crossword solver?
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silentbicycle
I'm fairly new to them and still improving, but I _love_ them.

While I haven't done many of the cryptics in English papers (where they're
apparently more popular), the ones I've seen have usually had far less pop
culture references than conventional crosswords. Focusing on anagrams and
other wordplay will probably be more helpful. The wikipedia entry
(<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptic_crossword>) has a good summary of
common clue types.

I usually do a first pass looking for the clue types I find easiest (anagrams
and "hidden words" in the clue), and then the known shared letters provide
extra clues.

There are some good free ones online here
(<http://thinks.com/crosswords/cryptic/cryptic.htm>), and (in the US) Games
magazine usually has two per issue. I've got a big stack of back issues. :)

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hardik988
Yes, I have been working on my anagram and wordplay (skills). Thanks for the
resource. Will surely check. I think it turned up in Google when searching for
cryptic crosswords..

I think I remember reading on ESR's website that hackers usually appreciate
wordplay. Would love to see more hackers pitch in here!

~~~
silentbicycle
If you're interested in cryptics, you might also appreciate this website
(<http://www.zompist.com/kit.html>) and accompanying book about making
constructed languages for fun. I got the book a couple weeks ago, it's tons of
fun.

Man. I should have gone into linguistics.

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frobozz
My Main tip:

Keep your incomplete crosswords, get the answers, and fill them out with a
different pen. Try to understand the answers you didn't get.

Other bits:

Always try to think of different ways to read words. "flower" to mean "river"
(i.e. thing that flows) is an obvious, and common, one.

Learn the vocabulary of particular setters. Private Eye (my favourite, link
below) has a very distinct language.

Regarding cult references - many of the trickier setters are fond of
Shakespeare and Biblical references. Either accept that you won't get them, or
try to get acquainted with the principal characters.

[http://www.private-
eye.co.uk/sections.php?section_link=cross...](http://www.private-
eye.co.uk/sections.php?section_link=crossword)

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tomfakes
Cryptic Crosswords, unlike other crosswords, have specific structures to their
clues. You can't read the clue as its written, you have to 'de-crypt' the clue
to understand what it is saying.

My wife bought a short book (probably from Amazon) that explains how these
clues work, and that information makes all the difference in how to proceed.

Before I understood this point, these were very frustrating to me.

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athampan
There are some resources over at

<http://www.crosswordunclued.com/>

There is also a blog regarding daily "The Hindu" Crossword
at:<http://thehinducrosswordcorner.blogspot.com/>

