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Hints and tips for solving cryptic crossword clues.
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Clues and Grid by Soup I apologise for the late arrival of these hints and tips. Normal service should be resumed next month. The background to this puzzle is a Graham Fox photograph of a tree stump. This very cleverly designed grid celebrates the 90th anniversary of a unique sporting achievement by a Yorkshireman. The… Read more Hints & Tips July 2022
Clues by Boatman and Grid by Jolt I met DELETED in the underground car park at the time he indicated in my copy of the newspaper. He handed me a dossier bearing a Graham Fox photograph of the Bingley Five Rise staircase locks on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. How could these be connected to… Read more Hints & Tips June 2022
Clues by Nutmeg and Grid by Bozzy The background to this puzzle is a Graham Fox photograph of several large spools of thread, possibly for an old loom. The Grid by Bozzy is a conventional 7x5x5 grid marking the 15th anniversary of the launch of a website for the person who 27, 32s or employs… Read more Hints & Tips May 2022
Clues by Tramp and Grid by Gin The background to this puzzle is a Graham Fox photograph of two colourful rectangular parachutes against a blue sky. The Grid by Gin is a Seven Dials grid, but with the unusual feature that each cell in the central core contains two letters. On each level there are… Read more Hints & Tips April 2022
Clues by Enigmatist and Grid by etc The background to this puzzle is a Graham Fox photograph of a stone staircase climbing up the outside of a building, but we cannot see where the staircase leads. This puzzle marks the 50th anniversary of the death of X, a graphic artist. Solutions to nine clues are… Read more Hints & Tips March 2022
Clues and Grid by Puck Stately, plump Puck came from the stairhead, bearing a grid on which various words were crossed. The background was credited to David/Force of Bricks from a design by Jonas Kramm and appeared to be a Lego model of a spacecraft in orbit about a planet. This puzzle celebrated the 100th… Read more Hints & Tips February 2022
Clues and Grid by Curmudgeon The background for this puzzle is a Graham Fox close-up of an elephant’s eye. This puzzle marks the 100th anniversary of the death of a hero. The yellow cells will reveal his name, the scene of his death and two places connected with his greatest achievement (one of these is… Read more Hints & Tips January 2022
Clues by Enigmatist and Grid by etc The background for this puzzle is a Graham Fox photograph of the sky over a landscape reflected in a circular mirror. This puzzle marks the 150th anniversary of the publication of the main theme and the puzzle also has as a subtheme an activity that is referenced throughout the… Read more Hints & Tips December 2021
Clues by Pasquale and Grid by Bozzy The background for this puzzle is an Alan Green photograph of the Menai Strait spanned by the Menai Suspension Bridge. This puzzle marks a 75th anniversary. Eight asterisked thematic clues lack a definition: one of their solutions is the pioneer being celebrated which solvers should submit with their… Read more Hints & Tips November 2021
If you fancy designing your own 3D crossword, this guide will help you. At the end of each year we run a 3D grid design competition (the RPM Trophy). Anyone may enter and entries are considered for inclusion in a future 3D Calendar Puzzles publication. The RPM trophy is in memory of Ray Parry-Morris, who… Read more 3D Grid Design Guide