In aid of RNIB and BBC Children in Need
Hints and tips for solving cryptic crossword clues.
Subscribe to receive Hints & Tips by email.
Clues by Arachne and Grid by Rikki Enter the prize draw by 29 February. Our monitoring stations have intercepted an intriguing message. It seems to have been written by an operative codenamed Arachne based on a design by an operative codenamed Rikki. The first page is a photograph (bearing the name Andrew Littlewood) showing the… Read more Hints & Tips February 2024
Clues by Raich and Grid by Calluna Enter the prize draw by 31 January. The background for this puzzle is a Graham Fox photograph showing a gull perched on a rock sticking out of the sea. This puzzle uses a conventional 7x5x6 grid by Calluna and marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of a much-loved but… Read more Hints & Tips January 2024
Clues and Grid by Komorník Enter the prize draw by 31 December. The background for this puzzle is a Graham Fox photograph that I find difficult to describe: it may be a time-lapsed picture of a firework display, or it could be a waterfall; at any rate it gives the impression of clouds of steam billowing round… Read more Hints & Tips December 2023
Clues and Grid by Soup Enter the prize draw by 30 November. The background for this puzzle is a Graham Fox photograph showing a meal of alphabetti spaghetti on toast. This puzzle uses a modified 7x5x5 grid by Soup in which the central 7-letter entries have been extended to 9 letters. Clues are given in… Read more Hints & Tips November 2023
Clues and Grid by Shark Enter the prize draw by 31 October. The background for this puzzle is a Graham Fox photograph showing a firework display viewed from the ramparts of a castle. This puzzle uses an innovative grid by Shark based on an incomplete 5x5x7 grid with some additional features and with a separate 3×5 grid… Read more Hints & Tips October 2023
Clues by Imogen and Grid by Gin Enter the prize draw by 30 September. I seem to hear the strains of Henry Hall and his Orchestra:Away with dull care, the day is set fair, a wireless set near to bring us good cheer! The background for this puzzle is a Graham Fox photograph consisting of the outline… Read more Hints & Tips September 2023
Clues and Grid by Sirius Enter the prize draw by 31 August. The background for this puzzle is a CC0 image representing a magnetic diamond set in a polarised force field. This puzzle uses an eight dials torus grid with the dials presented on top of each other as a cylinder, modelling a cylindrical magnet in a… Read more Hints & Tips August 2023
Clues by Enigmatist and Grid by etc Enter the prize draw by 31 July. The background for this puzzle is a Graham Fox photograph showing the quayside in an English port. This puzzle uses a conventional 7x5x5 grid by etc and marks the 250th anniversary of an event (this should give you the year, but the event… Read more Hints & Tips July 2023
Clues by Tramp and Grid by Rikki Enter the prize draw by 30 June. The background for this puzzle is a Graham Fox photograph showing several coloured ceramic bowls with a small inset depicting a fiery bird. This puzzle uses a conventional 7x5x6 grid by Rikki and marks the 20th anniversary of a publication. Six thematic clues… Read more Hints & Tips June 2023
Clues by Nutmeg and Grid by Mang Enter the prize draw by 31 May. The background for this puzzle is a Graham Fox photograph showing the centre of a plasma ball. This puzzle uses a conventional 5x5x5 grid by Mang and concerns a process by which in past eras someone might have dreamed of using the yellow… Read more Hints & Tips May 2023